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this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2023
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Linux
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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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I agree that part of the problem is the tutorials and average linux video shows mostly terminal usage. I’m aware of distros that do have GUI front ends like elementaryOS as mentioned, but again I am not going to install linux due to my program requirements for work not having official support. I try to keep up with some linux OS vids/posts because I think the development is interesting to see, but in the end it really is not built with the “average user” in mind no matter how many people keep saying it is lol.
I use programs in windows with only terminal support and config/json files I have to edit myself but it does remind me how much more convenient a GUI is. But devs and other tech people don’t find it worth the dev time to implement. That’s fine but it’s weird to expect widespread use when convenience is considered a waste. Sorry if I keep repeating myself but that’s genuinely a big point in the matter haha
Fair!
I don't think it's just about saving dev time (though that is also a big part of it) but also that many people, such as myself as well as most people who make open source programs, genuinely think that the terminal is more convenient than a gui. This is a niche position though and as you say an obstacle to mainstream use.
I do wonder how far away we are from a linux for casual use that you can use without the terminal, since there are already a couple of gui tools for common tasks. In my mind, the average casual user mostly uses maybe their browser, spotify, office products, steam (which may require installing a different graphic card driver, which isn't very user friendly), some messaging platform and photoshop or something. Honestly this shouldn't be that hard to do with just gui tools, modulo the graphic card drivers. Comparability with various programs is a problem though, you might have to settle for libre office and gimp instead of ms office and photoshop for example.