this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2024
481 points (97.8% liked)

Linux

7782 readers
20 users here now

Welcome to c/linux!

Welcome to our thriving Linux community! Whether you're a seasoned Linux enthusiast or just starting your journey, we're excited to have you here. Explore, learn, and collaborate with like-minded individuals who share a passion for open-source software and the endless possibilities it offers. Together, let's dive into the world of Linux and embrace the power of freedom, customization, and innovation. Enjoy your stay and feel free to join the vibrant discussions that await you!

Rules:

  1. Stay on topic: Posts and discussions should be related to Linux, open source software, and related technologies.

  2. Be respectful: Treat fellow community members with respect and courtesy.

  3. Quality over quantity: Share informative and thought-provoking content.

  4. No spam or self-promotion: Avoid excessive self-promotion or spamming.

  5. No NSFW adult content

  6. Follow general lemmy guidelines.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

I know this might be a couple months old, but I didn't know we already passed 4%.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] -2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I think Linux still prioritizes the command-line for a lot of config/setup, which can be extremely daunting for new users. In addition, there are also a million options for everything, which is great for freedom, but really confusing for newbies.

I should note that both of these things are amazing pluses for me as a power user/developer.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Have you tried Mint or something similar? You can absolutely run and install it without using the command line.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Yes but the more refined and simple it can be the better. Mint or otherwise.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

I've been toying with Fedora Kinoite on a VM. Haven't opened the terminal even once. This might actually be the path for fast adoption.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 months ago

I only ran Mint for a bit, but from what I've heard, it does a pretty good job with sane defaults and keeping things simple.

I'm talking more about the fact that when things break (as they always do), the easiest way to fix it is via the command line. It's something I'm super comfortable with, having used *nix systems for more than 20 years, but i think even my very smart, technically inclined friend would be frustrated if he had to do it.

For instance, I installed Debian recently, and since I wanted luks disk encryption and dual boot, I had to very carefully set up the partitions in the installer, and the interface was frankly atrocious. I was very nervous about accidentally nuking the wrong partition, unlike with a Windows install where this is pretty much impossible.

Then, of course, the Nouveau drivers didn't like my 4090, so on the first boot I had a blank screen (no signal), until grub timed out into a console. For some reason I was then thrown into a tty, so I had to startx, install the proprietary Nvidia drivers, tweak grub to pass some kernel parameters till I got back to a semi-stable boot. Oh, and I also had to get a newer kernel and nvidia drivers from backports, since the Debian packages are ancient.

I do realize that maybe Mint packages the latest proprietary nvidia drivers during the install, so maybe I would have avoided those particular issues, and I'm not sure how good Mint's partitioning interface in the installer is.

Maybe Linux will work out of the box for a majority of users and they'll never have to encounter the command line, but I'm skeptical.