RE: [cobalt-users] Re: Re:Mailing list help needed

["Jonothon Ortiz" <jon@xxxxxxxxx>]

Charlie Wrote:
   (*sigh*) Anyone who needs a .pkg file to install SmartList better forget
I
even mentioned it, and right quick. That hypothetical poor confused soul
likely wouldn't be able to figure out how to add/edit the rc.local.* files
without a web-based GUI hook, either.

          Charlie (who is constantly astounded that people are afraid to
                    type the word "make" or unpack a tarball)

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This is a good point to bring up Charlie...many people who snag a Cobalt
think
it's going to be a cakewalk to set everything up. That so-called "usability"
was
a driving force in many a purchasing scenario.

What usually winds up happening, I've noticed, is that the sysadmin who does
not have any experience in *nix starts to learn a few things here and there
but
creates a dependency on the actual GUI / PKG files for installation.

That kind of a dependency can really limit and short-circuit your experience
with a Cobalt. True, there ARE some things you can't get away with like in a
normal *nix box but the Cobalt does provide enough functionality to do a
large
majority of things.

Sure, there are learning blocks that may SEEM colossal but it's just
adapting
to something other than "point-click"...and then there is the issue of
assuming
new and greater levels of responsibility; in a Cobalt box, if something goes
wrong and it's not a package from Sun, the problem will more than likely lie
on you. Not too many people like that idea.

In the end, it's a necessity to work with basic *nix functionality if you
expect
to get the best out of your machine. Sure, things happen, but you learn from
them.

One last little hint - google & the archives are your friend.