Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 23:34:46 -0500 From: "Andrew L. Gould" <algould@datawok.com> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Cc: Fafa Hafiz Krantz <fteg@london.com>, questions@freebsd.org, Erich Dollansky <oceanare@pacific.net.sg>, Ted Mittelstaedt <tedm@toybox.placo.com>, advocacy@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Explaining FreeBSD features Message-ID: <200506222334.46444.algould@datawok.com> In-Reply-To: <42BA2E0D.2090001@pacific.net.sg> References: <LOBBIFDAGNMAMLGJJCKNMEMGFBAA.tedm@toybox.placo.com> <42BA2E0D.2090001@pacific.net.sg>
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On Wednesday 22 June 2005 10:35 pm, Erich Dollansky wrote: > Hi, /--big snip--/ > > Let me put it this way. A long time ago, we call it now stone age, > the people started to realise that a group of people shows better > results if they specialise. The people better in hunting went > hunting, the people better in 'farming'. Despite one group did not > know how the other group got their kind of food, they shared it. > > Erich That's a great analogy; but I disagree with the way you've applied it. Yes, the hunters and farmers shared the food. That's not to say that the farmers wanted to use the bows and arrows, or that the hunters wanted to use a harvesting tool. If a farmer chose to use a bow and arrow, he/she would be irresponsible not to take a safety lesson (RTFM). Users taste the fruit of FreeBSD whenever they use a service hosted on a FreeBSD server. Most Windows users don't care how they got the fruit. That's okay. FreeBSD users are currently "specialized" in their interest in computer technology when compared to the average Windows user. That's okay too. Specialized tools serve are used by specialized individuals; although all may benefit indirectly. I support better documentation. I don't think there's any argument there. The idea that FreeBSD should be usable for all levels of computer users, however, is like putting training wheels on a racing bicycle. Any time you modify a professional tool to make it accessible to all, the tool loses some level of efficiency or power. In the case of FreeBSD, it would also absorb valuable development resources. All of this reminds me of a book I saw at Barnes & Noble last year: "Bioinfomatics for Dummies". Think about it: does anyone on this list want a dummy messing with genetics? Andrew Gould
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