Re: [tlug] CLI admin how-to ideas?

[Jim Breen <jwb@example.com>]

[Jonathan Byrne ([tlug] CLI admin how-to ideas?) writes:]
>> There are a few things I think we can distill from the
>> recent long thread on GUI Vs. CLI. 
>> 
>> * Experienced *nix people tend to be very strongly against GUI
>>   interfaces for system administration, for reasons which include:

[snip]

>> * Beginners want GUI tools because:

[snip]

Hmmm. The world is a lot bigger than just those two groups. I think by
"Experienced *nix people" you mean (effectively) sysadmins. There are
heaps of people who are experienced with *nix (I've used it since 1985,
and was using its GE predecessors in the early 70s) but who don't want to
be sysadmins, and who really want to do an "install and forget" as
Stephen put it.

In my case, I *do* forget, and it's a pain to have to reinvent the wheel
ever 18 months or so.

I'd be very happy with a GUI that worked. When they work I use them. What I 
detest is a melee of control files which seem to change name and location 
every release. E.g.  for years I've been amending /etc/X11/XF86Config, and 
suddenly it's called XF86Config-4, with XF86Config still there just to 
confuse me.

>> 	- They are used to them from their previous OS (usually Windows)

Again, this view is predicated on the "people who want GUIs are
beginners to *nix" model. X was the first windowing OS I used.
 
Jim

-- 
Jim Breen  [j.breen@example.com  http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/]
Computer Science & Software Engineering,                Tel: +61 3 9905 3298
P.O Box 26, Monash University,                          Fax: +61 3 9905 5146
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