Re: "what's up"

[Civileme <zakhurlb@ptialaska.net>]

Stefan Rieken wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I am new to this list. And new to independence.
>
> I am a Debian user. I have one general question about independence: is
> it still useful to do independence? Or has this merely become a
> neck-to-neck race with the already-settled distributions that now aim
> for user-friendlyness, too?
>
> Greets,
>
> Stefan

Ummmm,

Friendliness...

Linux-Mandrake 6.1 with KDE 1.1.2 looks friendly, but IF you have to do
something from the command line or to edit a config file, you don't have
cooledit.  First up is the "chaser of newbies" vi.

Half the posts on their helplist (newbie) are about getting connected
with ppp/kppp/KISDN/ and cable modems

A bunch of posts are complaining about "dropped interrupts" from eth0 or
serial interfaces.

Now this one isn't about the best way to set up the masquerade, or how to
set up a LAN or how to run or configure >shudder< sendmail.  It's about
setting up a system that doesn't run a bunch of unused daemons of which
the user isn't aware.  It's about setting up routines that walk the user
through the more common configs for desktop and personal use.  It's about
not having to download add-ons ad nauseum to get a spiffy system, because
many users still pay for modem connect time by the hour.

Necessary?  No.  Linux could survive without it.  Essential?  Yes, if
linux is to give Windows users a real alternative.  We have to face the
fact that most people don't want to know how a watch works, they just
want to be told what time it is.

my 2c

Civileme