Re: [tlug] Printers for linux, was: refurbished Thinkpad X60 with Coreboot & Linux

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

Benjamin Tayehanpour writes:

 > > Not at all.  If there was only doc, that makes a certain kind of
 > > sense.  But where there is doc and code, there are several possible
 > > outcomes -- I didn't say the doc was always right, only that the doc
 > > makes it possible to be *sure* there's a bug when doc and code differ.
 > 
 > Well, isn't that what code comments are for? *ducks*

You'd better duck.  After a couple revisions, code comments are a
device for ensuring that little bit of residual FUD, even though you
*know* what the code does from reading it.  The code is crystal clear
but the comments, oh boy!

 > Although one could argue that the definition of right or wrong
 > behaviour in code available for your perusal and modification is
 > simply "does it do what *I* want it to do?".

Sure, but that's way too expensive to take seriously for more than one
or two mission-critical apps.

 > It's a fossil, to be sure. What do you think of Wayland? Both the "is"
 > and the "could be".

Dunno, haven't looked closely at it.  X clearly needs to go; the
underlying architecture is too hard to secure and the division of
labor is somewhat wrong.  But the potential replacements are, well,
"plural" and it's been a year since I've had time to play with that
kind of stuff.

 > I never really understood the point of WYSIWYG word processing. Why
 > would I have the computer do something I can do better, and vice
 > versa?

Well, sometimes humans can do a better job of cramming content into
tight spaces and the like.  Eg, when I'm writing an exam, TeX often
makes bad decisions about where to put lines, dividing 4 line
paragraphs in the middle, or separating part e from parts a, b, c, and
d of a problem.  But in general I agree with you, and certainly when
you've got a 500-row Excel spreadsheet that you want to divide into
pages sanely, it's a real PITA to have to redo everything from p1 when
you've got 5 rows of slop on the last page, and Excel keeps reducing
the the magnification, and ....  You really just want to type
\nopagebreak and get on with your life!