[svlug] gui lilo..?

[Chris Waters]

On Fri, Oct 20, 2000 at 07:48:43AM -0700, Gareth J. Greenaway wrote:

> A "GUI" is [...]

A "GUI" is a Graphical User Interface.  The definition you gave is
simply clueless.  (Or at least, seriously incomplete.)  I assume that
was from some on-line dictionary or something?  Find a better one! :-)

> By that definition, not mine, a GUI would be anything that provides a
> menu or a simplier interface to the user. [...]  So I wonder
> why it is that when this person that started this thread (again not me)
> mentioned a GUI boot loader, why everyone assumed that it was something
> ont he lines of X or X like in its graphical nature.  

Probably because the 'G' stands for graphical!  :-)

> The thing I think everyone has forgetten here is that with a OS like
> Linux or various other open source solutions we have choices.  If there
> was a friendlier front end to lilo, true to the Linux and open source
> world if someone didnt want to use it then someone wouldnt have to use
> it.  

We haven't forgotten, and you'll get no argument here.  Where I begin
to disagree is when we go from this simple and obvious statement to
what many consider the obvious next step: a graphical interface is
easier/"friendlier".  False!

(In fact, check out blender ( http://www.blender.nl ) for a perfect
counter-example to the claim that GUIs are easy for newbies.  This is
a 3d program with a learning curve that makes vi look trivial.  And
like vi, its proponents claim that it has a great interface, despite a
learning curve as high as Everest.  Easy-to-use and easy-to-learn are
orthogonal concepts, despite what marketing spuds would have you
believe.)

Anyway, you quoted mutt as an example of a good interface, so I don't
think we're actually disagreeing.  I just want to clear up the whole
"graphical" issue.  GUI does mean graphical, and graphical is not
inherently better.
-- 
Chris Waters   xtifr at dsp.net | I have a truly elegant proof of the
      or    xtifr at debian.org | above, but it is too long to fit into
                             | this .signature file.