From: Dirk Detering <detering@...>
Date: 2002-07-01T20:18:26+09:00
Subject: Re: Why is I/O slow?

james@rubyxml.com schrieb:
> > Ian Macdonald wrote:
> > Not most people I know! My observation is that very few people learn
> > even to take advantage of the power offered by a Windows machine (e.g.
> > batch files, Word macros, right-clicking, the command line) much less
> > the power offered by Linux.

Hmm. And that is, why MS praises every version for having
much, much more new *features* ... 

My observation is, that especially younger people 
are very tricky in finding out many of the options
they have (e.g. batch files, Word macros, right-clicking ...).
They are the next user generation.
But they are bound to what they find at home (as their 
wannabe compy-expert papa bought a windows pre-installed
machine) and in school (as the biology or arithmetic teacher,
wo had been ordered to take some computer lessons to give
computer science classes is only a wannabe hobbyist too).

(PS: OK, I'm a german, don't talk about PISA ... !).

> This matches my observations as well; I could never imagine convincing my
> sister that any Unix was, in the longer run, better for her than Windows.

Depending on what you wanna show her.

> She just has no interest in doing anything that is even remotely geekish.

Aha! Then, why pushing the power button on ...?

> She does not want to try and install some application only to find out she
> has the wrong version of glibc, or needs libpng.so.2.

Aehm, ... you mean she does not want to install any application 
at all, even not on windows ...

As there you have similar problems with MSVC, DirectX, ...

If windows would be so easy and user friendly,
I would not be called at least once a week by my
friends to help them with their hobbyists problems.
("Why can't I receive my email now?"
 "I installed this new game, and now I get 
  this error message every time I start my Word"
 "How can I make my new scanner running?")

> Windows and *nix are meant for different audiences.  

Don't say this to a MS salesman.

> Saying Widows should be more like Unix 

*Argh* the wrong way round.
Unix will become more user friendly in the surface
without blocking the smart user to do the groovy things
behind that.

> is like saying Ruby 
> should be more like assembly language.

I'm able to drive a car and fuel it.
But it's a difference if my friend can help me
when I have a problem, for he is an expert, 
or if he must say 
"Sorry, you know that your engine bonnet is welded?"

> "But you get all this power and control ..."

Contrary to "No one can help you with that ...
Install it again"


Bye
Det