A screenshot from Back To The Future. Doc has Marty and his girlfriend in the car, and is saying “GUI? Where we’re going, we don’t need GUI!”

  • Einar@lemm.ee
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    13 days ago

    Hard disagree.

    GUIs made computers/operating systems accessible. In fact, I would argue that we need even less command line in Linux distributions for the most common tasks and even those beyond that. The hardcore Linux fan won’t agree, I guess, but IMO that’s one of the ongoing needs in Linux accessibility and wider acceptance.

    Good example is YasT in OpenSuse. A GUI for much of the stuff other distributions require knowledge of terminal commands, though it really is for Sys. Admins.

    Mint and its big daddy Ubuntu have done well for the average user. I hope that this trend will continue and companies will support Linux better than they are now.

    • jaschen@lemm.ee
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      13 days ago

      Every few years I buy a new computer and then install a fresh copy of whatever UI friendly distro that the community is gushing over. Each time has seen significant improvements but each time I’m spending my time in the terminal.

      I’m not even a normie. I run Synology with docker containers. I operate my own website. I just don’t wanna be in the terminal just to play my PC games.

      • JcbAzPx@lemmy.world
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        12 days ago

        I think the problem is that it’s just easier to explain what to do for someone having a problem by telling them to paste a line of text into the terminal. Having to walk a user through gui navigation is a pain.

        That means, though, that anyone getting help to get gud at Linux is going to mostly be leaning terminal commands.

        • Einar@lemm.ee
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          12 days ago

          Quite the opposite. Walking people through terminal commands is a pain. Cryptic commands that often obscure their true meaning and functionality, where every typo leads to failure.

          On the other hand, asking someone to open “Software” and just click on the “Install” button of whatever they searched for is infinitely better than explaining how to update the package index, add a repo and so forth.

          And that’s just installing software.

          New kernel? The average user shouldn’t know about that. Just install it with an OS upgrade. File editing? Stop opening explanations with “sudo nano…”, start with “open your favourite text editor”. Or better: " click on settings and activate option xyz." And so forth.

          I use the terminal myself. Sometimes because I want to. Often because I have to. I wish I had the option more often.

    • Dragon Rider (drag)@lemmy.nzOP
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      13 days ago

      Drag agrees with you. Drag just had a funny conversation recently about a particular Linux tool that had a desktop version and a CLI version, and drag was asked which drag wanted. Drag would personally prefer to use it on the CLI, though drag is glad the GUI exists. And then this meme popped into drag’s head.

          • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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            13 days ago

            I think anyone reading this can gather that I’m referring to this “drag” nonsense. Not for one second has anyone believed you go around IRL requiring people to call you “drag”. It’s blatantly obvious that you’re just trolling because you think you can get away with it.

                • NeatoBuilds@mander.xyz
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                  13 days ago

                  Welcome to drag, been seeing drag on lemmy for a while now so I just accept drag to use the internet as drag likes, making memes and talking in the third person

                  • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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                    12 days ago

                    Except that they’ve co-opted a practice of trans people who are genuinely trying to be true to their inner selves. Instead of doing that, they make a mockery out of it because most people are too afraid to call them out on the “drag” thing being a bullshit troll campaign.