Earlier quoted context omitted.
What do you think Linux users are missing?
Better UI/UX.
Which OSes have better UI/UX then, because Windows 11 certainly isn't one.
Can you name a couple?
The tools I love are made by awful people
151–160 of 185 posts
Re: The tools I love are made by awful people
#152There’s this modern affliction where people believe they are morally responsible for the actions of every person they buy anything from. For your own sanity, please let this go. You are responsible for your own actions. If you buy a pen from a psychopath and he uses the money to buy a bullet and shoot someone, that’s not your fault. He’s responsible for his actions. It’s like everyone somehow forgot that other humans…
Your purchasing decisions are one of the more significant ways you impact the world and it makes sense people want to be cognizant of how they are effecting other people. Though I recognize depending on people's mental health it can be stressful to think about and if you can't then it's okay, one of my friends in particular was worrying about what she was buying to the point where it was a significant source of stres…
No, they are one of the laziest, most do nothing ways.
Right now in your community are tons of organizations looking for people to actually help.
I've restored nesting habitat for endangered birds. And I just happened to be able the beach when volunteers came around. That did more than stressing over what I bought ever did, and it was just hanging out at the beach. There are orgs for driving people to medical appointments. That can be an amazing impact on someone's life and on yourself (more than buying the right ketchup).
Make yourself financially strong so that you can help others. Sacrificing your money to make a point is wasted virtue signaling.
I mainly see people who shop correct/rescue animals as the most minimal helpers who want to feel they are helping. There is an old woman dieing crying in your town right now because she's overwhelmed and doesn't know how to get to an appointment she needs. An no one cares. But if I buy the right ketchup, that matters? If I drive 2 hours to save a dog (while the old woman dies crying and alone, unable to get to the doctor, a 15 minute trip) I'm a good person?
Re: The tools I love are made by awful people
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
Install a modern distro. It does just work. I've literally done zero config to my laptop, nothing has broken or not worked. Literally everything works. Touchpad, touchscreen, webcam, fingerprint reader, stylus, suspend, audio, etc...
Always love how arrogant Linux users are: "You can't possibly experience something different from me" I wanted to make a genuine effort to get into using Linux because it's the only OS I'm not super comfortable admin'ing. I bought a secondhand Lenovo t440 and installed Linux Mint on it. Everything seemed to work well, boot was nice and quick, no issues with WiFi chipset or sleep and battery life was at least okay. It…
Not going to lie, Mint is a buggy POS and the fact anyone recommends it at all is a travesty. It's so bad it makes me think it's sponsored by Microsoft to sabotage new users.
Mint basically takes a years old Ubuntu, then an even older fork of a DE, uses an abandoned protocol then rolls it together and adds even more bugs to it. It's honestly one of the worst distros that exists.
Ubuntu, Fedora and (open)Suse are the only ones worth using if you want a smooth experience (ie. the corporate ones).
Edit - also needing to install Windows first to dual boot is a result of Windows installation wiping existing bootloaders.
Re: The tools I love are made by awful people
#154Earlier quoted context omitted.
> the desire for it to be the same as their previous OS I think most FOSS developers completely miss this point, assuming their goal is to get more people to use their software. Sure GNOME can be usable if you learn a different way, but you can't force everyone to do that. Not even most people. So I think if they really cared about doing what's necessary to get a lot more users, they're going to have to make their pr…
> assuming their goal is to get more people to use their software. That’s rare, and is a very difficult motivation to understand. Such projects are also usually a mess.
Why do you think it's rare? Unless it's a personal project not meant for others, why would they not want more people to use it and get more popular?
To me this is like people getting upset when their favorite indie band "sells out", even though their increased popularity is always seen as a much bigger positive than any potential downsides of the "sellout".
Re: The tools I love are made by awful people
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
the overwhelming majority of people, 95%+, are wonderful awesome people. probably you too. awesome people sometimes screw up, but that's OK. if you really still think that "everyone sucks" then maybe you are in the 5%
Alternate frames of reference aren't inherently misanthropy or make people lesser. And the "if you disagree, you're proving me right" style dig at the parent poster is toxic positivity.
If someone's frame of reference is that most people are awful, I think that is the definition of misanthropy.
I think what started as edgy realism and critical analysis shot well past its utility and has become toxic and destructive.
Skeptical counternarratives are useful as a counterpoint to keep people honest and realistic. When they become the dominant narrative, they are destructive and self fulfilling. People are awful, they deserve to suffer. The deck is stacked, don't try. Life is pointless, why bother. Good deeds don't matter because they are insignificant at global scale.
A society or individual that hates itself will not fulfill any of the virtues it holds dear.
Re: The tools I love are made by awful people
#156There’s this modern affliction where people believe they are morally responsible for the actions of every person they buy anything from. For your own sanity, please let this go. You are responsible for your own actions. If you buy a pen from a psychopath and he uses the money to buy a bullet and shoot someone, that’s not your fault. He’s responsible for his actions. It’s like everyone somehow forgot that other humans…
This individualistic attitude is how we got to our current situation, and why we are perpetually stuck here. Everyone in any position of corporate power is a psychopath, because the system will replace them if they are not. Every purchase you make has the downstream effect of encouraging whoever you bought it from to continue doing what they are doing. And, what everyone is doing is "throwing everything possible (mor…
Becoming only consumers is how we got here. We are no longer citizens, no longer members of religion, no longer anything but consumers. Hiker/biker/crafter/music maker...so much around the scene is consumption. So all we see is consumption. To the point that making the tiniest movement in consumption is the only impact we can possibly imagine. Every good company sells out in the end. You aren't making a difference, you are building someones brand.
Don't play that game. You aren't a consumer you are a human being. Today you can impact for the positive. Choose your shopping based on savings/health, and invest that money into your local foodbank or helping someone at something like Kiva.org (I don't keep up, is Kiva bad now?) or other local charities where you can actually have an impact.
It's crazy how people have been convinced to give up and do the most barely needle moving things to feel moral.
Re: The tools I love are made by awful people
#157I've been using Linux exclusively for 15 years. Went through my entire university degree using only Linux. The biggest issue people face when switching is the desire for it to be the same as their previous OS. It's not. It never will be. It's different (and IMO better). Like GNOME Shell, so many people hate it. No dock, no way to minimize Windows, etc... Until you actually try to learn it a little. Launching apps is…
> the desire for it to be the same as their previous OS I think most FOSS developers completely miss this point, assuming their goal is to get more people to use their software. Sure GNOME can be usable if you learn a different way, but you can't force everyone to do that. Not even most people. So I think if they really cared about doing what's necessary to get a lot more users, they're going to have to make their pr…
Apple literally built a 3 trillion dollar business on "Think Different". Now they're the slow, lumbering behemoth, but copying cheapens your brand. Copies only reinforce the idea that the original thing is valuable.
Re: The tools I love are made by awful people
#158> Things will only change when democratically elected governments across the world step in with regulation, drag Big Tech through the courts, and fine them billions of dollars. How will that help you install Linux.
If we're praying for unicorns, they might also notice they're paying millions for licenses to software they can't self-support or even audit. Then reinvest money from fines into in-house, open development, and use that instead of closed solutions.
Can't? Governments most certainly CAN do this. The US government is by far the closest to doing this, but they are definitely not close to doing this entirely.
Re: The tools I love are made by awful people
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
> assuming their goal is to get more people to use their software. That’s rare, and is a very difficult motivation to understand. Such projects are also usually a mess.
Why do you think it's rare? Unless it's a personal project not meant for others, why would they not want more people to use it and get more popular? To me this is like people getting upset when their favorite indie band "sells out", even though their increased popularity is always seen as a much bigger positive than any potential downsides of the "sellout".
My impression is that people are motivated by solving problems and filling gaps in the existing landscape. Popularity is not a goal, usually. Why would it be?
Re: The tools I love are made by awful people
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The new Macbooks have amazing hardware Hm. You can't really repair or upgrade them, so you don't own the hardware at all. That's far from amazing.
People who insist Apple makes good hardware are falling for marketing. Apple historically has had constant engineering poor choices and bad designs and outright flaws that they just never acknowledge, and for some reason people take that as "good". Back in the day, Apple laptops used to cook and kill themselves with poor GPU heat management. Several versions of macbooks shortened a display cable such that it would de…
Geez, bookmarking this one. I wonder if you've blogged about this anywhere? Would love to read more about the nitty gritty, and I'd love to see it existing concretely (in a general sense).