On Wed, 6 Aug 2003, Keith Watson wrote:
Going back to where this all started, I wonder if we aren't all talking out of our collective backsides. We all seem to be implicitly accepting that GNU/Linux is in some way inferior to Windows WRT the average non-technical user.
I don't think many of us would be here if we believed that. But I think the discussion could be based on the following assumptions, and I think that maybe many on the mailing list would find some or all of them plausible. Anyone?
1 We live in a context where most computer users have had more practice with GUIs, than with command lines or text config files.
1.1 In such a context, GUIs are easier and more user-friendly than command lines or text config files.
2 LUG mailing lists, which are the primary means of interactive tech support for Linux, tend to suggest text config file or command-line solutions to problems, rather than GUI solutions.
3 For some tasks, especially sysadmin tasks, the command line or text config file is the only solution, i.e. there is no GUI.
3.1 GUI-less tasks are more common in Linux than in Windows.
3.2 The ubiety of home computers forces every computer user to become a sysadmin, highlighting the existence of the GUI-less tasks.