From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Mon Mar 8 11:40:20 2004 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 1468716A4CE; Mon, 8 Mar 2004 11:40:20 -0800 (PST) Received: from amex.cox.smu.edu (mail.cox.smu.edu [129.119.81.9]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id C44D043D4C; Mon, 8 Mar 2004 11:40:19 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from JimiT@mail.cox.smu.edu) Received: from exch2.elcsb.net (exch2.cox.smu.edu [129.119.81.30]) by amex.cox.smu.edu (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id i28Jbpcl021280; Mon, 8 Mar 2004 13:37:51 -0600 Received: by exch2.cox.smu.edu with Internet Mail Service (5.5.2657.72) id ; Mon, 8 Mar 2004 13:40:18 -0600 Message-ID: <4B3F673172B98D449EBCC3BE8316F524014B32@exch4.elcsb.net> From: "Thompson, Jimi" To: "'freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org'" , Donald Turnbull Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 13:40:14 -0600 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2657.72) Content-Type: text/plain cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: RE: Installation - More user friendly X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 19:40:20 -0000 Does the folks of FreeBSD has any plans to make installation more user friendly for the newbie or the non-tech minded user for example like Red Hat or Mandrake Linux installation? The point for technology is to make people lives easier right? Before the flames start, let me state that I am a HUGE FreeBSD fan. I use it at home. I use it at work. We are migrating away from RedHat (since it's no longer open source) to FreeBSD. I also own a Mac with OS X. I think that the point here is to coax the "average" Windows user, who has an innate fear of the command line, to use FreeBSD. The problem is that we can discuss this as a technical issue until Satan hands out snow shoes, but it won't change the fact that this is a HUMAN issue. While I agree that an OS without a GUI is by far TECHNICALLY superior, it is NOT the superior in the minds of most end users. It's a terror inducing, awe-striking behemoth. Most non-technical people like GUI's because they neither want to know nor should they need to know the gazillion command line entries and options. That's the kind of thing that makes us "the pros" at what we do. PC's didn't become popular for home use until the advent of the GUI. Apple, despite many technical decisions that I can't agree with, are still with us because of the wonderful user interface. Windows, all bashing aside, is not the most desirable operating system for a variety of TECHNICAL reasons, but it still maintains it market share. Why? Because it offers two things 1) the comfort factor that comes with familiarity and 2) the "wizards" to accomplish fairly complex tasks by making selections in a GUI. This alone should point out that the user interface is NOT a technical issue. I think that the ultimate flaw in much of the logic I see here is in assuming that we, being the programmers, system administrators, hackers, etc., that we all are on list, know what end users want. We soooooo are NOT the average end user. I think I can safely say that we left being end users ourselves behind so long ago that we've forgotten what it's like. Think about what your Mother (or at least mine :)) would want to use. Actually having to go to the command line, when you've been trained by decades of M$ products that this a very bad thing to do, and type stuff in terrifies her. She's always certain that she's going to make a mistake and blow things up. 2 cents, Jimi