Re: [9fans] one reason ideas from Plan 9 didn't catch on

["Thomas Bushnell, BSG" <tb+usenet@becket.net>]

boyd@strakt.com (Boyd Roberts) writes:

> Could someone explain to me why linux caught on?

It worked, it was available, people could hack on it and see their
changes hit the world, there was nothing else.

> I had a fun afternoon yesterday installing linux -- ghastly.

Hrm.  It's generally easier to install than Windows, but this is
rarely noticed because Windows is rarely installed: it's usually
already been done for you by someone else.  But yes, sometimes it can
be hard.  On the other hand, complaining on the Plan 9 list about how
hard GNU/Linux can be to install is a bad prospect: the Plan 9 install
system is, in my experience, considerably worse.

> I really loved the question:
>
>    Which one of these 5 useless sendmail configurations don't you want?

An excellent reason not to use sendmail!  The GNU/Linux distribution I
prefer (Debian) doesn't use it.  (Well, it's there as an option for
those who really want it, but the normal MTA is exim.)

> Plan 9 installs in 15 minutes (or so) or _it doesn't install at all_.
>
> This is good because all I stand to lose is 15 minutes.

So far I lost many more hours than that trying to install Plan 9.

Thomas