linuxmemes

Tech boner

If there are dozens of thirsty lesbians using Arch Linux, then I am one of them.

If there is one thirsty lesbian using Arch Linux, it’s me.

If there are no thirsty lesbians using Arch Linux, then I am no longer on Earth.

If the world is against thirsty lesbians using Arch Linux, then I am against the world.

In your local area!

He said "arch based" my guess is he didn't want to say "I run manjaro btw"

disappointed sound

Nothing finer in the world than French wine, Cuban cigars and Russian escorts.

I've seen this meme format so many times, but this is the first time I've actually seen the source

Yeah, I see a fair amount of gatekeeping and condescension in Linux communities. I also see a lot of people who truly want to be helpful, but that aspect is there.

I've seen Linux compared to car ownership a number of times, and I think that's an apt comparison. I have the knowledge to use and perform basic maintenance on a car, and I have no interest in learning more. It's a tool made for a purpose. Some people love to tinker with cars, and I can understand that. I love Linux and enjoy tinkering with it, but it generally won't "just work" for most users. Yes, if you're setting it up for your grandparents and they just need a web browser or something like that it's probably fine but most users that aren't Linux savvy are going to run into issues.

Linux is becoming ever more usable, and I think usage will continue to increase alongside that, but I don't see it ever becoming a major personal desktop platform. Wouldn't mind being wrong, but Linux will be fine, regardless.

That was more ranty than I had expected!

And this, folks, is why there will be no “year of the Linux desktop”. The technical difficulties, and the surrounding gatekeeping.

Joke's on you, we don't need there to be one. Mine was 2007. Yours was whenever it was. I welcome new users, but my happiness doesn't depend on Linux appealing to everyone, and neither does the survival of Linux as an option.

The types who appreciate what differentiates the Linux experience from Windows or MacOS (in terms of the typical benefits we'd evangelize) will find their way here. It's naturally getting easier over time, and the contrast (especially against the Windows experience) is only increasing in its attractiveness.

You need a willingness to learn, and if you've never installed an OS ever before that will be true even for Windows. Why are we trying to lower the bar further than that? Not everyone has to start with Arch, or should.

Gatekeeping aside....

LMDE on somewhat recent hardware with an iGPU. My wife has not asked me a single question, mostly since she opens the laptop, opens firefox, does whatever, closes laptop. An absolutely typical user.

Sometimes she even clicks on the update popup.

Nearly every machine with any complexity greater than a light switch comes with a manual. As the number of features of a system grows, it becomes less and less feasible to design user interfaces that expose all of those features so intuitively that most people get them instantly. In fact large software with tons of features in UI have manuals and need books to master. Featurefull software requires documentation. And so the question isn't whether one piece of software requires documentation to use or not, instead it's whether that pieces of software can do more or less, and whether someone bothered to write a doc. In Linux'es case someone typically bothered to do it. There is an M to RTF. On Windows on the other hand, if something obvious doesn't work, or it isn't obvious, you're often stuck with hearsay or worse - banging your head against the wall. It's quite alright for people to prefer to stick with what they know whether it provides the easiest way to do something or not. But let's not get confused that RTFM is a bad thing. RTFM means there's an M, it means the M will help, it means that the software has the capability you need, and likely more than you need. ☺️

It's art (that makes you horny)