Linux needs to grow. Stop telling people it’s ‘tech-y’ or acting like you’re more advanced for using it, you are scaring away people. Linux Mint can be used by a senile person perfectly.
Explain shortly the benefits, ‘faster, more secure, easier to use, main choices of professionals and free’. Ask questions that let you know if they need to dual boot, ‘do you use Adobe, anti-cheat games, or Microsoft Office’, ‘how new is your computer’.
And most importantly, offer to help them install.
They don’t understand distros, just pick Linux Mint LTS Cinnamon unless they’re curious.
That’s it, spread Linux to as many people as possible. The larger the marketshare, the better support we ALL get. We can fight enshittification. Take the time to spread it but don’t force it on anyone.
AND STOP SCARING PEOPLE AWAY. Linux has no advertising money, it’s up to us.
If you’re actually expecting people to transition without asking for help on a regular basis, you don’t know people.
You just made yourself their IT guy for life.
And I think there isn’t a good solution to this. Ideally you would enable people to make good choices for themselves, know how to handle the tools they use…
Interesingly enough they come to me to fix their printer and antivirus anyways, and I have no idea of what I’m doing since I haven’t used Windows in like 15 years, except for updating my GPS and filling out time-sheets for work and stuff like that. And in the meantime Microsoft switches things around every few years and bolts on a new interface onto their office suite and then moves it to the cloud. I don’t think it would make any difference if my relatives were using Linux in the first place. They would still need to ask someone to fix their printer drivers and handle big version upgrades. And if it was me at the other end, it would be way more convenient to me to help them.
I stopped advertising Linux to people who didn’t ask me to… I’ll tell them I use different things on my computer and why this software is way better. If they pick up on that and want to try out of their own motivation, I’ll gladly help.
This
If someone comes to me I’m more than happy to answer questions and help, but I won’t bring it up. People don’t like being told that their tool of choice is “bad” “not optimal” or anything like that. Even if it’s only their choice because they grew up with it or don’t want to learn anything new. And they still need to learn if it’s more than browsing the web.
Also I really don’t want to be the one they come running to once something doesn’t work the way they expected - or not at all. I don’t have the time nor the inclination to be tech support for my family and half of my friends.
This is the same as how I am. People know I’m “the Linux guy”, but I don’t preach it. I don’t try to get friends and family to switch operating systems. That’s like trying to get someone to switch to your favourite brand of underpants. The whole ethos behind Linux is the freedom of choice. If someone wants to learn more about it, I’m happy to point them to helpful resources, but they need to make the decision on their own, and choose for themselves. I won’t install it for them, because I don’t want to deal with the “where are all my pictures are gone?”, or “why doesnt my scanner work anymore?”
deleted by creator
I’ve been using Linux for 30 years now, certified to teach it and everything… Here’s your problem:
“Stop telling people it’s ‘tech-y’”
Compared to Windows or MacOS, yes, it is very techy.
“offer to help them install.” - If they need your help to install it they absolutely have no business running Linux.
“They don’t understand the concept of distros” - If they have no understanding of distros, they have no business running Linux.
Think of it like this… if they can’t wrap their head around a distro, what’s going to happen when you try explaining a package manager?
I get the evangelism, but Linux simply is not for everyone, that’s why Apple invented iPads.
Compared to Windows or MacOS, yes, it is very techy.
Distros that have so much graphics like ubuntu and their linux mint isn’t (much) :)
there’s a guy even claimed “Linux is almost identical to Windows”. That guy is a “masturbing monkey” that cannot care about anything other than privacy.
but Linux simply is not for everyone
correct. I think Torvalds would agree.
Many people have no concept of a computer, offer them running linux is destroying their business and render them jobless
And these guys are so hilarious: switching to linux but want to use windows app with wine !
Switching to linux only to decorate the desktop and neofetch!
They want to switch but never want to learn what a kernel is.
Switching to linux and claim about “free”, “open source” but they hide their proprietary games
I’ve been using Linux for 30 years now, certified to teach it and everything
I’m curious what have you learn and certified to teach? I want to learn all of them :)
I don’t know that you can learn “all of them”, there are new ones popping up all the time.
I started with Unix in 1988 because I wanted to play on the Internet and back then you either learned Unix or you didn’t go.
Unix is interesting because when Bell labs came up with it, they were told “Look, you can have a monopoly in the telecommunications industry, or you can have a monopoly in the computer industry, PICK ONE.”
So they picked the telecom industry, but at the same time they went “Hey, here’s this computer OS, see what you all can do with it!”
So you ended up with Unix System V, HP-UX, Irix, BSD Unix, and so on and so on. They were all Unix but all also a little bit different.
Roll forward to the early 90s and Linus Torvalds going “Hey! Imma make my own Unix!” and then THAT splintered into all the Linux variants we have today.
When the early days of Linux happened, my reaction was “Well, I already learned Unix, how hard could this be?” :)
The problem was, there was no easy way to collect everything you needed for an install, so I waited until someone put out a CD with all the files I needed, I think that was 1993? 1994? Something like that.
Anyway, my first was Slackware. Since then, I can’t tell you how many I’ve used. Different situations call for different things. I was a Redhat admin for awhile. I installed YellowDog on a PS3 for fun. MacOS X is not Linux, but it’s underpinnings are based on BSD Unix so it’s kind of a kissing cousin. Apple does a lot of goofy shit, but it’s not insurrmountable if you know Unix.
My certifications were done around 2000/2001 through a company called SAIR and I’m not even sure they exist anymore. They got absorbed into Thomson Learning in 2002.
It was a great experience though. Wouldn’t trade it for anything. I made some good money administering Avaya Definity and Intuity phone systems running Unix.
I don’t know that you can learn “all of them”, there are new ones popping up all the time.
The core remains the same. And if I’m not stupid, everything I learned in Linux (yeah, kernel things) can be easily adapted to OpenBSD which I’m using.
My dad always urge me to learn things “around assembly” (binary math, how the kernel operate). I wanted to know how to get started with these :)
The core is the same, the shells are each a little different. I remember juggling 3 different installs and having to keep a cheat sheet to keep them all straight. :)
Do you know how can I get started with things around the kernel?
So when it comes to kernel modifications, I’m old school…
“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” :)
https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/balancing-if-it-aint-broke-dont-fix-it-vs-release-early-and-often
Unless there’s some VERY specific need, some security hole that needs patching, some critical flaw that is failing, in general, DO NOT mess with the kernel.
That being said, there are tons of good guides you can find just by googling “linux kernel modifications”, but also specific guides for your installations. RedHat makes it dead simple to do stuff like this.
But before you do it:
-
Make sure you have a specific need you’re addressing.
-
Make sure you have all the necessary backups you require.
-
Have a roll back process in case something goes wrong.
-
Have a diagnostic testing plan.
-
I was just about to install Linux mint (once I free up space on my drive, that is)
get the edge version if youre running new hardware and use the update manager the second you first boot
Im installing it next to my current install of windows, but I’m going to make a new partition
I never heard of the edge version
Windows has fallen billions must use Android and IOS
Offer family members or friends your help or copy and paste the below
how to install linux: 1) copy down your windows product key 2) backup your files to a harddrive 3) install the linux mint cinnamon iso from the linux mint website 4) use rufus (a website) to put the iso on a usb flash drive 5) go into bios 6) boot from the usb 7) erase the storage and install 8) celebrate. it takes 15 minutes.
step 1 isn’t needed for nearly all already-activated windows 10 or 11. microsoft activation servers will ‘remember’ your pc hardware configuration’s hash and its activation state. don’t even need to associate the install with a microsoft account either, when reinstalling to the same pc, it just works.
I sent this to my mom, she said “I’m not sure what mint cinnamon is, but you’ll probably want the oven at 450”
I don’t often suggest Linux to friends or family, because I don’t want to be on the hook for tech support. I also don’t want to be the blamed party when they inevitably give up, and be obligated to reintall their old OS.
Linux is growing naturally. There’s little reason to suggest it to someone who won’t benefit from it.
fair enough
I agree with this but we also need the average user to become tech literate.
There’s little reason to introduce linux to someone who doesn’t understand basic concepts like “I can save this file in this folder and find it there in the future instead of putting everything on the desktop” and doesn’t even want to learn.
This goes for everything not just Linux. Maybe instead of dumbing everything down completely (not saying things shouldn’t be made simple enough but there’s a point where you need to get people to get up their asses and actually learn something) maybe we should be teaching people the basics at school, in my IT class back in HS they taught about buses, drivers, some other shit even I can’t remember, and then immediately jumped to how to use excel specifically. None of the information in the first part was at all useful to anyone in that class (none of us was even studying IT, we were mixed classes to become chemical and architecture (?) technicians) and in fact promptly forgotten as soon as IT lessons ended, if not earlier. What would have been useful is the basics of how to use it and how the part users actually interact with works.
Then, once the population is tech literate enough to not panic as soon as they see a sudden popup and mindlessly click “ok” without reading, that’s when Linux (and honestly Windows and Mac too because the OS is irrelevant if the user is a moron) will be truly ready for everyone
Stop being elitist about Linux, the amount of times I’ve had to explain that none of my software runs great on Linux just to have to hear how with trouble shooting it will. My work depends on the use of my software, it’s collaborative. If I have to trouble shoot every time adobe or Ableton updates it’s a bad use of my time and is actively taking time away from projects. Only I use VSTs for music production, they all work perfectly in windows and MacOS. Linux? Hit or miss.
Maybe I’m convinced. Now I gotta find the right one, set it up. Get all my software working, learn a new UI, hope that it doesn’t break collaboration. All in all, not worth the little I would save.
deleted by creator
The Adobe photography plan costs me $120 a year, and honestly includes more useful updates than not. Their AI masking upgrades the last couple years are saving me hours to days of editing time per photo session.
$120 a year is worth maybe one hour of my free time. Even just migrating to Darktable would take me weeks or months of dedicated time to migrate my existing catalog.
I just give IBM all my money.
id really like to use linux, but not before this is working. i dont understand how you linux people can live witout ahk.
Auto Hot Key, that’s something I haven’t heard of in a while. Probably because it’s not as essential in a Linux environment when you can more easily accomplish most of what you’d accomplish using AHK in a shell script. What problem are you trying to solve using AHK? Someone might be able to tell you how to solve it.
mostly just abbreviations like
:*:ty-::Thank you very muchI know its possible in linux. but on windows in ahk it takes me seconds to add/remove/deactivate/activate them. and on a good working day do that maybe 20 to 50 times. and they are all in one single file.
i also use it for simple shortcuts or things like
:R*?:ddd:: FormatTime, CurrentDateTime,, dd.MM.yy SendInput %CurrentDateTime% returnor stuff like search selected text in search engine X or Y; but if selected in program A, then use search engine Z or open program B and enter it there. but those are the most complicated ones i use and dont need quick changing.
Check out
keyd, might be what you are looking for. I used it to customize dead keys.
Anything you can do with AHK you can do with Python. No need to ahk on Linux tbh.
???
I’m thinking of switching and will run mint off a live USB on my rig. Just need to find a new guide on setting up persistent data from the USB.
what do you mean by persistent data
Booting to a Linux live USB doesn’t save user data right? I’m talking about installing Linux on a USB and maintaining data/configuration across reboots.
This way I can slowly build out my ideal environment with distro and apps. Goal is to document the process so I can replicate it onto a laptop permanently. Then my main desktop.
@Landless2029 @jackpot
MX Linux- MX’s graphical tools provide an easy way to do a wide variety of tasks, while the Live USB and snapshot tools inherited from antiX add impressive portability and remastering capabilities.
https://mxlinux.org/
install on a usb drive and make sure that there is enough free space for creatng a live usb(double)with persistence.there are user curated lists of software on github-linux and lightweight.
https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesomeThat’s my goal for the USB part.
MX Linux seems like a different distro? I plan to play with my Nvidia gpu / proton / wine / bottles / steam / gog to figure out my install/config requirements.
Goal is to figure it out and back it up in my personal git.
I was going to start with mint cinnamon
@Landless2029
mx linux is based on debian,so mint might be bettet for your needs(fresher packages).for mint there are explanations on reddit for the best way to do it.mx linux has a subreddit.it works for gaming but may be it is the best to do a domain query for reddit and protondb
what is best for your needs.
What do you use your pc for?
I wrote it here some time ago. Tried Linux Mint with the intention of finally switching from windows on my notebook. Bricked one partition that I forgot I had set to dynamic, Headphone jacks didn’t work even after fiddling around with arcane parameters in the cli. If you mainly need the command line to set your system up and stuff doesn’t work out of the box people don’t have the nerve to switch and learn all that. Love Linux, great on steamdeck, have a couple of Virtual Machines to play around with on my old Poweredge server but it’s not ready for me, the average user. That and I’ve to use windows for my cad work at my job anyways. I’ll take the downvotes but you’ll have to realize you are tech savvy people who have fun learning all that. Most people don’t.
I think Mint is better out of the box than it used to be. I was on it maybe 5 or 6 years ago and had to troubleshoot a few issues, but I just came back to it a few months ago and everything worked flawlessly out of the box.
The average user doesn’t install windows. I used to get paid when I was a kid to install windows in my village.
wait did you install linux mint regular or edge??
I haven’t seen anyone scaring people away. All I see is people saying “try Linux” and others complaining that it’s too much Linux encouragement. They want to stay with their windows. Not our fault. :)
I like a small Linux community so I’m fine. The more people who stay on windows, the more likely it is that Microsoft feels like they have enough users to leave the rest of us alone.
