this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2025
1 points (100.0% liked)

Linux

11789 readers
9 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 2 years ago
MODERATORS
[email protected]
1
Lets start a civil war in here! (lemmy.world)
submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
11 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

So, I'm not that understanding of linux. But I guess I can't call myself "new" anymore. I've been using linux since December. Although to be fair, I'm barely ever home. "Using" linux at this point mostly consists of opening firefox, and watching youtube.

I know "sudo" is "super user" "apt" is some kind of repository command, and then you type "install (program)"

But I've really taken to flatpack. I hate hate HATE the terminal. All I ever do is screw things up in there. I don't know what I'm doing. I just follow commands. "Just copy/paste this exact set of text". And then I have an error.

It's kind of like knowing 4x4=16. And all you do is memorize that line, as opposed to knowing that 4x4 is the same as 4+4+4+4. And knowing what 4 is. If you memorized 4x4=16, but get presented with 4x4-2, and you don't understand the core concept of numbers, you wouldn't know how to adjust 16 to 14, and know WHY it's 14. I'm just copy/pasting someone elses instructions.

sudo apt get firefox && -z, -r, -☆, -$, randop, redo, up.

That's probably complete jibberish in terminal, but it helps you (the experienced linux user) understand how terminal feels/looks to me. If I had a problem, and troubleshooting told me to copy/paste that to solve my problem, I would. That to me looks as legitimate as any other jibberish that would actually work.

Ok. Rant aside, lets start a civil war in here! I've been using ZorinOS, and I kind of like it. HOWEVER, I did spend a considerable amount of time tweaking it. It's finally how I want it, so I'm not messing with it. So I've never experienced KDE. I've only experienced GNOME. And quite honestly I don't know what that means. I know it has to do with the desktop environment.....but I don't know what would be different if I used another desktop environment.

But that brings me to a question I was told you just can't ask the linux community without blood being shed.

What's better? KDE? Or GNOME?

top 11 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Flatpak is perfectly fine - don't let anyone tell you otherwise! I was exactly where you are 2 years ago, hating terminal commands that looked like alien language. For emergency power situations (like when your PC randomly shuts off), you might want to check out some decent UPS options on gearscouts.com to protect your Linux setup from data corruption.

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

I love flatpak. The problem is how fractured Linux's installation system is. As the end user, I don't give a fuck where it came from and where it is installed. I just want it to work, and be available.

That's part of the problem. Everything is all over the place.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm keying off your terminal comment.

I think Linux is to the point where you can almost use it entirely without the CLI, if your pick the right distro.

If there's ever going to be a "year of Linux," users should be ankle to use it without ever having to open a terminal. Some of us prefer it, and live in it, but most people don't have any interest in it; it should be optional.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

you can almost use it entirely without the CLI

The word "almost" is doing some heavy lifting there. Linux is still a "terminal culture".

I spent 6 hours last night trying to figure out how to make a usb boot drive from ZorinOS.

Step 1 ‐ install BalenaEtcher.

I never figured out step 1. It's not in the software store.

I downloaded the zip, and then had no idea what to do with it.

I watched a youtube video on what to do with the zip, and in his video he had one file in the zip. I had about 20 files, and a couple folders. And I didn't have the file he used.

Eventually I found an APPimg file, and it installed Balena Etcher. But it wouldn't launch after being installed.

Then I heard of some other way, starting with a Z. You can put multiple ISOs on it, and choose at boot.

So I downloaded ReactOS, 3 different versions of Mint, pop_os, and zaphrite os. The only one that booted was pop_os. Which I didn't much care for, but at least it booted.

Spent 5 hours on that, and still have no idea how to use ZorinOS to make a usb boot disk that actually works.

In windows, you download an exe file for balena etcher, click it, probably go through 12 different screens of install, but then it works.

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

I know. And you say it well; I, like many long-time Linux users, are so used to the CLI for everything that looking at the desktop today it seems everything is now doable in a GUI.

I do see this; my comment was more that more effort is needed to normalize GUI interfaces for the remaining cases. There's a GUI package manager (bauk?) that works on multiple distributions; I have my wife on Arch, and I always use that program when I have to install something, just to see if I can avoid opening a shell. It works pretty well for the most part... but EndeavorOS doesn't install it by default, and I had to drop into a terminal to install it the first time. It's stuff like that which still needs polishing.

Other areas have made great progress. I almost always use system-config-printer to do printer stuff because the Cups CLI tools are terrible and I use them so rarely I spend more time relearning them; it's just easier to use the GUI, and it works well.

I think the next tool we'll see (and need) is a GUI that will fetch install packages from source. For most Go and Rust end-user GUI programs, this could absolutely be done since both have a canonical methodology for installing or building software: go install and cargo. cargo build puts artifacts in a predictable location, and go install installs them in a determinable one. The same is true for a lot of languages, e.g. pipx. There's a supply-chain security concern, but if well-written this could be reduced by the tool. A really nice tool would be able to pull containers as well, like a sort of Flatpack-light.

That said: my octogenarian father bought a used laptop about 6 months ago and called me, cross-country, to help him install Linux on it (it had some version of Windows on it). I helped him create a Mint flash drive on his old computer and walked through the GUI install with him over the phone, and he's only called me once for help with it since, and that was to get the printer working; we solved it with GUI tools. He doesn't install software; he's running KDE and everything he's wanted to do there's been a KDE program for, already installed. But I don't imagine he's the common case.

I'm drifting. In any case: you're right, there are still a lot of gaps, but I think many of those actually do have GUI solutions, they're simply not used by distributions. It'd be interesting to see a distribution that tries to eliminate all of these cases by choosing software - like bauk - and installing it by default.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 weeks ago

What’s better? KDE? Or GNOME?

This is very much just personal taste and can even change from device to device; i.e. some folk swear by GNOME on their laptops but they also happen to swear by KDE Plasma on the desktop.

At the end of the day, you'd have to test it out for yourself to see which one you like better and under what circumstances.

And, finally, avoid giving too much credence to the exaggerated caricatures that are often presented in the online discourse.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

What's better? KDE? Or GNOME?

Cinnamon.

Nah just kidding. What happens is that you use enough different OSes and DEs for enough time and you start to see through the matrix. You realize they're all just visual wrappers for the underlying systems that do the real work, and the DEs don't really matter. All the major ones are good enough. And when they don't work, that's when you use command line. Then eventually, after doing that enough times, you say "fuck it all, get this GUI out of my way" and just start using CLI for everything.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

mfw playing doom per CLI

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

doom-cli

It will run Doom. Doesn't matter what "it" is, someone will make it run Doom.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 weeks ago

Yes!

This is what the community will likely tell you: Gnome is more for "I just want it to work and stay out of my way" and KDE is for "I want it to behave in some crazy fashion, and I CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!"

I find the opposite.

I get Gnome, and I add tweaks, extensions, desktop wallpaper thingies, task bar nonsense, etc. I get KDE, and I just use it as is.

So clearly, the correct answer is: XFCE! Mwah hah hah!