From owner-freebsd-chat Sun Nov 2 23:31:25 1997 Return-Path: Received: (from root@localhost) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.7/8.8.7) id XAA13366 for chat-outgoing; Sun, 2 Nov 1997 23:31:25 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from owner-freebsd-chat) Received: from obie.softweyr.ml.org ([199.104.124.49]) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id XAA13359 for ; Sun, 2 Nov 1997 23:31:21 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from wes@xmission.com) Received: (from wes@localhost) by obie.softweyr.ml.org (8.7.5/8.6.12) id AAA20103; Mon, 3 Nov 1997 00:41:13 -0700 (MST) Date: Mon, 3 Nov 1997 00:41:13 -0700 (MST) Message-Id: <199711030741.AAA20103@obie.softweyr.ml.org> From: Wes Peters To: Jan Koum CC: chat@freebsd.org Subject: Re: FreeBSD GUI, revisited (was Re: FreeBSD slogan/advert ideas) In-Reply-To: References: <199710312325.QAA23834@usr01.primenet.com> Sender: owner-freebsd-chat@freebsd.org X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk 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