Use of the CLI in Ubuntu (Was: ubuntu-desktop & brltty)

[Eric Dunbar]

On 17/04/06, john <gmatht at gmail.com> wrote:
> Please reply on sounder at lists.ubuntu.com, I think this is starting to
> get off-topic for devel.
>
> On Mon, Apr 17, 2006 at 07:25:01PM -0400, Peter Whittaker wrote:
> > On Mon, 2006-17-04 at 15:42 +0200, Matthias Klose wrote:
> > >
> > > edit /etc/default/hplip to disable hplip.
> >
> > I didn't see a :->, so I assume this wasn't tongue in cheek...
> >
> > ...which confuses me, 'cause I just don't get it. I mean, as happy and
> > comfortable as I am with a CLI, CLI is not for everyone. And editing
> > config files is a CLI alternative, pure and simply (don't matter if you
> > use a fancy newfangled GUI editor, editing config files is CLO).
> >
> > Since Ubuntu in general aims to be "for human beings" and since Dapper
> > specifically aims to "just work", editing config files to fix errors or
> > limitations in the distro IS JUST PLAIN WRONG!
>
> I don't think is it a reasonable use of resources to insist that users
> can fine-tune every aspect of their OS, from the GUI or otherwise.
>
> Take MacOS for example, prior to OS X it was *terribly* optimised.
> Applications couldn't even allocate dynamic amounts of memory, e.g. if
> an application wanted 100MB of memory, it had to allocate this *before*
> it started to run. However Mac OS was considered the epitome of "for
> human beings" OSes.

Technically in OS 9 some apps could already dynamically allocate
memory to a limited extent (i.e. it didn't matter what you set it to,
if it needed to it would chew up everything).

> It seems that it is best to take the conservative position. Might the
> user want to use a HP printer? Don't know? Then include the HP printer
> drivers. From the point of view of a "for human beings" OS, it is better
> to waste 1MB of memory than force a user to read a "Why your HP printer
> doesn't work by default on Ubuntu, and obscure instructions on how to get
> it to work".

One simple rule of thumb could be... if the other operating systems do
it, then it's not entirely unreasonable for Ubuntu to offer similar
functionality (not a carbon copy but at least the functionality, if
useful, should be there).

As for printing... that's a great arena in which to shine. Nearly
everyone has a printer but unfortunately nearly every printer is
different. If Ubuntu handles your printer out of the box then the
you'll be a happy Ubuntu user. In OS X for e.g. they ship the whole
kit-and-kaboodle of gimp printer drivers in the unhappy event that
your printer doesn't provide a Mac driver, or is so old that the
manufacturer doesn't make a driver for the printer any more.