Once upon a time, Linux was very hard to use on the desktop. If you wanted to do anything, you had to read manuals and get flamed on mailinglists. In recent years this has all been turned around. There were some detractors that would argue that Linux would become as insecure as Windows because any fool could now use it, but that didn't quite happen.
I don't see why this would be different for server administration. An Apache server is very easy to set up, even now. Just install apache and you're done. Still, we're not getting complaints that Ubuntu blew up the Internet. Regardless of all these arguments, wouldn't it be great if Ubuntu made it easier for system administrators? A tool that makes it difficult to make mistakes would be a win for any user, whether they are a skilled system administrator or not. A system administrator can still make mistakes, and would benefit from a system that complains when this happens. As a computer science student, I know about Internet security. You need a firewall, updated software, strong passwords, a secure connection, limited permissions. Yet, I would have a hard time setting up a mail server. That should not be hard to do for me. I should just be able to install a package, run a nice configuration tool from the administration menu, make sure it is sane (and be told if it isn't), and fire it up. It's not that complicated. Yet, whenever I have to do something that involves server software, suddenly it's like I travel back 10 years in time, with endless console sessions, reading man pages, searching the Internet, and a lot of trial and error. -- Remco -- Ubuntu-devel-discuss mailing list Ubuntu-devel-discuss@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel-discuss
