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I noticed that normies — my extended relatives, SCA folks I know, neighbors — spend their time on mobile and not on the desktop. And Windows is as frustrating t

by hosh 4y ago

I noticed that normies — my extended relatives, SCA folks I know, neighbors — spend their time on mobile and not on the desktop. And Windows is as frustrating to them as anything else. They don’t really care if it is Windows or Linux; it’s mostly a means to get to the browser, or something their desk work requires it.

ozim 4y ago
So I believe since most of them use Adnroid (tablets/smartphones) possibly it is already that Linux achieved goal of pushing Windows out of the window. While desktop computing still has its value everything shifted and yeah fight from 1990s or 2000s does not matter anymore.
- gsich 4y ago
  Android is Linux only in kernel. Also it's not a desktop environment.
- KyeRussell 4y ago
  Android’s prevalence should not remotely be considered a victory for the desktop Linux ‘advocates’ because it basically happened almost entirely orthogonally to any of their efforts. The desktop Linux advocates of the 2000 and beyond infuriated me because they were/are in such a bubble that they thought/think that the typical Linux desktop experience was remotely tenable for a civilian, and somehow would mentally blank out all the times they’ve needed to monkey about in the terminal to get something to work. Of course this entire thing is inconsequential first world problem BS, but within that sphere the desktop Linux advocates certainly don’t deserve to take that W.
  - ozim 4y ago
    That is also my point - whole game shifted. Maybe to clarify, by Linux I did not mean any people like "Linux advocates". What I wrote is about Linux as an idea of open kernel that won on its own.
askiiart 4y ago
In my experience, 99% of people just want a browser and maybe Microsoft Office. Plus maybe some other software to work with random stuff. Office works with compatibility layers, so just the "random stuff" category, and the occasional printer issue, are all I see keeping most people from using Linux. That and not knowing about Linux in the first place.
- everdrive 4y ago
  Typically the thing that keeps people from using Linux is their lack of comfort actually installing an operating system. Why do I believe this? Because smart phones are popular and Chromebooks are popular. A Chromebook is generally much _more_ restricted than Linux, and an Android or iPhone is at minimum a different user interface which cannot run the same software, or be installed the same way as Windows. But technically illiterate people have adapted to this just fine.
galangalalgol 4y ago
People don't author papers on mobile yet do they? I mean, an android tablet with a mouse and keyboard should be fine for that given webapps, but I just don't know people who have that workflow. And itbis a biased sampling because of internet pricing, but on planes as I look around I mostly see windows or mac laptops for actual work. A few adults will have tablets, but mostly kids. Adults mostly have a phone reading a book or watching a movie. At work it seems like developers don't care what the machine they are sitting at is as long as it has ssh and vscode with remote plugin and of course a browser. Some domain specific tools don't work so well remotely and those people have whatever that software requires, sometimes as a VM but often on metal with a beefy workstation. For generic office productivity I still see people using Microsoft.
- semi-extrinsic 4y ago
  Overleaf works well for writing papers on any tablet, hell it's even usable in a pinch on my phone.
- morjom 4y ago
  I think people author papers on MacBooks at this point more than Windows, but I think my anti-apple bias is doing a number on this one.
cykros 4y ago
Given how many kids are and have been on ChromeOS since 2020, I wouldn't be surprised to see this changing fairly rapidly, moreso than I'd have otherwise expected. More and more it seems the choice for people is between a Macbook or a Chromebook -- the windows PC is just an expensive gaming device in the realm of personal machines. Windows still rules the office, for now, but it's not gaining ground, and offices tend to move slowly, but steadily.
- pjmlp 4y ago
  A very US specific view, ChromeOS hardly matters outside US school system and most countries outside tier 1 only get Macs to target Apple's mobile platforms.

by hosh 4y ago

ozim 4y ago

So I believe since most of them use Adnroid (tablets/smartphones) possibly it is already that Linux achieved goal of pushing Windows out of the window. While desktop computing still has its value everything shifted and yeah fight from 1990s or 2000s does not matter anymore.

gsich 4y ago
Android is Linux only in kernel. Also it's not a desktop environment.
KyeRussell 4y ago
Android’s prevalence should not remotely be considered a victory for the desktop Linux ‘advocates’ because it basically happened almost entirely orthogonally to any of their efforts. The desktop Linux advocates of the 2000 and beyond infuriated me because they were/are in such a bubble that they thought/think that the typical Linux desktop experience was remotely tenable for a civilian, and somehow would mentally blank out all the times they’ve needed to monkey about in the terminal to get something to work. Of course this entire thing is inconsequential first world problem BS, but within that sphere the desktop Linux advocates certainly don’t deserve to take that W.
- ozim 4y ago
  That is also my point - whole game shifted. Maybe to clarify, by Linux I did not mean any people like "Linux advocates". What I wrote is about Linux as an idea of open kernel that won on its own.

askiiart 4y ago

In my experience, 99% of people just want a browser and maybe Microsoft Office. Plus maybe some other software to work with random stuff. Office works with compatibility layers, so just the "random stuff" category, and the occasional printer issue, are all I see keeping most people from using Linux. That and not knowing about Linux in the first place.

everdrive 4y ago
Typically the thing that keeps people from using Linux is their lack of comfort actually installing an operating system. Why do I believe this? Because smart phones are popular and Chromebooks are popular. A Chromebook is generally much _more_ restricted than Linux, and an Android or iPhone is at minimum a different user interface which cannot run the same software, or be installed the same way as Windows. But technically illiterate people have adapted to this just fine.

galangalalgol 4y ago

People don't author papers on mobile yet do they? I mean, an android tablet with a mouse and keyboard should be fine for that given webapps, but I just don't know people who have that workflow. And itbis a biased sampling because of internet pricing, but on planes as I look around I mostly see windows or mac laptops for actual work. A few adults will have tablets, but mostly kids. Adults mostly have a phone reading a book or watching a movie. At work it seems like developers don't care what the machine they are sitting at is as long as it has ssh and vscode with remote plugin and of course a browser. Some domain specific tools don't work so well remotely and those people have whatever that software requires, sometimes as a VM but often on metal with a beefy workstation. For generic office productivity I still see people using Microsoft.

semi-extrinsic 4y ago
Overleaf works well for writing papers on any tablet, hell it's even usable in a pinch on my phone.
morjom 4y ago
I think people author papers on MacBooks at this point more than Windows, but I think my anti-apple bias is doing a number on this one.

cykros 4y ago

Given how many kids are and have been on ChromeOS since 2020, I wouldn't be surprised to see this changing fairly rapidly, moreso than I'd have otherwise expected. More and more it seems the choice for people is between a Macbook or a Chromebook -- the windows PC is just an expensive gaming device in the realm of personal machines. Windows still rules the office, for now, but it's not gaining ground, and offices tend to move slowly, but steadily.

pjmlp 4y ago
A very US specific view, ChromeOS hardly matters outside US school system and most countries outside tier 1 only get Macs to target Apple's mobile platforms.