[H-GEN] Re: Unix vs NT [long; both informative and then religious]

[Chris Ryan]

(Note reply-to: being general at humbug.org.au vs Chris Ryan <cryan at plugged.net.au>)

Doug Young wrote:
> 
> (Note reply-to: being general at humbug.org.au vs "Doug Young" <dougy at gargoyle.apana.org.au>)
> 
> When one has acquired a library of stuff that would equip a small university
> and has been trying for some years to make sense out of the available
> documentation there is obviously something lacking in the way concepts are
> presented  -----  how acceptable would an operators manual be for any other
> technical device on this the planet if it was as obtuse and uninformative as
> the typical MAN / HOWTO ??

I'd *kill* for some manuals I've seen to be as useful as man & howto
documentation.

BTW, earlier this year I bought a new machine for home and had to
completely redo 3 machines into a home network.  This required
various hardware changes to make a server (linux only) and 
2 workstations (dual boot linux/windows).  Before I started the
process, I had only a minimal idea of how to configure DNS,
routing, print services, web proxying, masquerading, samba
and few other bits and pieces - I've been well 'shielded'
here at work by our capable sysadmins.  I read device manuals, 
howtos, reconfigured & remade kernels, perused man pages
and only had to get outside help on a couple of occasions
(an element of squid proxying I misread/misunderstood and
IDE device hassles).

By the time I finished (it took about 4 days all up), I had
the system going fine and I had learnt enough during the
process such that if any problems occurred, I knew roughly
where to look for a solution.  The setup has worked so well,
that I've had to do hardly any sysadmin work on it for the
last six months - at least, nothing mandatory.  It just works
and because I put a bit of effort in at the beginning, I'm
reaping the rewards now.  

> The proof that many people find this stuff extremely difficult to comprehend
> is seen in the number of publications available in bookshops and the number
> of newsgroups devoted to various aspects of the *nixes. Its informative to
> monitor some of these lists and note the number of newbies who disappear
> after a very short time .... probably due to frustration at not getting
> anywhere with resolving even the most basic issues. Maybe the faithful
> accept this as acceptable ..... maybe its even seen as desirable (after all
> we don't want too many of those dreaded newbies actually figuring this stuff
> out !!!! .... or at least not without experiencing as much trauma as
> possible)

I've glanced at a few of these books, but I still think the HOWTO pages
are often better.  Back that up with concise messages to mailing
lists like here or questions to experienced Linux sysadmins,
and you've got access to a wealth of information.

I think the point I'm trying to make is that if you're willing to
do a bit of thinking and investigative work, then you'll find
you can do almost anything with Linux.  
 
--
Chris Ryan           | BH: http://www.pisoftware.com/
cryan at pisoftware.com | AH: http://storm-wolves.plugged.net.au/

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