> if what you really want is file access, use import. what i really want is a plan9-style cpu connection, with local and remote resources equally available to any commands i might choose to run on the remote computer. it's a powerful thing that i got used to when i was running plan 9 all the time, and something i'm reluctant to give up, now that i often use a different system. using inferno as a drawterm means that largely, i don't have to.
you're right, every individual piece of functionality that i use can be obtained through some tool or other - but it's in the synthesis of all of it via 9p that the beauty shines through - i can mix and match local and remote on an ad hoc basis in a very natural way. for me, drawterm only gives one half of the equation; it's very nice to be able to do arbitrary client-side stuff too.
