I have made this point in the past but it bears repeating.
Ease of use is a legitimate design goal. It, however, is not an end unto itself. If everyone pours himself into "ease of use" at the expense of adding useful features, improving over all stability and performance, and very importantly, usability, Linux (and far more importantly all of the supporting Open tools, utilities and programs) will turn into Microsoft style junk.
Make note that I separate usability from ease of use. I have a sort of instinctive feeling for what the difference is, but it is hard to explain. This would parallel games, which are often described in terms of playability, but rarely in terms of ease of use, because virtually all games have an acceptable level of ease of use. grep would be a fine example of a program with a high usability and a low "ease of use." It is quite functional and useable, but there is no chance someone who has never used it before is going to be able to "figure it out" (except maybe a grep blah *) without a grep -help or a man grep.
So to continue with the grep example, say that in the name of ease of use grep was changed to accept no arguments, and worked as follows:
#grep What do you want to search for?:blah Where do you want to look? (press enter for current folder):^M
Working . . . . .
The file "blah.sh" says "#This is my favorite script. I call it blah" on line 1. No more matches.
Would you like to do another search? (press enter for No):^M
#_
That is what I mean by high ease of use, but low usability.
How scary is that? Imagine all of that functionality lost so that you can tell your illiterate friends that "Linux is easy"
He really missed the mark on security. Who gives a shit if your neighbor shows up in network neighborhood? The risk is that any a-hole on your loop can put his system in promiscuous mode and read ANYTHING you send in clear text. This would include passwords on pages without encrypted connections, and every line of text to and from a telnet (including username and password).
I know that you are at some risk in any case, but I would prefer not to intentionally broadcast my IP packets through my neighbor's house.
As far as bandwidth goes, I think it is pretty short sighted for him to pooh-pooh the fact that you are sharing your bandwidth. This falls in line with other clever statements I have heard in the past like "you will never fill up a 10 MB hard disk" or "Why would you need more than one meg of RAM?" Granted, at this moment most cable modems are faster, but they are increasing in popularity. I'd rather not share a 700 kb connection 500 monkeys running web TV. I'll take a 400 kb dedicated connection to an ISP on a high speed backbone over a direct connection to a 700 kb backbone any day.
I suppose there is the possibility that there will be something "better" by the time the cable loops start getting really bogged down, and I may be the one being short sighted, but I don't think this is going to be the case.
I'm not sure that running 32bit code natively would be advantagious for the IA-64. I think that it is time to say goodnight to x86. It is tied up in so much cruft that it is choking the potential of newer software.
In support of this argument I invoke the memory of the PPro, which sucked when running both 16 and 32 bit code. (Okay, obviously not at the exact same time, in fact switching back an forth is what caused the slow-down.)
Wouldn't you rather run Linux on a box optimized for 64bit operation?
-P
Assumptions, and a little humor.
on
Linux Lite?
·
· Score: 3
There are two assumptions being made here that I am not sure are universally held.
First, that "we" collectively want people who refuse to read documentation running Linux.
Second, that "we" are striving for universal use of Linux.
These are contrary to the things that drew me to Linux in the first place. I started using Linux (and reading/. and hanging out at #linux) because every illiterate monkey who considers himself a "computer expert" doesn't. The OS sucks less, and so does the community. Now there is this big push to get "every computer" running Linux. World dominance is a Microsoft value, not an open source value.
I am not against making Linux (and associated software) easier to use, I am absolutely for it, but I am for making these things easier as one element of making them better. I am against making it easier to use at the expense of quality. I think that we need to be ever vigilant in this regard.
"Is ease of use more important than quality?" "No. Quicker, easier, more seductive" "But how will I know good ease of use improvements from the bad?"
You will know when your goal is making software better, not driving it on to every processor in the world.
99% of webmasters could take a lesson from these people. I have never understood the attriaction of "glitzy" webpages (for a fine example check out www.intel.com). Prack seems to be "unslashdotable" due to their extensive use of --gasp-- text.
Let's face it multimedia, though often useful, was created for the purpose of selling faster procs, CD-ROM drives, and MPC-[1-4] compliant systems. Many people have bought the marketing, and decided that your toilet seat needs to be a multimedia device. (Okay, the term multimedia has fallen out of use in marketing land, but my point remains valid.)
My point is that WORDS are the basis of communication. Let's here it for words! And let's hear it for phrack for not using scaned images of text on their page!!
The platters are typically made of aluminim(sp) which is a very poor choice for holding a magnetic charge. The *coating* is an oxide material, which is a good choice. In fact, it seems that plastic may allow higher data densities because it will resist "bleeding" the signal. (please note that I am pulling this stuff out of my ass.) anyway, it seems to me that plastic platters would be lighter, spin faster with the same amount of power, spin up faster, and draw less power, and produce less heat. All "good things"
The problem, in my mind, is the problem we always see with this stuff, WHEN CAN I ORDER ONE. There is never an answer. The tech industry it 85% hype. You may have noticed that the article talked more about stock prices than the technology. It is more about exciting stockbrokers than geeks.
Slashdot Mirror
Try rpm --freshen package.rpm
It will upgrade any packages that are already installed. Nice for getting up to speed from updates.rehat.com.
-Pete
I have tried Armed Linux. It is not my cup of tea, but it seems to be a decent distro, with a clever "integration" with windoze.
I don't know if what kind of server a distros site is on is really a great criterion on which to judge the distro.
Their point seems to be "integration" with windows, so why not run on windows?
I think that the are probably on some web hosting companies non-dedicated server, and that the decision was a busines decision, not a technical one.
Are we to become FUDmeisters ourselves?
-Peter
I have made this point in the past but it bears repeating.
Ease of use is a legitimate design goal. It, however, is not an end unto itself. If everyone pours himself into "ease of use" at the expense of adding useful features, improving over all stability and performance, and very importantly, usability, Linux (and far more importantly all of the supporting Open tools, utilities and programs) will turn into Microsoft style junk.
Make note that I separate usability from ease of use. I have a sort of instinctive feeling for what the difference is, but it is hard to explain. This would parallel games, which are often described in terms of playability, but rarely in terms of ease of use, because virtually all games have an acceptable level of ease of use. grep would be a fine example of a program with a high usability and a low "ease of use." It is quite functional and useable, but there is no chance someone who has never used it before is going to be able to "figure it out" (except maybe a grep blah *) without a grep -help or a man grep.
So to continue with the grep example, say that in the name of ease of use grep was changed to accept no arguments, and worked as follows:
#grep
What do you want to search for?:blah
Where do you want to look? (press enter for current folder):^M
Working . . . . .
The file "blah.sh" says "#This is my favorite script. I call it blah" on line 1.
No more matches.
Would you like to do another search? (press enter for No):^M
#_
That is what I mean by high ease of use, but low usability.
How scary is that? Imagine all of that functionality lost so that you can tell your illiterate friends that "Linux is easy"
He really missed the mark on security. Who gives a shit if your neighbor shows up in network neighborhood? The risk is that any a-hole on your loop can put his system in promiscuous mode and read ANYTHING you send in clear text. This would include passwords on pages without encrypted connections, and every line of text to and from a telnet (including username and password).
I know that you are at some risk in any case, but I would prefer not to intentionally broadcast my IP packets through my neighbor's house.
As far as bandwidth goes, I think it is pretty short sighted for him to pooh-pooh the fact that you are sharing your bandwidth. This falls in line with other clever statements I have heard in the past like "you will never fill up a 10 MB hard disk" or "Why would you need more than one meg of RAM?" Granted, at this moment most cable modems are faster, but they are increasing in popularity. I'd rather not share a 700 kb connection 500 monkeys running web TV. I'll take a 400 kb dedicated connection to an ISP on a high speed backbone over a direct connection to a 700 kb backbone any day.
I suppose there is the possibility that there will be something "better" by the time the cable loops start getting really bogged down, and I may be the one being short sighted, but I don't think this is going to be the case.
-Peter
I know everyone is going to take this WAY to seriously but . . .
The faggots at faggot.org use MS FrontPage!
Faggots use front page! Haaa.
Okay, I'm better now. Please note that I love everyone, I just find this funny.
Please note further, I mean brotherly love, not carnal love.
I wonder how Corel has responded to license violations in the past.
It's not warez, I'm just using -insert Corel product here- internally . When I get serious about using it I will start complying with the license.
Gimme a break.
I'm not sure that running 32bit code natively would be advantagious for the IA-64. I think that it is time to say goodnight to x86. It is tied up in so much cruft that it is choking the potential of newer software.
In support of this argument I invoke the memory of the PPro, which sucked when running both 16 and 32 bit code. (Okay, obviously not at the exact same time, in fact switching back an forth is what caused the slow-down.)
Wouldn't you rather run Linux on a box optimized for 64bit operation?
-P
There are two assumptions being made here that I am not sure are universally held.
First, that "we" collectively want people who refuse to read documentation running Linux.
Second, that "we" are striving for universal use of Linux.
These are contrary to the things that drew me to Linux in the first place. I started using Linux (and reading /. and hanging out at #linux) because every illiterate monkey who considers himself a "computer expert" doesn't. The OS sucks less, and so does the community. Now there is this big push to get "every computer" running Linux. World dominance is a Microsoft value, not an open source value.
I am not against making Linux (and associated software) easier to use, I am absolutely for it, but I am for making these things easier as one element of making them better. I am against making it easier to use at the expense of quality. I think that we need to be ever vigilant in this regard.
"Is ease of use more important than quality?""No. Quicker, easier, more seductive"
"But how will I know good ease of use improvements from the bad?"
You will know when your goal is making software better, not driving it on to every processor in the world.
My $.02
-Peter
99% of webmasters could take a lesson from these people. I have never understood the attriaction of "glitzy" webpages (for a fine example check out www.intel.com). Prack seems to be "unslashdotable" due to their extensive use of --gasp-- text.
Let's face it multimedia, though often useful, was created for the purpose of selling faster procs, CD-ROM drives, and MPC-[1-4] compliant systems. Many people have bought the marketing, and decided that your toilet seat needs to be a multimedia device. (Okay, the term multimedia has fallen out of use in marketing land, but my point remains valid.)
My point is that WORDS are the basis of communication. Let's here it for words! And let's hear it for phrack for not using scaned images of text on their page!!
The platters are typically made of aluminim(sp) which is a very poor choice for holding a magnetic charge. The *coating* is an oxide material, which is a good choice. In fact, it seems that plastic may allow higher data densities because it will resist "bleeding" the signal. (please note that I am pulling this stuff out of my ass.) anyway, it seems to me that plastic platters would be lighter, spin faster with the same amount of power, spin up faster, and draw less power, and produce less heat. All "good things"
The problem, in my mind, is the problem we always see with this stuff, WHEN CAN I ORDER ONE. There is never an answer. The tech industry it 85% hype. You may have noticed that the article talked more about stock prices than the technology. It is more about exciting stockbrokers than geeks.
-Pete