Subj : Re: Computer operating system of choice?
To   : Arelor
From : boraxman
Date : Tue Feb 08 2022 14:41:41

 Ar> I am not satisfyed with the current state of Linux, but I don't think it
 Ar> is that bad either.
 Ar> 
 Ar> The fact there are so many distributions and environments is quite good,
 Ar> IMO. It increases the chance that you may find something you like or put
 Ar> together something you like. A lot of people thinks that a big number of
 Ar> options makes it hard for begginers to pick one and get started with
 Ar> Linux, but when you are starting and you do some research, you quickly
 Ar> realize there are not that many options being talked about in the wild.
 Ar> You check your average listicle for Linux distributions to try and you
 Ar> get recommended Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian... not to mention a lot of
 Ar> options are "false" options because many distributions are just a
 Ar> Debian, Arch or Fedora reskin.
 Ar> 

I think distro choice matters less than people think.  You can make the
distro "Your own" regardless of starting point.  I didn't really distrohop, I just used what I first got and stuck with it.  The different "spins" just adds to confusion, as do the forks.

 Ar> I agree that some core components going crazy is not good. The whole
 Ar> Linux deal was made sane because there used to be the assumption that
 Ar> things such as GTK or Glibc or SysInit would remain stable enough so
 Ar> third party developers could count on them not changing wildly from a
 Ar> distribution to another. NOwadays that is no longer the case. No wonder
 Ar> some BSD just pick a version of the libraries they like and freeze them,
 Ar> upgrading them only for bug fixes, in an effort to skip the rat race.
 Ar> 

I think a lot of people in the software industry don't understand users, and what people DO with their machines.  Too caught up in their own industry.  As I mentioned before, I think a large problem is people 'solve problems' in the tech world by just writing more code, more programs, when it really is a matter of better organisation and use of what we already have.

The BSD guys do seem more pragmatic in this respect.

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