Re:A new wave of Linux applications
by phendrenad2 on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @06:11PM
(#30367142)
The Linux world has two competing ideals: "So easy my grandparents can use it" and "Learning the terminal will make you a better person". Anyone who tries to make things too simple (PCLinuxOS) is derided and criticized by Popular Linux YouTube Channel, Reddit, etc. Anyone who tries to make things too technical (Arch) is ignored by Popular Linux YouTube Channel, Reddit, etc. So only those distros that flounder somewhere in the middle get popular. Ideally, the Linux desktop world would just split in half, so that there can be a clean separation between these two ideals. People who want "Easux is so easy my grandparents can use it" won't be bothered that Hardux is hard to use. People who want "Learning the Hardux terminal will make you a better person" won't be annoyed that Easux is easy to use.
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Re:A new wave of Linux applications
by batrachos on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @06:42PM
(#30367444)
> Ideally, the Linux desktop world would just split in half, so that there can be a clean separation between these two ideals.
Isn't that basically what's happening already?
ChromeOS and Android Linuces on the one side, GNU/Linux (sorry Stallman haters) on the other...
Re:A new wave of Linux applications
by phendrenad2 on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @07:50PM
(#30368141)
ChromeOS and Android don't run on regular desktop or laptop PCs, at least not without a heroic amount of hacking and configuration.
Re:A new wave of Linux applications
by _-david-_ on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @08:50PM
(#30368609)
ChromeOS is heading that way: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30350860
I don't think they're competing ideals at all. What is needed is a configurable system with easy defaults, just like setting nano as the default editor but allowing me to change it to vim.
Re:A new wave of Linux applications
by phendrenad2 on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @07:47PM
(#30368104)
Maybe in theory they aren't competing, but in practice they definitely are. Remember, open-source is made by whoever shows up and contributes. If everyone who shows up is either a hardcore Linux expert, or someone who want to make Linux easier for the masses, then who will integrate the two goals? Open-source isn't a corporation, where there top-down leadership. It's a bottom-up ad-hoc collaboration.