The Linux community doesn't help either. Some of them want to be inclusive, but the majority of the community think that Linux should be an exclusive club where only those with a high level of knowledge should get treated with any kind of respect or help. Just go Google any Linux topic, and I assure you the first page will contain several forum post where the only response is "RTFM," "if you cannot figure this out you shouldn't be touching it (audio issues)" (paraphrasing), or even "maybe you'd be better off using Windows teehee."
I think Ubuntu has done much to make Linux more consumer friendly and I congratulate them for that. But realistically Android or Chrome OS (Chromebook, etc) are the only two Linux OSs I'd likely use on a daily basis because in both cases they abstract you away from the ugly Linux innards better than any standard distro' is able to do.
The fact that Linux depends so heavily on the terminal/console is just pathetic. It reminds me of Windows 9x. Which is kind of depressing when you consider that the Linux kernel is the most advanced kernel currently in existence, but they get weighed down by the UNIX legacy stuff, users, and GNU side of things.
That's why Android is so wonderful. Instead of it being Linux/GNU, it is Linux/Android. When we get a full desktop OS without the GNU gunk and the associated bad-attitude ("terminal is the bestest, I am so 1337!!!") I'd happily switch to it. Hell I'd switch to a Linux/Android OS if Google and friends made one for the PC desktop (with real windows/multi-tasking).
OS X is also a great UNIX OS because there is no terminal fallback. You can do 90%+ of things you'd ever need to do on OS X via UIs and tools. Plus the community on OS X is better than the toxic Linux community, even if they're a little defensive when people criticize Apple/OS X.
Not disputing the problem you discuss exists - it certainly does - but be careful of assuming it's the majority of the community. It often happens that the bulk of the visible noise is made by a minority of obnoxious wankers.
That's a very interesting take on the situation. I forget that android is linux, when not browsing files. Come to think of it, my android phone has been more useful and friendly than any desktop distro. Regarding legacy problems, I recently read that even the directory system is a legacy issue.
> The Linux community doesn't help either. Some of them want to be inclusive, but the majority of the community think that Linux should be an exclusive club where only those with a high level of knowledge should get treated with any kind of respect or help. Just go Google any Linux topic, and I assure you the first page will contain several forum post where the only response is "RTFM," "if you cannot figure this out you shouldn't be touching it (audio issues)" (paraphrasing), or even "maybe you'd be better off using Windows teehee."
Just in case anyone thinks you're making this up... For several years, the top result for a search on "ubuntu add user" was this page:
It's an interesting page, because it recommends the use of the low-level "useradd" instead of the easier "adduser". It mentions "adduser" but only way down the page.
Now the Debian/Ubuntu man page for "useradd" says "useradd is a low level utility for adding users. On Debian, administrators should usually use adduser(8) instead."
Of course I made the outrageous mistake of thinking that a "how to geek" site might have accurate information, so I followed along and used "useradd".
When that command left me in a confusing state, I posted a comment on the how to geek page suggesting that they should recommend "adduser" instead of "useradd" just like the Ubuntu man page recommends.
(Click the "show archived reader comments" link on the page to see the discussion.)
This did not go over well. I got these replies:
> Michael Greary you are a D&%K H#$&D. You’re the 1 that messed it up no1 else, and anyone else for that matter. Hopefully you’ve learnt by now that when blindly running linux commands you should read the whole article to make sure it’s what you want first. Blaming it on other ppl isn’t gonna help either. You should’ve said it by admitting your mistake, asking for a way to rectify it. (sigh) I bet you have no friends
And the somewhat more polite:
> Michael Geary, you shouldn’t blame the tutorial because you didn’t read it properly.
And this was after following a "how to" that recommended using the wrong command.
I think Ubuntu has done much to make Linux more consumer friendly and I congratulate them for that. But realistically Android or Chrome OS (Chromebook, etc) are the only two Linux OSs I'd likely use on a daily basis because in both cases they abstract you away from the ugly Linux innards better than any standard distro' is able to do.
The fact that Linux depends so heavily on the terminal/console is just pathetic. It reminds me of Windows 9x. Which is kind of depressing when you consider that the Linux kernel is the most advanced kernel currently in existence, but they get weighed down by the UNIX legacy stuff, users, and GNU side of things.
That's why Android is so wonderful. Instead of it being Linux/GNU, it is Linux/Android. When we get a full desktop OS without the GNU gunk and the associated bad-attitude ("terminal is the bestest, I am so 1337!!!") I'd happily switch to it. Hell I'd switch to a Linux/Android OS if Google and friends made one for the PC desktop (with real windows/multi-tasking).
OS X is also a great UNIX OS because there is no terminal fallback. You can do 90%+ of things you'd ever need to do on OS X via UIs and tools. Plus the community on OS X is better than the toxic Linux community, even if they're a little defensive when people criticize Apple/OS X.