Re: SEUL: On Compiling

[Demian Rootring <rootring@xs4all.nl>]

Michael Peck wrote:
> 
> Jay Bloodworth wrote:
> 
> > 'Compile' is a scary word.  If you know nothing about computers it sounds
> > jargonny; if you know just enough to be dangerous it sounds ominous.  Call
> > it an install, call it an upgrade, call it a party in a box.  Just don't
> > call it a compile.  (Mac users could probably cope with it being called a
> > rebuild).
> 
> Good point. And now you've let the cat out of the bag: if we don't end
> up calling it "party in a box", I'll be sorely disappointed.
> 
> > Compiling takes a long time.  On my P6 200 with 64MB RAM it takes over
> > five minutes.  On my 486/40 with 8MB of busted RAM, it took around three
> > hours.  While there are a few precedents for asking users to run a time
> > consuming task for the good of there systems (Defrag), there are not many.
> > We need to dress up compiling with, at a minimum, a status bar. and
> > encourage users to see it as an important but routine aspect of system
> > maintenace.
> 
> Like you said, Mac users are used to rebuilding their desktops. Win
> users are used to spending a long time auto-detecting new hardware. This
> would be roughly the same amount of time on a modern box. The only
> problem is it's not automatic. Users are content to wait if they think
> the computer is doing their work for them. If you tell them, "You've got
> to configure all these settings, then you've got to wait twenty
> minutes", they'll be a bit put out, I imagine.
> 
> Of course, with Linux, the compile can be backgrounded. In Win95,
> multitasking is poor to nonexistent, so autodetecting hardware is sort
> of an all-consuming procedure. If the user knew that he/she could work
> during the compile, albeit a bit more slowly, he/she might be content.
> 
> But you're right. Let's come up with a good euphemism. How about "kernel
> optimization"? :-)

Or "Please wait while the system is being optimized for beter
performance"

Demian Rootring
rootring@xs4all.nl
The Netherlands


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