[geeks] While I'm at it, another Ubunut grouse

[Lionel Peterson]

On Jun 10, 2009, at 5:03 PM, "Jonathan C. Patschke"  
<jp at celestrion.net> wrote:

> On Wed, 10 Jun 2009, Mike Meredith wrote:
>
>> I'd imagine that they're under the impression that most users will  
>> only
>> want networking up when the GUI is up. Fact is, text-mode users are a
>> tiny minority and the mainstream distribution are just not going to
>> spend much time on keeping them happy. In fact I've heard there's a
>> kernel feature coming up that allows text consoles to be removed
>> entirely!
>
> Why do good (or, in the case of Linux, passably decent) things tend  
> to go
> this route?
>
> Step 1: Minority comes together to produce some New Edgy Thing to rage
>  against some Boring Evil Machine.
>
> Step 2: Minority gets tired of being a minority, rails against sheep  
> who
>  support the Boring Evil Machine as much (if not more) than the BEM
>  itself.
>
> Step 3: Minority gives up, opens the tent by being less edgy and less
>  pure, in hopes of attracting new blood.
>
> Step 4: A new generation of folks join the New Edgy Thing only to  
> make it
>  an impotent near-clone of the thing New Edgy Thing was meant to  
> destroy
>  because it's "clearly" what everyone wanted, anyhow.
>
>
> If I -want- a hand-holdy OS that gets in my way, Linux is  
> unnecessary; I
> already -know- where to find Vista!

The Linux advocates have turned their goal from giving themselves an  
option to trying to displace all other options, so they are trying to  
make Linux run on all manner of platforms (from mainframes to the  
smallest embedded board), to satisfy all manner of users (grandparents  
to rocket scientists). This is a fools errand, and the compromises and  
contridictons these efforts result in make for a confusing (and  
intimidating, for some) 'solution' that is a jack of all trades,  
master of none.

IMHO.

Lionel