Honestly, I agree with @StillNoLeftLeft@hexbear.net
Ok fair enough, but I wouldn’t have installed Linux if I had not seen it recommended.
I’m not a computer toucher, but I can follow written advice.
These sorts of posts always scold anyone giving out actual solutions just so being miserable can continue. This cultural thing almost has an end of history type vibe to it. It’s also pretty hostile to divergent and often solution focused neurotypes.
Linux evangelism kinda makes sense, no one is spending billions on marketing and ads for it. I think Linux evangelists should ask about use cases first, instead of just posting a generic “use Linux”.
Yeah that’s a real problem. There is not enough consensus between Linux users and evangelists on which distros to recommend to someone who is Linux-curious.
Another issue is that they start recommending distros without asking about use cases first.
I use Linux and I’m still confused about Linux. It’s just not the out of the box one sized fits all solution that Microsoft and Apple offer. Someday I think someone will package and maintain such a thing and arguably some have but…for widespread adoption is has to be simpler than it is.
There are already projects that try to be a much more complete package while also being as hassle free as possible like the UBlue and Bazzite projects.
The Linux fan has a one-size-fits-all solution, but with typical tech dork extravagance, they have two of them.
LMAOO. Tbf Bazzite is part of UBlue, its just that it is big enough to be mentioned lol
I don’t think we will ever see a consolidation of Free Software operating systems. Individual people’s use cases differ. Some people favor security, some people favor the latest features. Some people have powerful workstations and want to flex them while others have older computers or battery-powered devices and want something light-weight. Other people specifically require compatibility with antiquated software or hardware, whether for nostalgia reasons, neccessity, or because they work for a kulak who is too cheap to spring for an inventory system from this century. Others still are tied to a specific software stack, like the popular pfSense firewall which is tightly integrated with the FreeBSD network stack. Things like this inevitably lead to software configurations which are mutually exclusive. There is no such thing as one size fits all (though virtual machines go a long way towards mitigating this).
An operating system is a complex piece of technology. It’s like a car. They’ve all got engines and tires, but do you need? A sedan, a pickup, a van, a bus, a dump truck? A lot of people don’t give a shit if it’s a Mazda or a Toyota, but they still have to choose one or the other, even after narrowing their search down to cheap sedan which can plausibly reach 200k. There are differences between a Toyota Camry and a Mazda Protege if you are discerning or care about it, but a lot of people get hung up on this when they don’t even know what to look for and someone says “here try this, it has a steering wheel, a gas pedal, brakes, power windows, two roomy cup holders, and the replacement parts are relatively cheap.”
The breadth of choices available in Free Software operating systems is a reflection of the material conditions created by decades of consumer electronics production. Operating systems like Windows and MacOS are designed to sell new devices. They are not deeply concerned with technical debt, or keeping 10+ year old machines running. Free Software operating systems don’t have the privilege of shipping on new hardware, or the power to impose standards and consistency on hardware vendors like CPU architecture, firmware standards, minimum screen resolutions, graphical capabilities, memory availability, input methods, physical ports, etc. The task at hand is much broader. Anywhere there is a substantial amount of tech threatened by obsolescence, there is a motive to give it a second life. Anywhere there is “obsolete” tech and a lack of the productive means or the finances to replace it, there is a material need to make adaptations with whatever is available. This happens from the level of second-hand gaming PCs in the imperial core all the way down to the shoe-string computers and mobile devices in the global south. These adaptations don’t always involve just wiping the thing and installing Linux, but there are enough cases where this is the first step.