I find running Linux is a bit like having a zen garden. I used to enjoy tweaking every part of the system at one point, but nowadays I just want to get things done, and the system to work. So far, Pop has been the closest to just working for me. I find elitism tends to be prevalent in communities around niche technologies. People tend to feel like they’ve earned their place by doing a trial by fire, and then expect everybody to have to do the same. Linux is still fairly small on the desktop, and I suspect that’s the reason we see this opinion being prevalent. Good news is that Windows appears to have gotten so bad that it’s actually driving people Linux now. So, hopefully if there’s a big new user boost, we’ll start seeing more push towards usability along with it.
Reminded me of Alan Watts quote about how people feel they must attain enlightenment:
So you can suffer for it. There are all kinds of ways invented for you to do this. You can discipline yourself and gain control of your mind and do all sorts of extraordinary things—like drink water in through your rectum and push a peanut up a mountain with your nose. There are all sorts of accomplishments you can engage in. But they have absolutely nothing to do with the realization of the self. The realization of the self fundamentally depends on coming off it, just as when someone is putting on some kind of act and we say, “Oh, come off it.” And some people can come off it—they laugh, because they suddenly realize they’ve been making a fool of themselves (How to Reach Where You Already Are By Alan Watts)
I find running Linux is a bit like having a zen garden. I used to enjoy tweaking every part of the system at one point, but nowadays I just want to get things done, and the system to work. So far, Pop has been the closest to just working for me. I find elitism tends to be prevalent in communities around niche technologies. People tend to feel like they’ve earned their place by doing a trial by fire, and then expect everybody to have to do the same. Linux is still fairly small on the desktop, and I suspect that’s the reason we see this opinion being prevalent. Good news is that Windows appears to have gotten so bad that it’s actually driving people Linux now. So, hopefully if there’s a big new user boost, we’ll start seeing more push towards usability along with it.
Reminded me of Alan Watts quote about how people feel they must attain enlightenment:
That’s a great quote, thanks for sharing. :)