On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 22:57:02 -0500, thunder
wrote:

On Mon, 09 Feb 2004 01:41:17 +0000, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:

I sort of agree with you on that. However, what techheads might think
of as being a good idea, isn't always a good idea. What techheads
might think of as perfectly comprehensible and/or intuitive is
gibberish to a user. And that is the real problem with open source
because you have the same technoids messing around with what should be
a simple concept and all have differing ideas about how stuff should
work.

Yeah, but . . . Most open source software works quite well out of the box,
being configurable is a major plus. Open source software may not be for
everyone, but I love it. Anytime I am forced to use a Microsoft product,
I find it very limiting and frustrating. With open source I can set up my
system as I want to, not as Microsoft thinks I should.

That's exactly what Doug and I have been discussing. Not everybody
has the same capability or abilities that you have. Folks like me
need folks like you to program something that we can use only you
can't deal with that because your concept of what is "right" and/or
"correct" conflicts with mine. It's human nature.

Ok, that maybe too strong and I don't mean to offend, but it is a
basic fact of human/software interaction - what my concept of a
particular problem is different than your concept.

For example, let's say that I want to have a certain function on my
screen - you look at that and say that it's already there, all you
need to do is this and you have that function - I say, I don't care, I
want to get there doing this. You go off muttering and make it do
this.

That's how we came up with these cluges like OE and Explorer.

It's also a somewhat concept becuase it is "open source" only to those
who understand the coding structure - thus the end results will be the
same.

As the code is readily available, you can go that deeply, but it is by no
means necessary. Open source has come a long way and allows many choices.
It may not be your choice, but it is the choice of a growing number of
users.

Again, agreed. But if any software is only usable to a certain group
of people, then its functionality is specific to that group and only
that group. At that point, it becomes "closed".

Lynix is close to become exactly that - just like every other "open"
source system since day one.

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------

"To the fisherman born there is nothing
so provoking of curiosity as a fishing rod
in a case."

Roland Pertwee, "The River God" (1928)