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Story: How to talk to Microsoft about Linux

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Ben Noble - As for example provided...
It is not about GUIs, it is about CUPS, a printing system. Printing in Linux is difficult because only a few printer companies have released Linux drivers. The rest of the drivers have to be reverse engeneered. But there is more to it than that: there are filter, formats, and other stuff that has to be done before a page can be sent to the printer. CUPS attempts to make all of that easier. Now the example you provided critiques not the CUPS supplied GUI (that is web-based) but one provided by Red Hat. So the author of the article is attacking the wrong people when he says, "The CUPS people, despite good intentions, have utterly failed at this." Now, I'm not defending the GUI, just reducing the power of the argument somewhat; you don't critisize the coffee company if the coffee maker you used is crap (unless the coffee company made the maker as well). Next the guy says the GUI designers should probe the local network for printers. What if the network is 5000 printers large (like at some college campuses)? It would certainly take a long time; so much time Aunt Tilly might try to close the GUI (and therefore the process) thinking everything hung. Next he talks about /printers/queue1 like he's never seen it before. He talks about ssh yet he doesn't know about Linux device handling? It sounds like he's trying to run before he can walk. I don't want to use up any more of your time by having you read this so I'll close with this:
Your example had more to do with the author's frustration at a 3rd party GUI than it did when it came to GUIs in general, and the author could have gone to LinuxQuestions.org and found multitudes of help on this problem. Instead, he keeps his pride and tries to muscle his way through instead of asking questions and learning. Everybody needs to do this with an OS. Imagine your first time using Windows.

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