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It’s true. On the other hand distros like Zorin or Pop!_OS don’t need the command line and work “out of the box”.
The real problem being that, Linux users are nerds. And once you get use to power, you can’t imagine a time where you did not have that power. That is why when a newbie asks “what linux should I use”, the answers are never the right ones. It’s always : you can use that to do that, or that one is better for that aspect or […] omitting the simple fact that before all of that, to have more Linux users, the goal is NOT to scare them. Give them something easy, that works. They’ll eventually figure it out.
That’s the point of the article. It’s well written. It’s spot-on.
The author of the blog post likes X, that’s why distro A
ismight be the perfect distro for them. While I like Y, which is why distro B is the perfect distro for me etc. What makes Linux -in a sense as a platform-perfectgreat is that it allows one to either find/install/build/configure the perfect system for them[1]. Some prefer to be in full control from start to finish, while others just like sane defaults. The fact that Linux allows for such diversity is almost mind-blowing.The degree of that diversity will only increase as time goes on and very likely at some point (purely as a side-effect of further diversification) very ‘dumped down’ versions of Linux might -and perhaps already have- arise. This is inevitable and -perhaps to a degree- essential. And no matter how ‘dumped down’ some Linux distros would have become by then, you can still bet your money that distros like Gentoo and Slackware will continue to do what they always have. So that everybody and their mom, but also the tinker-loving you, will be able to have their perfect distro.
Therefore I don’t see any merit/benefit in contributing to gatekeeping, elitism or whatever this is supposed to be. Instead, we should contribute in more meaningful ways; e.g. like by maintaining some packages you need in your perfect distro. And perhaps those changes will actually contribute to it becoming the perfect distro for others…
- I’d argue Linux isn’t quite there yet, unfortunately. As some highly specialized systems just don’t exist yet… Regardless, l would reckon it allows one to get the closest to such systems.
I agree with this 100%, every word. Well, almost every word; the expression is “dumbed down” not “dumped down”, but other than that, this is basically what I was going to say.
I find that elitist, gatekeepy posts like what OP said are completely unhelpful. They’re worse than wrong, because they can’t even yield useful discussion, really - just neck beards nodding vigorously and everyone else rolling their eyes.
You want a stable, locked down system? Vanilla OS, Silverblue, Blend, and Aeon will have you covered. You want to tinker? Debian, Fedora, Arch, and OpenSuse are still there. Linux is about choice, and it’s just silly to worry that Arch is going to disappear just because Blend (or Garuda, or whatever the hell) exist.
Im not afraid of command line, but also dont feel like linux guy yet. The thing is that installing and using some distros are way easier than windows. I installed POP OS recently and cant believe how smooth and easy it was. Average windows users might not need command line at all on distro like that
There was a time where I liked configuring and compiling things. I wrote my own scripts and pkgbuilds for arch. I’ve broken and fixed my system more times than I can count. I don’t mind it, but god I’m lazy. So I run POP now cause shit works and I don’t really have to mess with it.
I’m in this camp. Been messing with linux since 2004. Ubuntu 5.10 i think it was, Fedora core 4, slackware, crunchbang, arch…almost 2 decades later i’m on Pop OS. shit just works it’s out of my way. i can customize it to look how i want, set it and forget it. nvidia works great etc. i use the terminal a lot though. mainly for bash scripts and ssh server stuff, directory navigation and management etc. I use a lot of third party TỤI apps too. I like the option of having a stable easy to use GUI for mundane lazy periods and the ability to do whatever i need in terminal. Plus pop os with tiling and floating window manager toggle is awesome.
Same for me, sort of. Started with Ubuntu in 2007 (I still feel nostalgic about the login drum “bu-du-bup” sound), then arch for a couple of years, all the tiling wms, endless polishing of dotfiles. I mainly used the computer to modify how I used the computer. Then I found things I liked doing, like typesetting with TeX, and after that I just wanted a system that let me do that without spending time on the system itself. Since then I’ve used Debian.
Debian gang rise to the max!
ChromeOS right? Is that the answer to the blogs unanswered question? Of what if Linux but supported by a MAANG company made for people who don’t want to delve into computer science or engineering or tinkering.
