[cobalt-users] Re: Re: whois...'nt.

[Charlie Summers <charlie@xxxxxxxxxx>]

At 3:52 PM -0400 7/20/01, Carrie Bartkowiak is rumored to have typed:

> (remember this was Cobalt's choice, not Sun's - Sun
> just came into this recently)

   Irrelevant; the people who decided what would and would not be part of the
RaQ operating system now work for Sun, and when one company purchases
another, they must accept both the brilliance _and_ the stupidity of the
company they purchase. Therefore Sun is responsible for the stupidity of the
Cobalt employees they now pay for forgetting a basic command like whois, and
I have no intention of being PC and typing, "Cobalt/Sun." Sun is faster, in
the tradition of un*x users not typing more characters than necessary.

> In Cobalt's eyes, it's not an "error", it's a feature that their
> target customers would never need (since they're not supposed to go
> 'under the hood').

   That would be an excellent explaination if it were true, and is a great
excuse for them even though it isn't - but you give them way too much credit
for actually "thinking." Consider this: the /usr/bin/dig command _is_
available, and this command has no possible use to the GUI, or any other
automated process, and only makes sense being used by the operator from the
command line. The /usr/bin/locate command exists (thank the friggin'
heavens), which is only useful from the command line (since these people know
where everything is, why would their GUI need to locate a command or file?).
The /usr/bin/which command exists, again unnecessary when these people are
supposed to know where everything is (my guess is that they needed which and
locate to figure out where _they_ hid files).

   And here's my personal favorite - any reason you can think of that the RaQ
would need /usr/bin/fdformat? Should I list a bunch of other examples of
commands in /usr/bin or /bin that make no sense for anything other than the
cluefull on the command line?

   I really didn't meant to get into a huge debate with my initial post; I
have made NO secret that I think the kiddies who cobbled together the OS for
the RaQ machines did things the most difficult and unintuitive possible way
(I have seen excellent GUI front-ends to named that _didn't_ need to destroy
/var/named/domains, for example; in the GUI it takes 8-10 minutes to add a
domain across the country - something I could do in about 30-seconds on a
"real" machine with nothing more than pico or joe)...I only used the lack of
whois to yet again bolster my point, and at least originally I was somewhat
tongue-in-cheek with my disgust. I'm confident that anyone used to adminning
"real" linux boxes can see that most of the stunts they pulled were _not_
required for a GUI, but rather specifically designed to frustrate anyone who
had half a clue.

   They screwed up, plain and simple, and no other explaination fits the
available evidence. The problem is, if they screwed up this badly on
something this important, what other boners did they make?  It's an
indication why there are so many fearful questions here about, "but if I
install any PHP later than 2.0.1, will it screw up the GUI, void my warranty,
and cause Sun to take my first-born child?" Good grief, some people are
afraid to install the smallest .rpm because it isn't a .pkg file.

   I work with the RaQ...I do _not_ have to like the foolish nonsense these
"programmers" have done in bastardizing the OS...NOT because it was
necessary, but rather because they wanted to make as many changes as humanly
possible for the sake of making the changes. (My gosh, I haven't needed to
use the locate command so d*mned much since I was a un*x newbie.)

   Sorry to all about being so seriously cranky on this subject...I usually
have a curmudgeonly humorous style, and promise to revert to it ASAP. (I
think I'm safe in saying that, my fears to Thom LaCosta aside, I haven't
_yet_ been assimilated by the CobaltBorg...this Grasshopper snatches the
pebble and then throws it back at you.  ;)

         Charlie