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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!news.wildstar.net!news.ececs.uc.edu!newsfeeds.sol.net!worldnet.att.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!howland.erols.net!torn!news1.bellglobal.com!bellglobal.com!c_chaos From: c_chaos@chaosnet.wahnapitae.on.ca (Andrew Costa) Newsgroups: alt.os.linux,comp.os.linux.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: Linux or FreeBSD (or something else?) Date: 4 Apr 1997 23:25:49 GMT Organization: Haywire Engineering Lines: 28 Message-ID: <slrn5kb3hr.ba.c_chaos@chaosnet.wahnapitae.on.ca> References: <slrn5kaf5t.11r.c_chaos@chaosnet.wahnapitae.on.ca> <01bc4136$20f68ec0$78c5a9c6@win95> Reply-To: seagull@osiris.isys.ca NNTP-Posting-Host: annex1-port24.isys.ca X-Newsreader: slrn (0.9.3.2 UNIX) Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au alt.os.linux:19844 comp.os.linux.misc:168190 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:38534 In article <01bc4136$20f68ec0$78c5a9c6@win95>, Jason Ish wrote: > >Take a minute here and think about the 'average computer user.' MS has >been great at getting ordinary people to use a computer, even tho if it is >for future marketing. Does the average user really care where their >programs are installed. I do a lot of service at people's homes and they >don't even know Windows 95 is an OS. They just take it for granted that it >runs their programs. Never have I seen a Unix system that can be taken for >granted - ie, setting up modems and stuff has to be done very explicitly. >Maybe there are some Unix's out there that can be taken for granted but I'm >only a 2nd year CS student and haven't seen one yet. True, the "average" tends to ignorance of the workings. What's a pain in the @rse for the likes of us (config files modified or deleted by a new MS application, requiring work to recover the subsequently broken competitors' apps) is a disaster for them: they give up on what no longer works as a result and buy the equivalent MS product. That's what I'm objecting to. It is fundamentally dishonest. By the way, I looked through Mum's drive (she's one of the "average" users) and couldn't believe the mess! Fully 2/3 of it could go without affecting operation. That thing had been so badly spammed by various "setup" progs, it was next to impossible to navigate. I wonder how many who are running out of space on their 540 and contemplating a new 1.6 gig drive could be better served by a thorough house cleaning.