5 ms·

> I don't think I spend more than an a couple of hours per month maintaining my configuration This is... still significant. Outside of auto updates sometimes

by ctvo 4y ago

> I don't think I spend more than an a couple of hours per month maintaining my configuration This is... still significant. Outside of auto updates sometimes rebooting my laptop overnight and major version bumps requiring me to hit the "update" button explicitly once a year, I'm unsure what "maintaining my configuration" would entail once things were setup to your liking on macOS.

lttlrck 4y ago
I'm not sure what the GP is maintaining but I have used the latest Fedora and Sway (and i3 before that) day-in and day-out for years, all I do is run dnf update once in a while... it gets completely out of the way.
- tempest_ 4y ago
  Yeah, I use an arch derivative so its a rolling distro and even with the problems that entails I update packages about once a week and have not had issues since a bug got me 2 years ago. How often are things changing for these people that configs need to constantly reviewed?
  - palata 4y ago
    I guess some people want heavier customisation, whereas they just accept what macOS enforces. I have been using different Linux distros in the last 15 years (mostly Arch, so rolling), and really I don't customise much (default i3, default vim, etc). Doesn't really require any maintenance at all, I would say.
eointierney 4y ago
Spending a few hours a month maintaining GNU/Linux is perhaps the single most effective learning process for Computer Science I know. The entire stack (except binary blobs) is always available and something novel occurs everytime. I love fixing my Linux, I get to read about so many aspects of stuff I didn't know before. And with NixOS it's more than cummulative it's a multiplier. Gonna get me a second-hand M1 or M2 soon.....
- adamwk 4y ago
  I don’t see how this can be true under any definition of computer science. I used linux in college and I think it was useful, but more as an immersion learning program for the Unix abstraction than anything related to what i was studying (CS). I didn’t learn much about algorithms, or digital systems, or compilers by setting up arch Linux. Even my OS class, it’s not like learning about swap helps understand context switching or even virtual memory. I relate to how satisfying it can be tinkering with things but a lot of times it’s just distracting. Like spending a day optimizing productivity tools instead of being productive. Or trying to get your laptop to recognize and change audio output when plugging in headphones instead of studying for a midterm.
  - palata 4y ago
    Well you can't deny that if you understand how to compile your kernel, how to make a rootfs, what a primary/secondary bootloader is, etc, then you actually have learned about computers, right? Try Linux from scratch, then ask yourself how macOS, Windows and *BSD solve those problems. Wouldn't you call that computer science?
    - eythian 4y ago
      No, not really. They're closer to the equivalent of learning how to install a new lens in your telescope so you can do more astronomy. You've learnt about telescopes, which is a very useful skill, but it's not the same thing as astronomy.
      - elashri 4y ago
        In this analogy, I think you should replace Astronomy with optics to be equivalent. And in this case you learned a lot about optics
      - palata 4y ago
        Ok let's take one step back and look at the parent: > I don’t see how this can be true under any definition of computer science. Let me arbitrarily copy one definition of computer science, from Wikipedia: > Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (including the design and implementation of hardware and software). I think that designing an OS counts as computer science, at least under "some definition of computer science". And learning how to maintain an OS is a step towards understanding how it is designed. Of course, maintaining your OS does not teach you Javascript. But Computer Science is not limited to Javascript. I wouldn't be very happy if you told me that I am not a software engineer because I don't know Javascript, to be honest.

by ctvo 4y ago

lttlrck 4y ago

I'm not sure what the GP is maintaining but I have used the latest Fedora and Sway (and i3 before that) day-in and day-out for years, all I do is run dnf update once in a while... it gets completely out of the way.

tempest_ 4y ago
Yeah, I use an arch derivative so its a rolling distro and even with the problems that entails I update packages about once a week and have not had issues since a bug got me 2 years ago. How often are things changing for these people that configs need to constantly reviewed?
- palata 4y ago
  I guess some people want heavier customisation, whereas they just accept what macOS enforces. I have been using different Linux distros in the last 15 years (mostly Arch, so rolling), and really I don't customise much (default i3, default vim, etc). Doesn't really require any maintenance at all, I would say.

eointierney 4y ago

Spending a few hours a month maintaining GNU/Linux is perhaps the single most effective learning process for Computer Science I know. The entire stack (except binary blobs) is always available and something novel occurs everytime. I love fixing my Linux, I get to read about so many aspects of stuff I didn't know before. And with NixOS it's more than cummulative it's a multiplier. Gonna get me a second-hand M1 or M2 soon.....

adamwk 4y ago
I don’t see how this can be true under any definition of computer science. I used linux in college and I think it was useful, but more as an immersion learning program for the Unix abstraction than anything related to what i was studying (CS). I didn’t learn much about algorithms, or digital systems, or compilers by setting up arch Linux. Even my OS class, it’s not like learning about swap helps understand context switching or even virtual memory. I relate to how satisfying it can be tinkering with things but a lot of times it’s just distracting. Like spending a day optimizing productivity tools instead of being productive. Or trying to get your laptop to recognize and change audio output when plugging in headphones instead of studying for a midterm.
- palata 4y ago
  Well you can't deny that if you understand how to compile your kernel, how to make a rootfs, what a primary/secondary bootloader is, etc, then you actually have learned about computers, right? Try Linux from scratch, then ask yourself how macOS, Windows and *BSD solve those problems. Wouldn't you call that computer science?
  - eythian 4y ago
    No, not really. They're closer to the equivalent of learning how to install a new lens in your telescope so you can do more astronomy. You've learnt about telescopes, which is a very useful skill, but it's not the same thing as astronomy.
    - elashri 4y ago
      In this analogy, I think you should replace Astronomy with optics to be equivalent. And in this case you learned a lot about optics
    - palata 4y ago
      Ok let's take one step back and look at the parent: > I don’t see how this can be true under any definition of computer science. Let me arbitrarily copy one definition of computer science, from Wikipedia: > Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (including the design and implementation of hardware and software). I think that designing an OS counts as computer science, at least under "some definition of computer science". And learning how to maintain an OS is a step towards understanding how it is designed. Of course, maintaining your OS does not teach you Javascript. But Computer Science is not limited to Javascript. I wouldn't be very happy if you told me that I am not a software engineer because I don't know Javascript, to be honest.