> i get made fun of a lot.

Yes. They don’t understand you need a way that works for you. We are all different. There is no one-size-fits-all.

Different user types have different capabilities. Some think in terms of text. Others are more visual. Neither is wrong. Just like a left handed person is not wrong. Good usability is about adapting the software to the person. Not the person to the software. For a lot of what I do there is no text command. And for many, the CLI is an unfamiliar interface. So it’s a productivity disadvantage to switch over to a CLI just for a single command when the rest of the time you are in a GUI.

Yes. I agree these chatbots are another text interface like a CLI. So to me that’s again a barrier to usability when I wish to refer to graphical or linked logical items on my screen that don’t have any text description. I don’t work in a purely text world, where usually there are no CLI commands for what im doing.

Its likely these people find a chat bot easier as they don’t need to memorise a command plus modifiers exactly letter perfect. Where one mistype can fail, or worse. Two big issues people have with a CLI. And the chatbot output is made readable too. Where on a CLI it’s hard to know if something worked, not being familiar with the terminology it spits out.

Yes it is possible. I never need the terminal. If you are interested, you can usually find a GUI way if you look for one. Some people just don’t look, then tell people there is no GUI for it. Not very helpful for newbies.

For those not into usability, different people work in different ways. Visual workers are not the same as text workers. So for some, CLI has poor usability and productivity. For lots of things I do, there isn’t a CLI anyway.

I use Kubuntu these days. It could be better.

Software and hardware companies look at the market share to decide if its worth making a Linux version. If linux has a chunk of the market it becomes viable.

This is one issue on the topic. It was changed by nate to the kup application, then marked incorrectly as a duplicate. Backing up should be possible with most applications. Today none can do it. https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=513001

I wouldn’t wish Windows 11 on anyone. More people on linux means better driver support and more main applications. And better open standards support.

I’ve reported it several times. KDE just keep closing it as a duplicate of a totally different bug.

It’s in our interest to have good usability to encourage Linux use for a broader range of people. Mounting needs to be discoverable, and done in a few clicks. Command line, and typing magic words into fstab is a definite no-no for people who never work that way for everything else they do.

The strange thing is, why did KDE miss this critical step for backups?

I’m looking for a solution that non IT users can easily do.They will not discover that, or know exactly what to type in. This is something that should be very easy for people. It really needs a setting or command in a Dolphin menu.

Plasma apps don’t navigate to network shares. So backup sync is not possible for non IT people. Even though Dolphin can easily access those shares. No backup is quite a showstopper. There is no easy way to permanently mount shares either.

I just bought a new laptop that presumably had Win 11 on it. I just booted onto a USB stick and installed Linux (Kubuntu) over it. Next is to use Gparted to wipe any recovery partition and get the wasted space back.

What, no black hoodie? I thought all hackers had to wear a hoodie to hack

Just for historical info: This has been available in Gimp for a very long time. It was there for several years before Adobe copied it, and added it to Photoshop. This sort of thing tends to get forgotten.

Many will already have a running Windows system. And running an app is an every day task for people not experienced in IT matters. Setting up and booting into a live image involves several steps completely foreign to many people. Maybe not to you. But there is a massive difference. These things matter if you’ve never done it before. Barriers like that are putting people off installing Linux.

WUBI did it really well. It got a lot of people on to Linux.

It has been done before despite reasons.

Not for those who are not sure about Linux. Installing an app and launching it, is a familiar task and quick to do, to take a look. No need get a usb stick and do unfamiliar steps right just then.

Then if Linux looks good, and you want to keep it, now you have the motivation to sort out how to install it. It’s a different task.

Many people don’t do that, because they dont know what Linux looks and feels like. So they won’t install it.

WUBI did a good job of that.

Middle paste, like many features, can be used to increase productivity. It’s normal. A better question would be why doesn’t Windows have it? It makes no sense to dumb down Linux to the level of Windows, just when people are leaving Windows because the user experience is so bad. Sure, make it an option in Settings. So people can continue to use it if they want. But there are many things worth utilising to save clicks on both Windows and Linux. Get to know them, if you want to get on with things.

Yes I have no interest in having a browser in the way. But 2 things. Firstly CATIA in a browser is just the same CATIA running on a remote PC somewhere. It’s the same program. And secondly, as longvas the UI looks and works the same, with no delays, then it’ll be fine. Sure you can’t use it when your wifi or Internet is down or slow, or the provider has power or Internet issues. And your customer is not a military or super secrecy case. But its clearly expecting to find a market.

I use commercial CAD. CATIA for car bodies. There is no FOSS alternative that comes close for my work. But the light at the end of the tunnel is, many CAD systems, including CATIA, are going web based. So users just need a browser on any OS. And the back end can be what it wants.

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.

Its nice to hear about even more ways that Gimp is better than Photoshop.