My thoughts on the Linux purists frowning on admin rights from a GUI - get over it. So long as they are able to have a distro that offers them the config they like, the rest of us should not have to spend our days playing ‘command line commando’.

Some Linux and Unix purists frown on administration from anything but the command line, insisting that a GUI could open security holes and create additional memory and processing overhead.

On the other hand, the Windows line of thinking is that administration through the GUI is the most convenient, efficient way to go, and that admin tools do not present many problems.

For systems administrators, the decision on whether to use the GUI or the command line likely will depend on the specific computing scenario. Most admins — even Windows admins — will use a combination of the two.

Admin Need

Because Linux operating systems contain several components from various sources and open interfaces that interact with each other, the need for efficient administration is acute.

Many tasks often can be executed quickly with command line or shell interfaces, but require deep knowledge of the system, noted Chris Schlaeger, vice president of engineering at Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL - news). [Read the rest]