On Wed, Mar 21, 2001 at 11:38:01PM -0500 or thereabouts, Rick Scott wrote:
> (psyche:)
> > My general message to newbies (or semi-newbies, or even experienced
> > folks who are not used to working at the command line much) is--don't
> > be afraid to type in new commands just to try---just don't do it as
> > root! The things to be careful of are changing any file permissions (do
> > this only on test files you've written, when you're just practicing), and
> > rm'ing or overwriting anything. If you stick to these rules the worst
> > thing you're likely to do is make your console unreadable (setterm -reset
> > fixes that usually). Be a brave adventurer, and just play with stuff and
> > have fun. :)
>
> Profound advice. Keep backups of the stuff that is really
> important, then go nuts. =)
Absolutely. The other thing I'd add is, "make use of lots of users!"
You don't need extra machines (although this is fun too). I have this
hobbit account I do most stuff on. When I was at college I had a 'telsa'
account which was separate which had all my work, notes, references,
and assignments on it. I only used it for that. And with permissions,
it meant that when messing as hobbit, I would not nuke telsa's
"important stuff".
Similarly now, I have test accounts with a variety of names where
I try out changes (particularly in X and GNOME) before committing
my hobbit account to putting up with it. And other accounts which
are nothing more than useful ways to keep spam out of my mailbox.
Lots of accounts with different defaults is great for learning
the difference between what's underneath and unchanging, and what's
on top and the pretties. It's a good way to get an idea of what
controls what.
> I think the whole attitude towards computers has changed since the
> beginning of the PC era, and very much towards the worst,
> unfortunately. I got my first computer, a Commodore Vic-20,
> in 1982 or thereabouts. (I was 6.) I distinctly remember that
> one of the first things that the manual said was that
>
> THERE IS NO WAY THAT YOU CAN BREAK YOUR COMPUTER BY TYPING AT THE
> KEYBOARD, UNLESS YOU ARE AN ELEPHANT.
>
> (pardon my caps.) Things have changed a bit, what with massive
> amounts of important data being manipulated on computers these
> days, but I still wish that more people of all genders wouldn't
> be so damned afraid of the overgrown abaci. =)
I wasn't afraid of computers when I was little. My mum (science/maths
teacher) brought the School Computer (all one of it) home for holidays
and my sister and I thoroughly enjoyed playing with it.
I was afraid of the cost of replacing it if we broke it.
I carried this over when I met ULTRIX years later at Aberystwyth
university, which had a separate network for comp sci folks and
actually allowed - gasp - non-cs folks to get real live accounts
on the DECS.
The damn thing cost thousands of pounds (and my desktop machine outspecs
it now..), and I was pretty sure I couldn't afford that if I broke it.
The two things that helped were the fact that I was enchanted by telnet
and mail and write (and on the VAX, "phone" :)), and that big saviour,
a wide network of friends who encouraged me, laughed when I did indeed
break things, and reassured me that "the programmer should have expected
that one day, someone would lean on the keyboard and type that particular
sequence. Better find Alec (sysadmin) and tell him someone sent a ^S
to the laser printer, and it's now sitting there waiting for a ^Q"
That example really happened -- and it wasn't me, it was a comp sci
person. Who of course didn't get a bill. Things like that helped no end!
Telsa
_______________________________________________
issues mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.linux.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/issues
