On 07/02/06 09:41 +0530, Kenneth Gonsalves wrote: > On Tuesday 07 Feb 2006 1:42 am, Vinayak Hegde wrote: > > Linux is not for everyone. > > it should be - otherwise it is worthless > > > Computer are not specific purpose > > devices like toasters or microwaves (Who am I kidding? Even these > > have become increasingly complicated and ship with manuals. > > Anyways I digress). A computer is not an appliance which when > > switched on does the work you want. > > it should be - otherwise it is worthless > A computer is a general purpose device. An appliance is a special purpose device. Please be very, very careful about what you are asking for, because the device for the general user != device for the advanced user != device for the programmer.
The important thing about computers is that they are customisable. The price of being able to set policy is having to set policy. You could replace a computer with appliances. A word processing appliance, a spreadsheet appliance, a browsing and emailing appliance, a voice chat appliance, a gaming appliance..... If you want one box that does all that, then you pay the price of having increased complexity. > > Learning about computers > > requires quite a bit of time and effort. > > not everyone wants to learn about computers - or needs to learn > about computers. Most people just want to learn to *use* computers, > and most people learn that without much effort. An elitist attitude > towards linux and opensource is what puts off a lot of people > Oh no. Most people know how to use a few applications. Using computers is very different, and far more complex. Devdas Bhagat -- http://mm.glug-bom.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxers
