Windows XP forums vs. Gentoo forums...

[Curious]

[KiTaSuMbA]

The original poster asks the most classic ex-windows convert question but I never get tired of answering it, so here it goes again:
First a question: would you consider a computer a "tool" or a domestic electronic appliance (like a tv set or a stereo)? For those choosing the latter windows and its ilk of OS environments is the real answer, because the just want to do preconfigured things on preconfigured stuff and never do anything else or more.
If you do consider it a tool, then you got to love linux. Multifaceted and multifunctional, user-configurable to obtain maximum comfort, portable, enters in the tinest "trunk" ( 386/486 anyone? ), forever-upgradable, has different settings for different users simultaneously, natively renote-operable (X is a server, not just a GUI environment) etc. etc. However nobody woke up a morning and knew how to operate a bulldozer! You need to learn more stuff than with a domestic appliance - otherwise you can hurt yourself and others.
Given the current technology and User Interface paradigms (CLI and GUI), you either choose full control at the cost of doing it yourself or automated processes at the cost of accepting what a designer expected you to want, not want and like to have a choice about. A small exercise: take any unix command or program and try to think of a GUI interface implementing all the possible options and switches. You'll either end up with an interface chaotically clattered with buttons and menus and/or cascading menus 4-5 levels down 'til you get to that switch... You'll be begging for an xterm instead at no time! Of course, you could omit some options ("who would ever want to use that?") and, behold, you just got a windows-philosophy program. It works fine until someone wants to do something "kinky" with it. The designer takes control over the user's possible operations and uses.
But even linux can be considered not as a unique tool but rather a configurable "toolbox." Taking the point of that "vi joke," I suggest that within a GNU/linux OS you must properly choose the right tool for the job. Ok, I don't use vi but emacs as my major editor (sorry guys - it's just personal taste, not a holy war) and it's not of a baby-proof simplicity either. But would I ever use emacs to edit my make.conf or take a rapid note? Why use a chainsaw to cut some bread? I'd better fetch that kitchen knife... "nano -w." I want to burn on CD a simple dir full of files... why meddle with command line? There will always be a couple of switches I don't remember and will have to find them in the manpage (I don't burn cds that often to learn everything by heart). Gcombust is fine for the job. But hey, maybe I want to make something *really* strange (like different gaps between audio tracks and then add a data track with some files in it)... cdrdao and command line to the rescue! The list of simple vs. complex tools for simple vs. complex tasks could go on and on...
Linux and unix in general is about choices. I will give you a simple "everyday user" application example: compare konqueror to windows explorer. Can anyone explain me why on earth I have to press shift+right click for the "open with..." option to show in my right click menu in windows? Somebody thought it was too complex for everyday users choose a non default app for a job and hid the option with a metakey. Drag and drop an item from one file manager window to another: konqueror pops-up a menu to choose move/copy/link while explorer invariably and indiferently creates a link unless you use this or the other metakey to copy or move instead. Somebody, again, thought that "move/copy/link" was too much of a doubtful choice for an end-user. Anybody got an idea how to add more than one default apps for the specific mimetype in windows? Try it with konqueror... it's baby stuff. Again, somebody thought that multiple apps for the same filetype can be confusing for a user and left that choice out... If you think "who needs such options?" you are fine with windows. If you think, like me, "hey, bastards! It's _my_ computer and I want to mess around with it anyway I like!" you should consider the initial steep learning curve as a necessary and educative pain.
My 2 cents...
_________________
Need to flame people LIVE on IRC? Join #gentoo-otw on freenode!