As a complete noob who installed Mint about two weeks ago, I have Thoughts™. This is a good start, I think., and I’m really glad to see it, but it still makes some assumptions and misses a couple of things I came across that I think would be helpful.

I’ll try to find some time tomorrow to pull together some edits and suggestions to share, rather than a bunch of comments here.

How’s best to share them back?

UK:

I actually found the whole bootloader and how to dual boot thing a bit non-intuitive and generally unclear as to what I should do. But maybe that’s just me. In the end, as it was a spare laptop, I just went full Linux Mint, reasoning that I can always reinstall Windows later…

Sorry, yes you do. Because it’s so interlinked in my mind I got that wrong. But deffot the easiest way to do it I’ve found (as long as you’re using proton mail though, I guess…)

(and Android, which is what I tried it on. Was pretty good)

I don’t, I’m afraid. But I can say that creating and managing them through protons password manager is a breeze.

I use Proton Mail, which lets you make ‘aliases’, which you can use for different sites. The alias forward staright to your main (or a nominated) email.

You can use https://simplelogin.io/ to do the same, and I’m sure there are similar services around.

E.g. I can’t have feckwhatsapp@feckfacebook.com as my WhatsApp email, and it would forward to whatever account I normally use.

I do this for pretty much everything on line, so they all have their own bespoke email for me.

Interesting. Will have a look on the snazzy package manager and give it a go. Ta.

Have been trying Linux Mint on a spare laptop as a complete N00b. Can’t get a huion screen tablet to work, nor an older xp non-screen one. Only option I’ve found for software is Krita (which isn’t bad, actually), but no CSP.

Couldn’t get a controller to work properly either without having to install some stuff via command line / terminal, which I wasn’t comfortable doing (I commented about having to do this on another post elsewhere and some guy was like super aggressive about how I didn’t need to, and was lying apparently… 🤷 )

Other than that, it’s a been a pretty smooth experience. That’s not sarcasm, its genuinely been interesting experience poking about and giving it a go. May just not be ready for my use case yet.

I’m getting this impression as someone who just installed Linux mint, because people like yourself who say there won’t be problems and it will all just work. It didn’t. There were problems, and there still are.

Even on Linux I still have to search online for info and for what app to install to meet my needs. Which also relies on knowing what site to trust, and what info you find varies hugely from helpful to incomprehensible for a beginner. Especially when there’s a hundred unfamiliar options.

The whole finding downloading and installing something on windows is straightforward for most people. Search, go to site, select, install, follow instructions. Done. I’m not sure why you’re making it sound like some frought and impenetrable nightmare. There’s also the windows app store for (like the mint package manager) about 80% of stuff.

Honestly, I don’t find the package manager much different, since I still need to search for something (to identify the right software / tool etc). And hope it’s included in the package manager. Then I’m asked to approve some dependencys that I have no way, as a beginner, of evaluating of they’re safe or not. So just click ok, and just have to trust the package manager / software (Another click) is safe. No different to me that some downloaded executable on windows.

And as for the different versions, yes, I mean why are there two or three versions of Firefox when I search in the Mint package manager? What makes flatpak ine different from the other one? How can I evaluate ? As a new user, even the descriptions don’t help.

And when I say a new language, I’m talking about having to go into the terminal (?) And enter a bunch of unfamiliar commands that I have no idea if they’re the right or safe thing to do, In order to be able to get something to work. In my case a switch pro controller and an Xbox one controller (when the pro didn’t work). Both of which just work on windows. That’s just one example, and I don’t think it’s an especially unique or niche one for someone coming from windows. Got them to work on Yuzu, but wouldn’t work with a browser for some reason.

To be clear, I’m not dissing Linux (nor you!) I just don’t believe it’s easier that Windows, nor does it yet feel ready to help a new user do fairly ‘normal’ stuff they might want to. I also recently started using a Mac, and while that was laerning curve, it was still far more novice friendly than Mint. In my experience.

I’m afraid Linux is more complex for most regular people.

Yes, a lot of stuff is managed by a package manager (though you have to decide between 2-3 options of the same app, as one is flatpak and one is something else you’ve never come across before) and when that works, it’s great. But it’s far from comprehensive.

I’d rather press ‘next’ or ‘ok’ a few times than have to learn an entirely new and non-intuituve language and interface just to add an app or driver that is among the 20% of stuff that still won’t just work out the box.

Déchets ici, déchets là

Urgh. Wish this were true, but nope.

Still needs waaay more effort just to do (some) simple stuff a normal person might just expect to work.

Just installed Mint on a laptop to replace W10. Went really smoothly, and was quite impressed.

Thought I’d try a bit of emulation with Yuzu. Wanted to use a Switch pro controller. Plug and play? Nope. Tried Xbox one controller instead. Neat. Works. I can live with that.

But then thought I’d try a bit of Xbox game stream. No controller works with browser. Try obvious things to fix.

Looked for answers and they’re all like, someone going: oh, you just need to clone the controllerwaffelen driver from git, then just compile the installer using the command sudo apt get- monkeyshyte wtf -make then run the installer from the folder using cmake- getfuckednoob.

I don’t know what any of this is. Tried following instructions.

And, frankly, I cannot be fucked to spend four hours finding out / troubleshooting for something I would have thought was fairly coomon.

It’s not a deal breaker, it’s just another bit of faff and fuckaboutiness that puts me off. And, I suspect would others even less tech minded.

Exactly. It seems people often completely miss the human behaviour element of this whole issue. Just saying ‘LeARn to TEcH N00b’ isn’t helpful or realistic in the real world for most people. I have family that still won’t touch a computer, or only use one for the most basic of browsing and email, but they can use a TV remote without issue.

Also, the implication that not being tech-savvy is a form of willful ignorance is unrealistically dismissive of the different talents and intelligence people possess. Being proficient in the many and various technology’s is just one skill set among many, and people value privacy and simplicity without having to jump through hoops to achieve it. Technology should serve to enhance our lives, not add another layer of complexity. The burden should not fall solely on consumers to fend off invasive advertising; it is also the responsibility of companies to respect their users’ desire for a straightforward and unobtrusive experience. (Though I suspect we both agree this bit is more dream than reality…)

Leaving aside the silly thing about buying stuff for show (which may be true of a fraction, but not the vast majority), I disagree.

While becoming ‘tech-savvy’ might allow people to navigate around the pervasive ads in techn like the Fire Stick, it’s unrealistic to expect this level of expertise from the average person. People have a myriad of responsibilities and interests competing for their attention; not everyone has the luxury of dedicating time to become a tech expert just to avoid advertisements. This expectation completely ignores the complexity of our lives and the sheer volume of knowledge required to custom-build solutions like a media PC, or build your own media library. It’s not about being willfully ignorant; it’s about the practical realities of everyday life.

My main question, that I admittedly haven’t been arsed to look for an answer to, is; would subscribers still have the same algorithms as non-subscribers controlling what ‘content is surfaced’ to them? Since it’s been kinda optimised for engagement and advertising for sometime… If that makes sense…

Psychedelics, by David Nutt. Probably the most recent and evidence-based on the topic.