- This topic has 6 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated Jun 18-2:41 pm by marcelocripe.
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PPC
Hi! I’ve been busy lately, with some non Linux related projects, but today I saw this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9WVCmn1DJA
DT is a a FOSS and Linux entusiast, and I was happy to notice he felt, like I do, that there are too many distros already, which tends to confuse people wishing to try out Linux. He defends that instead of spins of previous existing distros, a config file should be used to theme, or adapt existing distros – exactly the course of action I took with FT10 (making it available as a transformation pack that can be installed on top of the default antiX, instead of being an antiX spin).
He also makes very nice points on using config files to easily reproduce Linux installs across several computers!
P.
- This topic was modified 10 months, 3 weeks ago by PPC.
- This topic was modified 10 months, 3 weeks ago by PPC.
- This topic was modified 10 months, 3 weeks ago by PPC.
christophe
I think that’s all fine, so long as there is an appropriate candidate distro that I like. (Obviously, there currently is such a one.)
But I don’t care if someone does or does not want to try Linux. I think there is no reason to do so, unless you find a “need” to do so. Maybe that need is a dislike for the status quo OSes, or something else. I first looked into Linux because I liked building computers from old PC parts, and I did not want to buy a copy of Windows each time. I found out I liked it better than Windows. And I personally don’t like my Linux acting like Windows — but if others DO, that’s fine. But I’d like to disagree by saying, if there’s a need for it, make your own. Different distros say, “I can do it better.” If others don’t agree, the distro will probably die quickly. If it doesn’t, then nobody will care, anyway. I like that we can do whatever we want.confirmed antiX frugaler, since 2019
Brian Masinick
I think that’s all fine, so long as there is an appropriate candidate distro that I like. (Obviously, there currently is such a one.)
But I don’t care if someone does or does not want to try Linux. I think there is no reason to do so, unless you find a “need” to do so. Maybe that need is a dislike for the status quo OSes, or something else. I first looked into Linux because I liked building computers from old PC parts, and I did not want to buy a copy of Windows each time. I found out I liked it better than Windows. And I personally don’t like my Linux acting like Windows — but if others DO, that’s fine. But I’d like to disagree by saying, if there’s a need for it, make your own. Different distros say, “I can do it better.” If others don’t agree, the distro will probably die quickly. If it doesn’t, then nobody will care, anyway. I like that we can do whatever we want.I respect the viewpoint of PPC always, but I agree with you @christophe: in this manner. While it may “confuse” some people when there are 97 variations on the same things and lots of other different alternatives, it’s still all about choice; that’s what it’s always been and that’s what it continues to be.
There was a very early distribution that I think had a name something like SLS, and I think “Soft Landing” may have been in the name somewhere. It was one of the earliest distributions, but unlike Slackware, SUSE, and Red Hat, which each took their own approach, yet used or learned stuff from SLS, they made it; the other one didn’t.
Debian came along at a very similar juncture and took a different approach to packaging. In the early days the Debian distribution and basic environment wasn’t very conducive to wide-spread use, but the package management methods were the best, and remain in the running with the best methods in use today.
Because of Debian’s difficult or confusing start up procedures, a number of distributions arose that added a very nice interface and made their combination much more appealing that Debian’s. MEPIS was one of many that offered such things and it vaulted Debian-style systems into the forefront. When Debian the distribution improved and learned from its siblings, Debian became a very good distribution in every way; the complicated installation and setup was vastly improved, the user interfaces improved and the software kept pace, though it does tend to trail new trends, opting for stability over feature leadership.Can you imagine what life would be like if different teams didn’t fork, not only Debian, but many other systems? Sure, some of the ideas don’t work, not everybody is innovative, but in the long run, choice leads to alternatives, experimentation, and eventually improvement. As choice and innovation wanes, eventually someone else gets bored, things of new ideas and innovation takes off once again.
I wonder if the pandemic, engineering apathy, or a collection of factors has been impeding progress. I was thinking that sometime this decade we’d get a significant paradym shift in computing. Mobile computing has been the most significant change to computing in the past fifty years but it hasn’t really changed the hardware design much except for miniaturization. The binary computing technology remains the same, the GUI only differs slightly in style and method; little else is different; we are overdue for a major computing paradym change from what we’ve always known, but it may take a decade or more to popularize even a major change unless and until there is a very compelling change that makes doing everything different worthwhile.
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Brian Masinick
anticapitalista
Here’s my take.
Too many people see linux distros simply as a product in the same way as Microsoft, Apple operating systems are.
Sure the big guys do eg Canonical, Red Hat, SUSE, even Debian (look at who sponsors it).
The same goes for smaller distros that are run either by companies or act as one eg Mint, PopOS, Manjaro, Zorin, Elementary to name a few.However, linux isn’t just that. It goes beyond that narrow scope for many creators.
I would argue that for some it is similar to writing books, music, film, paintings.
Not all authors, musicians/singers, directors, artists do their thing for commercial gain.
It is an itch that people want to scratch. It is the artistic part of our existence.Clearly, nobody knows what the future will bring in terms of linux distros.
The human spirit is by its nature inquisitive, creative so there is every chance that there may be even more distros in the future, which IMO is positive.‘As long as I breathe, I resist conformity’
Philosophers have interpreted the world in many ways; the point is to change it.
antiX with runit - leaner and meaner.
andyprough
Most distros use systemd, so they are non-starters for me. antiX is ideal because I can install it in under 2 minutes, it doesn’t install stuff I don’t want, and I can have it set up with my window manager and the programs I need in just a few minutes. And it backports a bunch of recent packages that I need.
Other than antiX, Devuan is pretty good all around.
Brian Masinick
Here’s my take.
Too many people see linux distros simply as a product in the same way as Microsoft, Apple operating systems are.
Sure the big guys do eg Canonical, Red Hat, SUSE, even Debian (look at who sponsors it).
The same goes for smaller distros that are run either by companies or act as one eg Mint, PopOS, Manjaro, Zorin, Elementary to name a few.However, linux isn’t just that. It goes beyond that narrow scope for many creators.
I would argue that for some it is similar to writing books, music, film, paintings.
Not all authors, musicians/singers, directors, artists do their thing for commercial gain.
It is an itch that people want to scratch. It is the artistic part of our existence.Clearly, nobody knows what the future will bring in terms of linux distros.
The human spirit is by its nature inquisitive, creative so there is every chance that there may be even more distros in the future, which IMO is positive.‘As long as I breathe, I resist conformity’
I love that take, and I appreciate your desire to continually resist conformity. I’m a different type of person too. Sometimes I do things differently simply to stir the status quo or to reduce boredom!
The past two days I’ve been writing clock scripts. Do we need YET another clock or clock script? Absolutely not. For me, I did it because a clock is a pretty simple widget that I can format with the time, the time and date, it can be on a clock with large and small hands, with or without a second hand, it can be with frequently updating digits, different colors, backgrounds, sizes and shapes.
So far I’ve written or updated clocks in bash, Yad, TCL and python3, and I’ve also used various output formats with the common xclock program.
Is this necessary? Again, no, but my dear wife keeps her mind active with various activities; recently she’s taken up playing Bridge and learning Italian. For me, I’m keeping up at least a basic skill in a few scripting languages to complement the shell skills that haven’t completely left me yet.I also have several computers and I test several distributions, including ours. These things are part of freedom and choice; as long as we have choices I’ll be content. I don’t want to think about my reaction if my choices were taken away, but I can tell you that I’d strongly resist such a thing!
Thank you anticapitalista for vigorously maintaining freedom of choice in a lean and constructive way!
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Brian Masinick
marcelocripe
anticapitalista wrote:
‘As long as I breathe, I resist conformity’Your words are uplifting and encouraging about the future of antiX Linux. Thank you very much!
Please create ways for antiX Linux to live on, even when we are not here anymore. Unfortunately, people will inevitably get sick and die one day, antiX Linux can live on for generations to come and live on forever.marcelocripe
(Original text in Brazilian Portuguese language)– – – – –
anticapitalista wrote:
‘As long as I breathe, I resist conformity’As suas palavras são animadoras e encorajadoras sobre o futuro do antiX Linux. Muito obrigado!
Por favor, crie meios de o antiX Linux continuar vivo, mesmo quando não estivermos mais aqui. Infelizmente, as pessoas inevitavelmente adoecerão e morrerão um dia, já o antiX Linux pode continuar vivo para as próximas gerações e viver eternamente.marcelocripe
(Texto original em idioma Português do Brasil)
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