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from the it's-2015-and-things-are-easy dept.
I remember a story on the other site years ago when, following the Mojave Experiment, some guys did their own Folgers Test, asking people what they thought of this new (unidentified) UI and most of those folks thought it (KDE) was just more of Redmond's stuff.
Now, there's this story from OpenSource.com.
- Linux is so easy, anyone can install it--even by accident
One day, [...] a user's Windows install went corrupt on her laptop and she accidentally installed Linux. When her laptop couldn't [load the OS] from the hard drive, it automatically booted [to] the network. When she got the PXE install menu, she just hit Enter, installing a Linux desktop with all of our default network security settings and applications.
She then logged into it with her network account and emailed me to say that her Windows had updated and she wanted to know why her Microsoft Office looked so different now and "Where did Outlook go?" We had a good laugh over how Linux is so easy you can install and configure it by accident now, even on a laptop.
Hat tip to Robert Pogson for spotting this. The comment by IT pro oiaohm is, as always, insightful (once you adjust for his dyslexia).
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 24 2015, @07:41PM
I had almost the same experience!
When I had to reinstall the OS one time, I used a Linux USB by accident. Could barely tell the difference...
Except that HDMI didn't work, the SD card didn't work, single-click mode was flakey, desktop icons kept rearranging on reboot, it kept wanting to connect to Amazon and it was a mystery what would happen if I closed the laptop lid - sleep, crash, nothing. Other than yet, yeah.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 24 2015, @07:50PM
Closing the lid always works for me. Never any problem.
(Score: 2) by t-3 on Saturday October 24 2015, @07:57PM
Depending on your wm/de of choice and the hardware you're using, it might be automagically configured correctly or might be a total pain in the ass.
(Score: 3, Funny) by maxwell demon on Saturday October 24 2015, @07:59PM
Yeah, for me too. Only problem, I don't see anything until I open my eyes again. :-)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 24 2015, @09:27PM
But what about opening it?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 24 2015, @09:27PM
Who still uses desktop icons? I use mouse gestures to open my frequently used apps, the panel shortcuts for Chrome, Thunderbird, and terminal, and the menu button for everything else. My desktop is clean except for wallpaper and conky.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Sunday October 25 2015, @03:08PM
Right? I've grown fond of Gnome Do, which I mapped to a keyboard shortcut. It learns my frequent programs such that when I want to launch something I only have to type the first letter of its name, such as 't' for terminal. Two rapid keystrokes and I'm off to the races. Vimperator as a plugin for FF does the same thing, and brings vi functionality to browsing. It's made an enormous difference to my productivity.
You do similarly with mouse gestures. Not my thing, but you're happy and we're both accommodated.
That's what I love about linux and OSS, total control and customizability so I can maximize my productivity. With Windows and Mac there is a way to do stuff, but it's *their* way, not yours.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by everdred on Monday October 26 2015, @10:27PM
> I've grown fond of Gnome Do
Yay, another one of us! I use Kupfer [github.io] for the same reasons. I find it faster and more stable (but unfortunately a little bit uglier) than Gnome Do. I can't help but feel like if your launcher doesn't have two (or three) panels, you're pretty much doing it wrong.
> With Windows and Mac there is a way to do stuff, but it's *their* way, not yours.
To be fair, both Gnome Do and Kupfer are clones of the open source Mac app Quicksilver [qsapp.com], though your point about open source is pretty much right.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 31 2015, @08:16AM
Fantastic... unless you want to use desktop icons, of course. But then you UI designers know what's best for everyone.
I suppose we all need to get over it and use the most customizable software EVAR and be happy we are not allowed to use dumb icons any more. I'll tell my mom and wife that when they complain that the "computer is broken". Ha ha those lusers, not like us UI heros.
(Score: 3, Touché) by bziman on Sunday October 25 2015, @01:09AM
Where did you find a 90s version of Linux on a bootable USB drive?
(Score: 2) by meisterister on Sunday October 25 2015, @04:34AM
Ah, Ubuntu 15.10 I see.
(ducks under desk)
(May or may not have been) Posted from my K6-2, Athlon XP, or Pentium I/II/III.