Date: Mon, 3 Nov 1997 00:17:03 -0800 (PST) From: Jan Koum <jkb@best.com> To: Wes Peters <softweyr@xmission.com> Cc: chat@freebsd.org Subject: Re: FreeBSD GUI, revisited (was Re: FreeBSD slogan/advert ideas) Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.96.971103000751.1751A-100000@shell6.ba.best.com> In-Reply-To: <199711030741.AAA20103@obie.softweyr.ml.org>
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Hello all.. Well lets see here. We are comparing cars to operating systems. Ok, then lets say if I know theory of internal combustion engine I can build my own engine. Put it in my own custom car and make it go very very fast. Ohh wait, that is what they do at car races. I guess knowing how your car/engine/etc works does help you to make your car go faster. Because if you didn't, you wouldn't know where to begin to modify it. I guess that 1600cc Toyota is like Win95, while I would compare FreeBSD to a 911 twin turbo Porsche which is ready for the track race the day you drive it off the show room floor. I have never said you should not drive a car if you don't know how car works. What I said (following your analogy) is that you should know rules of the road in order to have a good driving experience. Why do you think there are driving tests? Do you think you can pass one if you don't know how to shift gears or how to parallel park? No. And same with OSes. If you don't know how to turn on and use a computer -- you should not. -- Yan On Mon, 3 Nov 1997, Wes Peters wrote: >Jan Koum writes: > > I guess you are right. I did went a bit over the line. But I still > > think that one should know basics of how computers work in order to use > > them. Maybe kernel, file system and etc. are not in the basic group. True. > > But then again the more you know, the more likely you are to take a full > > advantage of the OS and it's features. > >No, you're exactly wrong here. How many people know the basics of how a >car works in order to drive one? My wife, for instance, couldn't >explain the theory of an internal combustion engine, let alone time a >camshaft, and yet still manages to drive quite well. (I was with her >the first time she drove with chains on the car, climbing the frozen >mountains outside Pendleton Oregon. She is a *very good* driver. ;^) > >Do you think knowing more about the theory of operation of her 1600cc >Corolla, with automagic transmission, would enable her to get more out >of it? Not much - because Toyota has done a good job of making the >operational requirements of the car invisible to the user, outside the >obvious tasks of putting gas into it, and taking it to a qualified >mechanic every 30,000 miles. > > > Take our sysinstall for example. It requires that you know basics > > before you use it. Yet, it has options for beginner, medium and advanced > > installation. > >Yes, and this is its biggest downfall. The first part of sysinstall >should say: "You have two fixed disk drives in your system. Check the >drive(s) you would like FreeBSD installed on." For each drive checked, >"How much of this disk would you like dedicated to FreeBSD: ___%" This >should comprise the *entire* disk menu. > >I know developing software to do this is difficult, if you plan to >support more than one piece of hardware. This doesn't mean it is >impossible, and doesn't mean the FreeBSD group won't have it. As a >matter of fact, many talented people are working on improving the >installation system already. > >Let's never forget that making something easy to install means more >people have a chance to understand how good it is. If they can't >install it, THEY WON'T COME! > >-- > "Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?" > >Wes Peters Softweyr LLC >http://www.xmission.com/~softweyr softweyr@xmission.com >
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