My Journey to the Dark Side is Now Complete
I recently discovered that the upgraded version of php (a language commonly used for creating web pages) that I'd installed no longer worked with mysql (a database). Owing to the fact that this was incredibly inconvenient (the combination of php with mysql is almost the whole point of using php), I've since been working to change the situation.
After a fairly quick search, I learned that I've got to compile the extensions to php separately (connecting to a mysql database requires an extension). So... I've done that now and things work.
It kind of disturbs me how easy and sensible it seemed.
See, unix-descended operating systems are still a pain when it comes to installing programs. You have to descend into the command line whenever you need to do things that are at all useful and important.
Personally, my ideal as always been that I install the program, it works, and I work on learning how to use it. With FreeBSD (and Linux for that matter), I seem to install, discover I have to reconfigure a text file/install another program/download a different library, and, only after that do I get to use it. Even then, that assumes that there's not so much configuration that I get frustrated and take a few days off from bothering with it.
The fact that this much more detail oriented process seems easier and more sensible as time goes on makes sense in that the more I know, the more I'm comfortable modifying the system for my convenience.
That being said, on another level, it kind of offends me. When I don't know anything and don't have any opinions on wierd ways to configure the program, I just want the defaults. I just want it to work. After it works (and only then), I sometimes get involved enough that I want to be able to do non-standard things.
To the extent that people who use Linux/Freebsd are mostly people with degrees/background in computer science/IT, having piles of freaky options to consider just to get basic stuff to run is understandable. In the sense that you want to pull people into using Linux or Freebsd, it doesn't.
Your average art major might want to try Blender or the GIMP out of curiousity, but they probably don't want to compile them (if they know what compiling is). Ditto, open office. They also don't want to go hunting down obscure libraries.
Personally, my bias would be to make everything as easy to install as possible and then make it equally easy for experts to reconfigure stuff later. It'd be cool to have the entry point be as low as possible.
This is partially for selfish reasons. The way things are going, I have the potential to become one of those horrible techie types who has no idea why people just don't use bash to solve all their problems and have no idea why vi is completely horrible for non-techie types to use.
An example of this:
A few years ago, when I knew less about unix than I do now, I mentioned to the system administrator where I worked that I thought that vi was a massive pain. He could understand where I might have trouble with it and installed nvi because it might be easier. Unfortunately, I never found out in what way nvi was easier. It has the exact same interface as vi (so far as I could tell) and he didn't bother to install the nvi man page.
I don't want to lose track of what the average human finds easy. There are too many confusing computer programs out there as it is.