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this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2023
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Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Yeah, the descriptions and lack of curation is really weird ... browse games and oh look here's 27 varieties of reversi and a driving game that crashes on launch.
If it were a curated list with enthusiastic and helpful descriptions it would make it more accessible to use. Get the mature and professional looking programs front and center.
Much as I hate to say it, it could do with a makeover from someone with a sense of marketing. (Excuse me for a second, I felt a little nauseous saying that).
Im not sure the software center being half baked is even the real problem.
One of the nice things about Windows is that you dont need a central, curated, repository for software. You can google the thing you want and just download an msi/exe of the latest stable version and, 99.9% of the time, leading back to your first point, it will just work.
What? That is easiest one of the worst parts of windows. It's just that people are used to this dumb endeavour
Why do you think its bad? From a secruity standpoint its obviously not great, but its undeniably more convenient than running a curl command to pull in a third party .repo file, yum update and yum install to get something that isnt easily available in my base repos.
Flatpak and AppImage are trying to make that easier, since they both work the same on pretty much any distro, but not everything is packaged that way yet.
Flatpak is closer to the typical package manager model, where you install things from a graphical store or the command line, while AppImages are self-contained binaries that you download from the developer and run as-is without installing.
Snaps also exist, but they don't work well outside of Ubuntu and its descendants...
I like Flatpak for what it is. It's great. But I wish that the application IDs weren't so long.
I think if they were categories instead of reverse domain names, it would at least be easier to remember. As it is now they're mostly just meaningless, and I think it would be better if you could refer to apps with only the last part as long as it wouldn't create a name collision.
Nothing more convenient then a central "app store". apt search, apt install is all I need. But I undersntd that people don't like it, that don't know it.
What's convenient about googling for software, downloading ominous files and clicking through an install wizard and most likely installing some adware and unwanted search bars? It's crazy people see it like that.
Even the other posters in this thread are talking about flatpak and appimage. I'll never understand that way of thought.
That's a pretty bad point you made there. Imagine having to google for each app on your smartphone and tell me how that's better.
What about the scammy search results that point to malware infected sites?
What about stability and security updates for the software you obtained that way? Every software will have it's own update mechanism, if there's one at all.
How is it not better to install or update all software on the computer with a single click or command?
@Narwhalrus you can also use winget (built into Win 11) or chocolatey to install most any software package now, similar to apt.
Yeah, and they're great, but I dare you to show me a Windows user that has used these, who's not technically inclined or a developer.
Yep. I use both quite a bit. Chocolatey is great!
The point Im trying to make is package managers are better suited for developers and the lack of a great alternative for installing software on the distros I've used is not helping with the mass appeal of Linux.
I could be wrong here as I've never tried any of the "home computer" distros (mint, ubuntu).
Doesn't seem to have stopped people on Android and iPhone from figuring it out!
This. I don't get this complaint some people make. I've literally never heard anyone complaining about the existence of app stores on mobile devices.