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Oct. 28th, 2003 06:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
robotech_masterFound this article in ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tbutler's LJ...it's all about how programmers can modify their programs to simplify installation on OS X, so that it's not necessary to apply a series of cryptic shell commands. I can certainly agree with the sentiment, having gone through my share of cryptic installation procedures on my Linux box. Just because I like the command-line doesn't mean I like extra hassle, after all.
Still, I can't help but find it a little ironic. For years, a commonly-heard complaint geeks had against the Mac was that "if you make a computer that even an idiot can use, then only an idiot will want to use it." And then along comes the dichotomy of OS X, which manages to be both a floor wax and a dessert topping—offering ease-of-use to average joes and a UNIX interface to people who like to go in and mess with the guts of things. So there are these two groups of people with needs and usage habits at two opposite ends of a spectrum who are using, and developing for, the same system...and it seems that sometimes they need a little extra help understanding each other.
tbutler's LJ...it's all about how programmers can modify their programs to simplify installation on OS X, so that it's not necessary to apply a series of cryptic shell commands. I can certainly agree with the sentiment, having gone through my share of cryptic installation procedures on my Linux box. Just because I like the command-line doesn't mean I like extra hassle, after all.Still, I can't help but find it a little ironic. For years, a commonly-heard complaint geeks had against the Mac was that "if you make a computer that even an idiot can use, then only an idiot will want to use it." And then along comes the dichotomy of OS X, which manages to be both a floor wax and a dessert topping—offering ease-of-use to average joes and a UNIX interface to people who like to go in and mess with the guts of things. So there are these two groups of people with needs and usage habits at two opposite ends of a spectrum who are using, and developing for, the same system...and it seems that sometimes they need a little extra help understanding each other.