debiman wrote:there is absolutely no benefit from "recruiting ex-windows users" or some such
Unless those users are motivated to learn, rather than whine about needing to use the command-line from time to time or not having shiny app [x] that nobody has written.
I've had people I'm trying to help get abusive because I suggested running something in a terminal or changing a config file, nobody needs this.
debiman wrote:there's no point in "masking" the configuration behind a "userfriendly" gui & overly-polite forums, only to get more users - more broken software - more misunderstanding - more problems.
I've been saying it from day one.
Running GNU/Linux on the desktop, with a GUI, that's just is fine. And it works very well. Hiding the OS behind a shiny GUI and promoting it as "simple" and "newb friendly" just discourages users form learning how their machine actually works.
GNU/Linux is built and improved upon by its community, because a large portion of that community understands the plumbing. Hide the gearbox, and soon nobody will know how to drive a manual.
IMO, this is the same reason that while nearly everyone has a computer of some kind, very few can even code "hello world".
On a C64, you couldn't do
anything without writing some rudimentary code, even if it was simply to load another file. On a modern Windows desktop you don't have a compiler installed by default, or even a usable command interpreter. WTH happened to MS-BASIC anyway?
Please, let's not make "desktop linux" like this too. Keep the gearbox where people can see it and mess with it.
Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action. Four times is Official GNOME Policy.