FIREWALLS FOR LINUX MINT

[Kaye]

Something strange is going on.. your apt is trying to connect to localhost rather than a repo..

[Capt Turk]

ikey
Actually, my original post was not meant as asking for help. It was more just being a wise ass, and trying to get a chuckle.

[Ebere]

First of all, thank you, to DrHu, and Fred, and many others who try to help people.

Second, please excuse the rather lengthy post.

The putdowns, lectures, and 'drive-by eliteism', coming from both sides, really gets tiresome, sometimes.


I am reminded of two things, in this thread.

Several decades ago, when still a young pup, considering going to college...

I noticed that some people, who were well educated... But more, were very immersed in their field of study... Almost seemed to have a language of their own. They used all kinds of 65-dollar words. They communicated in very complex patterns. Etc.

Anyone in their field would find it easy to understand at least some of what they were saying. Anyone outside the field, would be lost. The most simple conversation would all seem like some sort of arcane ritual.

Give it another decade and a half or so, and I figured out that that is the way it is -everywhere-. Whatever the vocation, or avocation. Professional or hobby. Whether football, quantum physics, or candle-making...

People tend to develop a 'mini-language'. Understood by their peers, and not so much by anyone who hasn't spent the time to learn the game, hobby, vocation, whatever.

One which helps them to both, teach others, and to learn more from them, about the particular field.

These people are not usually, (note the word usually), trying to keep others out. Or to make themselves seem/feel superior to others. It is simply that the language is needed, and has become familiar to those who use it.



And that brings me to the second thing I am reminded of. (And thank you to DrHu for reminding me of this. Or, more technically for bringing it into focus, because it has been a growing realization, for a while, now.)

When I first started out on computers, I was using a computer that I fished out of the trash, and fixed.

This was in the days when a motherboard was a breadboard full of resistors, capacitors, and such. Large ones that could be de-soldered and replaced.

I had no real idea what I was doing, but went on instinct. Using a cheap analog volt-ohmmeter, I figured out what I thought was a handful of bad parts.

I drew a picture of the entire MB, with those parts indicated. And with them oriented correctly, etc. I de-soldered all of those, took them with me to a local electronics super-store... And 85 cents worth of parts, and several hours of work, later... I had a working computer.

Purely a miracle, because I had absolutely NO idea what I had done, or why it worked. LOL

So, I am sitting in front of my 'new' computer, and had absolutely no idea what to do with it. I had to call a friend who had computers and ask what I should do next.

Well, this is after I finally overcame my computer phobia, and actually hit a few keys. (I was very VERY afraid that if I touched ANY button whatever on the keyboard, I was sure to 'kill' the computer beyond any sort of repair.)


Ok, so you understand where I was, as far as computer knowledge of any sort whatever.


My friend told me that in order to use the computer, I actually needed to have software ! An 'operating system'.

What ???!?

What is this gibberish ? I have a computer in front of me. It obviously works. Stuff comes up on the screen. Why can't I just type something, and get an answer ? If I put a piece of bread into the toaster and push the button, I get a piece of toast. Why doen't this computer thing "just compute" when I push the button ???!?


Well, you know where all that went...


My friend came over with dos1.1 and gbasic.

I found a book about dos, and basic, and within two weeks I was doing all sorts of things. Including making animated graphics. Ok, just lights and bars, swirling in patterns, etc. But you get the idea.


I tired/got bored of that, fairly quickly. And moved on to learning about all the hardware, and then moved on to higher levels of software.

But ALL of my intial experience with computers was with command lines.

When Midnight Commander, Wordstar and some other dos utilities that were almost like gui's, came along, it was great to have that sort of interface. But knowledge of basic dos commands was still absolutely needed.

When windows finally showed up... I spent a couple of years, going through all the same frustrations with people, that you sometimes see on the linux forums, like this.

I knew the basics behind the GUI. I knew DOS.

Knowing DOS, made it a LOT easier to figure out windows. And in fact, very early on, I figured out some 'fixes' for windows problems, using dos commands.

I tried to teach people what I knew, but most people were interested only in looking at the picture on the screen, pushing a button there, and having the program do what they wanted it to do. They had absolutely no interest in learning WHY it worked the way it did.


Now, after many years of windows, I am finding myself back at the beginning.

I realize that I need to learn the basics. The commands behind what is on the screen.

And at the same time, I do have the GUI in front of me, on the screen there.

So, I am in the position of those whom I tried to teach some basics, back when windows was just 3.1, then WFW, then 95.

Only, I DO want to learn the basics.

I am just not as young as I used to be. And I do get frustrated.

So, if Fred and others here, will have patience with me... Realize that I am at the kiddleygarten stage of learning, and teach me, accordingly... I would be greatly appreciative.

And maybe a bit less frustrated at times. LOL



Bottom line, there is something to be said for both sides of the argument.

A GUI is nice to have. But learning the basics behind the gui, the basic commands and command structure that the GUI is built on... Can be extremely helpful, and is no doubt, indispensable at times.

Use the GUI, but do not be afraid of the CLI.

Using that CLI, is at their most basic level, no different from using the GUI. You are doing exactly the same thing with the computer when you use the CLI, as when you use a series of clicks in the GUI. You are using the Operating System, to perform a particular task.

It is just two different ways of accomplishing the same thing.

One may be more efficient at times, and to different people. But there is no reason for users of either interface to belittle others for not using the one they prefer. There is no call for being un(0)kool to others, just because you disagree with them, cannot understand their approach, do not care to, etc...