[wplug] Linux newbie
Brandon Kuczenski
brandon at 301south.net
Thu Oct 21 22:46:15 EDT 2004
On Fri, 22 Oct 2004, Christopher DeMarco wrote:
> > It depends though, is learning to manually setup your wireless
> > connection / X server / whatever using only config files even worth
> > knowing these days???
>
> YES YES YES! The first few times you have to perform black magick
> you'll feel totally lost but the first *success* is exhilarating.
> While many tools can automagically configure WiFi, and X is mostly
> hands-free these days, there are definitely times when you'll need a
> familiarity with XF86Config and wlan-ng (e.g. Xinerama, or a
> dual-mouse setup). And mucking around in the system internals will
> give you confidence. The more exposure, the better.
>
I have to agree fully - (though I myself am somewhat of a newbie) I think
the greatest folly of Windows has been to convince people that there are
things that "can't be done" on computers. "No checkbox? Sorry, the
computer can't do that." It's just not true.
I agree with what earlier posters have said -- understanding how the
checkbox relates to the config files -- and understanding how the config
files are processed when the OS needs to make decisions -- and
understanding where the line is drawn between end-user configurability and
program design -- has not only allowed me to tailor many details of my
computing environment to be *exactly* what I want, but it's also lent me
insight into the notion of "good programming," and it's illustrated the
development path that modern computing has followed over the last n years,
and it's given me a solid appreciation for the open-source philosophy.
It's a philosophical issue to me: a giant optimization problem. "How do I
make this little box do what I want? WHAT IS IT that I want, anyway?" And
not enough people ask that second question.
-Brandon
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