[members at lugog] Introduction

[john lewis]

On Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:35:01 +0000
Ian Dickinson <i.j.dickinson at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi John,
> 
> On Mon, Nov 22, 2010 at 12:15 PM, john lewis
> <johnlewis at hantslug.org.uk> wrote:
> > That may be the case, but surely it doesn't mean that individuals
> > have to go along with that concept if they choose not to.
> It's not clear to me that anyone said that you do. Nobody's forcing
> you or anyone else to do anything. Indeed, if anything I'd say the
> converse was true: if Linux distros didn't adapt to what people at
> large *want* to do (games, social media, high-definition video, etc)
> then those distros would be *denying* choice to the people who do want
> to do those things on GNU/Linux, but don't find the current user
> experience satisfactory. If Linux is ever to break out of its current
> niche, it has to go where the market is.
> 
> > I want to keep to the old unix concept of separate apps to do
> > different things but extended so I have discrete systems for
> > different tasks.
> Is there anything preventing you from doing this?

Possibly if distros make it harder to keeps things separated. 

I won't have a problem with Debian sid as it is on a rolling upgrade
basis and if I do need to do a re-install, on a new drive for example,
then I'd do a minimal install (my normal proceedure and easy with
Debian) and then install only the apps I need. 

But with distros where an upgrade means a re-install will be harder to
get that sort of simplicity, OK,  I know aptitude purge xyz can solve
most problems re unwanted apps but I'd rather not have to do that.

> > Basically this cloud stuff is just vapour so far as I am concerned.
> Not sure how we segued into cloud computing, but it definitely isn't
> vapourware - we rely on it daily at work. Was there a particular
> aspect of the cloud you find unconvincing?

I was using 'cloud' as a generic term to cover the apparent trend
towards this:-

> With Google about to release an "operating system" that is, to all
> intents and purposes, a thin client browser there is a feeling in many
> circles that within 5 years the concept of "the isolated unconnected
> home computer" will be gone, and the laptop/desktop or whatever will
> merely be "a window on the world"....

If I am wrong and cloud computing has a different meaning then I stand
corrected.

-- 
John Lewis
using Debian sid