5 ms·

Check out https://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/ https://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/ I think the linux desktop user experience has improved exponentially over the l

Check out https://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/ https://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/ I think the linux desktop user experience has improved exponentially over the last few years, you should give it another shot.

seiferteric 9y ago
I am legitimately excited for Ubuntu 17.10, the GNOME theme looks great.
domenukk 9y ago
Looks have improved a fair amount. The normal user still wouldn't know how to install any software they know on it, however. And I'm not talking about an open-source alternative from apt. Also, touch screens <3
- MilnerRoute 9y ago
  For what it's worth, for software installation there's now "snaps," the new "universal Linux package" format that Canonical has been pushing.
  - gsich 9y ago
    Yet another package format...
  - renaudg 9y ago
    Obligatory XKCD : https://xkcd.com/927/ https://xkcd.com/927/
- newman8r 9y ago
  for some users, half the fun of switching to linux is realizing there's open source versions of all the software they used to pay for.
  - pjmlp 9y ago
    Why bother, when in most countries they can just pirate it?
    - newman8r 9y ago
      I find no need to pirate software using linux, everything I need is available for free. Pirated software that goes un-updated is a huge security issue anyway.
      - pjmlp 9y ago
        So around many universities around the globe, specially in poorer countries and see how many care about those security issues. Or many street bazaars around the globe.
    - xfer 9y ago
      pirated software with a bunch of malware in it?
      - pjmlp 9y ago
        It is sad, but many people don't care about it, hence why malware is so rampant.
jcastro 9y ago
Nice UIs won't fix people's broadcom wireless cards.
- mixedCase 9y ago
  Responding snark with snark: Then don't use them. Most wireless cards out there work just fine. When I had to use a laptop with a Broadcom chip for uni I used my Android phone as tethering (charging it as a bonus) and the guy sitting next to me just used a dongle smaller than his thumb.
  - jcastro 9y ago
    Most people (even developers) aren't willing to open up their laptop to replace their laptop wifi cards or to have to use dongles to get on their wireless or to play endless hardware roulette.
    - cma 9y ago
      OSX doesn't work on all windows-only hardware either. You have to buy something with Linux support.
- newman8r 9y ago
  I have linux distros running on 3 of my apple laptops with broadcom cards - it just meant using a nonfree firmware
- favadi 9y ago
  I even have problems with Intel card from time to time.
renaudg 9y ago
I was an early desktop Linux user 1996-2004, before switching to the Mac. I think I've heard "you should give it another shot" every single year since. Kiosks or super locked down experiences like ChromeOS have a decent chance at making an impact for some use cases (especially less technical/senior users) But as a general purpose desktop OS ? Still no, thanks. It's not just the lack of major commercial desktop apps (especially in the creative space, where browser apps won't take over anytime soon) It's also the fact that desktop Linux's priorities still largely mirror those of its left-brained developers, who don't value good design and human interface guidelines nearly as much as they should. Or as another commenter has put it : they have no taste. To be fair, I'm sure (well, I hope) there are now some professionally trained UX/UI specialists at Canonical and other places, but by and large there's still this mentality that it's a soft skilled task that a dev is perfectly capable of doing if need be (and yet, devs are horrified when a web designer quickly cobbles some PHP snippets together and calls that development, as ops people are generally horrified when they see servers set up by developers :) ) The last and maybe most important issue is that good design is necessarily strongly opinionated, it needs a leader to make hard calls so that the user doesn't have to, and this is completely at odds with the Linux/OSS philosophy. And why Apple became so good at it, having a (not always benevolent) dictator at its helm for so long.
- newman8r 9y ago
  It's just a friendlier way of saying 'you probably weren't doing it right' these are operating systems that reward expertise - it takes time and patience to get your workstation the way you want it. It's a time investment to learn it, to some it's worth the effort, to others it's not. edit* and I will concede that the various linux desktop environments have learned a ton from apple's design and UX concepts, and some of them have branched off into very interesting directions.
- gerdesj 9y ago
  Are you happy?

seiferteric 9y ago

I am legitimately excited for Ubuntu 17.10, the GNOME theme looks great.

domenukk 9y ago

Looks have improved a fair amount. The normal user still wouldn't know how to install any software they know on it, however. And I'm not talking about an open-source alternative from apt. Also, touch screens <3

MilnerRoute 9y ago
For what it's worth, for software installation there's now "snaps," the new "universal Linux package" format that Canonical has been pushing.
- gsich 9y ago
  Yet another package format...
- renaudg 9y ago
  Obligatory XKCD : https://xkcd.com/927/ https://xkcd.com/927/
newman8r 9y ago
for some users, half the fun of switching to linux is realizing there's open source versions of all the software they used to pay for.
- pjmlp 9y ago
  Why bother, when in most countries they can just pirate it?
  - newman8r 9y ago
    I find no need to pirate software using linux, everything I need is available for free. Pirated software that goes un-updated is a huge security issue anyway.
    - pjmlp 9y ago
      So around many universities around the globe, specially in poorer countries and see how many care about those security issues. Or many street bazaars around the globe.
  - xfer 9y ago
    pirated software with a bunch of malware in it?
    - pjmlp 9y ago
      It is sad, but many people don't care about it, hence why malware is so rampant.

jcastro 9y ago

Nice UIs won't fix people's broadcom wireless cards.

mixedCase 9y ago
Responding snark with snark: Then don't use them. Most wireless cards out there work just fine. When I had to use a laptop with a Broadcom chip for uni I used my Android phone as tethering (charging it as a bonus) and the guy sitting next to me just used a dongle smaller than his thumb.
- jcastro 9y ago
  Most people (even developers) aren't willing to open up their laptop to replace their laptop wifi cards or to have to use dongles to get on their wireless or to play endless hardware roulette.
  - cma 9y ago
    OSX doesn't work on all windows-only hardware either. You have to buy something with Linux support.
newman8r 9y ago
I have linux distros running on 3 of my apple laptops with broadcom cards - it just meant using a nonfree firmware
favadi 9y ago
I even have problems with Intel card from time to time.

renaudg 9y ago

I was an early desktop Linux user 1996-2004, before switching to the Mac. I think I've heard "you should give it another shot" every single year since. Kiosks or super locked down experiences like ChromeOS have a decent chance at making an impact for some use cases (especially less technical/senior users) But as a general purpose desktop OS ? Still no, thanks. It's not just the lack of major commercial desktop apps (especially in the creative space, where browser apps won't take over anytime soon) It's also the fact that desktop Linux's priorities still largely mirror those of its left-brained developers, who don't value good design and human interface guidelines nearly as much as they should. Or as another commenter has put it : they have no taste. To be fair, I'm sure (well, I hope) there are now some professionally trained UX/UI specialists at Canonical and other places, but by and large there's still this mentality that it's a soft skilled task that a dev is perfectly capable of doing if need be (and yet, devs are horrified when a web designer quickly cobbles some PHP snippets together and calls that development, as ops people are generally horrified when they see servers set up by developers :) ) The last and maybe most important issue is that good design is necessarily strongly opinionated, it needs a leader to make hard calls so that the user doesn't have to, and this is completely at odds with the Linux/OSS philosophy. And why Apple became so good at it, having a (not always benevolent) dictator at its helm for so long.

newman8r 9y ago
It's just a friendlier way of saying 'you probably weren't doing it right' these are operating systems that reward expertise - it takes time and patience to get your workstation the way you want it. It's a time investment to learn it, to some it's worth the effort, to others it's not. edit* and I will concede that the various linux desktop environments have learned a ton from apple's design and UX concepts, and some of them have branched off into very interesting directions.
gerdesj 9y ago
Are you happy?