But it has to be. Linux can be super powerful. You can get very close to the metal. While a lot of people want to use it as an appliance, it really isn't. Just like all the other trades there is history which begets convention which begets culture. And like any good power tool you've got to know what you're doing, or you could get yourself into trouble.
The problem, I think, is that we seem to have trouble conceptualizing the schism that exists between the computing-as-a-tool users (aka the elites, power users, and programmers) and computing-as-an-appliance users (aka the computing mainstream). Both camps have wildly different wants, needs, and expectations.
Why can't both continue to exist separately? The elites don't want their tools weakened, and the mainstream just wants stuff to work. Split computing down the middle at desktops+laptops vs tablets+mobile+consoles and keep the separation clean. Now that we have iPads and whatnot there's no reason to keep nontechnicals on a PC if they don't want to be there... so why not let PCs return to the nerds?
The problem, I think, is that we seem to have trouble conceptualizing the schism that exists between the computing-as-a-tool users (aka the elites, power users, and programmers) and computing-as-an-appliance users (aka the computing mainstream). Both camps have wildly different wants, needs, and expectations.
Why can't both continue to exist separately? The elites don't want their tools weakened, and the mainstream just wants stuff to work. Split computing down the middle at desktops+laptops vs tablets+mobile+consoles and keep the separation clean. Now that we have iPads and whatnot there's no reason to keep nontechnicals on a PC if they don't want to be there... so why not let PCs return to the nerds?