OneAndOneIs2 - Latest comments on Everything is (and should be) a file

Nicholas E. May [Visitor] in response to: Everything is (and should be) a file

Nicholas E. May [Visitor] — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:32:20 +0000

I also miss the days when GNU/Linux was more stripped down. To that end, I've switched to Arch Linux and have started investigating other operating systems.

Speaking of, if you want a system where _everything_ is a file, you might consider trying Plan 9 from Bell Labs. It runs well under QEMU these days, and there is an all-in-one executable available: http://swtch.com/9vx/

P.S. Thanks for your info about ALFS etc., I'll take that into account the next time I find myself gazing longingly at LFS ;) I agree with

oneandoneis2 [Member] in response to: Everything is (and should be) a file

oneandoneis2 [Member] — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:11:33 +0000

Cosmin: When it comes to WMs, my personal favourite is FVWM, which I used since the mid-90s. But it DOES take some setting up..

Herd: I am considering putting in a very minimal Debian system and building from there. Will have to look into how easy it is to integrate source code & apt, that being one of my other bugbears.

Sok: I've installed LFS before, it's a very good learning experience. So I wasn't too worried about doing it the long way, hence using ALFS. I have pretty much decided not to carry on with it tho, too much time. Shame, there's a lot I like about the basic LFS system..

Hari: Well, no, everything ISN'T a file, but it's represented as though it is. Which can be a bit recursive sometimes, I grant you :o)

Tiggr: Thanks! Haven't read the Raskin stuff, I'll try and find the time somewhere. Slackware is what I've currently got installed as an alternate - it was the first Linux I installed, years ago, and still has a place in my heart. So far, I'm pretty impressed with how much easier to set it up it's been: Sound worked out of the box, wifi was pretty simple to set up, xorgsetup did everything necessary to get the right monitor settings.. very different from my 9.1 experiences!

TIGGR [Visitor] in response to: Everything is (and should be) a file

TIGGR [Visitor] — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:20:53 +0000

Love your intent here; i love the idea that everything is a file..you should (or have you?) familiarised yourself with JeffRaskin/Aza Raskin's work on ZUI's and the like ?? what you describe here reminds me of their work (Jeff Raskin is the"father" of the Mac UI and the idea behind the one-button mouse, Aza; his son; now works for Mozilla on the UI team, working on some great new mobile UI features (a'la Fennec))...but i digress;

When i bump up against old/obsure hardware and want to "lay some Tux" on it; if Ubuntu doesnt wor then i always try PuppyLinus and Slakware next; i have rarely been dissapointed and, since both are fairly slim distro's, they give the feel of "real LInux" and is good old "One Filesytem to rule them all"..just at though for if you keep having troubles.

Cheers
Tiggr (long time subscriber; first time commenter..BTW Welcome home from your trip :D)

Hari [Member] in response to: Everything is (and should be) a file

Hari [Member] — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 03:31:27 +0000

The other side of the coin is, in reality, everything *isn't* really a file. How can a file system itself be represented a file under /dev/*? That's what Linux is "abstracting" as a file. It's neither correct nor wrong, but it can potentially be a confusing concept as it's not according to the real hierarchy of a disk setup.

sokuban [Member] in response to: Everything is (and should be) a file

sokuban [Member] — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 23:18:45 +0000

LFS is good and all but, do you seriously have enough free time (or little needs) to get a good system working on it?

Imagine what a pain upgrading would be?

(I always wanted to do LFS but I never got the time I guess, I keep telling myself I'll do it next vacation but who knows.)

On another note I never missed a single article on your blog. I haven't been posting with this account though, I've been too lazy to login.

herd [Visitor] in response to: Everything is (and should be) a file

herd [Visitor] — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 21:00:18 +0000

Next time you try something like this from a debian based distribution, have a look at debootstrap -- it's worth it!

Cosmin [Visitor] in response to: Everything is (and should be) a file

Cosmin [Visitor] — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 12:33:42 +0000

One of the reasons I switched from Kubuntu to Debian testing and Openbox. Now the DE doesn't get in my way.

oneandoneis2 [Member] in response to: Everything is (and should be) a file

oneandoneis2 [Member] — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:42:33 +0000

See? THIS is why people should blog about their Linux experiences! :o)