It’s probably the only Distro I’ll use from now to the end of time, because I’m quite content with it.

Or you’ve invested so much time setting it up that you don’t dare abandon it (sunk cost).

I jest but there may be a grain of truth to it anyway. We humans tend to get comfortable with what we know and when we spend so much time installing, configuring and tinkering a system that we use daily, we end up knowing it pretty well.

I like to try a new distro on a personal computer every year or so, just to keep my agility of computing systems nimble. But still I usually end up back to Pop!OS and MacOS. Although that practice did pull me away from Fedora to Pop!

Why are you referring to him in the past tense? AFAIK he and his cat are still ranting about tech rights on the daily.

There are several comments ITT that mention the “just works” distros, like Mint or Pop!_OS etc. But make no mistake, these distributions are every bit as powerful as any other distribution. They’re not “dumbed down” versions by any means, it just means that they’ve paid close attention to crafting a polished user experience.

Case in point: I’m a seasoned Linux user and still I prefer Pop!_OS. Some of my even more experienced Linux colleagues use Mint, Fedora, etc. because we’re paid to write code that solves customer problems, not tinker with our operating systems on our workstations. I don’t think I actually know anyone in real life that uses Arch (btw)—is it even a real distro or is it just a meme?—or even Debian (unless it’s for a server and even then we’re more likely to use Alpine and install+configure everything we want and nothing we don’t).

Here in Amuricastan, we don’t need no stinking class to learn how to drive a 3000 pound death missile. A signature, a 70% on a multiple-choice exam, and a cursory vision check (can you see through your eyes) is all we need for our FREEDUM MACHINES. First aid is for sissies.

The enshittification will continue until morale improves. Fall in line, USER.

Apple will happily sell you a MagSafe dongle to dangle in the sink beside your neighbor.

Yeah seriously. I don’t show anyone my bash history. That’s nastay.

Mac users are at the sink right next to them also washing their hands. We don’t talk about the nasty things Linux users do with their hands.

AeroPress Pop!_OS gang, check in!

Because the owner of Brave is a giant douchehole.

Great browser though and the company’s mission is decent enough, for a for-profit company.

It’s “Open” in the same way that OpenAI is “Open”.

“Open” ≠ “Open Source” or “Open Access”. It’s more like: “Open for Business”.

I’m training a code and language model to write Linux kernel code and provide snarky comments, of course all based on Linus’s extensive commit history.

Our AI Überherr will be pleased.

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There are a few distributions out there that are genuinely trying to abstract the nitty-gritty away and bring a polished Linux to the masses. ElementaryOS, for one. Yet, it is still Linux at its core and all the poweruser functionality isn’t far away.

But to face a bit of harsh reality, the average computer user doesn’t want that. They resist change and learning something new, they want it to “just work” and “work for me the way [company] says it should” even if that means gross (often implicit) violations of privacy, control, agency. They just don’t care. Or maybe they don’t know. It’s amazing how hard it is to “degoogle” oneself, let alone “demicrosoft” or “deapple”. As I type this on an iPhone…

There will always be bleeding edge computation environments. I just hope that we users can force Big Tech’s hands to respect data privacy and agency. We had a big win with Google conceding web-DRM, but it won’t be the first nor last attempt and their patience is immense.

Tron: “I fight for the users.

Yeah, I hear you. I still run an old MacbookPro with MacOS for personal computing stuff. I just don’t always want to tinker. It’s been a living meme: “the year of the Linux desktop” for years on years now and yet we still comprise like 0.3% of the desktop market.

But I really do see a tide shift now. Microsoft is doubling down on the enshittification of Windows. Apple’s hardware is still—as always—prohibitively priced. Steam OS on the Steam deck. The Indian government officially adopting it—and its FOSS office application offerings. Companies like Pop!_OS and Framework are making real headway for popular adoption. HP, Dell, Lenovo all offer Linux-default laptops now, that aren’t just “Pro-Dev” offerings.

Linux is not as polished as the for-profit offerings. Perhaps it never will be. Perhaps that’s also its appeal.

So… today?

I’m a Linux user. Been one for a long time.

When I’m doing dev-work, shelling into remote VMs and stuff yeah I have to get nitty-gritty with the command-line.

But on my regular daily-driver OS? I only use the terminal because I want to; or sometimes I think it’s more efficient. But I haven’t absolutely needed to for a long time now.

Linux GUI has really come a long way. It’s not at MacOS level (yet), but it’s very functional and aesthetic. Give it a try.

My most used, first and second favorite cast iron skillets are a no-brand $5 rusty garage sale find. A strip and reseason and these things are the best.

My third favorite is the $50 Lodge we got as a wedding gift.

Oh their AI boyfriend skit gets me in stitches every time. Microservices too.

Fucking go already you fucking fuck!