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On 12/19/2024 11:21 AM, Paul wrote:
On balance I think the way Mint does it (still shipping
with the older kernel) is better.
If your machine is relatively new, then Linux Mint 22 is a better fit.
There may still be some support items not working yet. My hardware
monitor
sensors, still cannot be read out on three boards. If a kernel claims
to be a HWE (hardware enablement kernel), that can provide better
support for bleeding edge hardware (your new NPU and machine learning
setup).
Those choices should come closer to a friendly environment.
I tried Mint once. I didn't get past the kiddie folder icons.
I actually like Suse. It's very polished compared to most versions.
It also has a good software selection. Though the firewall I finally
got working, opensnitch, was only available through less direct
channels. The Suse packages are really just the basics.
I think the "distro" wars misses the point. There's no magical
version that solves the Linux problem. They're all moving
targets, under construction, not well designed for Desktop.
People always say, "Oh, well, you must not have tried AceAndAcme
Linux. It's the cat's pajamas." No. None of them are the cat's pajamas.
In more recent times, the half-baked geek versions have been
joined by solid versions "your gandmother could use". But that's
also not a solution. It's just two extremes. It's based on the typical
Linux devotee thinking that people are divided into hardcore geeks
and grandmothers. (Possibly those are the only people that these
geeks know.) The niche that Windows fills is the giant area in between --
a system with tremendous software options, great backward
compatibility, and supported levels of expertise, so that a non-geek
office worker or a "power user" can both get Windows to do what
they want. And what they want can be a great variety of things.
Linux lacks the software. It lacks the power user level or even
the business level. It lacks
backward compatibility. I'm still writing software in VB6, which
came out 25 years ago, and my software runs on every Windows
computer. Macs typically support 2 years back. Linux... forget it.
It's far too complicated to even update a program except through
a package manager. The old version needed abc.dll v. 1.5.6.3243.17
and the new version refuses to run without v. 1.5.6.3243.18. Typically
there are 20 cases like that. Zero backward compatibility. There's
no need. Because no one is actually using this software for anything
except to upgrade the last version. It's all just a geek conversation.
Anyone actually using Linux, who's not a computer scientist, is
probably just using Firefox and Libre Office. And Grandma doesn't
even need Libre Office. The whole paradigm is a mess.
My favorite current example of this travesty is when I installed
Xubuntu on my new computer, as part of a wide ranging experiment
last winter. It set up OK, though it was barebones and ugly. But there
was one detail: I couldn't set the clock and the displayed time was
wrong. I looked all over. There were options for display style and
such, but no option to just set the time. I searched online and finally
found a discussion with the man who had written the clock code. He
didn't include an option to set the time in the settings UI because he prefers command line! These people say these things proudly, with
no awareness of how bratty and dysfunctional they sound. "You
wanted a floor in your new addition? Personally I prefer unfinished
plywood subfloor, so that's what I did. Just don't walk around barefoot. Splinters. Oh, and the subfloor on the east side of the room is not
nailed down. That's handy to be able to reach the plumbing underneath
since I didn't insulate and pipes could freeze. Enjoy. :)"
(trolling snipped)
CrudeSausage wrote:
(trolling snipped)
Yet millions choose to use GNU/Linux. Millsions more would if it
weren't for the FUBAR market and the FUD.