For many people, the #Linux vs #Windows vs #Mac debate is a privilege — it assumes you can choose.
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@tg9541@mas.to @codemonkeymike@fosstodon.org @lpryszcz@genomic.social This is a Toughbook. No real signs of mechanical failure. But I have to have a "massive" swap partition, like over 4 times the size of memory to run updates, and it's basically console, though I think I can run X on it, for the few things I might absolutely want some graphics display (though they'll be very slow and cumbersome).
@JigmeDatse I also once had a Panasonic Toughbook which served me well in countless workplace and prototype tasks. The downside of these laptops is non-standard hardware. These days, Freedos or a console BSD are the closest thing to a viable OS installation one can get. @codemonkeymike @lpryszcz
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@JigmeDatse I also once had a Panasonic Toughbook which served me well in countless workplace and prototype tasks. The downside of these laptops is non-standard hardware. These days, Freedos or a console BSD are the closest thing to a viable OS installation one can get. @codemonkeymike @lpryszcz
@tg9541@mas.to @codemonkeymike@fosstodon.org @lpryszcz@genomic.social Everything is supported, though the live CD didn't manage to handle the USB network adaptor, so ended up getting a PCMCIA one, until I updated the kernel. So, yeah, I know, not really supported. The drivers are in the kernel, but "no one would be using this old stuff on a new system," seems to be a real thing.
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For many people, the #Linux vs #Windows vs #Mac debate is a privilege — it assumes you can choose. But working with the Computer Upcycle Project, I've seen the real choice is often Linux vs no computer at all.
~95% of donated computers are "too old" for Windows 11 or macOS. Linux installs on them anyway, adding 10+ years of life to machines #Microsoft and #Apple called trash.
This isn't Linux vs Windows. It's Linux vs e-waste.
@codemonkeymike @PapyrusBrigade
After installing a "hacked" Windows 11 on several older PCs that don't have TPM or UEFI, I have come to the conclusion that Microsoft made the conscious decision to consign the majority of PCs in regular people's homes to the trash. Apple has done the same thing with older iPads. -
For many people, the #Linux vs #Windows vs #Mac debate is a privilege — it assumes you can choose. But working with the Computer Upcycle Project, I've seen the real choice is often Linux vs no computer at all.
~95% of donated computers are "too old" for Windows 11 or macOS. Linux installs on them anyway, adding 10+ years of life to machines #Microsoft and #Apple called trash.
This isn't Linux vs Windows. It's Linux vs e-waste.
@codemonkeymike I saw this with a good explanation of this. Probably AI but it is accurate.
https://youtu.be/Vk2bXfAXYqU -
@thegardendude @codemonkeymike
If you are used to Windows, #ZorinOS is really easy to use (https://zorin.com/os/).
It won't necessarily work on all computers though (like all Linix distributions I guess) so make sure to test it by running it from a USB stick before installing it!@elduvelle @thegardendude @codemonkeymike So true!
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@purrperl @zer0unplanned@friendica.rogueproject.org @thegardendude @codemonkeymike
Have a look at #guix, maybe just help increase the number of packages and services available there... Scheme is a pretty easy to learn language and widely taught in CS education.
@dlakelan @thegardendude @codemonkeymike
Thanks for pointing out #GUIX
It looks very interesting!I have been a GNU/Emacs user for decades and somehow haven't learned LISP or Scheme yet. It's something Paul Graham recommends in his book, "Hackers and Painters", and it has been on my list of languages to learn for a while. Bumping up the priority.
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@Metamere @thegardendude
Instaed of Ubuntu, check out Solus, which is pretty well maintained and doesn't need to hide.
I use it as my main distro since ~ a year and like it.@fasnix @Metamere @thegardendude is solus still around, I thought it fizzled out
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@fasnix @Metamere @thegardendude is solus still around, I thought it fizzled out
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@codemonkeymike I agree with the sentiment, but have to say I find it somewhat dismaying that the open source OS landscape is a de facto monoculture. FreeBSD and OpenBSD exist, for example, and may work in places where Linux feels awkward (or vice versa).
One can't help but feel that the dominance of Linux has closed off interesting avenues of development. That's not Linux's fault, exactly, but it is a kind of unfortunate outcome.
@cross
As I have no experiences with any BSD at all, what places/scenarios would that be?
@codemonkeymike -
@codemonkeymike What’s a good Linux distro for someone new to Linux?
@thegardendude @codemonkeymike
Linux Mint (Debian Edition) installs smoothly, has run reliably, and has most of what I need day-to-day. -
For many people, the #Linux vs #Windows vs #Mac debate is a privilege — it assumes you can choose. But working with the Computer Upcycle Project, I've seen the real choice is often Linux vs no computer at all.
~95% of donated computers are "too old" for Windows 11 or macOS. Linux installs on them anyway, adding 10+ years of life to machines #Microsoft and #Apple called trash.
This isn't Linux vs Windows. It's Linux vs e-waste.
@codemonkeymike
I *so* agree with this. My work is forcing us to bin loads of 5-6 year old laptops because they're getting too old for Windows11. They still work fine with Linux (I've tried), but because the big MS says no, we have to bin them.I've begged and pleaded with them to allow us to sell or give them to charities, but I continuously get shot down because "too busy, no time, not worth it". Its heart wrenching to send these devices to landfill!
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@codemonkeymike
I *so* agree with this. My work is forcing us to bin loads of 5-6 year old laptops because they're getting too old for Windows11. They still work fine with Linux (I've tried), but because the big MS says no, we have to bin them.I've begged and pleaded with them to allow us to sell or give them to charities, but I continuously get shot down because "too busy, no time, not worth it". Its heart wrenching to send these devices to landfill!
@DodoTheDev that is heart breaking and so wasteful. I wonder if these people know you can literally get a tax write off for donating them! Management might care about that. And if all the NIST 800-80 wiping is happening on our end. You guys wouldn't have to do anything except get a donation receipt
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@codemonkeymike @thegardendude
I am an experienced Linux user and excited about nixOS. Doesn't it require some scripting though, compared to other distros?
This looks very good. I hope you put together some more sections on the webpage, like a FAQ, describing how you have made it easier.I'm planning to derive a distro from nixOS, and replace the nix language with an existing, popular, battle-tested scripting language like Ruby or Perl. ( Ruling out Python & Raku ). This could drive adoption.
@purrperl @thegardendude yes the website will have more details! But right now you can follow the link to the GitHub page and it's all there.
NixOS is like Linux legos. Build what you want. But nixbook is like a Lego set already built. You don't need to know anything about nix. However, you CAN dig in and mess with it if you want
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@thegardendude @codemonkeymike I work in research and a lot of new converts use either Ubuntu or Linux Mint. Personally, I use Fedora/Budgie, before that Fedora Gnome. As another has already mentioned, check and see if the distro has a “Live” version, meaning you can burn the ISO to portable storage and try the O.S. before committing.
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@thegardendude @codemonkeymike
*buntu, Mint, Zorin are all based on Debian.
Debian is nonprofit. Use the default version, Debian Stable Trixie to avoid new potentially buggy features@linuxuser42
As long as your computer has standard, out-of-the-box supported HW that will work.
But if you need special drivers for your HW I wouldn't recommend basic #debian for a beginner. I had trouble installing SW for a Wifi chipset but succeeded in the end.
@thegardendude @codemonkeymike -
@codemonkeymike Switching to #Ubuntu has given my laptop years of further service. My laptop wouldn't have been able to run Windows 11, and I wanted out of the Windows mess anyway.
@Sylkykat
And rumour has it that Windows 12 requires new HW with NPUs on the chip. @codemonkeymike -
@linuxuser42
As long as your computer has standard, out-of-the-box supported HW that will work.
But if you need special drivers for your HW I wouldn't recommend basic #debian for a beginner. I had trouble installing SW for a Wifi chipset but succeeded in the end.
@thegardendude @codemonkeymike@grauzone @thegardendude @codemonkeymike
Good point. Pick the fat 'dvd version' with all the non free drivers.
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@DodoTheDev that is heart breaking and so wasteful. I wonder if these people know you can literally get a tax write off for donating them! Management might care about that. And if all the NIST 800-80 wiping is happening on our end. You guys wouldn't have to do anything except get a donation receipt
@codemonkeymike
I don't think we have that here. I'm in the UK, and they don't give tax rightoffs for much (that I'm aware of).But yes, its heartbreaking. Its taken 3 years to get them to agree to give away monitors. So were getting there. In the meantime, I've thrown out hundreds of monitors (laptops, iPads, phones, desktops, servers) over the last 3 years as we just don't have the space to store it. I get it's about data safety, but were literally throwing money away.
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@codemonkeymike
I don't think we have that here. I'm in the UK, and they don't give tax rightoffs for much (that I'm aware of).But yes, its heartbreaking. Its taken 3 years to get them to agree to give away monitors. So were getting there. In the meantime, I've thrown out hundreds of monitors (laptops, iPads, phones, desktops, servers) over the last 3 years as we just don't have the space to store it. I get it's about data safety, but were literally throwing money away.
@DodoTheDev its so silly though because there are absolutely ways to properly sanitize those drives so they could be used again.. or if you're REALLY conconcerned, you can pull the drives.. still better than trashing the whole computer.
I'll never understand it!
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@DodoTheDev its so silly though because there are absolutely ways to properly sanitize those drives so they could be used again.. or if you're REALLY conconcerned, you can pull the drives.. still better than trashing the whole computer.
I'll never understand it!
@codemonkeymike
My dude, this is coming from an organisation who wanted use to stop reusing RAM sticks and shred them because "they could hold data between reboots"
Once they got the quote of £2500 to shred all the RAM we'd saved, they quickly changed their tune.
Seriously, why do senior IT managers know naff all about IT basics?!
