Great post. But something not expounded upon by the author, and not addressed much in the comments here, is that asceticism is not a binary. Sometimes you really have to get-shit-done, and in that case, yeah use something fully featured. But a lot of the time, you'd probably be better off accepting a bit of slowness and pain in order to learn more. It's the classic framework vs. scratch debate. Use the framework if you want to go fast, build from scratch if you want to get better.
Linux Asceticism
61–70 of 94 posts
Re: Linux Asceticism
#62It’s funny, I feel quite the opposite. Using windows is a form of asceticism, and Linux is the easy way. Everything just works under Linux, but under Windows, things go wrong for no apparent reason, the system installs updates and reboots without me telling it to, there is massive network traffic that I didn’t initiate, none of my tools work properly, there are ads on the start menu, and software I know I installed i…
Perhaps we have different definitions of ascetism. It's about having less, not more. Less guis, less random traffic, etc.. That said, linux is in a way like processed foods, and windows is organic. Linux is distilled down to the essential components through chemistry, it's like sugar or table salt, or maltodextrine. Windows is just a thing that is alive, but not even a single thing, it has a flora that the manufactur…
> That said, linux is in a way like processed foods, and windows is organic.
I would have said the opposite.
Linux is organic - you get the bare essentials (whatever grew from the ground), and little more.
Windows is highly processed - you get the food, but also the chemicals and sugars and additives (AI in your taskbar! Candy Crush and political clickbait in your start menu!) designed to keep you addicted and coming back for more.
Re: Linux Asceticism
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
I use the latest Fedora KDE on my laptop and I find it to be a better Windows desktop than Windows itself. I cannot even say it is ascetic - everything just works really really well.
KDE is solid but I think is just different enough to throw off less technically oriented would-be switchers. I think a fork of KDE that changes it to be more of a 1:1 match to Windows would be highly beneficial here, especially if this fork has a dropdown menu that can switch which version of Windows it mimics (lots of people miss 7 and XP and would find a zero effort way to get that experience back tempting).
There are countless Windows themes for KDE. You can make KDE look like anything with a theme.
Re: Linux Asceticism
#64I don't get it, for me a computer is a tool. I want to get away from it as fast as possible, having to tweak the environment is a waste of time . That's why I like macos so much, nothing is perfect but I know that whatever I do there are tools somewhat easy to use . For instance I wanted to read an epub on my computer that runs windows, believe it or not but finding a good or even descent epub reader is a nightmare.…
Folks have been espousing the quality, stock software that macOS and iOS sports as the final word on this conversation since a while now. (And almost always, focusing on the epub readers). I'll admit that it's a general leg up for the getting started UX and makes it easier to recommend to grandma but it's not really that big of a deal as you make it out to be. And yes, I also hate having to configure shit. Sure, you…
> Truly, aren't SumatraPDF, Calibere and MoonReader a web search away?
I already knew about them, but just take a look. Their interface are, to say the least, ugly and no consistency ever. UI is not just about the look, it also helps a user understand quickly and efficiently how to do things.
> And not to mention the many other cases where you'll actually have to pay for some basic utility on macOS.
It's better to have paid app than nothing or lackluster. If forklift for instance was available on windows I would definitely pay for it. Instead you have file Zilla and winscp, that are free, but damn it's a pain going from one elegant software to an ugly, not really thought, one.
Re: Linux Asceticism
#65I don't get it, for me a computer is a tool. I want to get away from it as fast as possible, having to tweak the environment is a waste of time . That's why I like macos so much, nothing is perfect but I know that whatever I do there are tools somewhat easy to use . For instance I wanted to read an epub on my computer that runs windows, believe it or not but finding a good or even descent epub reader is a nightmare.…
The sheer lack of useful software in a stock Windows install has always been a bit baffling to me. Linux is better in this regard (depending on distribution), but nothing beats macOS for time from fresh install to usability. Not only does it come with most of the basics covered, apps like Mail don’t favor Apple’s services, unlike on Windows where MS can’t pass up the chance to upsell an MS service.
Exactly, and it's the same for Android.
I was surprised going from Android to iOS how iphone are much more open despite everyone saying it's a closed ecosystem.
On Android to sync my calendar and contacts I need to install a third party app called davx that updates every 30 minutes, meanwhile iOS and macos supports natively icloud but also exchange, google, caldav (standard protocol).
Just having the equivalent of macos mail app on windows would cost me 60$ (em client). A pdf app that actually allow basic pdf organization, that's another 60$ with pdf xchange editor, and so on and so on.
Re: Linux Asceticism
#66I don't get it, for me a computer is a tool. I want to get away from it as fast as possible, having to tweak the environment is a waste of time . That's why I like macos so much, nothing is perfect but I know that whatever I do there are tools somewhat easy to use . For instance I wanted to read an epub on my computer that runs windows, believe it or not but finding a good or even descent epub reader is a nightmare.…
> descent epub reader I found Sumatra PDF to be great, at least at rendering / reading comfort.
Ugly as hell, can't make light edit like remove or add page, compress pdf.
It's all free in macos preview app and it just works.
No one want to spend 30 minutes looking for website that allow to compress pdf because it's a slightly too big to be sent through email...
Re: Linux Asceticism
#67It’s funny, I feel quite the opposite. Using windows is a form of asceticism, and Linux is the easy way. Everything just works under Linux, but under Windows, things go wrong for no apparent reason, the system installs updates and reboots without me telling it to, there is massive network traffic that I didn’t initiate, none of my tools work properly, there are ads on the start menu, and software I know I installed i…
> Everything just works under Linux If you mean a Linux desktop PC, then no. I have been using a Linux desktop for many years, but not exclusively. I have tried, but I always have had at least a dual-boot with Windows. Yes, you have more control under Linux, but the reason I still use Windows sometimes is that many things just don't work properly. Just look at here for a list: https://itvision.altervista.org/why.linu…
It’s true, I have the luxury of using Linux on older laptops with mature hardware support. I’m sure it’s frustrating to discover that a $600 gpu has poor support. I have the absolute privilege of not needing to run the kind of software that requires this kind of equipment. It’s also fair to critique my position as one of shifting the blame around. I would never have chosen to spend good money on the Canon printer in my living room, but there it is, and its driver support is abysmal. Personally, I regard this as case of Linux working just fine, and Canon making defective hardware, but I can see how one would disagree.
Re: Linux Asceticism
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
> descent epub reader I found Sumatra PDF to be great, at least at rendering / reading comfort.
Ugly as hell, can't make light edit like remove or add page, compress pdf. It's all free in macos preview app and it just works. No one want to spend 30 minutes looking for website that allow to compress pdf because it's a slightly too big to be sent through email...
The Books app is even better! But a programmer it's just as quick to run shrinkpdf in a Linux terminal, and, well, more ascetic.
I do think Sumatra PDF is good for Windows software, it's not bloated and it's fast.
Re: Linux Asceticism
#69It’s funny, I feel quite the opposite. Using windows is a form of asceticism, and Linux is the easy way. Everything just works under Linux, but under Windows, things go wrong for no apparent reason, the system installs updates and reboots without me telling it to, there is massive network traffic that I didn’t initiate, none of my tools work properly, there are ads on the start menu, and software I know I installed i…
I feel the same way about Windows. But that's only because I've already paid the initial cost of adapting to a Linux environment. Ascetic actions can increase your overall comfort as you get better at them.
Think about it from a 5-year-old person's perspective, or an average computer user. Which one do you think is more comfortable to use, Windows, or Linux?
Re: Linux Asceticism
#70I don't get it, for me a computer is a tool. I want to get away from it as fast as possible, having to tweak the environment is a waste of time . That's why I like macos so much, nothing is perfect but I know that whatever I do there are tools somewhat easy to use . For instance I wanted to read an epub on my computer that runs windows, believe it or not but finding a good or even descent epub reader is a nightmare.…
When you're driving and you see people running, do you have the same reaction?
> I don't get it ... it's such a waste of time
After all, there are indeed more comfortable ways to get from point A to B.