3 ms·

Trying Linux Desktop yet Again with More Success

3 points by speckx 8mo ago

joshpicky 8mo ago
The "Year of the Linux Desktop" has always been a meme, but posts like this show we’ve hit a silent inflection point. When a long-time macOS power user finds the transition "uneventful" (save for some shortcut muscle memory), it says a lot about the polish of modern Fedora.
- carefree-bob 8mo ago
  For me, it's very real. I'm back on linux now after many years. It is much more usable than it used to be, at least on Dell hardware
  - k310 8mo ago
    My brother, the least techie person on earth, got really sick and tired of windows updates breaking his drivers monthly, so he eventually got a Dell linux desktop, installed and supported (online only) and after a few questions about FOSS apps to do his common chores, I haven't fielded a question in ages. There are always going to be niche things. Say, why not have it all, ( as in my above post) That's why we have, as Napoleon Dynamite says: "Computer hacking skills". You know, like nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.
    - carefree-bob 8mo ago
      Now with LLMs, you can ask gemini to make a script for you to do whatever you want. I think this opens up Linux to a lot of non-technical people, just fire up a browser and ask away.
k310 8mo ago
The author compares desktop Linux with MacOS. Let me tell you, I cling to old mac apps and refuse to "upgrade" because almost all the new versions are subscription-only, making your mac "rented" unless you are good at finding FOSS apps that get the job done. I am. He makes a good case for keeping a spare mac around (mini's are good for this) for those "unique" mac doings. I keep all my Nikon photos as files. I once wanted to export all my photos from iPhoto. Well, guess what? They were stored in a tree structure by date. Maybe in a database these days. I found a way. (without spending a lot of time programming or scripting,) Anything is possible! I once worked for a company that was mac-only. Some genius decided to go all Windows. I found an add-on for outlook that saved messages as text and served them to and from a Sun workstation and a mac laptop, and read and composed mail there. and by the way, as far as integration of messages and phone, whenever I get a phone call, every mac and ipad starts chiming, and it's a mad dash to find the phone. Yes, I have taken phone calls on the watch, Dick Tracy style, but I still feel weird about that.

3 points by speckx 8mo ago

The "Year of the Linux Desktop" has always been a meme, but posts like this show we’ve hit a silent inflection point. When a long-time macOS power user finds the transition "uneventful" (save for some shortcut muscle memory), it says a lot about the polish of modern Fedora.

carefree-bob 8mo ago
For me, it's very real. I'm back on linux now after many years. It is much more usable than it used to be, at least on Dell hardware
- k310 8mo ago
  My brother, the least techie person on earth, got really sick and tired of windows updates breaking his drivers monthly, so he eventually got a Dell linux desktop, installed and supported (online only) and after a few questions about FOSS apps to do his common chores, I haven't fielded a question in ages. There are always going to be niche things. Say, why not have it all, ( as in my above post) That's why we have, as Napoleon Dynamite says: "Computer hacking skills". You know, like nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.
  - carefree-bob 8mo ago
    Now with LLMs, you can ask gemini to make a script for you to do whatever you want. I think this opens up Linux to a lot of non-technical people, just fire up a browser and ask away.

k310 8mo ago

The author compares desktop Linux with MacOS. Let me tell you, I cling to old mac apps and refuse to "upgrade" because almost all the new versions are subscription-only, making your mac "rented" unless you are good at finding FOSS apps that get the job done. I am. He makes a good case for keeping a spare mac around (mini's are good for this) for those "unique" mac doings. I keep all my Nikon photos as files. I once wanted to export all my photos from iPhoto. Well, guess what? They were stored in a tree structure by date. Maybe in a database these days. I found a way. (without spending a lot of time programming or scripting,) Anything is possible! I once worked for a company that was mac-only. Some genius decided to go all Windows. I found an add-on for outlook that saved messages as text and served them to and from a Sun workstation and a mac laptop, and read and composed mail there. and by the way, as far as integration of messages and phone, whenever I get a phone call, every mac and ipad starts chiming, and it's a mad dash to find the phone. Yes, I have taken phone calls on the watch, Dick Tracy style, but I still feel weird about that.