[tex-live] Ruby interpreter for Windows in the TeXLive distribution?

[Hans Hagen]

Giuseppe Bilotta wrote:
> Windows has made things worse, not better, by giving the illusion that
> training is not needed.
>
>   
hm, i more get the impression that people (kids) don't want that kind of 
training, they just want to get started and learn while doing. Many 
programs (as well windows as a whole, or a fresh linux destop) does 
offer those 'introduction' and 'tips' things but how many (new) users  
take the time to  follow the learning  route

there was a time that when you installed a new version of an os, reading 
a few pages could bring you up to date, that time has gone

the same is true for tex, when there were hardly any options (macro 
packages, fonts, styles) live was simple and there was only one way to 
go (resulting in all docs produced by tex look the same)

nowadays a user sees someone else's more advanced document and want to 
do the same, directly; there ar ewiki's, mailing lists, examples etc and 
there is no real need to first go through a long learning process;

as a side effect, in the beginning of tex, people wrote introductions, 
articles etc, but less and less now; the longer a mailing list is 
around, the more expert the average crows gets;  every new tex user 
immediately becomes part of the group of advanced users

look back at the last 20 years and then extrapolate to 20 years from 
now: our current operating systems (and discussions) will look silly and 
dark age; and tex ... maybe we have realtime rendering all around and 
deal with information in completely new ways; just as many kids will not 
recognize the thashcan ice on as representing a can, they may no longer 
think of files and systems. (btw, does your computer's desnk top look 
like your desktop?)

it would be an interesting exercise to extrapolate what tex live 2020 
should look like, because we may need some time to get that done; 
operating systems have come and gone then, and we may even face 
ourselves (tex users) with extinction; and think of 2040 when someone 
has to come by and install your computer ... (with or without tex)


 
Hans 

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