Ivan Sergio Borgonovo wrote:
On Mon, 06 Oct 2003 02:08:11 +0200 js
wrote: <snip>"No pain, no
gain" is a great motto in the gym, but it sucks when you're trying to get your work done.
"No pain no gain" is perfect. It is just the coefficient that may be different.
K*pain=gain
Some have enough experience (past gain) or are smarter enough to have large coefficient in some tasks so that the pain pass unnoticed.
Coefficients??? Are we talking about computers or calculus? Again, if the pain or the gain gets in the way of doing your business, it's an obstacle. Any IT manager considering a switch to linux will tell you that learning curve is a very significant factor because it means lost productivity. Forget "No pain-no gain" and try this motto: "Work smarter, not harder."
I wouldn't say as simple as possible but as simple as convenient. Would you make a F1 Ferrari (or McLaren or Williams just to be a bit more unbiased) as easy to drive as a Renault Twingo?
From coefficients to Ferraris? Sheesh! What was the subject again?
Pretending Linux is simple for every situation (as saying it has 0 TCO) is a major mistake in Linux advocacy.
I don't care about advocacy, just getting the job done. Read any interview with Linus and he will say it himself over and over. Check out what linux says about this in an interview on kde.org. Note the reference about users who don't want to know what's going on under the hood. He says they are just as big a help to linux. Read: http://www.kde.org/history/linus.php "HY: We have seen many distributions of Linux that allows users to install Linux without knowing what's under the hood. While this has brought in tremendous new users to Linux, there are people who claim that this undermines the spirit of freeware because people are never forced to look under the hood and understand its workings. Is this a concern for you? Linus: No, I think this is only for the best. I don't think everybody should be interested in how an operating system works: it happens to be what _I_ am interested in, but I also think that any program is only as good as it is useful. So a useless program cannot be good, regardless of _how_ well it is implemented. The fact that there are lots of Linux users who don't care how the kernel works but only want to use it is not only a tribute to how good Linux is, but it also brings up issues that I would never have thought of otherwise. Those users tend to do different things from what I do, so their needs are different. And in many cases those differences have shown something that was missing or badly done in Linux. So even though these users aren't interested in how Linux works, they have been instrumental in making it better. " So. I guess if you will argue with Linus, there is NO WAY you will EVER listen to me. So I'll leave it at that. John S.