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I would think more than 90% of all computer users (be it in their personal life or profession) do not need the latest versions of anything, but would prefer a s
by rendx 1y ago
I would think more than 90% of all computer users (be it in their personal life or profession) do not need the latest versions of anything, but would prefer a stable system with no sudden changes. It's also much less on a burden on those that manage the systems for them.
- mvdtnz 1y agoSome common software gets very annoying or even unusable with age. Try using a version of yt-dlp older than a few months (Debian's is several years old and is completely useless). Or software like Discord which doesn't play well with Debian because it can't keep itself up to date.
- rendx 1y agoI am talking about ordinary people, the majority of the world's population, not computer people. They do not use yt-dlp or Discord.
- dragonwriter 1y agoI think of yt-dlp, Discord, or Debian (Debian proper, not downstream distros like Ubuntu), the order in which ordinary, non-computer people are likely to us them is, from most to least likely, Discord then yt-dlp then Debian.
- rendx 1y agoI agree that there are probably more users of Discord and yt-dlp outside of the computer field than Debian users. However, people who use computers do use an operating system, and typically have/require somebody that they ask for help when they can't fix it. The question was, why Debian on a Desktop. Like other commenters, I had great success moving people to Debian because all they need nowadays is a browser, and it requires a lot less maintenance (by themselves or third parties) than other distributions. Most "ordinary" people just want their system to stay the same, and are not enjoying constantly having to adapt to new UIs.
- mvdtnz 1y agoDebian is not targeted at ordinary people. How many normies do you know who run Debian?
- rendx 1y agoIt is targeted towards humans. The person managing the Debian system is not necessarily its user base. I find that I can easily introduce people to the few concepts they need to understand and then they can use it almost as fluently as their previously never really grasped Windows. And it gets in their way way less often. The experience on any and all operating systems for most users seems to be to have to confirm random dialogs at random points in time, with random words assembled almost like hieroglyphs, to get back to what they wanted to do. I drive a car. For almost anything besides wiper water, gas and oil in terms of maintenance, I go to a mechanic. OK, yes, in theory I know how to change tires, and I even have the tools to do it myself, but I let a workshop do it for me, purely out of convenience. I couldn't care less about the guts of the car; the only thing I care about is how often it annoys me and basically requires me to bring it to a mechanic. Is the motor "not targeted at me"? This is how most people I know see and use their computers/tablets/phones.
- mvdtnz 1y agoOk man