Posted on 02/26/2016 11:15:44 AM PST by ShadowAce
Over the years, I've heard some people claim that Linux is finally ready for the masses. I would suggest that outside of a completely locked down OS such as ChromeOS (which is Linux powered), no OS is genuinely ready for the masses. Instead, it has been my experience that the masses should stick to tablets and Chromebooks.
I can see how my view of most computer users would seem a bit harsh. But I'd also be the first to point out that using smartphones have made all of us "dumb" in the sense that our complacency is at an all time high. Comparatively speaking, the difference between smartphones and PCs in terms of root access is night and day.
On a computer, running Linux...root is a mere command away from any terminal. With iOS or Android, you must gain access to a deeper level of the phone in order to have this sort of power. It's not nearly as simple and therein lays the comparative difference.
Most people believe their smartphones are completely safe from exploits and other malicious behavior because they have never experienced it on these devices. Mind you, I didn't claim this was a valid point of view. Rather, this is simply a widespread interpretation of how safe smartphones are. These devices also present a minimal learning curve for most people, so there is little to no reason to learn anything new about them.
Install apps, run the apps, and so forth -- this is how we use these tiny computers.
Now take this same person who is complacent with a smartphone and ask them to use a computer safely. Most of the time, they'll treat it with the same regard they treat their smartphone. And as expected, these same individuals end up requiring local tech help due to malware or other related problems. Point is, most people aren't "into computing" enough to be effective with most computing platforms. And the introduction of smartphones hasn't helped things much.
When most people go to get a new operating system, they used to buy a boxed copy from their local retail store or simply upgrade their PC, which came with it pre-installed. More recently, we've seen proprietary operating systems making themselves available via a secure download: Emphasis on the word secure.
At this time, distributions of Linux generally rely on using MD5 hash to verify the authenticity. And as we've witnessed from the Linux Mint project's recent attack, turns out many people aren't checking anything.
Why aren't they checking? Because it's yet another hurdle to getting to the ISO image. Some might argue its because people are in a hurry. Others still, might suggest that people simply don't know how. Honestly, the reasons why are immaterial. What does matter is the fact that we don't require newer users to practice using MD5 hash (OpenPGP secret keys?) to make sure the ISO they grabbed from wherever is, in fact, authentic.
From here, we see newbie distributions do everything possible to set things up for the newer users out of the box. Now my view of this is that this is completely fine. However, the problem is when something stops working, this same newer user doesn't have any idea how to rectify the problem.
I see newbie friendliness to computing as an increasingly problematic double-edged sword. Some folks are actively seeking new information, learning all they can on how to manage their desktops. But as I cruise various help forums, the results aren't looking that great. With new users adopting Linux as their platform of choice...we're seeing stragglers who simply refuse to employ an ounce of willingness to learn to use Linux -- well.
I believe we, as the more experienced members of the Linux community, need to accept that we're taking on newbies to mentor. I don't say this with disdain or disrespect, quite the contrary. Switching to a new OS for most people is a brave move and deserves a high five!
And for the most part, Linux communities such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and PCLinuxOSoffer newer users a safe, comfortable place to ask questions as these newbies spread their wings on their learning adventure.
Sadly though, many of these same newcomers fail to utilize the search feature integrated in most forums. This translates into ample repetitive questions, despite the answers usually already being available. Remember, they've been lead to believe that everything just "works," thanks to the modern distributions of Linux available. So the idea of doing anything short of just asking usually never enters the newbies mind.
To be clear, I'm talking about the complacent newbie, not all Linux newcomers.
It's my opinion that we're at a crossroads. Do we start putting security and knowledge first, with ease of use in the backseat...or do we continue as we have been? Perhaps instead, the issue isn't with distributions at all. Perhaps, the issues we see with newbies starts with how they're interacted with as they enter the Linux community?
I believe that the way we handle Linux questions on the forums and even how some distros present things is doing newbies a greater disservice. Understand that I'm not advocating that all Linux distro toss Linux newcomers into the deep end. Instead, I'd like to see greater emphasis on pointing newbies to easy to understand learning resources. YouTube is full of great examples on how to do just about anything. Linux forums are also useful for finding the answer to common Linux questions.
Newbie: "I broke Ubuntu and can't seem to install packages now."
Experienced user: "That is frustrating, but luckily you're not alone in this. As luck would have it, this forum has the answer to this question and many others. Just head over to the search box and type in "can't install software" and you'll have your fix in no time flat."
Now this type of forum dialog provides two points of value. First, it treats the new user with kindness. Second, it also pushes them outside of their comfort zone and encourages them to search for the answer. But, perhaps most importantly...it shows the new Linux user how to search effectively. This is how we prevent the dumbing down of Linux. Instead of hand-holding or, worse, treating the newbie like a pariah, we can accept that all of us are part of the same growing community.
Yes, I think that Linux has become too dumbed down. But, after careful reflection I don't think it's the distributions that are ultimately responsible for this. Despite them making this crazy easy for newbies, much of the problem is the world around us. Bundle that with dumbed down tech devices for the masses, instant answers to questions from chat rooms and forums...it's no wonder why Linux newbies seem like they're too lazy to want to learn anything new!
Why would they, so much of it is being done for them.
What say you? Do you think newbies need more example setting from us and less hand-holding? Perhaps you completely disagree?
Even easier, but it requires (shudder) the command line, is to simply enter "md5sum filetocheck.iso", where 'filetocheck.iso' is the name of the file you want to check.
$ md5sum /home/iso/linuxmint-17.3-kde-64bit.iso
9fae1a87bebe4b57f6a587272f0cee3d /home/iso/linuxmint-17.3-kde-64bit.iso
$ for x in md5sum sha1sum sha224sum sha256sum sha384sum sha512sum; do $x linuxmint-17.3-kde-64bit.iso;done
9fae1a87bebe4b57f6a587272f0cee3d linuxmint-17.3-kde-64bit.iso
d3e8f755df63801678af48bf0c2b716d7a066fdd linuxmint-17.3-kde-64bit.iso
672792a81435ef77296fd403771f911df26d359e0020dd1e7fb9d204 linuxmint-17.3-kde-64bit.iso
aa33bf286e92556163c335b258fe5cbd9f65f4ab8490e277fed94cf20d3920e4 linuxmint-17.3-kde-64bit.iso
7ae57b2bfe931c56bb355fc0817717636edcdc08d009cb64497605a645ecc46725ab259928a2d91489278c15e212df3f linuxmint-17.3-kde-64bit.iso
d3c8499c6d3ab6b852d2592ab13129c5289f812443c848ca3f9221a516778d46e85f8ca9c7ac08e1a08882d94e28e4d9558a255366560f75065247568b3f7977 linuxmint-17.3-kde-64bit.iso
A good design, regardless of what the final product is, will make the complex simple.
Fedora-Live-Workstation-x86_64-23-10.iso 29-Oct-2015 21:42 1469054976 Fedora-Workstation-23-x86_64-CHECKSUM 30-Oct-2015 20:37 1156 Fedora-Workstation-netinst-x86_64-23.iso 30-Oct-2015 01:37 433061888Two of these are giant files and one is a fairly small one. If you calculate the SHA256 hashes on the giant files they should match the values published in the tiny one.
# The image checksum(s) are generated with sha256sum. SHA256 (Fedora-Workstation-netinst-x86_64-23.iso) = f38d1aca6211b6bbb2873a550f393d03866294e3e5094256feb4cd647c25a310 SHA256 (Fedora-Live-Workstation-x86_64-23-10.iso) = a91eca2492ac84909953ef27040f9b61d8525f7ec5e89f6430319f49f9f823feAnd the checksums are signed with a PGP signature. So if one wants to be super careful one can be. Full disclosure - I am not.
Computers/Internet is not a help forum. It’s discussion forum and the topic is Linux. The article pointed out not only that support communities exist, but how to use them more effectively.
Did you ask a question I missed?
I’ve introduced a few folks to Linux in the past. I don’t do it any more, because I’m not patient enough with folks. Most people don’t have any idea how to really use MS-Windows, and they’ve been using it for years. Asking them to do anything different is an exercise in frustration for both you and them.It has nothing whatsoever with how easy or hard Linux is, because they don’t actually understand computers regardless of what it’s running. Frankly, I think most folks are better off with tablets.
Ya. I converted my wife to the side of light and goodness as well. Then she went Mac on me!
Fortunately, once she went Mac, my standard answer quickly became. "I haven't the foggiest." Mom-in-law got the Macbook after wifeofzeugma passed last October. Standard answer is still the same though.
One could say that about MAC OSX. But it’s a *nix. Its actually UNIX (I know you know that). Very user friendly. Very locked down.
But open a shell, issue a few commands, and you’re root. The whole system is your oyster. If that’s your gig. For those who don’t need to know, or want to know, it serves their purpose - quite well.
No reason why Linux can’t offer that same sort of friendly user experience, for the uninitiated.
My sincere condolences zeugma. Truly.
I don’t have to ask a question. My opinion is as valuable (probably more valuable) than yours. Don’t post articles if you don’t want comments.
Sounds like you also may be a stereotypical Linux ‘person’.
Linux would have had more success if it wasn’t for the elitist Linux jerks.
Actually, it would be more popular with a better informed consumer.
Want some cheese with that whine?
Which is why Linux has made no inroads into mainstream use, despite Windows sucking rocks for the last few versions. And this author is like the guy who says, if you can't rebuild an engine, you should stick to bicycles, n00b, and then tosses a do-it-yourself manual.
That wins no converts.
I ain’t selling anything. The US govt is aiming for 78% adoption for obvious economic interests.
Use your favorite search tool. I bill $200/hour for consulting, two hour minimum. Either pay me or do it yourself.
I remember asking a Mint forum how I could full R+R permissions by login in with real (as in Puppy) root access. That did not go over too well.
ow this type of forum dialog provides two points of value. First, it treats the new user with kindness. Second, it also pushes them outside of their comfort zone and encourages them to search for the answer.
At least it was an answer, while asking for a simple (as in AutoHotKey in Windows) proven way to remap (persistently) CapsLock to ctr+c and Esc to ctrl+v took a lot of asking different forums without success. I finally found a distro that enabled it thru the keyboard shortcuts.
Real men know how to run CP/M. Let’s see you young Linux geeks try to make a real operating system work.
The old saw is “never buy a car from a mechanic.” The reason is that he doesn’t work on his own when he’s off work. I’m sure you understand that talking shop after doing it for ten hours a day, on your own time isn’t fun.
As for CP/M, I asked a coworker at Dell in ‘95 if he knew CP/M. His reply, “Yes. And if I hear it from anyone else here I’m looking for you.”
Young? I just filed for social security. Thanks!
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