front page article, -1, Troll ?

[bobtcowboy]

Uhh... dude... I'm not sure where to start, but don't speak for all users when you give your opinion.

my mom loves the fact that when she moves her mouse over a link in Netscape the icon changes. My roommate loves being able to customize his background to show a tiled picture one day, or a centered one the next, etc... these are normal users who like the extra bells and whistles. I like it when I'm using KDE2 and the icons on my launch bar magnify (OS X does this too)...

and you're right, most people don't need a Ghz 512 MB machine for checking their email... but what about Unreal Tournament? I dunno bout you, but I think UT would be rather choppy on a PDA...

basically, I'm trying to say: if all you want is a simple Computer and OS with no bells and whistles, slap Linux on a PDA, get rid of X-windows and enjoy... me, I'd love to be running Mac OS X right now, regardless of whether or not some idiotic Marketroid thought it would be a great idea to call it "The World's Most Advanced Operating System"

Bill

[Bradmont2]

Hehe... lets make a beowulf cluster outa PDAs. :D

[Lovechild]

Originally posted by Bradmont:
<STRONG>Hehe... lets make a beowulf cluster outa PDAs. :D</STRONG>

We could used it to fold proteins :)

Lovechild(LNO_PDA_Cluster) that would be cool

[tnordloh]

Right now, the only thing I can see on my computer is this browser window. And the taskbar. I admit, if I were using Linux right now, I'd have a terminal window open on another desktop. I guess it would be pretty cool, though, to pop an UT cd into a PlayStation-type machine, and just plain not have to worry about hardware interrupts, configuration, installing, finding latest drivers etc. To just turn it on and start playing. That's all I'm trying to say.

[ 16 May 2001: Message edited by: tnordloh ]

[bobtcowboy]

Originally posted by tnordloh:
<STRONG>I guess it would be pretty cool, though, to pop an UT cd into a PlayStation-type machine, and just plain not have to worry about hardware interrupts, configuration, installing, finding latest drivers etc. To just turn it on and start playing. That's all I'm trying to say.
</STRONG>

ok... so buy a PS2....? :confused: I don't see why there isn't any room for a different market....? I'd like to be able to do a lot more tweaking with my computer that a PS2 allows for. But thats why I got into Linux...

Bill

[tnordloh]

Yeah, I think there is a big element out there that enjoys tweaking the os, learning about it, etc. I may even be guilty of that myself, occasionally. I recently got Samba up and working, and although it is actually fairly useless to me, I sure got a kick out of seeing my little file server pop up in the Network Neighborhood.

I actually had that article saved in my 'Drafts' folder for about a month before I sent it to Sensei (still made a few mistakes in it) because there are a couple things in it that aren't true. For example I think the mouse rollover thing is cool, and can actually name a couple the different ones you will see in Microsoft Excel. I just wanted to make the point that many users Don't notice these subtle things.

The idea, I suppose, is that the average user is more interested in getting from point a to point b. Today's operating systems seem to be making that task harder. The learning curve on programs seems to increase. For example, in Microsoft Word, you have to be pretty familiar with the program just to save a document in a format that is readable by programs other than Word. Even then, there are no guarantees that the recipient of this saved document will be technically savvy enough to open this document.

The barriers to the computer field are going up, not down. Getting into the world of computers is becoming harder, not easier.

I think the reason I finally chose to send the article to Sensei is because I do feel pretty strongly about os's going in the wrong direction. And the idea that systems are becoming more complicated is a red flag to me.

I think Linux is good, because you can strip it down to a single diskette and still have a rather nice operating system, and a fairly decent interface to that os. Out of the current operating systems, I believe it has the most potential because of its (possible) simplicity. Macintosh is a little too controlling, and Microsoft as an entity is a little too scary.

Well, I'm done on this subject. I think my opinions are pretty clear, and I thank Sensei for actually doing me the honor of posting this article, and sorry to those who consider the article a troll-type post.

&lt;small edits so that I sound less retarded&gt;

[ 17 May 2001: Message edited by: tnordloh ]