> Looking too much like UNIX while acting differently is part of the > problem. However, the bigger part is that the existing documentation > can be a bit daunting for someone who is new to Plan 9, and still has > only a vague notion of how the system works. Like the UNIX man pages, > the documentation is very detailed, and great for a reference. But many > new users need a bit of hand-holding, of the "Trust me, you want to run > this command. You'll learn why/how later, but for now, just RUN THIS > COMMAND." sort. At least until the 'new user' anxiety dies down a bit, > and the return of rational thought allows one to digest the more > extensive documentation.
I think there is another, somewhat related, problem. Like most of my generation, I learned UNIX at university, on machines administered by other people. By the time I had to install and administer systems myself I already knew a lot. With plan9 you have to learn to be a user and administrator at the same time. That's one reason I would be very reluctant to recommend trying plan9 to most people I know. I'm afraid there's not much we can do about this. -- John Stalker School of Mathematics Trinity College Dublin tel +353 1 896 1983 fax +353 1 896 2282
