running what you'd want to make the machine usable -- there is a 3 in 4 chance that you'd have to change it to make it usable for yourself. You also need to know enough about how to install YOUR version of UI on YOUR system. Others need to know the same. It becomes standards anarchy. Unix keeps trying to approach 0 when it comes to their standards. Of course that may be better than MS products which often get a "divide by zero" error, but 1 (and only 1) would be best. Think about Scripting Systems, or CLI shells. Ask a Unix user what is the "standard" shell, or what it should be -- or ask which scripting language should be the "standard" (1). There are probably a dozen of each (or more) on Unix -- so you have 1/12th of a standard. Everyone installs their own, or every flavor of UNIX has their own favorite, or there are dozens pre-installed -- it isn't is exactly clean and simple. For now users need to be burdened about all the options, and which one may be best (or default), and so on -- and know that it can change on anyone else's system. (1) If there are a few Unix geeks in the room a geek-fight may ensue -- with clawing and spewing techno-terms, and insults like "You don't grok awk!" Balance Of course life is about balance. All those different choices give people options. Most of the options are