On the other hand, is it really that good to have a system set up in the
exact same way as a windows machine where anybody can hack and slash into
pretty much anything? I used to think it was a royal pain having to worry
about writing permissions, users, mounting permissions etc but I dont think
I have for a long while. Once I learned how it worked and got used to the
idea I much prefer its benefits. I think the best advice for new people is to
be open to the idea that it's doing things differently and be willing to
find out why (there's almost always a logical reason for it).
On a side note, creating gui's for everything would be great, but probably
an impossible pipedream. The amount of extra work to program a gui
is enormous and that's where one real advantage of programming and working
on the command line comes from. One simple program can be programmed
with literally hundreds of features on the command line - creating a gui
to handle the same thing would be a huge task, and might even leave you with
a program that throws so much at you in the gui you end up getting lost in
a menu system. This is also one of the limiting features of a windows
box - forever having to wait for a programmed gui to come around.
Cheers, Daniel
There is a paper out on the net about this exact situation.
In most *nix development, the CLI version is written and any GUI is an afterthought. This is why a majority of *nix applications can be run by script or mouse.
Windows development in some cases starts with the GUI and then the application is developed around that.
I use the CLI on a daily basis as it is efficient and allows me to have more control of my system. Yes some GUI tools are nice but as in a post about "grip - location of files" allot can be missed when relying on the GUI.
Another issue about GUI in Linux is the different desktops. A CLI can be used from a variety of input locations or situations. Remember Linux is a server package first, Desktop second. Of course as a desktop it works great if you make the necessary changes. I use it at work and with my experience with winXP pro in the last 2 days, much more productive.
I have used Linux since 1994 and I am still learning and I don't have to put up with the numerous Windows security problems or crashes that I have experienced in all versions of Windows.
I do agree that something has to be done to make Linux work better for those that are Windows Trained but I am glad the Fedora isn't following the lead of lin-dash or lindows or whatever you wish to call it.
-- Robin Laing
