[lug] Why use a Linux desktop? Was: Re: (Virtual)

Sat Apr 11 21:46:26 MDT 2020

Hi Steve,
I enjoyed reading your reply's list below of why you use Linux.
I'd summarize it as you saying: I am comfortable with my Linux
environment so I continue to use my Linux environment.
I'm actually in the same situation although our Linux environments
might different on implementation a bit.
This is what I was trying to communicate with my original comment:
1. I've seen a large exodus of Linux advocate-users away from Linux
desktops in favor of Mac (and perhaps some Windows?).
2. I don't see the Linux desktop market share as growing
significantly.  It has no killer app on the desktop.
3. I continue to see people who have strong politics choose Linux and
continue to use Linux.  This set of users is consistent, but small, and
they don't look to spend money on commercial software.
For these three reasons I'm thrilled when I see commercial companies
supporting Linux because I perceive Linux has having a limited and not
necessarily growing market compared to Windows and Mac OS.
I use Chrome, Firefox, Atom, VirtualBox, Slack and Zoom and I really
appreciate having them.  These tools are required for me to collaborate
with recent teams in my life.  Without them, I have to switch platforms
or be left out.
So in the midst of all of us discussing having a meeting using Zoom and
whether Zoom is good or bad, I appreciate having the opportunity to
choose or decline to use it.  Not having the choice just leaves me out
of participating from my comfortable Linux environment or forces me
towards the other platforms.
Maxwell
On Sat, 2020-04-11 at 20:46 -0400, Steve Litt wrote:
> On Fri, 10 Apr 2020 13:48:34 -0600Maxwell Spangler <
> lists at maxwellspangler.com> wrote:
> 
> > While Linux in areas like high performance computing, services
> > andembedded devices has definitely succeed over alternatives, the
> > Linuxdesktop marketshare appears to be stalled or shrinking.  Other
> > thanpersonal politics, I just don't really see any reason to use
> > it. 
> 
> Allow me :-)
> 1. DIYability: After moving from DOS and Windows in the 1990's,
> I   noticed it was hard to automate or personalize
> Windows   software. Moving to Linux in 1998, shellscripts and other
> tools   brought back the automation and personalization, and just
> plain   DIYability I'd had in DOS, but much more so.
> 2. POSIX: With Linux (or any POSIX system) I have all those
> little   tools I can connect up like Lego (R) blocks to accomplish
> *exactly*   what I want to accomplish. AWK, sed, cut, grep, tee,
> sort, tar,   find, /bin/sh, piping, redirection and backticking. If
> one needs a   functionality *right now* and isn't concerned with
> "pretty", these   can be used. 
>    For instance, I recently needed a way to store locations of
> items   on my huge bookshelves: Quick input, and quick retrieval,
> both as   shelf to item, and item to shelf. For ease and just to get
> it done,   I chose VimOutliner as the native format and input
> mechanism.   VimOutliner is available on most distros and is easily
> installed   from source. Menuing is provided by my home-grown
> UMENU2   (http://troubleshooters.com/projects/umenu2/). Entity
> listing is via   the spectacular dmenu software from Suckless Tools.
> What little   programming was needed was provided by a couple 20 line
> AWK programs   and a couple even tinier and simpler shellscripts. I
> was on a huge   cleanup campaign and needed my software *right now*
> so my campaign   didn't stall: I had what I needed 1/2 hour after I
> started. That's   the Power of POSIX.
> 3: dmenu: Dmenu from Suckless Tools is extremely fast and versatile
> for   both picklists and data fields. It works ONLY with X, so no
> Windows.   I don't know whether OS/x uses X or not. I literally use
> dmenu at   least 50 times a day, I've integrated it into handy little
> software   applications, and yet I haven't scratched its surface. If
> Wayland   ever completely replaces X, I'll have to convert it to
> Wayland. Not   that easy: I've seen the source code. I might also
> convert it to   ncurses so it can be used in a CLI context.
> 4: TRULY free software: I remember back around the turn of the
> century,   you could get Perl and Python for Windows, as long as you
> got them   from a vendor who forbid you from giving them to anyone
> else. If you   wrote a Perl app for Windows, for each client you had
> to show up on   site and download their stupid thing in your client's
> name. Contrast   this to Linux (and BSD), where you have complete
> access to all free   software, and you can put it on the computers of
> a few thousand   friends. No "store" to obtain applications and
> software, with   Linux you just install it.
> 5: Choice of user interfaces: Whenever I'm forced to use Windows 8
> or   Windows 10, my first thought is "are you kidding me?"
> Chicklets   aren't my thing. For a narrow era of time, their
> application finder   enabled you to pull up any application you knew
> the name of. But   then they made it so your search term pulled up an
> Internet search.   Every time I'm forced to use Windows, I feel like
> I need a barf bag   handy.
>    In Linux (and BSD) you can have any user interface you want. I
> like   OpenBox. Some folks like no-mouse no-decoration ratpoison.
> Some   enjoy that wierdo, Gnome3. JSM. CTWM. Windowmaker, Mate, LXDE,
> lxQt,   XFCE. The CPU exerciser KDE, or the CPU-gentle IceWM. And
> tens more.   And within each of those, you can personalize the look,
> you can   personalize hotkeys and mouse activities.
> 6: You control your computer, your computer doesn't control you:
> This   is a natural result of the preceding five benefits, but is
> important   enough to warrant its own bullet point. With Windows (and
> I imagine   Mac), when they decide to change their software, you have
> to change   your habits, reflexes and workflow. In Linux (and BSD),
> you can   almost always make a few mods so that the way you do
> business   remains *your* way of doing business.
> =====================
> Of course, whenever I make the preceding six points, somebody
> willalways pipe up with: "But Steve, you're a programmer, you can't
> expectan ordinary user to do that!"
> My response depends on the definition of "ordinary user." If you
> meansomebody with a sub-80 IQ who has trouble adding two digit
> numbers orforming a complete sentence, I agree. 
> But if you mean an average person with average learning abilities
> anddisabilities, it's just not true. Anybody who has ever written a
> set ofinstructions for their child or somebody else to follow
> has"programmed." The only difference is stricter syntax checking and
> aninability to grok "you know what I mean." But syntax isn't
> difficult ina ten line shellscript.
> My response also depends on the definition of "programmer." I'm
> nottalking about a guy who can create a GUI interface to a database
> or awordprocessor. I'm talking about a guy who can string five to
> twentyinstructions together, perhaps with some simple ifs and loops.
> I'mtalking about somebody who can learn simple Python (trivial for
> the guywith a 100 IQ). Extra credit for the guy learning Python's
> subprocessmodule, which in my opinion would require 16 hours to
> learn, and aidthe person for the rest of his or her life.
> I worked for a huge law firm back in the 1980s. Most of the lawyers
> andall the legal secretaries could do their job just fine in MS-DOS.
> Manylegal secretaries had enough "programming" chops to create
> Wordperfectmacros and simple batch files. Humanity is nowhere as
> stupid as BillGates and Steve Jobs spent billions to convince us we
> are.
> There are people who would be better off with Windows. But there
> areplenty of people who would be happier running their desktop
> computer onLinux.
> 
> > Evenin my case, most of what i do is now terminal based or browser
> > basedand I can't identify any GUI apps on Linux that are best of
> > breed overWindows or Mac.
> 
> * LyX* LaTeX* Plain TeX* Inkscape* VimOutliner (GUI or CLI)* Calibre
> Oh wait: Those are free software and were also ported to Windows
> andMac, so they don't give Linux an advantage.
> But what about when you need to run Visio,
> Turbotax,Quicken/Quickbooks, Adobe and the like? Run them in Windows:
> Modernmachines can be VMed.
> =====================
> Bottom line: No matter what OS one chooses for his or her
> desktop,there remain plenty of reasons to choose Linux.
> SteveT
> Steve LittMarch 2020 featured book: Troubleshooting: Why Bother?
> http://www.troubleshooters.com/twb
> _______________________________________________Web Page:  
> http://lug.boulder.co.us
> Mailing List: http://lists.lug.boulder.co.us/mailman/listinfo/lug
> Join us on IRC: irc.hackingsociety.org port=6667
> channel=#hackingsociety
-- 
Maxwell Spangler

===================================================================
Denver, Colorado, USA

maxwellspangler.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.lug.boulder.co.us/pipermail/lug/attachments/20200411/17a3c690/attachment.html>