• ian@feddit.ukEnglish
    7·
    6 days ago

    As a non IT person I find Linux way better for installing software. The sort of apps non IT people use. The Software store has most of what I need. There rest I install the Windows way. From a website. Apps with a Linux version almost always detect and offer a Linux button to click to install. I wouldn’t know what to do if that didn’t work. Ditch that application I guess. My distros are pretty standard. Not hacked about. My apps are not too weird. I’ve been doing it this way for 14+ years. Never needed the CLI either.

    • sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      1·
      7 days ago

      I installed and then ran Gentoo for about 9 months back when it first came out, before Robbins stepped down. I remember the install was pretty involved, but after that it was a pretty sweet system. I keep saying I’m going to go back to it, but just can’t be bothered anymore. As good as it was 20 years ago, I’m sure it’s even better now.

      • ragas@lemmy.ml
        2·
        6 days ago

        Yeah, basically handling all the caveats is now automated and you can choose to use binary packages.

  • SavvyWolf@pawb.socialEnglish
    2·
    5 days ago

    This is why you use Arch/Nix because the package is likely in their repos.

    The software probably still won’t work, but you can waste more time on it.

  • null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    4·
    6 days ago

    Things have gotten so, so much better over the last 5 or 6 years.

    Flatpak, appimage, docker are just brilliant.

    I recently discovered nix and am in that honeymoon phase of trying to hit every nail with that hammer.

  • bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works
    42·
    6 days ago

    Glad im not the only one. Thats one thing that makes me go man, people will never leave windows for this, this is insanely complex to juat install a program.

    I find it fun to learn tho

    • reddifuge@lemmy.world
      71·
      6 days ago

      Windows; have to search online for correct website, sift through ads to find the download, install while avoiding malware or extra programs that try to install alongside.

      Linux; Sudo pacman -S firefox. Done

      • bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works
        41·
        6 days ago

        This is true for some but it doesn’t work like that in reality. Its much easier to install on windows vs linux, thats just how it is.

        Don’t even get started on flatpak vs .Deb vs compiling vs snap…explaining that to a windows user makes them about lose their mind.

        Windows wins here. Click exe. Install. Done. AND the benefit of being allowed to install to a different hard drive, which linux will not allow without a ton of hoop jumping.

        Linux is great but let’s not pretend windows doesn’t do certain things much better.

        Also, not being able to see all your installed programs in one place because they are a blend of .Deb, snap, flatpaks, and compiled. It becomes a mess very quick if youre not careful.

        • Petter1@discuss.tchncs.de
          1·
          1 day ago

          WARNING MAY SEEM A BIT HARAH,
          this is a meme community, so pls take this as satire

          As if you would see all your installed apps on one place in windows, lol

          Only most, but that is the same on Linux. Only if you go to Linux thinking it should be complex it will go complex

          If you just stay at the install way your distro wants you to use, you will get no mess.

          Arch -> yay Opensuse -> gui and https://software.opensuse.org/packages Fedora -> flatpak Ubuntu -> snap Debian -> APT Nix -> the nix file thingy

          My opinion is to pick distro based on how you want install apps preferably as main deciding factor

          Result will be same as on windows, most apps will use the standard way and will all be listed on the same place, and you will have some obscure apps from cocky devs who think that only their preferred install way is correct and that everyone say something else is stupid

        • reddifuge@lemmy.world
          21·
          6 days ago

          It does work like that in reality for almost all programs.

          For obscure stuff you can use yay or whatever other user repository you want.

          yay “program name”. Done

          I’ve been doing this for years without issue.

          Also you can list all your installed programs. On Arch it’s pacman -Q and yay -Qm.

          It’s so easy a baby could do it. And apparently arch is supposed to be the most difficult.

          • bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works
            11·
            6 days ago

            You’re forgetting, not every program in the world exists in your repository.

            When they do, great, but doesn’t always happen. Make mkv for one, you have to get the linux version off their site custom.

            Also it seems you may be one of those people driving people away from linux saying normies are idiots and need to rtfm. Maybe work on that.

    • da_cow (she/her)@feddit.orgOP
      11·
      6 days ago

      if you use any modern distro installing most software is braindead easy. if you have to compile something yourself (which isnt that often) it can get quite funny because one hell of a lot can go wrong.

  • nroth@lemmy.world
    1·
    6 days ago

    No, then you fix the code to work with your current system libraries and upstream the patch and version bump. This happens less on Arch, BTW ;-)

  • x4740N@lemmy.world
    1·
    6 days ago

    Different packages having conflicting dependency versions needed for installation

    Edit: distrobox may be a viable solution to this

  • ranzispa@mander.xyz
    1·
    6 days ago

    I at times have to install completely undocumented software. I love ccmake as it lists all available options. I guess there are other ways, but that makes it so easy.

    Then it’s just a couple of days figuring out all necessary libraries.

  • Gerowen@lemmy.worldEnglish
    43·
    7 days ago

    Flatpak/flathub is your friend. I’ve been using Linux for 20+ years and I’m to a point where if it’s not available as a deb, flatpak, system package or at the bare minimum an executable binary/script I just don’t bother. Compiling should be done by the software vendor and not required of the user unless they specifically want or need to.

  • arya@lemmy.ml
    1·
    7 days ago

    I installed Rocky linux on my new server instance today and I found out that vnstat is not available as a package in the repos. It used to be available on the older versions. 😭 It’s been a while since I got back to Linux for my personal use.

  • JaggedRobotPubes@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    6 days ago

    All I see when I see this is “Linux isn’t quite ready for prime time”.

    Hopefully it gets less and less true.