[OS X TeX] Lost in Mac space

[David Derbes]

Hi.

I do not know unix as well as I would like. But I can make a couple of  
suggestions.

First, David Pogue's books on Mac OS X are very useful and typically  
contain at least one chapter on the Terminal, unix, and such like.  
Pogue is really very good for people who are intelligent but do not  
know a great deal about computer operating systems.

Next, I have always liked Harley Hahn's The Student's Guide to Unix. I  
don't know if it is still in print but maybe you can find a copy  
second hand at abebooks, or ask your friendly librarian to purchase it  
for the library.

Finally, there may well be a really good guide to Unix for the Mac  
from O'Reilly or on-line.

David Derbes
U of Chicago Laboratory Schools

On Dec 13, 2008, at 8:54 AM, Alain Schremmer wrote:

>
> On Dec 13, 2008, at 7:03 AM, George Ghio wrote:
>
>> Hi peter
>>
>> Perhaps this would be the time to bring this up. Myself and many  
>> others are not as computer literate as many here in these groups.  
>> Therefore, while the answer to a question may well be "cd to the  
>> root"  and while you may know the meaning of the answer, myself and  
>> many others are bewildered. People learn in many and varied ways.  
>> Some can learn by reading about the process while others must do  
>> the process to gain the ability.
>> [...]
>> For you, in your experience, the terminal may be the  benevolent  
>> angel of mac harmony, but, for some of us, it is the gateway to the  
>> devils lair. An example may help. Suppose that your favorite  
>> leather jacket was torn. You go to a group on line and ask how to  
>> repair it and the answer was "You need a pony, a stitching wheel,  
>> an awl and two saddler's needles" and you are expected to deduce  
>> the skill of saddle stitching.
>>
>> Please, I need to do it to learn it. How do you "cd to the root"  
>> and will it allow you to get package files in the correct places?
>
> All true. BUT:
>
> No one on this list has any obligation to any one on this list.  
> Those of us, certainly like myself, and, presumably, yourself, who  
> are terminally terminal-allergic, are like hungry people allowed at  
> the table of people a lot richer than themselves. Yes, as  
> unpalatable as it may appear to you, we are depending on charitable  
> people like Dyballa who are giving immensely more to the like of us  
> that we are ever likely to give back.
>
> You might wonder why I am getting into this. One reason, very  
> selfish, is that I miss some of the most knowledgeable and more  
> helpful people who unsubscribed from the list. Here are a few:  
> Robertson, Gerhardt, Voisin. While they may have had their own  
> reasons …
>
> So, what I do, is:
>
> — being very careful about what I am doing to my installation (do I  
> really need this upgrade, do I really need it right now? Etc).
> — read a lot of what comes down the pike and save it against the  
> hard day which is sure to come
> — when push comes to shove, I shove. In the present case, I would  
> have merely replied "What's cd to the root?" and. ten to one, he  
> would have explained it. Now, if I were in his shoes, I would  
> hesitate.
>
> Regards
> --schremmer
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