Ingo, and Everyone,
On Sun, May 05, 2019 at 02:58:18PM +0200, Ingo Schwarze wrote:
Hi Wolfgang,
Wolfgang Pfeiffer wrote on Sat, May 04, 2019 at 06:34:04PM +0200:
On Sat, May 04, 2019 at 01:07:34AM -0400, Nick Holland wrote:
Spend a little time learning OpenBSD,
Yes: time needed, I think: Took me a while until I got that ... :)
[ .. ]
Bottom line, chances are that the time you need for learning is vastly
outweighted by the time you save because the system is so much simpler
to use. So likely, you will save time starting on day one.
First: Thanks a lot for taking the time for your answer.
But I disagree. Bigly.
While my experience with OBSD certainly isn't extended enough, yet,
to tell how much time I will save by using the system, my guess would
be that you are right: I don't think I ever experienced an install
that quick and smooth like the OBSD one I did on two Macintosh
computers some time ago. With hickups, IIRK, yes, but nevertheless
great.
The point where I differ is where you seem to indicate that first it
is some sort of a loss when we have to study the system, and that this
effort is outweighed later on by the time we save. Half-true it is ... :)
Because: if we seriously work through the big holes of missing
knowledge in whatever territory, it will nearly always end up a win
situation. Provided one doesn't give up. Because while we study we
become more knowledgeable. That's the first win, coming nearly always
with minimal intelligence and enough effort. The second one will come
the moment we start to master the territory we studied. So:
Double-win, hopefully ... :)
Extended version:
We need to be interested in the territory of our studies: if
grandma' just needs a computer to send emails to her friends, or
video-calling her grand-kids it's okay to just install her some Linux
or Windows. Provided - at least in the latter case - she doesn't
intend to do her internet banking with such an OS. But if she really
wanted to understand the tool she's using, she will need to learn
before asking lazy questions on a computer mailing list. Because the
people on this list - probably any mailing list - are not here to do
the work she needs to do herself.
Theo de Raadt recently wrote that OBSD is
"software we primarily develop for ourselves -- in the hope that other
people are like us and need similar things." [1]
I think this is an important approach to any work: if we're not
interested in what we do, if we strive to help others, if we sacrifice
our life to others, if we pretend that others are more important than
us, and all of this out of some concept of moral duty, we will in the
end have cannibalized ourselves. Which is another form of suicide (Ayn
Rand has more on that: "altruism"). And OBSD might die an ugly death
- I obviously don't want that. And instead try to do my homework.
HTH,
Kind Regards, and Thanks again, Ingo,
Wolfgang
[1] https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-misc&m=155634461814603&w=2
Yours,
Ingo
