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OMGUbuntu: 'Why Use Linux?' Answered in 3 Short Words (omgubuntu.co.uk)
Linux-focused blog OMGUbuntu's Joey-Elijah Sneddon shared a post today in which he is trying to explain why people should Linux. He stumbled upon the question when he typed "Why use" and Google suggested Linux as one of the most frequent questions. From the article: The question posed is not one that I sincerely ask myself very often. The answer has, over the years, become complicated. It's grown into a bloated ball of elastic bands, each reason stretched around and now reliant on another. But I wanted to answer. Helpfully, my brain began to spit out all the predictable nouns: "Why use Linux? Because of security! Because of control! Because of privacy, community, and a general sense of purpose! Because it's fast! Because it's virus free! Because I'm dang-well used to it now! Because, heck, I can shape it to look like pretty much anything I want it to using themes and widgets and CSS and extensions and blingy little desktop trinkets!"
Nuff said.
* it has bash plus coreutils and all the other command line toolset
* its software is free as in beer (this is what made me try out linux)
* its software is free as in software (this is what made me stay on linux for so long)
* all the things I do with computers can be done with it, and when there is a case I can't do it on linux, I can always fire up the windows VM (happens very very rarely)
* it has working package management. updating software is no nightmare. Windows has to force its customers to update it, because its a nightmare.
* most support issues are talked about and you find something you can instantly do not where you have to download this little exe then execute it (and god knows what it may contain). Maybe this will get worse if/when linux adoption reaches the non technical people, its very hard to find such things for android for example.
many other things I have forgotten, but I will surely miss when I have to use windows or mac.
Really, Slashdot? Clickbait? "Because it's better". Would that have been so difficult to throw into the Summary? I'm ashamed.
2016 and if I upgrade my kernel to 4.7, no wifi...again. Fucking Linux still sucks.
No. Vendor. Lockin.
So that your nerdy friend will stop bugging you to use a *real* operating system, and start bugging you to read the fine manual! :D
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
It's not Windows.
It's not spyware.
It's not Microsoft.
It respects you.
It's your computer!
Try it today!
for servers at least. Sorry, but I'll stick with Windows and OSX for desktop usage for wider software support and both are good enough these days.
""Keeps your secrets" vs "Do no privacy"
"National Security Agency"
"Secret Intelligence Service"
Who wants code by private sector teams that allowed 5 eye nations to get all the plain text for years?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
... "I love systemd"? I bet that's what they are.
Attack its weak point for massive damage!
I have been a hard-core LInux user for over 15 years, running it on desktops, laptops, everything, completely eschewing the WIndows ecosystem (except for some occasional Wine use). Then I moved to an employer that is 100% OSX based. Running Linux on a bare metal Macbook was not an option due to the necessity of running security software mandated by their compliance department (along with a security token for MFA that doesn't work with Linux).
So I switched to OSX and run Linux in a VM, ssh'ing to it as needed.
I was reluctant to make the switch at first, but now am quite happy with OSX as my main OS -- everything works, the laptop sleeps and wakes up as it should, the integrated touchpad and camera work flawlessly, it switches from a single monitor to my double desktop monitors without a problem, then switches back to the laptop display when I unplug. Presentation mode works well when I plug in the projector.
While running running Linux on my thinkpad, I've experienced lots of problems -- sometimes the laptop would fail to suspend -- I'd pull it out of my backpack and it'd be hot with a nearly dead battery after continuing to run while the lid was closed, sometimes it would fail to wake up and I'd have to power cycle it. Sound was a recurring problem, I'd have to restart the sound daemon at least once a week, and plugging in an external monitor was always an exercise in finding out where my windows scattered to and hoping that it found the right resolution for my monitor.
On the server side, I'm a big fan of Linux, but on the desktop, I'm become a fan of OSX.
You haven't worked with normal users much, have you? It can be a shock how little most people understand their computers and how they work. They simply memorize the actions needed to accomplish specific tasks, and that's good enough for them. The big blue E icon on their desktop means "the internet", until it drives someone they know who's a bit more knowledgeable insane, and they replace it with a Fox or round primary icon, and then THAT becomes "the internet" for them.
I'll put it bluntly. No, normal users should stay away from the terminal, nor should they *need* to use it for daily operations. If they're interested in learning how to work at a command prompt, that just means they're probably on the verge of becoming a power user. That's not a bad thing, of course, but it's not what most people want to spend their time doing.
Figuring out how to use a terminal requires a non-trivial learning curve. That's because there's no intuitive method of command / feature discovery, unlike with a menu, toolbars with tooltips, and dialog boxes that show you all the options in a visual, hierarchical format. There's a reason GUIs are ubiquitous in nearly all computing platforms today, with the possible exception of headless servers, embedded systems, and other specialized systems.
I'm a programmer, so yes, I'm comfortable with various shells, but I think some people seem to overly fetishize it, like it's a badge of their geekdom or a symbol of their arcane power over a computer. The command line is just power and flexibility at the expense of user friendliness. Once learned, it's a very handy tool in your arsenal, and can be more efficient for some type of operations. Don't pretend it's anything but that, or you're just fooling yourself.
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
i'm stuck with windows because it'd be far too much work having to reboot any time i want to just play a game if i dual booted.
Have two computers. With so many people replacing their desktops with tablets you can buy a very good used desktop PC for peanuts (I have four). Use one just for Windows games and be ready to re-install when it gets malware. Keep your serious work, web surfing and data on a different PC under Linux.
"because it's better" are four words.