year ago. As far as I can see it needs command line instructions to load
any programs (there are a few very basic ones already in) and I have not
Boy, I'm glad that when I started with MS-DOS 3.11 back in the eighties that
stuff wasn't required. Oh, wait... I forgot. It _was_ required. Had to go
through all that nasty stuff like learning the operating system, how the
file system worked, FDISK, FORMAT, the PATH and all those other nasty
environment variables, batch files... you know, all that ugly ol' computer
stuff, before I could actually get anything done on my... umm, computer.
Sorry, Joseph, couldn't resist. ;-) The way you worded that, "As far as I
can see it needs command line instructions (GASP!!) to load any programs...
," as if a command line were some sort of mysteriously inscribed pentagram
into which only the most intrepid and powerful wizards might venture, was
just was too big an opening not to take a shot at.
FWIW, I don't know one-tenth as much about the xNix command line as I did
about MS-DOS, and probably never will. At the time, it was not an option to
NOT know DOS if you were a programmer and power user (an archaic term which
referred to Those Who Knew); it was a given. Now, I write application
programs, and develop Web sites, for the Windows environment, so it's not
strictly a necessity anymore for the environment which is my current milieu.
Given the amount of time and money I have invested in becoming an MCP, and
in Windows development tools, I may never become an xNix power user, because
for me the need does not exist. However, if the need, or desire, were to
arise, I have no doubt that I could learn the arcania of the xNix command
line as readily as I did the DOS command line. In fact, they are quite
similar, after all, and this being the "second time around," so to speak, I
would probably pick it up more quickly than during my first stumbling
efforts to figure out "just what the hell is going on here?"
The command line is still powerful, even in these XP times. Occasionally
when I have a problem nowadays I drop to a command prompt to run ipconfig,
telnet, or some other CLI-based app that is still the best and most
appropriate way to do things. I've even written a few cmd (batch) files for
various purposes. For example, to switch between HOSTS files when the
customized one I've got (to block 95% of Web advertisements) blocks a site I
want to see. There are still tasks which are done much more efficiently at
the command line than in Windows. DEL *.bak /S from the root of a drive will
banish every single file with a "bak" extension from the drive without
having to search them out in Explorer and mark them for deletion. Changing
the attributes of all those read-only files you just transferred from CDR
requires only ATTRIB -r *.* /s.
Three seconds at the command line can save you tons of time and effort in
Explorer, and more efficiently, as well, since the OS doesn't have
middle-aged eyes, or concentration, that misses files that should be
included. You might really want to consider spending just a tad more time
finding out what the command line has to offer. It is similar to the
language of mathematics in a sense--a very small vocabulary and a limited
syntax which is nonetheless capable of describing and manipulating a very
large universe of ideas and processes.
Cheers,
Scott
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." --
Arthur C. Clarke
.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph Harris" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <wdvltalk@lists.wdvl.com>
Sent: Monday, August 15, 2005 6:01 AM
Subject: Re: [wdvltalk] [OT] spam menace from Korea
Mandrake Linux 10 p[enguin, as offered by Personal Computer World over a
year ago. As far as I can see it needs command line instructions to load
any programs (there are a few very basic ones already in) and I have not
have the spare brain power to really get down to yet another new world.
I also wanted to be able to communicate fairly easily between this and Xp
which seems impossible if the two OSs can't be available at the same time
(except by sending missives via the net! or CDs). I do have something
more
recent with a p[enguin that stays on a disc with some facility for talking
to Bill Gates, but I need a DVD writer to make the disc.
And I am slowly sinking under a workload that has me 'sharpening pencils'
furiously ;-)
Joseph
Well, no, I think a foot has touched bottom and I am getting near the
beach,
but I'm still nostril deep.
Joseph Harris
www.smilepoetryweekly.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott Glasgow" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <wdvltalk@lists.wdvl.com>
Sent: Monday, August 15, 2005 5:45 AM
Subject: Re: [wdvltalk] [OT] spam menace from Korea
>I put p[enguin on my otherwise Xp Dell; I haven't even worked out how
to
> add programs...
p[enguin? add programs? to what?
Please enlighten.
Cheers,
Scott
____ . The WDVL Discussion List from WDVL.COM . ____
To Join wdvltalk, Send An Email To:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] or
use the web interface
http://e-newsletters.internet.com/discussionlists.html/
Send Your Posts To: wdvltalk@lists.wdvl.com
To change subscription settings, add a password or view the web interface:
http://intm-dl.sparklist.com/read/?forum=wdvltalk
________________ http://www.wdvl.com _______________________
You are currently subscribed to wdvltalk as: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To unsubscribe via postal mail, please contact us at:
Jupitermedia Corp.
Attn: Discussion List Management
475 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
Please include the email address which you have been contacted with.
____ The WDVL Discussion List from WDVL.COM ____
To Join wdvltalk, Send An Email To: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] or
use the web interface http://e-newsletters.internet.com/discussionlists.html/
Send Your Posts To: wdvltalk@lists.wdvl.com
To change subscription settings, add a password or view the web interface:
http://intm-dl.sparklist.com/read/?forum=wdvltalk
________________ http://www.wdvl.com _______________________
You are currently subscribed to wdvltalk as: archive@jab.org
To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To unsubscribe via postal mail, please contact us at:
Jupitermedia Corp.
Attn: Discussion List Management
475 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
Please include the email address which you have been contacted with.
