Linux users want better desktop performance (Screw data. Prioritize code)

[Matthew Woehlke]

Roy Bynum wrote:
> Desktop systems tend to be single user

This seems to be changing, in my experience. Linux especially encourages 
multiple users.

My home system deals with two non-daemon users on a regular basis and 
occasionally three... and I'm the only human using it. Family computers 
will sometimes (and should /always/, TBH*) have different user accounts 
for each family member.

(* not just for security reasons, it's also practical; each user gets 
their own personalizations)

> and usage centric which can 
> change, while multiuser systems tend to be setup for a dedicated usage 
> which does not change.

You clearly haven't met some of the systems I use, that get used for 
anything and everything :-)... running IDE's, builds, stress testing... 
Even a "single-purpose" box for software QA can easily run the gamut of 
usage patterns.

> The tuning application would be optional in both 
> cases with at least two different modes of operation.  The single user 
> would more likely use it in a  transparent auto-tuning mode while the 
> administrator of the multiuser system would use it as a support tool in 
> non auto-tuning, reporting only mode. 

Sure, but if it's well-written, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to 
use it to auto-tune on a multi-user system. Even on a "true" single-use 
system, you could use it as a "fire and forget" way to improve 
performance; I agree you probably will not get the maximum benefit from 
this, but unless the program really sucks, it should be better than 
leaving the default settings.

At any rate, my previous point was mainly that it should be able to 
monitor the entire system (which likely requires elevated privileges). 
Since you mentioned monitoring at the system-level, we seem to agree on 
this.

> One of the things that I have learned over the years is that what I 
> don't know exceeds what I do know.  I may know the utilization that I 
> have for my systems and those that I have supported.  There are probably 
> quite a few that I don't know about.  If the single user systems were 
> given the option of sending feedback to a development repository and 
> provide a "usefulness" reporting site for feedback that could be used 
> for making adjustments to the auto-tuning parameters.

That sounds like an interesting idea.

-- 
Matthew
Please do not quote my e-mail address unobfuscated in message bodies.
-- 
"Nobody expects the traditional Bourne shell!"