Why don't more people use Linux?
world.hey.com
A couple of weeks ago, I saw a tweet asking: "If Linux is so good, why aren't more people using it?" And it's a fair question! It intuitively rings true until you give it a moment's consideration. Linux is even free, so what's stopping mass adoption, if it's actually better? My response: “If exercising is so healthy, why don't more peo...

Stumbled across this quick post recently and thought it was a really good tale and worth sharing.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a tweet asking: “If Linux is so good, why aren’t more people using it?” And it’s a fair question! It intuitively rings true until you give it a moment’s consideration. Linux is even free, so what’s stopping mass adoption, if it’s actually better? My response:

  • If exercising is so healthy, why don’t more people do it?
  • If reading is so educational, why don’t more people do it?
  • If junk food is so bad for you, why do so many people eat it?

The world is full of free invitations to self-improvement that are ignored by most people most of the time. Putting it crudely, it’s easier to be fat and ignorant in a world of cheap, empty calories than it is to be fit and informed. It’s hard to resist the temptation of minimal effort.

And Linux isn’t minimal effort. It’s an operating system that demands more of you than does the commercial offerings from Microsoft and Apple. Thus, it serves as a dojo for understanding computers better. With a sensei who keeps demanding you figure problems out on your own in order to learn and level up.

Now I totally understand why most computer users aren’t interested in an intellectual workout when all they want to do is browse the web or use an app. They’re not looking to become a black belt in computing fundamentals.

But programmers are different. Or ought to be different. They’re like firefighters. Fitness isn’t the purpose of firefighting, but a prerequisite. You’re a better firefighter when you have the stamina and strength to carry people out of a burning building on your shoulders than if you do not. So most firefighters work to be fit in order to serve that mission.

That’s why I’d love to see more developers take another look at Linux. Such that they may develop better proficiency in the basic katas of the internet. Such that they aren’t scared to connect a computer to the internet without the cover of a cloud.

Besides, if you’re able to figure out how to setup a modern build pipeline for JavaScript or even correctly configure IAM for AWS, you already have all the stamina you need for the Linux journey. Think about giving it another try. Not because it is easy, but because it is worth it.

      • @blue_canuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3•9 hours ago

        Why not mock up a bunch of dialogs/windows that linux mint uses now and show how they can be made better, then submit to the project? I’m a software dev that is not all that good with UI; I can do amazing things in terms of coding them up, but in terms of “pretty” or “logical”, its not my strength and you just need to team up with guys who can code very well. Gnome looks nice, but is a terrible project. If I was a mint dev I’d love the feedback to be honest. Don’t go out and design a replacement for everything, start with a few of the worst offendors and be polite and see where it goes, you don’t need to code to make a project successful, we need everybody from UI to translators to testers to marketing guys etc.

        • @Agent641@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1•7 hours ago

          I don’t know how to submit design or get involved, but if be willing to do that. Do I need to join a group somewhere, or what?

          I’d be happy to spend my spare time trying to improve the UX if I’m not wasting my time. I can even show a portfolio of my currently in-production work, which only totals about 15 seperate software apps across windows, Webapp, and android, but it’s something

          My day-job is 50% technical writing, mostly writing software specs, and 50% UI/UX design for custom software used by aggressivly non-technical people, like warehouse staff, truck drivers, mechanics and mining exploration drillers. So I have to treat the users gently by giving them a clean, simple and intuitive design with just the right amount of guardrails, but tons of customisable functionality just under the surface. Many of my apps heavily rely on Bluetooth connections, which is why I’m picking on the Bluetooth interface. Average users are very intimidated by Bluetooth.

          Never trained in either tech writing or design, and I’m not a design guru, but I understand enough to build consistent in design principles, easy to understand and use, and have rich functionality behind them.

        • @Agent641@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2•7 hours ago

          I’ll mock something up later and share my design.

          FYI I didn’t downvote you or anyone else, Im not like that. There is just some downvote goblins getting around this thread