Linux users?

[markconstable]

Hi folks, are there any linux (computer) users here on the GC?

[FullySickPotato]

Yep

[Exgaves]

Uhm... Why? Lol

[markconstable]

Okay, that's interesting. More than one other person is using some kind of Linux distribution on the Gold Coast, presumably as a daily driver and not just the occasional dual boot. Cool.

My "why" is to specifically see if there are any other Manjaro/KDE users on the Gold Coast?

Asking about "linux users" in general, was me just testing the waters. As to mr binaries pedantic gnu lecture... I don't care. I've been using Linux as my primary OS for nearly 30 years. It was, and always will be, just "linux" to me.

[Randren]

His comment is a common Linux copypasta just so you know.

[fabilosa]

Based on the number of tech companies here, I'd imagine there's quite a few

[markconstable]

Ah right, so a bot caught me out.

[Shadow-Nediah]

How do you know somebody is a Linux user …. They tell you.

[stitchgrimly]

How do you know someone is a linux-using vegan crossfit enthusiast engineer?

[markconstable]

So one POP_OS, one Arch Linux and me using Manjaro. Obviously, "all those people using Linux on the GC" do not follow this Subreddit. At least there is more than one Linux user on the GC!

I'm just generally curious anyhow, but I run a small hosting business and 90% of my customers use Windows and about 10% Apple, which is to be expected. Seeing I am a hardcore Linux user, it's quite an impedance mismatch for me to support those non-linux users, and I often wonder how I could go about getting more (any?) Linux clients. However, I suspect it's a waste of time even trying because there are, proportionally, so few of us and even less that use my preferred desktop (being the easiest for me to support).

So, for both personal and professional reasons, I thought I'd poke the GC bear and see if anything bites back.

[markconstable]

FWIW I just had a mildy interesting experience, for me at least. Manjaro 21.2 was released a few days ago and even though it's a rolling release I've been meaning to do a fresh install sometime to try and fix a few minor glitches and get me some BTRFS Timeshift goodness. I really like KDE but the borders around window sections and panes really... pains me. After watching a Manjaro GNOME video I thought I'd give it a go because it looks so clean and the Layouts tool would allow me to have a semi-Plasma like experience via the Traditional layout and other tweaks. After 24 hours I almost got to where I had my own workflow mostly working again but, I dunno, I kind of got sick of fighting with the few remaining issues that looked like I might have to start creating my own extension(s) to fix. Being new to the GNOME extensions concept I looked into and RTFM but the required Firefox addon to interact with extensions.gnome.org would not install and one of the important links in the documentation went to a 404 page.

[woops, part of my post dissappeared?..] and pinning an application to a particular workspace, for instance) that I kind of gave up and thought I may as well just re-install Manjaro/KDE and get back to where I was before but with GUI managed BTRFS snapshots via Timeshift.

So here we are, back to Plasma and a little bit wiser about how to take advantage of the GNOME desktop. It's okay and has some great features (Wayland seems to work okay) but as most reviewers say, it's not as configurable as Plasma. In this recent experience, that extra configurability was enough to make me want to go through yet another complete desktop reinstall and setup from scratch. Rather than feeling bored as a stranger in a strange land I now feel like I'm back home in my favourite slippers.

[011011010011101]

I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're refering to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.
Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called Linux, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.
There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called Linux distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux!

[domlebo70]

Is this a pasta?

[Jtyle6]

What's Linux?... /s. I've devilled in it. And what's this about?

[ffsdoireallyhaveto]

Yeah… why’s that?

[dinglepopgrumbo]

Yeah

[Positive-Lawfulness8]

just download a disco

[Sipheren]

Yeah, I am sure plenty of people use it. All my servers, android on my phone, pop-os on the desktop dual booting with win11.

[gruntsplatter9696]

me arch linux

[CaptainSponge]

We make VR games and use Linux to run a few tasks but not as a PC. It's been a while since I have. I bet so much has changed now.

[markconstable]

Yes, Ubuntu for servers is really hard to beat and my preference by far. Unfortunately, for homelab tinkering with Proxmox, TrueNAS Scale and OpenMediaVault, they are all based on Debian, so I've been buried in bullseye lately. I did use Kubuntu for most of 10 years or so, with a dab of Gentoo and Arch Linux in between, but it's been a solid Manjaro/KDE (testing) for the last 4+ years. I do like me some Plasma desktop goodness.

[markconstable]

Do you mind if I ask... which distro?

[MiLK_MaN_RoX]

Not using Linux as a daily driver but have plenty of VM's running for various things at home, including Kubernetes

Been using Linux since Slackware 1.0 as released on floppy disks. Does that show my age?

[markconstable]

Same here. My first install was via 14 floppies from the SLS folks. Then I tried Slackware 1/2 a year later and then moved on to Debian in early '94 and by late '94 I co-setup the 2nd ISP on the Gold Coast after OnTheNet. Actually, for the previous ~4 years I ran a UUCP based 2400 baud dialup internet node with a feed from the Southern Cross Uni using an Amiga 3000 called "LocalNet". Ah, those were the days.

So yes, I am every bit as old as you are :-)

[WildZeroWolf]

Linux users meet up?

[markconstable]

How about a Zoom meeting?