Hello John, and the other 'x aficionado's
What do you expect....that somehow an arcane set of dribblish semi instructions to install a new TOOL on a computer (your "command line") or a "open the box, pull out the tool, plug it in, and start using it"...which scenario is the average artisan going to use?
Before you run off, foaming and ranting about Microsoft stop and consider this for a moment.
For a living, amongst other things, I work as an engineer, a welder, and a non destructive testing technician. There are well established standards in each of these disciplines, and I can go from one to another without difficulty. I dont' have to stop when I'm welding and wonder, experiment, and hope when I change from 7018 rods from one manufacturer to those from another. I know they will do the job.
When I use a 520K ohm resistor in a project I don't care if it is a linux or microsoft resistor as long as it fits the specs.
When I use a 70 degree probe for ultrasonic testing I don't care who made it so long as it meets the specs and works.
I have also written software (pdp 11 fortran) 6800 machine code 2650 assembler z80 assembler 6502 (microsoft basic) amd 29xx bit slice processors (pl1, assembler and machine)and lately c++ and java for MS for my 'phone.Most of this was for me, but the amd stuff was for telephone exchange users, and I doubt if they cared what the os or program used was. Just as long the tool worked.
The PDP series ran unix, and I still have the original Bell System Journals here at home describing the philosophy and design behind the unix system. I tried over the last few days of re reading these journals to find any reference to the denigrating of any other systems or their users... Are linux users and prophets now straying far from the original tracks for unix?
Finally I use win xp and ubuntu for my amatuer work, and swap happily between them, but as a "tool user" for amateur radio win XP absolutely aces linux for the ease of use and ease of installation of the programs I need.
Maybe you could explain to me why I could update my (paid license...to amsat na) version of satpc32 with a couple of mouse clicks, but took over 5 days to get predict updated, I don't want to know about sudo @33^& <<? just to get one ( maybe) required library that I already had as the really stupid, arcane message finally told me....
If you really, and quite possibly most linux pushers don't, want to make linux a "mainstream" operating system you really, really must make it an invisible process to install and use tools running on it. MS have managed to do this so why can't the much vaunted open source guys managed yet?
Cheers and back to the Sats.
Don, Zl1THO