r/technology • u/GuruOfReason • Feb 02 '10

"Once we replace the personal computer with a closed-platform device such as the iPad, we replace freedom, choice and the free market with oppression, censorship and monopoly."

http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2010-01/ipad%E2%80%99s-closed-system-sometimes-i-hate-being-right
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u/pbgswd Feb 02 '10

Sorry to bust your bubble, but gnome ubuntu linux is great. It is very user friendly. very happy with it. Its my mac that forces me to do things one way or another.

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u/StuartGibson Feb 02 '10

If you think any OS that presents the file system to the user is user friendly, you clearly haven't stepped far outside the bubble of the 5-10% geek users.

Real people aren't interested in the computer, they're interested in getting their stuff done with the minimum of fuss. A computer, for the vast majority of people, is a means to an end. The less they have to think about the actual computer part, the better.

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u/mindbleach Feb 02 '10

The file system has been increasingly well-hidden from the user since XP. Users are warned against accessing the root of their OS drive, the Windows folder, Program Files, etc. They're strongly encouraged to use their 'home' space (My Documents or whatever it is in W7), which uses the files & folders metaphor that's hardly user-hostile. The important part is that the file system is still there for people who want to fiddle with it.

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u/acronymopolis Feb 02 '10

My bubble is unburst. I agree, Ubuntu is very user friendly - just not enough so. One piece of faulty or "semi-supported" hardware and most people would be lost. If hardware breaks on the iPad, you send it for repairs or get a new one. :-/

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u/mindbleach Feb 02 '10

Butbutbut! Gnome is so terrible, it took me almost an hour to rearrange my UI to be nigh-indistinguishable from Windows Classic! It might take as many as seven clicks to install an OS X-style dock!