[NCLUG] root/superuser pwd question

Ben West mrgenixus at gmail.com
Wed Sep 10 11:41:36 MDT 2008


True respect is due to anyone who can say they have a full grasp of a modern
linux os, end-to-end... no novice user will have that knowledge, and the
debt of knowledge they would start with is (more than seems) prohibitive to
their begginning with a command line, or learning how to repair a damaged
linux system from the command line.  It cannot be expected that the novice
user will have these skills any more than the average user knows how to
configure a wireless network....  linux used to be for the computer
entheusiast; it is being marketed to the consumer.

The beausty of linux, here is that you have lots of choices, and for the
truly bare-bones experience, use Linux-From-Scratch, or slackware and build
your os from developers svn repos...  It's up to you.

The fact that ubuntu's default coniguration is extra-secure doesn't make it
bad, even if it IS an example of how the system masks the underlying
interfaces... the fact is, the average user doesn't need to know; the
average user needs not to know.

Exercise your choice, but don't rant about this broken-throw-away attitude,
the fact that installation is as easy as it is, is a feature, not a bug; and
for the average user, a godsend.

Ben West.

On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 11:34 AM, Bob Proulx <bob at proulx.com> wrote:

> Brian Wood wrote:
> > You're correct there, even more than catering to non-Unix users, Ubuntu
> > seems to cater specifically to people making the move from Windows
> > (Though their system setup looks suspiciously like OS/X).
> > ...
> > I guess that's also why they chose Gnome, KDE appeals to folks wanting
> > to be able to do more with their GUI (though KDE is 25 mega-KLOCs, as
> > opposed to Gnome's 5 mega-KLOCs).
>
> I always felt that KDE recreated a MS-Windows environment and GNOME
> recreated a Mac environment.  Since the Mac targets an easy user
> experience and so does Ubuntu there are bound to be similarities.
>
> > I think it's a philosophical issue: is the goal to get people
> > running a Unix system by making it "easier", or is the goal to teach
> > people "traditional" Unix?
>
> You have it exactly right.  It is a philosophical issue.  And this is
> a common problem with design by committee projects.  No shared
> vision.  It is worse because there are opposing visions!  Does
> flexibility with many ways to do something provide good usability?
> Does focused prcoesses with only a single way to do something provide
> good usability?  Different people have opposing opinions on this.
>
> > Someone who learned Unix from Ubuntu is in serious trouble if faced with
> > a failed GUI, or a remote server that can only be accessed by ssh and a
> > CLI, but I guess a non-mechanic is in trouble if their car breaks down
> > in the desert, and I am certainly not an auto mechanic, but I still
> > drive a car :-)
>
> The generator on my 1946 C140 is giving me trouble.  But it has no
> electronic parts and I can field service it almost anywhere.  It is
> always the brushes and the commutator.  It will never leave me
> stranded.  But it isn't modern by any means.
>
> Anything modern works much better when it works.  But when modern gear
> fails it usually fails much worse.  Usually when something modern
> breaks it is a complete loss, dump in the landfill, replace with a new
> one.  In that sense most of today's users would see your example of
> the failure of the GUI as a complete loss, must reinstall the system
> from scratch to replace it with a new one.
>
> Most people choose things because of how it works when it works and
> give no thought whatsoever to how it fails when it fails.
>
> Bob
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-- 
/ˈmɪstər/ /ˈdʒɛnəsɪs/@/dʒi/ /meɪl/ /dɒt/ /kɒm/
Benjamin West


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