Darren Reed wrote: > Ok, this is getting really off topic but... I agree, but I guess it needs to be answered.
>> If UNIX is to maintain viability, it _must_ present a reasonably safe >> and easy to use interface to the 99%+ of the population that doesn't >> want to get their hands dirty. > > So we need to provide an easy interface for them to use - I agree. And there are discussions already about creating useful, straight-forward GUI's. There are, I believe, even a couple projects already on the go. >> System administrators are *not* the market. System administrators are >> an unpleasant burden that the real customers, the business people, >> must pay for because they don't have any choice. > > I disagree with this. As do I. If (Open)Solaris is to really flourish, it must be useful for all. Simple installation and GUI interfaces for home and business users, but the powerful commands needed by high-powered admins running complex, large-scale systems/networks. Large-scale Windows deployments experience this wide range every day (and with the new virtualization technologies and the new Unix sub-systems available for Windows, that breadth is getting wider). >> Every year, our chums in Redmond make Windows a bit more solid and a >> bit more powerful, and every year there are a few sites that decide >> that they can survive on fewer administrators, less experienced >> administrators, or even no formal administrators at all. If we keep >> catering to the dirty-hands crowd at the expense of the people who pay >> the bills, we will shrink to a hobbyist niche. Bet on it. > > Presenting an easy to use interface through a GUI should > have *no* bearing on what happens on the command line. And, as I stated explicitly, the start option should probably not be available in any GUI that will get developed eventually. Rainer -- Mind the gap.
