On Tue, Oct 21, 2003 at 09:55:35AM -0400, Chris Bare wrote:
> BS. What you already know is easier to use. I think Linux has a
> different learning curve than windows. Initially it's tough, but once
> you get some basic concepts (editing a file, find, grep) the curve
> flattens out. I think with windows the curve is constant because
> everything has config windows hidden in different places that work
> slightly differently.
I wish more people felt this way. I think "what you already know is
easier to use" is a profound statement. Folks that argue about Windows'
"ease of use" say all I have to do is open this, click here, click this
tab, click okay, click... And I say, in Linux, all I have to do is open
this file, add these lines...
Unix sys-admining just seems easier to me because I know where every
program option can be found, where every config file may be located.
It's easy to document as well ("Program X should have its config file
installed in /some/path/config_file_name"). It's really asking a lot of
someone to try and remember where every config option is buried in a
dialog. If you miss a tab or the "Advanced..." button or whatever
inconsistent scheme your GUI-based config utility uses, you're probably
missing have of the goodies. Plus, it's pretty hard to document (and
keep that documentation up to date) when you have to decribe a "click
trail" for every config option.
Of course, not all GUI configs are bad (I like 'em sometimes myself). I
mainly feel that Unix has an undeserved repuation of being "difficult to
configure". I think if you can know and understand Unix configuration
basics, you've really learned *concepts* rather than wrote procedures.
But understanding such concepts gives a more in-depth knowledge of how
the computer works, which ultimately (in theory) should empower you with
getting more out of your system (more productivity, etc).
<panting> I'll stop ranting now :)
Matt
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