MESSAGE
| DATE | 2003-07-02 |
| FROM | Joe Grastara
|
| SUBJECT | Re: [hangout] letter to Mandrake - edit 1
|
Just my two cents, but I think Adam's version is better.
-Joe
--On Wednesday, July 2, 2003 5:47 AM -0400 Mike Richardson - NYLXS VICE
PRESIDENT wrote:
>
> this is much better than the way I wrote it.
>
> On Wed, 2 Jul 2003, Adam Kosmin wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> My name is Michael L. Richardson, I am currently serving as President of
>> NYLXS INC., which has been established to promote Free Software in the
>> New York area. Over the years, I have personally enjoyed using several
>> versions of your wonderful distribution. However, I can not help but
>> take exception to a phrase taken from section IV.11 of the User Guide
>> for version 9.1 which states: "notably by avoiding use of the evil
>> command line".
>>
>> Section IV.11 provides an introduction to Mandrake control center and
>> describes DrakConf with the following language:
>>
>> "Mandrake Control Center is Mandrake Linux's main configuration tool. It
>> enables the system administrator to configure the hardware and the
>> services used for all users. The tools accessible through the Mandrake
>> Control Center greatly simplify the use of the system, notably by
>> avoiding the use of the evil command line."
>>
>> As stated earlier, I take exception to the phrase "notably by avoiding
>> use of the evil command line" for several reasons. For starters, any
>> competent GNU/Linux System Administrator knows that the real power of the
>> operating system can be leveraged best from the command line. The
>> reasons for this go back to the modular philosophy of UNIX which allows
>> small and efficient tools to be strung together to create powerful new
>> work flows that are only limited by creativity and ingenuity of the
>> user. Furthermore, I believe that a distribution should encourage it's
>> users to interact with this powerful interface and not attempt to cater
>> to the affects of Microsoft's campaign to dumb it's users down. Most
>> GNU/Linux users who have made the transition from Windows are delighted
>> to learn about the flexibility and power that is provided by a GNU/Linux
>> system and I see no reason to dissuade future generations from
>> experiencing the same rewarding feelings of empowerment.
>>
>> Also worth noting is the lack of an expert mode in the installation
>> routine. While I'm happy to see that Mandrake has made great progress in
>> the ease-of-use department, it seems that this progress may be coming at
>> a price to those of us that are not new to the platform and therefore,
>> are looking for flexibility. Especially confusing is the fact that
>> although the installation routine offers an expert mode, when clicked,
>> no choices are presented. As a result, I can not help but wonder if this
>> is a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.
>> Either Mandrake has decided to abandon the concept of expert mode and
>> has failed to remove all fragments, or someone just forgot to actually
>> get it to work. Either way, I am anxious to hear your comments on both
>> of these issues.
>>
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Michael Richardson
>>
>> NYLXS President
>> New York GNU/Linux Scene
>>
>> --
>> # chown -R linux.GNU world
>>
>> ____________________________
>> NYLXS: New Yorker Free Software Users Scene
>> Fair Use -
>> because it's either fair use or useless....
>> NYLXS is a trademark of NYLXS, Inc
>>
>
> ____________________________
> NYLXS: New Yorker Free Software Users Scene
> Fair Use -
> because it's either fair use or useless....
> NYLXS is a trademark of NYLXS, Inc
Joe Grastara
Systems Administrator
NYU School of Medicine
____________________________
NYLXS: New Yorker Free Software Users Scene
Fair Use -
because it's either fair use or useless....
NYLXS is a trademark of NYLXS, Inc
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