From: doolitt@cebaf4.cebaf.gov (Larry Doolittle) Subject: Re: Tractatus Linuxicus Newbius Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1993 14:05:28 GMT
In article <CCDB06.7t1@ireq.hydro.qc.ca>, jkowalik@gandalf (Yarek
Kowalik / LGS) writes:
> .... and besides who would want to read an OS manual for the first
> to last page? It is a complex matter, and there are many things that should
> be done. Like, why not teach some of the jargon to kids, so when they grow up
> it would become an integrated in their language (if it is not already) and
> understood that a hard disk is not a floppy in a hard case.
My four year old already operates Linux/Xwindows/twm tolerably.
He certainly is not ready to install and troubleshoot it, but
give him time. He can log in, type "startx", create and delete
windows, exit, and logout. His favorite programs are roach, paint,
and gas. Here therefore knows about pull-down menus, can read
"OK" and "Cancel", can operate slide-bars (he taught my wife to
use the center button for these), and probably some other things
I am not aware of. The nice thing about Linux, as opposed to
MS-DOG, Windoze, or Macintrash, is that I _don't_have_to_worry_about
him_trashing_anything! The worst he can do is fill up the disk,
or delete his .twmrc by accident (I keep a spare copy in my
directory). My two year old did trash my CMOS once by cycling
the power and banging on the keyboard too fast. I am thinking
about hardware solutions to the power problems, and I am glad I
wrote down the CMOS settings when I first installed the computer!
- Larry Doolittle doolittle@cebaf.gov