-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Tuesday 28 May 2002 8:38 pm, kwan wrote:
> On Tue, 28 May 2002, Alastair Scott wrote: > > As for the second, you have to know it exists: it's remarkable _how > > different_ the approach to learning how to use Linux is to someone > > who has come from a Windows variant. > > > > With Windows, for home use, the command line is deemphasised > > (almost to the point of invisibility in Win2K and WinXP) and, in my > > experience, people eventually learn to do things through trial and > > error with the GUI. With a Linux command line, you'll become > > frustrated very quickly if you use trial and error. > > > > Thus doing things by looking up manual pages, HOWTOs, FAQs and so > > on may well be a big leap. (As someone who's used Unix/Linux for > > about 13 years I'm probably about the worst to say whether that > > thought is correct or not :) > > These are interesting comments. There was a discussion about a year > ago on comp.os.linux.misc with similar viewpoints. Though there was a > spectrum of opinion, the arguments were generally polarized around > either the "rtfm" or "there are no stupid questions" camps. As I say, even knowing what the manual is often a problem! > On the one hand, to grow the Linux community we need to be very > forgiving of newbie mistakes. There are things in Linux that are > very non-intuitive and sometimes inconsistent (not any moreso than > pressing "Start" to do a shutdown, but just different). Many argued > that the current groups of Linux gurus merely want to maintain the > illusion that they were privy to arcane lore. That (arcana via flameorama) is definitely my experience, although it's a less serious problem than it was. Because of the different balance between GUI and command line much of Linux is 'unintuitive' when coming to it for the first time and I suspect this problem will only get worse over time. I've noticed, when training people on Unix-based systems over the years, that progressively fewer and fewer people are coming with _the concept of_ a command line or even knowledge that more than one GUI exists. Because of this the introduction to the command line has to be very slow and sure and everyone expects a Unix GUI to behave exactly like a Windows GUI; I'm frequently assailed by 'where are the keyboard shortcuts?' - or any of 101 other pet tricks - and have to explain patiently 'it's not necessarily worse, it's a different approach'. (Things were easier to put across when people didn't generally have computers at home). > On the other hand, there's the idea that a certain level of entry is > needed to prevent the usenet groups from having to answer the same > "how do I telnet as root" questions over and over and over again. The > usefulness of the groups are diluted when questions that are answered > in the FAQs get asked every single day. Because the groups are almost > entirely "staffed" by volunteers, it's annoying and insulting when > someone feels that their time so valuable that they cannot be > bothered to spend the little extra time needed to do a Google search. This is difficult; once again you have to know, somehow, that Google Groups is the first port of call. I usually advise new users not to post to Usenet because of the danger of being attacked but do tell them to search Google Groups first of all. (I found this out via this mailing list; when I used Windows I wouldn't have had any reason to access groups.google.com). I think, in the end, one has to be forgiving. > > There are also big conceptual differences; last night I was > > 'evangelising at dinner' and it was extraordinarily hard to get > > across the concept of 'no drive letters' and the fact that > > applications and data are separate in Linux. (Eventually it did get > > across and I was handing out Mandrake CDs :) > > Does Windows *still* do this? I'd hoped that they'd dropped that > idiotic drive letter madness with 2000. There's nothing like editing > a registry to get your system working after you add another drive > causing everything to move up a letter or two. Yes - the letters are written on tablets of stone and will probably last as long as Windows (for backward compatibility). What finally got the point across was the Windows utility which comes with Partition Magic and does this global drive letter alteration for you; the utility may be clever but the need to do it at all is ridiculous ... Alastair - -- Alastair Scott (London, United Kingdom) http://www.unmetered.org.uk/ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE88+SgCv59vFiSU4YRAv+/AJ4qPKaEIiJ1UxWStOFjJ/86+nkS4gCgt1wW kivfGqff/W0CQKj5K9oZEpk= =QE+d -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
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