As long as Linux has primary functions requiring users to use a command line it will be confined to that 0.1% of the userbase who are enthusiasts who are prepared to use a command line.SiriusB said:The command line is an absolutely integral part of Linux and there is no way anyone could successfully map all the possible commands to buttons. Even if they did it would take years and probably wouldn't work properly. Anything that can be done in the GUI can be done at the command line. It isn't hard to learn either.
Besides, even in Windows a lot of people use the command line. No where near as powerful as that of Linux but it gets used a fair bit.
The only thing that needs doing is making installing software easier for normal people as that can be a pain. However Ubuntu 7 has made things a tad easier as it tells you what packages might be missing if you try to run something that requires it. It even tells you the full command to put in
Along with better Wifi support it also has better graphics support so less fiddling about. And the whole OS is generally more refined, secure, up to date etc etc etc. So basically get it installed!
Normal users do not and will not use a command line, ever, end of.
I want to see linux wipe out windows, but it will not do that as long as any of its primary functions require a command line.
Yes, a command line is useful, but for enthusiasts only. There are hundreds of distros with command lines, all of them in fact. All we need is one without it and it'll take off.
So the 99.9% of potential linux users should be barred from using it so that 0.1% can do their processing?Next time you do any processing, try doing every job via the menus: No shortcut keys, and no toolbar icons. Menus all the way. You'll find you slow to a crawl, as every task suddenly demands a multitude of keystrokes/mouseclicks.
How many people could learn to ride a bike without training wheels? If there were two types of bike, one with training wheels which could be removed later (windows) and one without training wheels (linux), which would be most popular?Making software "user-friendly" in this fashion is like putting training wheels on a bicycle: It lets you get up & running immediately, without any skill or experience needed. It's perfect for a beginner. But nobody out there thinks that all bicycles should be sold with training wheels: If you were given such a bicycle today, I'll wager the first thing you'd do is remove them for being unnecessary encumbrances: Once you know how to ride a bike, training wheels are unnecessary.
The one with training wheels, because only a tiny minority if people could learn to ride a bike without them.
What planet is the author of that on?And in the same way, a great deal of Linux software is designed without "training wheels" - it's designed for users who already have some basic skills in place. After all, nobody's a permanent novice: Ignorance is short-lived, and knowledge is forever. So the software is designed with the majority in mind.
They have a fundamental problem. They do not realise that 99.9% of users (ie 'the majority') will never ever use a command line, full stop. They won't learn it you give them a manual, they won't learn it if you give them a half assed gui to try and break them into it. If windows and osx had never existed, pcs wouldn't exist either. The only computers around would be in specialist scientific labs.
Normal human beings do not use command lines, in the same way that the earth is not flat. Its a simple and fundamental fact, you cannot change it.
As long as linux requires the use of a command line to operate any of its major functions it will remain confined to the 0.1% of users who are enthusiasts, and as long as the developers think they can force mainstream users to use a command line linux has a very very very bleak future.