Recent experience advocating Linux

[Bob Jonkman]

>
> although the amazing things you can do with gawk are 
> fascinating, they aren't useful for getting work done

*Harumph!*

All depends on what kind of work you're trying to get done.  I've used 
(g)AWK for years to parse through log files, correlate data between 
different files, and format data into HTML for presentation.  Gawk makes 
a dandy CGI executable, so that you can actually create dynamic Web 
pages by parsing, correlating and formatting log files with Gawk.

--Bob (who rescues sick birds, small animals and neglected software tools)



Borden Rhodes wrote:
> I get a little concerned when I read 'point-&-click' syndrome.  One of the 
> major reasons why I don't advocate Linux to clients, friends and family (the 
> biggest being bugs and instability) is the fact that configuring and 
> troubleshooting Linux requires a huge amount of technical expertise.
>
> People use computers like cars: they just want to get from point A to point B 
> as quickly as possible.  These people have careers and friends and other 
> responsibilities and although the amazing things you can do with gawk are 
> fascinating, they aren't useful for getting work done.  Accordingly, people 
> pay me huge sums of money precisely because they're using their brains for 
> things other than hardware troubleshooting or virus removal and I don't use my 
> brain for anything much more useful so I have room for this information.
>
> I'm pleased to see that recent efforts are trying to fix this in Linux but we 
> still have years to go.  I know that sitting in front of a root terminal gives 
> a huge rush of power but people looking to get something useful done rather 
> than bask in the computing experience don't appreciate the novelty as much as 
> the hackers and hobbyists do.
>
> Borden
>
> On 3 June 2010 09:25:25 Stephen Kawamoto wrote:
>   
>> On the bus to work the other day - I'm a security guard - I talked to an
>> Asian lad using his PSP 2000.
>>
>> He claimed familiarity originally with Mac and Windows XP.
>>
>> At some point in the past, he tried Linux but didn't like it. I assume this
>> may be due to the point-&-click syndrome caused by extensive Mac and
>> Windows use.
>>
>> So I advocated Linux like mad, expressing my opinion about freeing one from
>> licensing renewals during upgrades i.e. XP and 7 require separate
>> licenses, as do Macs. This is reflect in their price.
>>
>> As the person has some familiarity with Linux, I didn't mention that Linux
>> is usually free.
>>
>> At our destination, he said he'd look into trying out Linux again.
>>
>> My only regret is not having printed up personal business cards, which I'll
>> remedy when I return to my Dell machine - I'm in the middle of migrating
>> from a Dell GX60 to a Compaq D51C.
>>     
>
>   
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