aquavitae
September 7th, 2007, 08:05 AM
Has anyone else noticed the number of posts on the forums that go along the lines of "xyz isn't set up the way I like it. How do I change it to do what I want" to which the reply is "Try right-clicking. If that doesn't work I guess you can't change it." or "That's just the way it is. Live with it." THAT IS NOT TRUE!! The most important thing about linux is that it can be changed. How easily is another matter, but generally its not that hard if you don't mind getting your hands a bit dirty and using the terminal.
Most things can be changed by modifying the files in /etc. They are usually very well documented (much more that the gui settings dialogs) and it is easy to find what you're looking for by using command such as grep (http://linux.die.net/man/1/grep). And of course there are always the ubiquitous man pages (http://linux.die.net/man/) (accessed by the command "man <command>") which contain help on just about every linux command or config file. The /etc files are really easy to change and I can think of no good reason why anyone would live with an irritating setting just because it requires editing a file, rather that ticking a box to change it (unless they are consolephobic ;) ). Of course. some files require a bit of bash scripting, and I can understand people being hesitant to make changes to those. But I reiterate, its not impossible! If someone really wants to change a setting that can only be done by changing a script, they can learn the basics of bash. Beyond that things do get compilcated - changing source code is not really recommended unless you're a developer and can upload the changes. (But it is still an option)
My point is, though, that the frequent somewhat harsh posts saying that "linux cannot be customized in the way you want" are not necessarily true. Sometimes they may be, but please make sure first!
Ok, that's my little rant over with. :D
Most things can be changed by modifying the files in /etc. They are usually very well documented (much more that the gui settings dialogs) and it is easy to find what you're looking for by using command such as grep (http://linux.die.net/man/1/grep). And of course there are always the ubiquitous man pages (http://linux.die.net/man/) (accessed by the command "man <command>") which contain help on just about every linux command or config file. The /etc files are really easy to change and I can think of no good reason why anyone would live with an irritating setting just because it requires editing a file, rather that ticking a box to change it (unless they are consolephobic ;) ). Of course. some files require a bit of bash scripting, and I can understand people being hesitant to make changes to those. But I reiterate, its not impossible! If someone really wants to change a setting that can only be done by changing a script, they can learn the basics of bash. Beyond that things do get compilcated - changing source code is not really recommended unless you're a developer and can upload the changes. (But it is still an option)
My point is, though, that the frequent somewhat harsh posts saying that "linux cannot be customized in the way you want" are not necessarily true. Sometimes they may be, but please make sure first!
Ok, that's my little rant over with. :D