[sf-lug] (forw) Re: (forw) Re: todays meeting at enchanted cafe

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Bobbie Sellers (bliss at sfo.com):

> I will get back to you later about the details but I run Mandriva
> and use Mandriva's MCC tool accessible from the main menu as "Configure
> Your Computer".  

This description is pretty much useless to anyone but you or possibly
someone running exactly the same configuration you are, with the exact
same Linux distribution -- even if you had bothered to elaborate that
the 'MCC tool' you mean is Mandrake Control Center (process name 'mcc').

I believe you just illustrated my recent point about your phrase 'the
GUI tools'.

Even if I wanted to bust my butt replicating your exact graphical
toolset on the Debian box in front of me -- which I most certainly do
not -- it would not be practical (or, at worst, would be a whole lot of
work).  And for what?  It would doubtless be a bloated, dependency-ridden
GTK/gnomelibs front-end to standard Linux tools, suppressing essentially
all diagnostic output, whose operation nobody can even discuss with you
in a 'just paste these commands to its interface and paste back to this
mailing list the command output' sense.  You would be vaguely describing
your GUI operations, and then posting back your _interpretations_ of the
results.  Bottom line would be frustration for everyone.  

Which is why you'll find that _knowledgeable_ helpers overwhelmingly
will suggest you use standard tools and paste back the results, instead.


Anyway, you should not get back to _me_, but rather to the mailing list.
This is not free-of-charge private consulting.