An Ode to Linux Desktop Users Everywhere • Hacker News Board

Re: An Ode to Linux Desktop Users Everywhere

#71

Post by taeric » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 4:08 PM UTC

xgbi wrote: post #63

bfrog wrote: post #57

Linux as a desktop has come a long way. Most things Just Work now. I actually enjoy the experience a great deal more than either Windows or Mac at this point, and I'm no Masochist. Windows, Mac... plug a device in, install the driver through some lame wizard. Linux... plug the device in, it Just Works. Windows, Mac... software is out of date, go through dozens different wizards and CLI tools to update all your stuff.…

I'm not sure we have the same experience on Mac. Everything I ever plugged in there works, from Arduino to Androids to USB sound cards, DVBT/SDR tuners, webcams, or USB ethernet adapters, even my little USB scanner. I migght have had problems with Wifi, but it was usually the same in linux with the ndiswrapper dance. I even plugged a Social Security card reader (Frenchman here) in there and it was detected correctly…

Oddly, the number one "I can't believe this doesn't just work category" is printers.

It is frustrating that I can just start printing from my ubuntu machine, but have to figure out how to get the right drivers for my other machines.

As a standard caveat, I don't actually use that many devices on my network. So, YMMV. A lot.

Re: An Ode to Linux Desktop Users Everywhere

#72

Post by arc_of_descent » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 4:14 PM UTC

I've been using Linux as my desktop for 10 years now. I really love it and can't imagine how people (especially devs) make do with Windows or Mac (To be honest I've never used a Mac).

But here's to Linux on the Desktop!

Re: An Ode to Linux Desktop Users Everywhere

#73

Post by qwertyuiop924 » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 4:16 PM UTC

I do love this. It's an enjoyable humorous piece. And it's just a little cathartic for those of us who remember when running a Linux desktop wasn't as easy as it is now.

But nowadays, everything Just Works, modulo the occasional kernel/driver version bump that needs a reboot, and the irritations of running systemdless.

I wasn't around when running Linux on the desktop was that bad, but I do remember the insanity of Linux Gaming between when Loki folded and when Valve took the mantle. It was... bad.

Re: An Ode to Linux Desktop Users Everywhere

#74

Post by qwertyuiop924 » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 4:16 PM UTC

taeric wrote: post #71

xgbi wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure we have the same experience on Mac. Everything I ever plugged in there works, from Arduino to Androids to USB sound cards, DVBT/SDR tuners, webcams, or USB ethernet adapters, even my little USB scanner. I migght have had problems with Wifi, but it was usually the same in linux with the ndiswrapper dance. I even plugged a Social Security card reader (Frenchman here) in there and it was detected correctly…

Oddly, the number one "I can't believe this doesn't just work category" is printers. It is frustrating that I can just start printing from my ubuntu machine, but have to figure out how to get the right drivers for my other machines. As a standard caveat, I don't actually use that many devices on my network. So, YMMV. A lot.

To contrast, IME, CUPS is a pain. Absolutely awful. Printing Just Works everywhere except Linux.

And I'm using an EPSON printer, too.

Re: An Ode to Linux Desktop Users Everywhere

#75

Post by moderation » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 4:17 PM UTC

k__ wrote: post #53

nekopa wrote: post #47

I'm a very happy Xubuntu user. Have been for about 5 years, and even switched my partners laptop over to it a few months ago, after her win10 borked itself. Previously I used to dual boot windows and Slackware, but after 10 odd years on Slackware I wanted a Linux system I could just use and not spend every minute tweaking. I must be getting old. But I still have fond memories of plugging into Ethernet to get online w…

I'm using xubuntu for years now, but I have the feeling it got heavier every year. Now I'm searching for a better alternative

Xubuntu user for years also. I still find it pretty zippy and everytime I go out looking at alternatives I always come back.

Re: An Ode to Linux Desktop Users Everywhere

#76

Post by pmontra » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 4:17 PM UTC

izacus wrote: post #27

loudmax wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like problems with the video card drivers. In Linux, it pays to research how well hardware is supported before you buy it, especially for video and wifi. Even then, you may still benefit from looking at alternative drivers or seeing if there are xorg.conf or kernel boot time options that resolve those issues. Whether it's worth the trouble of tracking down arcane options to get your system working optimally is…

It always pays to research if your hardware is supported on given OS, whether it's Linux, macOS or Windows.

Yes, but we usually run MacOS on Apple hardware and we get Windows on the PC we buy, with drivers tested by the manufacturer, so we can trust the hw/os combination. Instead I always researched how Linux would run on my computers. No major problems but some little issues that a manufacturer would have fixed before going to the market.

We have to check MacOS and Windows compatibility only if we do strange things, like hackintoshes or installing Windows from scratch on a different generation computer. I must admit that installing desktop Linux is always a strange thing, because very few manufacturers care of testing any distro on their hw. Quite the opposite for server Linux.

Re: An Ode to Linux Desktop Users Everywhere

#77

Post by listrophy » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 4:18 PM UTC

Flagging as off-topic per "Political Detox Week": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13108404

This "story" does not satisfy "substantive" and qualifies as "ideological."

> What Hacker News is: a place for stories that gratify intellectual curiosity and civil, substantive comments. What it is not: a[n]... ideological... battlefield.

Don't get me wrong: I do appreciate Linux on the desktop. But we're not allowed to talk about it this way during this week.

Re: An Ode to Linux Desktop Users Everywhere

#78

Post by nailer » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 4:18 PM UTC

bfrog wrote: post #57

Linux as a desktop has come a long way. Most things Just Work now. I actually enjoy the experience a great deal more than either Windows or Mac at this point, and I'm no Masochist. Windows, Mac... plug a device in, install the driver through some lame wizard. Linux... plug the device in, it Just Works. Windows, Mac... software is out of date, go through dozens different wizards and CLI tools to update all your stuff.…

> Linux as a desktop has come a long way. Most things Just Work now.

I said that in 2006.

But now (about a decade of using Linux on the desktop down) I don't believe it was true then, nor will it ever be.

Re: An Ode to Linux Desktop Users Everywhere

#79

Post by theandrewbailey » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 4:19 PM UTC

xgbi wrote: post #63

bfrog wrote: post #57

Linux as a desktop has come a long way. Most things Just Work now. I actually enjoy the experience a great deal more than either Windows or Mac at this point, and I'm no Masochist. Windows, Mac... plug a device in, install the driver through some lame wizard. Linux... plug the device in, it Just Works. Windows, Mac... software is out of date, go through dozens different wizards and CLI tools to update all your stuff.…

I'm not sure we have the same experience on Mac. Everything I ever plugged in there works, from Arduino to Androids to USB sound cards, DVBT/SDR tuners, webcams, or USB ethernet adapters, even my little USB scanner. I migght have had problems with Wifi, but it was usually the same in linux with the ndiswrapper dance. I even plugged a Social Security card reader (Frenchman here) in there and it was detected correctly…

Same on Windows. A device is quite unusual if it doesn't fit into the existing USB device classes. The only drivers I've needed to install are video drivers, and even then it's only to fully use that shiny Nvidia chip to its fullest. I didn't spend $500 to only push 2D.

Re: An Ode to Linux Desktop Users Everywhere

#80

Post by Accacin » Tue, Dec 06, 2016, 4:19 PM UTC

scandox wrote: post #70

I'm using Arch with the i3 window manager for the last 8 months. I've run pacman -Syu (equivalent of apt-get dist-upgrade) probably once a day that entire time. I've had exactly zero problems. It is amazingly smooth. The setup was a mild chore and yes the laptop is UEFI and I am dual booting. But I can't remember the last time I used Windows, though I do remember it seemed insanely slow. I often find myself doing som…

As a fellow Arch i3wm user I completely agree. I love i3's simple and readable config.

It's odd that in Windows I dread updates, but using Arch I love to go home and see how many packages are ready to be installed and I usually end up running Pacman -Syu when I'm bored heh.