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this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2024
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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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If you have cutting edge hardware, this might be an issue. But most people don't and for them Mint will work just fine. If you want cutting edge, don't use Mint. But that's not their focus at all. Mint is for people who just want their computer to work with minimal hassle.
If you have cutting edge hardware, you would probably need linux-next kernel. Otherwise you don't have cutting edge hardware.
These don't seem like competing needs. When I think "just work with minimal hassle", I don't think "I need to restrict myself to outdated hardware".
I'm perfectly happy running old packages in general. I'm still on Plasma 5, and it works just as well as it did last year. But that's a matter of features, not compatibility. Old is fine; broken is not.
I think Mint is mostly for the "I have a PC that’s a few years old and want something easy and reliable to replace Windows with" crowd. Because it works great for that. It’s the perfect beginner distro.
Yeah absolutely zero newbies are going to buy a new computer in order to test out Linux.
The machine I have running mint is a fifteen year old Core 2 Duo T6600 laptop. Works great!
I do want to add that new games can also require new packages, the way Alan Wake II did at launch. Even on Arch you had to compile the development version of Mesa for it to run.
Elementary OS. Hassle-free, elegant and polished, distraction-free.
I'd give it a shot if i was on the lookout for something new, but I see absolutely no reason to switch from Mint.
Yeah there’s no need to change if you’re content with what you’re using.
No, thanks to Valve's efforts for Steam Deck all RDNA2 hardware directly benefits for upstreamed improvements.
Any distro will "just work" if used correctly....
If you have to tiptoe around to use it "correctly", it doesn't "just work"
I never said anything about "tiptoeing around", but what you said here is correct....
The thing is that Linux has gone mainstream, with young adults and teens trying it out for Gaming and Streaming. The target people has changed so recommending Mint is not suitable anymore.
I wouldn't quite go so far as to say it's gone "mainstream" since you still have to be moderately nerdy to know about it. I get your point though. This is one of the reasons I am so happy the Steam Deck exists. Before Valve released the Steam Deck nobody wanted to make games for Linux, so Valve said "fuck it, we'll do it ourselves" and proved it was not only possible, but a better experience overall. While not all games work, having 78-80% of your game library work on Linux, with no Windows OS performance tax, is a great experience. Even with the Proton compatibility layer games generally run faster than on Windows.
this video from last month has 600k views. Ive seen several recent linux videos with 150k+ views. Brodie, Horn and the Linux Experience constantly pull 50k to 200K views on some of their videos.
You don't have to run linux to watch a video about linux.
It mean to say its not an obscure thing anymore, Id say its becoming mainstream.
Not even close to approaching mainstream!
It'a close. Isn't it at 4% market share? That's higher than Firefox.