Date: Tue, 02 Feb 1999 00:13:57 -0500 From: W Gerald Hicks <wghicks@bellsouth.net> To: jcwells@u.washington.edu Cc: wghicks@bellsouth.net, freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Lets Endorse KDE Was: some slashdot thread Message-ID: <19990202001357R.wghicks@wghicks.bellsouth.net> In-Reply-To: Your message of "Mon, 1 Feb 1999 17:46:03 %2B0000 (GMT)" <Pine.BSF.4.05.9902011726110.3728-100000@s8-37-26.student.washington.edu> References: <Pine.BSF.4.05.9902011726110.3728-100000@s8-37-26.student.washington.edu>
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From: "Jason C. Wells" <jcwells@u.washington.edu> > On Mon, 1 Feb 1999, W Gerald Hicks wrote: > > >I'd much rather see elements which attract professional technologists > >to FreeBSD, people who can bring something in with them. Looking > >around, it seems that FreeBSD is doing that pretty well although > >improvements can always be made. > > I agree. FreeBSD is doing well. > > Not everyone is a hacker. It is a big world out there. Programmers are a > small segment of society. Ahh.. but we're multiplying. Someday soon the world will be controlled by us you know. (Is Jordan *really* a member of the Trilateral Commission?) :-) > > Computer users are a much larger segment of society than programmers. > Discounting them (me even) is a discredit to those of us who do what > little we can. Oh don't get me wrong... I quite enjoy bringing people into working with computers. I just don't believe in taking them down the brain robbing path that Microsoft does. I really believe that a person needs to become comfortable with copying files, saving their work, in order to feel more comfortable with exploring their system. There are no GUI techniques available which are as universally portable (and powerful) for those tasks as working from a Unix command line. Maybe someday, but not yet. > > And oh yeah, those suits people always bitch about, they are not > technologists either. They decide what to implement. If they never even > _hear_ about FreeBSD they will never implement it _EVER_ regardless of its > technical excellence. Users provide exposure for free. Typically the suits I deal with don't care. Just get the job done and keep us out of court. Like it or not, they *are* implementing systems with FreeBSD. There is a lot of this happening... If you're talking about getting the venture capitalists and marketing types excited about controlling FreeBSD, well I suppose that would be a kiss of death. No thanks. Delivery date promises for marketing? That wouldn't be BSD would it? > I am _not_ just a load on an already overstressed system. I am a member of > this community. Yeah, but Jason's not a whiny Windows user either. Statements did not apply to you. :-) > Again, making KDE a default will help new users. Thos of us who know how > to swing our X configs to and fro don't need or necessarily like KDE. > Don't judge this issue on the fact that KDE is not a 20 year development. > Judge this issue on the help KDE will provide newbies. Put yourself in a > non-cs degreed non-programmer non-unix users shoes and then look at the > issue. I don't believe KDE is what you really want. Cool concepts, nice look, problematic packaging, licensing, and quality issues (IMHO). Besides that, *my* personal preference would be Window Maker with wINGZ/GNUstep applications. Someone else will prefer icewm. I've met more than one newbie who *likes* twm. Afterstep, fvwm, olwm... The good new is, with a bit of care and handholding, even a very new user can try each of these and decide for themselves. That's the magic of the ports subsystem. > > Remember, they may have been WHiny windows users, but they came to see > what FreeBSD has to offer. If you throw that opportunity away because you > don't esteem that user for a lack of technical prowess, then you have > thrown away free exposure. I pick my battles. Would I rather burn a lot of time with a lazy user who won't read or a studious individual who *will* bother to study and gain understanding? Well... guess. > Can FreeBSD afford to just discount users? Yes, depending on the user. Cheers, Jerry Hicks wghicks@bellsouth.net To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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