RE: [cobalt-users] Enough is enough...

[Rodolfo Paiz <rpaiz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Cobalt are saying you don't need to know anything about the
> operating system. That's the same as saying you don't need to
> know how to drive to take your new car home.

Short version:
--------------

Bullshit.

Driving = creating users, sites, etc., which the GUI does well

Servicing = security, infrastructure, bandwidth management, which you
need to study in order to do well, just like car mechanics do

Driving the car and servicing it have nothing to do with each other.
Driving the server and servicing it have nothing to do with each other.
However, in both cases you need a driver *and* a mechanic; even though
one person can play both roles.

Long version:
-------------

The car analogies must be used with care, else you can quickly argue
yourself into a corner. I can't fix my car to save my life, but I can
drive quite well, thank you. The hacker would be someone that wanders
parking lots stealthily looking for cars to disable, and who has become
expert at finding ways to get into cars to disable them. (Ever seen a
good locksmith open most car doors with a jimmy? 3 seconds... why do I
lock this thing?)

If the public roads had this many car-disablers, then I *could* still
drive without knowing how to fix a car, and Mercedes would be justified
in selling me a car and telling me I only had to know how to drive. But
anyone with enough sense to come in out of the rain would laugh at me
and tell me to learn something about the operation of my car and its
engine before I got stranded somewhere.

Post-Mortem:
------------
If I haven't clearly communicated my point by now, most likely I won't
be able to do so even if I continue trying. So due to the law of
diminishing returns, I'm going to drop this thread now. Anyone who
wishes to continue discussing this can email me directly and I'll
respond as I can, but I assume the rest of the list membership *has* to
be bored silly by now. Hell, *I* am bored silly... I'm just loath to
cease arguing.

--
Rodolfo J. Paiz
rpaiz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:rpaiz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>