Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site utastro.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!ut-sally!utastro!nather
From: nather@utastro.UUCP (Ed Nather)
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: Unix and the casual user
Message-ID: <79@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 21-Oct-85 15:55:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: utastro.79
Posted: Mon Oct 21 15:55:27 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 23-Oct-85 07:44:37 EDT
References: <540@qantel.UUCP> <318@epistemi.UUCP>
Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX
Lines: 27

> >   If there is indeed one universal truth about UNIX, it is that it was
> >not designed for casual users. ...   To make 
> >the best use of UNIX, you really need to KNOW it. 
> >UNIX is far more sophisticated than the average business machine user
> >requires, and is generally not as fast in handling transaction processing
> >as most systems designed for the purpose.
> 
> exactly what is it that makes UNIX inefficient and
> unsuitable for commercial environments?  
> Robert Dale

Nothing that I know of.  I managed to collect a fair set of Unix-like tools
for my own use with an IBM PC, mostly from the public domain, but complete
enough so I can do *almost* everything I want to without going to the Vax.
As an experiment, I introduced several computer-initiates to this system,
rather than to MS-DOS, when they got their machines.  They seemed to pick
up the concepts *very* quickly, and have had no real trouble.  I did't tell
them it was Unix (it wasn't, really), so they weren't scared of it.

It seems to me the main lack is simple, introductory material for the Unix
environment.  Reference material abounds.

-- 
Ed Nather
Astronomy Dept, U of Texas @ Austin
{allegra,ihnp4}!{noao,ut-sally}!utastro!nather
nather@astro.UTEXAS.EDU