Mailinglist Archive: opensuse (1425 mails)

[G T Smith <grahamsmith@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Carlos E. R. wrote:
> On Wednesday, 2009-05-06 at 08:10 -0300, Everaldo Canuto wrote:
>
> > On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 5:24 AM, G T Smith <> wrote:
> > >


> > And whats about the countries that don't have fast internet connection
> > available for all the people? Do you think that "Cloud" solution can
> > be applied to this countries in the mid to long term?
>
> That's a good point.

Agreed, there has been discussion before about a divide between those
who have access to I.T. and those who do not, not just between the third
world and the 'developed' world but within the developed world. However,
I do think the many third world states face more pressing problems than
internet access...

> But he wasn't really talking about openSUSE, but rather linux trends in
> general.
>
> In any case, I prefer in house computing, not cloud computing, trends be
> dammed! >:-P

You and me too... but we have the advantage of having a good idea of
what we are doing most of the time :-)

More on the subject, people do seem to confuse knowing how to use I.T.
as a tool and looking after the tool. In the main most people know or
care little about looking after the tool, they just need to use it. The
frequently used metaphor of computers should be like a car always bring
me to the description that if cars were computers they would be
travelling a 1000 miles an hour blowing up every six months or so
killing the driver and all the passengers. Cars (fortunately) are not
computers....

Most attempts to simplify the use of computers as a tool just introduce
more hidden complexity and therefore more ways things can go wrong,
which makes those who know or care little about maintaining the tool
have even less comprehension about what is happening when they do go wrong.

Linux/UNIX is built on some fairly simple (at one level) building blocks
on which more complex operations can be built by bolting together these
simple blocks (most GUI applications merely encapsulate these building
block combinations). This gives *NIX the flexibility which is its
biggest strength. If this concept is mislaid in a misguided attempt to
attract the basic I.T. tool user then what you have will no longer be
Linux/UNIX.

Both sides in this discussion are correct in context, if people take
charge of the individual security of the machines there should be a
simplified manner for them to do so, however computer security is quite
complex and if you do not comprehend the implications of a security
decision you should not take that decision. This is a potentially
paradoxical situation.

There are two possible solutions, firmware based OS systems (such as in
many handheld devices and games consoles) where the users cannot change
basic functionality, or for dynamic functionality on hosted systems
where changes can be monitored by those who (supposedly) know what they
are doing.

> -- Cheers,
>        Carlos E. R.

- --
==============================================================================
I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my
telephone.
My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone.

Bjarne Stroustrup
==============================================================================
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v2.0.9 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org

iEYEARECAAYFAkoCqRsACgkQasN0sSnLmgI3YQCeMMTkPloH1g6P6QSPtrCN9Y5y
QEEAoLDUCFnoqG/X2AcCwZlh6hEbkdPy
=q8zY
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
-- 
To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxx
For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@xxxxxxxxxxxx