Credit to Newyana2 in the windows-11 newsgroup:

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. :)"
--
CrudeSausage

On 2024-12-19, CrudeSausage <crude@sausa.ge> wrote:
> Credit to Newyana2 in the windows-11 newsgroup:
>
> 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 tried Suse a couple times. Even bought the retail box at one point. Always
seemed something wasn't quite right in it.

> 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.

Linux Mint has worked great on the Desktop for me — for about 17 years.

> 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.

This guy makes a lot of idiot assumptions about why people use Linux. If you
want to know why people use Linux... ask people who use Linux — not some
Windows fanboi's with his half-baked and idiotic assumptions.

> 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.

Linux does NOT lack the software (unless you're married to MicroCrap Office
or like to play Windows' video games). Then, by all means, stick with the
inferior OS from MicroCrap. (Check your privacy in at the door.)

> 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.

Like this moron has a clue.

> 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. :)"

He might have tried the Date & Time application. That's how I set on my
computer's clock (actually just set it to network time when I install it.
But this guy is brain-dead Windows fanboi and fudster, so we've got to cut
the idiot some slack for his stupidity.

And this guy impresses you?

--
“Evil is not able to create anything new, it can only distort and destroy
what has been invented or made by the forces of good.” —J.R.R. Tolkien

CrudeSausage wrote:

> (idiocy snipped)

Nothing but nonsense. For example, the claim that are only two
extremes - distros for hardcore geeks or for grandmothers.

Err... No. There's plenty of choices for the mainstream.

A heck of a lot better than "You want Windows? Here's your *one*
option. (Home/Pro operate the same)"!