Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer • Hacker News Board

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#41

Post by leppr » Fri, Jun 05, 2015, 5:27 PM UTC

tdees40 wrote: post #26

lambda wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have to admit I'm surprised to find that anyone is still trying to make desktop Linux work for normal people, i.e. non-programmers who aren't free-software fanatics. As far as day to day use goes, modern desktop Linux environments are just as usable by end users as Windows. The main impediments to adoption tend to be: 1. Software that they need that only runs on Windows or OS X 2. Syncing to devices like iPods or…

"Just as usable by end users as Windows." Have you seen a non-programmer install a printer on a Linux machine? It's terrifying.

It takes a programmer to click on a "Ok" button now? I seem to recall the process on Windows being at least as involved.

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#42

Post by bdcravens » Fri, Jun 05, 2015, 5:28 PM UTC

wyager wrote: post #10

mwcampbell wrote: post #9

I have to admit I'm surprised to find that anyone is still trying to make desktop Linux work for normal people, i.e. non-programmers who aren't free-software fanatics. I think to myself, don't they realize that it's pointless, that the year of the Linux desktop will never come, that Linux will always be the distant third-place desktop OS? More constructively, I wonder if recent Linux distros and desktop environments…

Linux distros like mint are basically indistinguishable from Windows to sufficiently casual users. All they ever do is open up the word processor or browser.

How many parents buy their kids expensive MacBooks because "they need a good computer for school" when the truth is they just bought them a $1300-$2500 Facebook machine.

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#43

Post by leppr » Fri, Jun 05, 2015, 5:28 PM UTC

pjmlp wrote: post #18

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reminds me of the OLPC failure. Turns out cheap netbooks, the intel classmate, etc was what the market really wanted, not a top-down academia led turkey. We've been doing "here's a linux distro on some old windows hardware" for literally decades now. It just won't catch on, especially in the age of mobile where people want less technical hassles, not more. A cheap/used android tablet with a BT keyboard is probably th…

Just up voted you. If anything, Android and ChromeOS are good examples common users don't care about GNU/Linux userland, rather a packaged experience. Which none of the distributions has been able to provide so far.

Thank you for the gold kind stranger.

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#44

Post by meesterdude » Fri, Jun 05, 2015, 5:34 PM UTC

WorldWideWayne wrote: post #33

kenrikm wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

~95% of the developers I know in the Bay Area use MacBook Pros. The underlying Unix base Apple runs on is nothing to scoff at and the majority of things someone learns about the command line on a linux machine will be the same on a OSX machine. I'm surprised you point out iDevices, what we should be worried about is keeping them away from the Windows ecosystem.

Apple is more dangerous to Unix culture than Microsoft ever was because the rate at which Apple screws it's own customers and developers is much, much higher than Microsoft. OS X is also a sickly sweet gateway drug to living their iDevice lockdown lifestyle. They are continually doing things to lock down OS X with secret APIs that only Apple can use and that 95% you're talking about will one day figure out who Apple…

First, you're not wrong about Apple. You have an accurate assessment of who they are and what they're about.

However, I think they've done good for the *nix community. At it's simplest, the switch for a dev to go from mac to linux isn't as drastic as from windows to mac; much of that command line experience transfers over.

I think people will move away. I've already moved most of my dependencies to linux, and I've been a lifelong apple guy.

Why, just today i was trying to open up one of their keyboards and had to hunt around for a screwdriver that'll work, because they use security screws. Pretty much everything they do is anti-tinker and that's measurably holding back members of society from advancing our species; they seek to prevent the very same kind of conditions that permitted them to start apple in the first place; a pretty baffling behavior, least of all anti-social.

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#45

Post by ilaksh » Fri, Jun 05, 2015, 5:39 PM UTC

I do most of my computing on cheap 7" Android tablets. I also ssh in to my Linode for programming but I could use Debian under Linux Deploy too, its just slow compared to the Linode.

The onscreen keyboard works great for typing both in portrait or landscape. You just have to get used to it. Keyboards are mostly a hastle to drag around/setup and they break.

If I was on my laptop I would ssh in on a slightly larger screen.

You can definitely do word processing, spreadsheets, the web, programming, everything on a $100 (or even $50 in some cases) Android tablet. I haven't used my laptop at all in like 4 months.

So I would get slightly used Android tablets and give them out to kids.

I actually don't want to buy another laptop or desktop because I know it will waste electricity and it seems primitive.

The next major shift for me will be to full-time VR for work, which will use Google Cardboard or their new 6dof thing (I might wait until the Android for VR OS comes out next year). But that is still going to be on a phone..

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#46

Post by mey » Fri, Jun 05, 2015, 5:40 PM UTC

If you are in the Portland OR metro area and need a computer or have old computers to donate, please check out http://www.freegeek.org/

They have programs for volunteer work in refurbishing (where you learn about computers) get your own system in return.

http://www.freegeek.org/#volunteer

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#47

Post by unsignedint » Fri, Jun 05, 2015, 5:44 PM UTC

k__ wrote: post #37

radlad wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. I know plenty of people who literally cannot tell any sufficiently user friendly distro of Linux from Windows.

Yes. The only people I heard complain about Linux were in the middle range of computer skills. Not so casual that they didn't care, but also not so good that they could easily grasp Linux.

I find this demography is hardest to deal with. Even when they are on a platform they are familiar with, they are usually first to complain about having something different (e.g. some UI elements moved around) yet don't know how to fix it or even not bothering with a simple search to find out the problem.

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#48

Post by caryhartline » Fri, Jun 05, 2015, 5:46 PM UTC

tdees40 wrote: post #26

lambda wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have to admit I'm surprised to find that anyone is still trying to make desktop Linux work for normal people, i.e. non-programmers who aren't free-software fanatics. As far as day to day use goes, modern desktop Linux environments are just as usable by end users as Windows. The main impediments to adoption tend to be: 1. Software that they need that only runs on Windows or OS X 2. Syncing to devices like iPods or…

"Just as usable by end users as Windows." Have you seen a non-programmer install a printer on a Linux machine? It's terrifying.

What installation? At the most, you'll be asked to install packages from HP and you click okay and you're done. On Windows, it's still likely that you'll need to download drivers from a website.

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#49

Post by raverbashing » Fri, Jun 05, 2015, 5:47 PM UTC

austenallred wrote: post #15

omarforgotpwd wrote: post #12

"Remember that shitty computer we got when we were first came to the US?" -- Kids, recounting this experience in 15 years

"Remember that shitty computer we had 15 years ago?" -- Everybody

Yeah.

The shitty computers of yesterday were amazing.

Today? It does the job beautifully. But there's no soul.

Re: Welcome to America: Here's Your Linux Computer

#50

Post by JupiterMoon » Fri, Jun 05, 2015, 5:50 PM UTC

tdees40 wrote: post #26

lambda wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have to admit I'm surprised to find that anyone is still trying to make desktop Linux work for normal people, i.e. non-programmers who aren't free-software fanatics. As far as day to day use goes, modern desktop Linux environments are just as usable by end users as Windows. The main impediments to adoption tend to be: 1. Software that they need that only runs on Windows or OS X 2. Syncing to devices like iPods or…

"Just as usable by end users as Windows." Have you seen a non-programmer install a printer on a Linux machine? It's terrifying.

I generally just plug in the printer and then hit print...