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The Leading Linux Desktop Platform Issues Of 2018

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  • #11
    There may be hundreds or even thousands of distributions. But it's not really evenly distributed. Ubuntu and Fedora are really big in personal space. Red Hat rules the enterprise. Debian is nice for el cheapo virtual servers at hosting companies. Also knowing Debian, makes knowing Ubuntu that much easier and anyone who runs fedora on his laptop can easily administer the big Red Hat boxen.

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    • #12
      The talk seems to be ignoring Qt, except a passing mention it as the most common toolkit used. Odd...

      Also, forgets to mention: Static linking.

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      • #13
        Oh, and it also forgot to mention the currently most successful project for cross-Linux distribution: Steam.

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        • #14
          Yet another "he's wrong".

          He's spent time writing solutions for a problem he perceives and that's fair enough, but centralised, managed updates and stable long-term support for a single major version of an application is a major feature, especially for enterprise deployment. Ubuntu gives me five years where nothing changes but things remain secure, with patches backported. This chap would have app developers be the people who decides what's supported and for how long. The likelihood of your entire stack having the same options? Nil. It would be unsustainable.

          And for somebody moaning about desktop options, he's adding to the chaos. I have apps from developers using AppImage, Snaps and Flatpak. He seems oblivious to how miserable that makes staying on top of updates is now. A problem of tooling? Maybe. But PPAs make it simple.

          Putting effort into a system that combines continuous integration with multi-distro packaging would solve this stuff. But hey, it's not as fun as adding a new standard to the tyre fire is it?

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          • #15
            Originally posted by lectrode View Post

            Then exclude that package from updates:

            Pacman:
            pacman -Syu --ignore <pkg>
            (or edit pacman.conf to make it "permanent")

            Apt:
            apt-mark hold <pkg>
            apt-get update

            I'm sure other package managers have that ability easily available as well. Most people want their packages to get updates (for security, performance, and other improvements). That's why packages that you don't want updated are the *exception*, rather than the rule.
            Because nothing says "Welcome" to a typical Windows user as much as using the terminal . Come on. Flatpak is the solution. Unfortunately, fragmentation is the bane of Linux and the reason we can't have nice things. I like choice, but I dislike chaos.

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            • #16
              Pirates are starting to package Windows games for Linux better than the developers

              https://www.nag.co.za/2017/10/27/pirates-are-starting-to-package-windows-games-for-linux-better-than-the-developers/

              On sites like The Pirate Bay and others, uploaders have started packaging games distributed on GOG using Flatpak, a standard for packaging software in Linux that includes the software and everything needed to run it. Think of them as portable apps, if you will. Applications run from Flatpak installs are self-contained, run in their own process to protect the system from crashing, and are sandboxed to avoid software nasties from infecting you.

              Installing them is very nearly a one-click process, and they don’t end up putting system files all over the place. Better yet, apps packaged using Flatpak will work on any distribution, so there’s no fragmentation.

              What the pirates are doing is packaging these games as Flatpaks and also including the scripts, software, tweaks and fixes that are needed to make the game run out of the box. You’ll install the correct Wine version, the relevant Wine-prefix for Play On Linux, maybe some software updates from GOG’s servers, and it’ll even check to see if you have Play On Linux installed. If it isn’t, it’ll prompt you to do so.

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              • #17
                Originally posted by tildearrow View Post

                This is a Linux ecosystem feature.
                If this "problem" is to be solved, I hope the "winning" desktop is not GNOME... Otherwise that would only pave the way to the "Year of the Possibly Horrible Linux Desktop"...
                More differences exist between distributions than the DE or window manager. Most distributions are respins of another distribution and do not contribute anything new at all.

                If Linux desktop users voted with dollars, I suspect this issue would have been resolved. Linux server users *do* vote with dollars. You can count those players on one hand.

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                • #18
                  Originally posted by tildearrow View Post
                  This is a Linux ecosystem feature.
                  If this "problem" is to be solved, I hope the "winning" desktop is not GNOME... Otherwise that would only pave the way to the "Year of the Possibly Horrible Linux Desktop"...
                  Come on, there's more than the two extremes. If Simon Peter says that > 10 desktops is too much, he's right. And you are right too, if you say that just having one standard desktop won't cut it. Desktop Linux needs a few different options for different use cases and different users, but not ten or more.

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                  • #19
                    Originally posted by tildearrow View Post
                    I mean, I know how to ignore an upgrade for a certain package, but often I hit situations in where ignoring the package upgrade results in the application breaking in the next upgrade due to some library being not present...
                    If an application can no longer be updated (long term), it might be better suited to something like flatpak. Packages are usually built against the libraries shipped with the distribution. Withholding updates are intended to be a temporary solution, not permanent.


                    Originally posted by mao_dze_dun View Post
                    Because nothing says "Welcome" to a typical Windows user as much as using the terminal
                    Or don't use the terminal...individual packages can be ignored when using Pamac to update packages: https://postimg.cc/3dnSr6Mg

                    Originally posted by mao_dze_dun View Post
                    Flatpak is the solution.
                    Flatpak is certainly one solution. I find that it is very useful for packages that are not in the main repos, or that require obsolete libraries. I definitely prefer as many applications as possible use the latest versions of the libraries they depend on.

                    Originally posted by mao_dze_dun View Post
                    Unfortunately, fragmentation is the bane of Linux and the reason we can't have nice things. I like choice, but I dislike chaos.
                    Even if there are thousands of distributions (distrowatch seems to currently have 304), people are not going to try anywhere near that many. Less adventurous people will stick with distributions with a proven track record. The more adventurous will try lesser-known ones. If the ones they try are of good merit, they will recommend others try them. In the end, the most usable/stable/intuitive/accessible/versatile ones rise to the top for the less adventurous ones to use.

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                    • #20
                      Having written a GUI to make multiseat configuration easier, we are one step closer.

                      ezst036 has 6 repositories available. Follow their code on GitHub.

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