quantum-

I'm pretty sure he means different standards for different things, not more standards for the same 😉
And btw: expanding standards often weakens the "one purpose paradigma" - there is no clear "best way" here.

I think Drew made a decent point that I definitely agree with though, quoting from the first article,
I can't recall a satisfactory answer to this from Linus, Luke, or anyone who wants more people to switch to Linux. If you are a Windows user, it is far easier to remove the included bloat and malware in Windows than it is to try and run things on Linux. Why should the average Windows user switch if fixes for the problems with their current OS exist and applying those fixes has a much lower barrier to entry than changing their OS?
 
Drew makes a number of criticisms of desktop Linux and the community in the second article. I agree that all of the points mentioned there (and several others that weren't) are issues that can (and must) be fixed by the community, but I don't think the paucity of desktop Linux users is one of them.

A pretty hardcore Linux dev (and founder of SourceHut) weighed in on the LTT series today with two posts: 1 is from the point of view of what a new Linux user should do to help them succeed, the other is what the existing Linux community can do to help Linux succeed on the whole:
 
https://drewdevault.com/2021/12/05/How-new-Linux-users-succeed.html

He did something that I appreciate, which is admit where Linux stands compared to Windows in a fair and honest manner.
 
Unfortunately, Drew immediately turned and fell into the pit that many complainers have -- he stood up and tried to argue that the challenges should have been more "linux-centric" and made use of the command line. Its like everyone is ignoring or forgetting Linus' repeated statements (including at the end of this video):
These challenges are important in the context of getting an average user to switch.
 
That does lead quite nicely into his second post, however...
https://drewdevault.com/2021/12/05/What-desktop-Linux-needs.html
 
I will say that Drew Devault tends to be a bit... fiery in his convictions, so I actually found this to be a good attempt at an olive branch from him: he is taking Linus' arguments in good faith.

He throws down the gauntlet at the end:
 
In theory, that was supposed to be Ubuntu, but that failed because Ubuntu tried to become the "everything" distribution, and ultimately fell to the demands of power users. It may take someone willing to stand up and say, "I understand you want that functionality, but no. I'm going to include less configuration/extensibility/functionality on purpose, so that the "normal" user (not the POWER user) has the first-class experience. Arch is that way, go have fun.
 
 

The UX is terrible for the average end-user, but GitHub is not designed to be a way for the average end-user to download software from. Tutorials that claim to be "new-user friendly" need to either stop relying on getting users to download things from GitHub or give a doorstop explanation of git/shell scripts/file permissions. Heck, if enough people want one, I'll write it myself so they can just link to/copy it.
 
Apparently they fixed this in a recent update.

The UX is terrible for the average end-user, but GitHub is not designed to be a way for the average end-user to download software from. Tutorials that claim to be "new-user friendly" need to either stop relying on getting users to download things from GitHub or give a doorstop explanation of git/shell scripts/file permissions. Heck, if enough people want one, I'll write it myself so they can just link to/copy it.
 
Apparently they fixed this in a recent update.

The UX is terrible for the average end-user, but GitHub is not designed to be a way for the average end-user to download software from. Tutorials that claim to be "new-user friendly" need to either stop relying on getting users to download things from GitHub or give a doorstop explanation of git/shell scripts/file permissions. Heck, if enough people want one, I'll write it myself so they can just link to/copy it.
 
Apparently they fixed this in a recent update.

the thing is though it's not a beta product. Linux can be very powerful if you know how to use it, and suits some people's needs MUCH better than Windows. for me, i got into it because i wanted to try it (when i was like 12, i heard about it and was like oh i'm trying it) and immediately fell in love with it. it doesn't do anything behind your back and you are in full control at all times, which i love. it doesn't install candy crush on it's own, doesn't update on it's own when i don't want it to, i have total control. 
 
the thing is though, you have to know how to use it in order to fully take advantage of it. Windows is the same, but people just overlook the fact that if you use Windows all your life things that are idiotic feel normal. 
 
like, if i have to set up a new machine, i pop in a usb with a custom manjaro iso that i made on it, that automatically runs a script after install that applies all my settings and installs all my apps for me. i can't do that on Windows. i'm sure there is a way, but i don't know it. 
 
to me, a fulltime Linux/Mac user, Windows is the OS that feels weird. if i'm using Windows and encounter a problem, i have to google it. on Linux, i probably know the command from memory. 
 
see my point? if you are used to something it becomes your normal. if i have to completely delete the nvidia driver for example because it messed up, on linux i run 1 command i have typed dozens of times now and know from memory. on Windows, i have to look up a guide. 

This frankly. I don't know why people recommend distros like Manjaro or PopOS! to new users when they're relatively niche distros with not a lot of official support and backing. Fedora and Ubuntu are two user friendly choices with a lot of support. You can make changes to them so that they run games just like PopOS! would, but since you're making the changes, you'll learn what you're doing.

Even disregarding software support issues, this is still true. Linux in 2021 is not a plug and play solution and I don't think it should have been described as such by the community (I myself have some comments I'd probably take back regarding this).

This frankly. I don't know why people recommend distros like Manjaro or PopOS! to new users when they're relatively niche distros with not a lot of official support and backing. Fedora and Ubuntu are two user friendly choices with a lot of support. You can make changes to them so that they run games just like PopOS! would, but since you're making the changes, you'll learn what you're doing.

Oh no it's fixed now, and there are programs with similar problems that aren't available as Snaps/Flatpaks (CLI stuff mainly). One current issue I have is that I'm using a version of libxml which is newer than the version on the community branch because another tool (latexmlmath) requires it.

This frankly. I don't know why people recommend distros like Manjaro or PopOS! to new users when they're relatively niche distros with not a lot of official support and backing. Fedora and Ubuntu are two user friendly choices with a lot of support. You can make changes to them so that they run games just like PopOS! would, but since you're making the changes, you'll learn what you're doing.

While the Arch wiki is one of the best Linux resources on the Internet, I'd say it's far from intelligible to a newfriend, and once you're at the point where you can make sense of it, you're probably at the point where you can apply the information to distributions which aren't Arch based. I don't think it's worth using a rolling release distro because you primarily want to use the Arch Wiki, they're too unstable.
 
But the difference is that most people learn how to use a computer as they learn how to use Windows. It shapes their expectations of how computers are supposed to behave.
 

Since the base matrix protocol is open source (as are all of beeper's bridges I think) you're free to audit, set up and run a matrix server along with all the bridges on hardware you trust. I think the only proprietary part of Beeper is the client, but there are a fair few Matrix clients out there already.

This app is based off the matrix protocol, which is notably used by governments in France and Germany. It works on the server side and is not just a fancy gui that combines all the apps.
 
The protocol (matrix) uses the same end to end encryption as Signal by default. 
 
Matrix uses bridges which basically is how beeper works at its core, letting matrix send messages anywhere and vice versa. Bridges are what let a matrix based messenger like beeper talk with nearly anyone. One of the developers of this app is the same person who made many bridges for matrix.
 
Since all the backend software is open source it means you could basically host this app (which is really matrix+bridges) itself. They even say so explicitly on their faq:

You can therefore think of beeper's $10/month subscription as a convenient way to use the existing matrix protocol and its bridges without the hassle and cost of self-hosting.

A very busy thread on HN.
 
The actual app/service.
 
I am not a developer of this app, just a user who finds matrix very very compelling.

I don't know about that, I haven't seen a decent tiling window manager for macOS or Windows. An example data does not make, but I'm sure I could find several more.

The fact that Microsoft themselves runs their servers on Linux instead of Windows Server or whatever says a lot about their OS...

Perhaps we should stop feeding the troll? Of course, he's entirely entitled to his opinion, but that doesn't make it truth.
 
Actually, the one thing that puts a smile on me face is when I tell Win-OS fan-bois that for every webpage they visit in their MS-browser, they use a dozen or so Linux machines to get the info on their screen. Their reactions are often priceless

I will disagree. Pulseaudio has been the standard for years now, and it works wonderfully. I have had zero audio problems on any of my machines that I've used Linux on. Hell, I haven't had any OS-related problems on any of my machines. Linux works better for me and my machines than Windows does.
Gonna have to disagree with this, too. First of all, the behaviour you see is the DE, not the distro. The OS itself works far different than Windows does, and most DEs look very different compared to Windows. I'm not sure what you were using that "behaved like a Chinese knockoff of Windows", and I can't see where you're getting these ideas from.
Not sure what you mean by this, either. Again, Linux has worked better than Windows for my desktop and my laptop. I don't have to worry about an update breaking my computer, or having to update all my programs individually with their own little installers that I have to download from their own separate websites, hell I don't even have to worry about viruses or whatever.
 
I also find that most of the time, even information that is multiple years old will solve my problem or at least help me diagnose it. And if I can't find the answer I am looking for, I'll just ask on /r/linux4noobs or something and get help in hours or even minutes.

I don't think that's a good idea. You're free to do whatever you want, but I think one of the problems people have with GNU/Linux is that they re very used to Windows and that results in "baby duck syndrome". GNU/Linux isn't like Windows. There are several fundamental differences which makes it work in a completely different way. If you always compare it to Windows and try to use it the same way as you use Windows, you will just end up frustrated and think it sucks.
You have to go in with an open mind and be ready to adapt to the things which are different.
 
 
Not sure when you ran GNU/Linux but I'd say that in the last 5 or so years a lot more of our program has moved to online solutions. Even Microsoft are heavily pushing for PWA, and all of those works with GNU/Linux. So I'd say that the lack of native software people are used to is becoming less and less of an issue as time goes on.
I'd say that 50% of the average Joe would not have any problems whatsoever using GNU/Linux as their main OS, with a minimal amount of relearning (which is pretty hard).
Out of the remaining people, 40% would have issues with gaming primarily, and that's something that is being worked on by Valve and (hopefully) as developers move over to Vulcan.
The remaining 10% are those who need a particular piece of software like the Adobe suite.

It's been said that Linux is a great operating system if you don't value your time. I think there's some truth to that statement, but I'd also say that one should be aware of one's previous experience with Windows when judging the difficulty of setting up Linux. I only seriously started to get into computers when I started daily driving Linux, so much so that my troubleshooting and tweaking expertise when it comes to Windows is limited to Google Fu. On the other hand, I can make a decent attempt at diagnosing a Linux related issue offline and, more often than not, I can at least patch the system so that it works until I can find a proper solution.
 
Linux might be harder to manage than Windows, but I'd say that a decent amount of that difficulty is down to unfamiliarity with the structure of the OS. Linux is less a complete OS than a collection of software parts that make a whole. If that's all you've ever dealt with, it's hard to go back to Windows.
 
Building on this, the default GNOME shell is pretty slick. I'd recommend it if you want something that feels like macOS OOTB. For machines that aren't too powerful, Xfce is a good lightweight desktop environment. If you're feeling adventurous, try a tiling window manager like i3wm or xmonad. They're very bare bones, but useful if you value your screen space and don't like using a trackpad/mouse.
 
As for distros, Ubuntu, Fedora and Manjaro are all good choices for beginners. They each have packaging systems that aren't compatible with other so the selection of software you get with each one will vary. For example, even though the Fedora version of a program will probably be more recent than the Ubuntu version, the default repositories only ship free (as in speech) software aside from proprietary firmware. Manjaro is based on Arch Linux, so the default repositories will stock the most recent version of any piece of software. This also means that you will be exposed to more bugs than if you were running Ubuntu or Fedora (though not that much more, think of it as being on the latest update stream of Windows).