From: ewal...@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Elaine Walton) Subject: We will lose (was: Windows 95 v. Linux) Date: 1995/06/01 Message-ID: <3qkv01$p3r@charm.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 103629705 organization: The Ohio State University newsgroups: comp.os.linux.development.apps I am alarmed at what I am seeing in the industry vs. what Linux is accomplishing. Linux is a superior OS to DOS, Windows, Win95 & NT. Why? It has a legacy of tons of information/tools/utilities and is COMPLETELY open--AND FREE! But, we still don't have something that stands out and punches the user in the face--making them desire it. Those that use/function with Linux are nerds--like you and me. Geeks that enjoy the challenge, power and flexability of the OS. This reminds me too much of Forth the postfix programming language which had a cultish following (even to this day) which swear that it supports multitasking (?), is faster than assembler (!), and [probably] is object-oriented. First, we need a metaphor that is easy to use without functionality/power loss. I have heard of a metaphor called "Rooms", a virtual landscape for administrating *nix. Is this something we can use? Has it been ported? Are there other metaphors we can develop which are unique and useful precisely to Linux? Remember: Keep it simple--no one wants the shift gears unless it is natural and easy to do so. Second, several good-looking, useful graphical applications: e.g. a WYSIWYG desktop publisher (NO NOT TeX!). There is nothing wrong with TeX as a file format: there is everything wrong with using it for directly formating a document. I feel that with all the TeX (and PrinterLeaf) files out there, an easy to use, WYSIWYG word processor that stores the documents in TeX or PrinterLeaf and that is FREE would immensely increase our publicity. Another couple graphical applications might be a multimedia editor and a p-code/native code windows designer for rapid prototyping (like Visual Basic or Delphi). I know that the idea of following the footsteps of the great, evil Bill the Gates is nauseating, but people are flocking to load up on Win95--an estimated 20 million copies to be sold within the first 6 months! Lastly, Linux administration should become more automated--more "what can I accomplish with Linux?" not "what do I have to maintain?". *nix is, in its own nature, a very administration-directed environment: everything from getting the next kernel to cleaning up /var. Most these things are very repetitive--and necessary--to keep our machines is a prestine state. Could we not have a set of self maintaining tools that have the intelligence to blow us away? Furthermore, could these things come already installed, so that a typical user will not have to worry about them? Do we want to become a nitch of Forth-like outsiders? Do we want to take advantage of the public's desire for more accessable computing? We have the experience and the knowledge to accomplish all these things, but I feel that a consortium is needed to define a direction and focus for the future of Linux. -Sean Walton Please send responses to wal...@metatec.com
From: ewal...@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Elaine Walton) Subject: Re: We will lose (was: Windows 95 v. Linux) Date: 1995/06/05 Message-ID: <3qtmp4$kpj@charm.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 103752117 references: <3qkv01$p3r@charm.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> organization: The Ohio State University newsgroups: comp.os.linux.development.apps ***Response to a direct, personal message: Yes, I have written full-blown interpreters and compilers--I enjoy doing that kind of stuff on my spare time (major-nerddom, dude). I, however, do not have the experience to write a graphical interface--that is simply not my forte. That is why I want to set up a "consortium of programmers" who would be able to design and implement such a tool. I could do the language. I whole-heartedly agree: I do not want to lose the power of Linux to a mind- cripling interface and tool. This has to also include a paradigm: a way of thinking that will be intuitive and easy to use and powerful. We are not there. Windows are the modus operandi: who cares about more windows? We have got to come up with a way to extend the idea of true multitasking into the way our minds understand it. Consider an "actor" paradigm. Each object in the interface can act and act upon. In this model, windows no longer display they interact & they're "alive". TeX is not the answer. It never was and never will be. I do not want to learn TeX, because it is an old--yet powerful--language. It has no pleasing interface, making no one envious to learn it. A proper user interface makes people take notice enough to try it, easy enough that they never have to open any manuals, fun enough to encourage its use, and powerful enough to continue to meet the user's needs as their needs increase in complexity. Sure, TeX can do a lot of things, but can you tell me that it will be fun to use to the uninitiate. No! [Quick apologies to those TeX fan(atic)s] TeX is simply user-abusive. I know a professor in my old alma-mater who will NOT use anything but TeX, because it is the one format that he can transmit from reviewer to reviewer and know that they will be able to print it. Now consider my offer: how about a user-FRIENDLY interface that will read the TeX format as its primary internal format. This will make the TeX files that are so (crypticly) sacred but still will be desirable to use. I belabor a minor (yet important) point. The first point is that we need to focus on a newer paradigm that has yet been considered. Second, design tools that will speed development in those environments. Third, provide tools that will attract users--not scare them away. Fourth, make at least teaser versions of these tools under the GPL. Any takers?