Mainstream . . . (LONG)

[Franklin, Joel]

> Are you saying that configurability itself, even if unused, will make the
> OSS desktops less useful?
There is no such thing as unused configurability. If the option is there,
someone will mistakenly set it, not know how to set it back, and call me
whining that their computer doesn't work. (The universe is winning.)

> Back to your tape recorder analogy, isn't it nice
> to have a player with auto-reverse rather than being stuck with ejecting
the
> tape and flipping it over to play the other side?  I could still do it the
> other
> way, but why should I?

That's a straw man argument. The huge amount of configuration options of a
PC is nowhere near the limited number of states a tape player can be in.
Let's make a few sci-fi changes to your tape player and see how you like it.
(These are all abstractly analogous to things I've seen in Windows - sorry,
but I've only used the command line and text utilities in Linux).
--------------------
When you stare at part of your tape player, the print on that part (FF, REW,
etc.) becomes larger. If there is no print on that part, or if the print
size is maxed out, the part itself becomes larger. Shrinking the print or
the part requires staring at the part backward. Parts not used for 30 days
shrink. Parts not used for six months migrate to the inside of the player.

There is only one knob on the front. If you try to twist the volume control
past 10 (It goes to 11!), it becomes a balance control know. If you twist it
below 0, it becomes the bass control. To get treble control, you have to
hold the play button down while turning the knob past ten. Whatever mode the
knob is in, you must remove the knob from the case (it comes off easily) and
replace it while saying "Volume" to restore it to a volume control. DO NOT
SAY "RAGING BULL ELEPHANT" WHEN REPLACING THE KNOB.

If you look at the base of the player for more than five seconds (but less
than ten), the unit will go where ever you look next and will stay there
until you move it again. If you look at the base of the unit for more than
ten seconds, it will disappear. You make it reappear by staring at the spot
where it used to be for not more than five seconds.

The fast forward button makes the tape player accelerate toward its front at
25 mph. To make it act more like an old-fashioned cassette player, you must
open the case desolder the capacitor labeled HKEY_Don't_Attack. Don't
desolder the resistor below this text or it will double the fast forward
velocity.

If you press the rewind button with more than the usual amount of pressure,
the tape player will enter "reel-to-reel" mode. In this mode, when the
cassette is finished rewinding, the tape player will increase the motor's
torque until the tape breaks and begins flapping inside the cassette case,
just like the reel-to-reel players used to do.