this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2025
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Linux

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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[–] 17lifers@sopuli.xyz 26 points 2 days ago (1 children)

every user converted to linux is a win

[–] Legisign@europe.pub 5 points 1 day ago

Win10 or Win11? :p

[–] commander@lemmy.world 19 points 2 days ago

Any bit of user base growth helps get the ball rolling for future MS/USA missteps. Linux has just been getting better and easier year after year. It's been a 30 year marathon ready for another 30+ years of development

[–] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I can't wait until Lemmy's Peertube integration is released ^[1]^. Then, iiuc, this comment section should be able to happen directly on The Linux Experiment's videos within Lemmy.

References

  1. Type: Comment. Author: "Nutomic". Publisher: [Type: Post. Title: "Better federation for Peertube content". Author: "Kalcifer" ("K4LCIFER"). Publisher: ["GitHub". "LemmyNet/lemmy".]. Published: 2023-08-06T21:41:29.000Z. URI: https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/issues/3837.]. Published: 2025-03-27T08:28:52.000Z. Accessed: 2025-07-11T00:59Z. URI: https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/issues/3837#issuecomment-2757172791.

Oh yeah that would be great. I hope it’s really coming🤞

[–] DarkMetatron@feddit.org 45 points 2 days ago (6 children)

And at the same time we have the Jugendmedienstaatsvertrag in Germany (and with Germany as a strong force in the EU most likely everywhere in the EU soon) that will make all operating systems without fully integrated age restrictions illegal https://www.heise.de/en/news/Minors-protection-State-leaders-mandate-filters-for-operating-systems-10199455.html

Manufacturers of operating systems must then ensure that "only apps that correspond to the age specification or that have been individually and securely activated can be used". The installation of programs should only be possible via distribution platforms such as app stores that take the age rating into account and have an automated rating system recognized by the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM).

This part of the law alone is impossible to implement on a open platform like Linux.

[–] vrighter@discuss.tchncs.de 43 points 2 days ago (1 children)

these types of laws usually come from the most technically illiterate people ever

[–] DarkMetatron@feddit.org 7 points 2 days ago

Unfortunately yes!🫩

[–] ramscoop@lemmy.world 45 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Instrumenting a fascist society while pretending to protect children...

[–] DarkMetatron@feddit.org 25 points 2 days ago

Yeah, as it is so often 🫩

[–] LegoBrickOnFire@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Don't tell me it is law already!

[–] DarkMetatron@feddit.org 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It is in ratification, and will (most likely) become binding law by 1st of December 2025 in Germany

German link: https://rundfunkkommission.rlp.de/rundfunkkommission-der-laender/reform-des-jugendmedienschutz-staatsvertrages-2023

[–] jim3692@discuss.online 10 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Since it is impossible to implement on Linux, it may just be flagged as adult-only software.

But, there is still hope. What if Snaps and Flatpaks get properly flagged, allowing Ubuntu and/or Fedora to be legal?

[–] DarkMetatron@feddit.org 5 points 1 day ago

Since it is impossible to implement on Linux, it may just be flagged as adult-only software.

This would render Linux unfit for use in Schools, Public Libraries, Youth Centers and other places where Children and Teenagers have access to PCs.

It is, in addition to that, possible that internal regulation of government offices prohibit the use of adult software. Not sure about it, but it would IMHO fit the mindset of bureaucrats

[–] Jankatarch@lemmy.world 16 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I mean it's impossible on all computers.

Windows should ensure you can only use app-store and make it impossible to install an exe online as example

MacOS even funnier. If I save a bash script I found online mac is supposed to refuse, unless I am using a vpn that is!

[–] jim3692@discuss.online 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I don't think they will prohibit side loading. This will cause serious issues to developers, and other professionals.

Like, I cannot use the X tool from Github, just because the Y developer refuses to publish it in an organized store?

[–] DarkMetatron@feddit.org 2 points 17 hours ago

The law doesn't say that the option has to be active for everyone and all the time, but it has to be fully integrated into the OS so it can be activated fast and easy when children/teenagers want to use the PC.

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[–] olafurp@lemmy.world 13 points 2 days ago

One alternative is that it only applies to companies that are listed as gatekeepers in the EU make it only hit megacorps

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 84 points 3 days ago (8 children)

They try this every 5 years or so. Microsoft gives them some short term discounts and they come running back back.

[–] ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org 122 points 3 days ago (27 children)

It's different this time around.

The previous attempts were about freeing themselves from an abusive unprincipled data-hungry big data monopoly,

This attempt is about freeing themselves from an abusive unprincipled data-hungry big data monopoly operating in a fascist country and in cahoots with the regime.

I reckon it's serious this time.

[–] disco@lemdro.id 43 points 3 days ago (9 children)

People are serious, I've never seen so many new users in the Linux groups I'm in

[–] Tenderizer78@lemmy.ml 21 points 2 days ago (2 children)

That might not be so much down to how serious people are but rather just how good Linux has gotten lately (especially for games). Although I do think people are more serious now.

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 8 points 2 days ago

Speaking personally, it's just as much about Windows getting worse as it is about Linux getting better.

[–] HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org 3 points 1 day ago

In any complex system or "wicked problem" involving positive and negative feedback cycles, a combination of factors that push into the same direction can cause the system to flip over - sometimes in dramatic ways.

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[–] Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone 21 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Hell, I'm in Silicon Valley here in California, and some of my friends are also jumping off the proprietary ship because those large firms are willing to work hand in hand with federal agencies.

If you've read the NSA document disclosures by Edward Snowden, it's apparent that there is an open door for data requests. The current administration isn't a huge fan of California's diversity, so we might as well minimize our chances of being targetted...

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[–] RadioFreeArabia@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago

Hopefully this helps increase adoption. Maybe in a few years GNU+Linux will have 10% of the desktop operating systems market. Maybe even Wine won’t be necessary anymore except for legacy software.

[–] Core_of_Arden@lemmy.ml 13 points 2 days ago (2 children)

It can't fail, unless MS pulls a monopoly stunt or bribe politicians... There's only a win, by ditching MS...

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[–] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago (8 children)

I think that if Linux is to be more widely adopted a more easily used distro needs to become mainstream. Let's face it, the average computer user barely knows how to use Windows, just because you find Linux easy doesn't mean they will.

Do you think you could teach Linux to your grandmother?

[–] LeFantome@programming.dev 11 points 1 day ago

My mother, 80 years old, uses Linux Mint.

It is a myth that Windows is easier to use than Windows. It is just what you know and it came with your computer.

[–] Saleh@feddit.org 33 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Do you think you could teach Linux to your grandmother?

Yes. Set automatic package updates, Install firefox with ublock and put it on the taskbar, and bookmark Facebook and Youtube for her. It is the same thing as under Windows.

I would argue that for the most "tech illiterate" users the Linux experience can be made even easier than the windows experience, because you have to set up everything for them anyways.

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[–] 18107@aussie.zone 12 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Do you think you could teach Linux to your grandmother?

My 50+ yo mother uses Linux Mint daily with fewer problems that when she used Windows. Her crowning achievement in IT is learning how to use email.

I helped my 93 yo friend switch from Windows 10 to Linux 2 years ago. He called me 3 times in the first 2 weeks to ask how to do something, but hasn't had a single problem since that's related to the OS.

Linux Mint, Bazzite, Fedora, and several other Linux distros are already easier to use than Windows. The only thing holding most people back is fear of change.

There are some people who have specific setups in Windows or a large number of "Windows only" apps, but these people are in the minority. The average person can't even tell you which operating system they're currently using, and wouldn't notice the difference if you swapped the OS but kept the same web browser.

[–] LeFantome@programming.dev 3 points 1 day ago

When I switched my mother, her only complaint was that the scroll bars were not as wide in Facebook.

[–] fading_person@lemmy.zip 13 points 2 days ago

Teaching people without computing skills to use linux is actually easier than teaching windows. Most trouble people have with linux comes from being used to windows and having difficulty to adapt.

[–] aim_at_me@lemmy.nz 4 points 1 day ago

My MIL is a grand mother and uses Linux Mint. She's about as illiterate as you can get.

[–] johannes@lemmy.jhjacobs.nl 6 points 2 days ago

Actually, my mother knew how to use Debian before she could use Windows. Her first pc came with Windows XP, switched that for Debian as its been my main OS since 2000.

Yes, you can teach your grandmother to use Linux.

Both of my grandmothers are dead, but I did teach my aunt to use Linux. She had a laptop that "ran" Windows 10. It would take 30 seconds to open the Start menu. One SSD, one RAM upgrade and one install of Mint later it's a whole new machine. She can Firefox and Mahjongg just fine.

[–] Obin@feddit.org 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

We already have those. Arguably Windows is much more of a hassle to use than your average "works out of the box" distro. And don't start talking about the terminal, that's comparing apples and organges. A more apt comparison to the need of using the terminal on Linux is the need to apply registry tweaks or use powershell on Windows. As if "average users" would need to do that. They install software via the "app store", change settings via the GUI and run updates when prompted, all of which are seamless on most of these distros. If something breaks, they can't fix it themselves, but then they just go to someone else to help them, just like on Windows, which they also can't fix by themselves. Maybe they manage to reinstall, which isn't any harder than on Windows, if not easier these days.

The group you're actually talking about (and likely belong to) are the Windows power-users that would need to rethink things, and would be capable of rethinking things, if they wanted, which they don't. I know some of these people myself, complaining all day about Microsoft and the privacy nightmare that they put in huge effort to mitigate, but sadly they absolutely need to rely on this one "critical" piece of freeware from the 2000s that they are sure won't run on wine (not that they've tried) or a cracked copy of Photoshop they use for cropping and changing the brightness of desktop backgrounds, but it's the industry leader, so they obviously won't use "inferior" software for that, face the facts Linux users. They think package managers are much harder than downloading and clicking through Setup.exe for the 100th time in a row, and they've had this one bad experience with "rm -rf /" 10 years ago which is why they don't "trust" the terminal, yet routinely double-click on downloaded .bat files without thought. 🤷

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