newbies: guis vs. cli (was Re: [techtalk] request for ideas)

Kimbol kimbol at mail.utexas.edu
Tue Oct 12 09:05:27 EST 1999


lisa>>
>> I must disagree with this.  GUI's are great if you
>> don't care what's going on under the hood.  But to
>> truly learn linux, you need the command line.

caity>
>The target audience, which I presume is the mainstream, for the most
part
>couldn't care less what's going on under the hood.

[trimmed the rest]

Aren't these two different things?  And so two different sorts of
newbies?

When I very first was learning UNIX admin (as opposed to UNIX using), I
was sent off to HP-UX school.  They had a brand-new GUI admin tool, and
the class taught one how to use it.  When I got back to work, I
diligently tried to set up the system to match the configurations that
my mentors (in another department & building) recommended.  The catch?
The GUI "wouldn't let me," and I didn't know enough about the underlying
mechanisms (command line) to work around it.  Very frustrating for this
newbie!!  After I changed departments (over to my mentors' :), I watched
over shoulders and learned what I wanted to know all along.

So I agree with Lisa -- if you want to **know how Linux works**, you
should use the command line until you do.  (And then choose what's
convenient :)

BUT I also agree with Caity -- mainstream users don't WANT to know how
it works.  They don't want to know how _any_ of it works ... they want
it to be like a toaster, or a microwave.  At worst, it turns into what I
call the "elves and fairies" attitude (as in "Elves and fairies stuff my
email into my PC -- I don't need a network!"), but for the most part I
think of it like Caity's car analogy.  I don't truly understand how my
car works, but I try to know enough so that I can do a surface check on
the integrity of my mechanic (and not run my car into the ground!).  My
_mechanic_ is the one who loves cars enough to dig into the guts of it.

So, command-lines for us mechanics, and GUIs for all the drivers!

kimbol
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Kimbol Soques                                 kimbol at mail.utexas.edu



************
techtalk at linuxchix.org   http://www.linuxchix.org




More information about the Techtalk mailing list