When you double click on a deb package in Ubuntu 23.10 an error appears to tell you "there is no app installed for 'Debian package' files". In this post I
“Oh look, this software isn’t available in the selection that Fedora/Ubuntu/Mint/whatever decided I should have. I guess I can’t install it despite the fact that there are compatible packages for my distro.”
Yeah right. Walled garden horseshit. Linux apologists do anything they can to move goalposts, to the point where using it is fucking impossible if you actually listen to every asshole’s personal opinion.
If you can’t adapt to the user’s behavior YOU are in the wrong. End of fucking story.
And seriously, you’re using an app store to illustrate why limiting user choice is good. What the actual fuck are you doing on a Linux sub anyway?
If you can’t adapt to the user’s behavior YOU are in the wrong.
To avoid this issue, I use a distro that doesn’t give a flying fuck about what the user wants.
That’s the original Linux way: Someone makes a distro in their free time for fun, or for themselves. If it’s useful to others, great. If not, they can go change it, make their own distro or fuck off.
Repeat after me: FREE SOFTWARE ISN’T A PRODUCT. THERE IS NO PROFIT. MARKET SHARE IS IRRELEVANT.
respectful counterpoint: marketshare is important, especially if we want to get more users to use ethical softwares instead of corporate controlled proprietary messes.
that doesn’t mean this particular issue needs to adapt to a Windows-style approach (and in fact it already can with flatpakref files, AppImages, etc.), but dismissing accessibility to people unfamiliar with Linux or dismissing having a goal of increasing Linux usage is harmful to the longevity of desktop Linux in society, and harmful to the goal of competing with the monopolistic, proprietary platforms that currently dominate.
There’s distros aimed at newbies. Maybe these distros should ship with a small, quick, idiot-proof tutorial saying (with fancy images too) “hey don’t do this, do this instead” “if you need to do this you can do so like this” and some common troubleshooting but you’d still have some folks who refuse to listen and do something that breaks their system. And we as a community should only tell noobs to use one or two distros like Linux Mint, at most a few other options in case someone needs something more specific. But aside from these distros not every distro should aim for larger marketshares, in fact some are probably better left with low marketshares (for desktop users anyways).
Also, it is impossible to have a system that doesn’t have problems at some point and users shouldn’t expect to not run into issues and they should be willing to at least try and look up a solution, and this doesn’t go just for Linux. The closest to an unbreakable system that I can think of is Debian where the only thing someone uses is Firefox to navigate the safe sites, possibly with uBlock Origin on and the browser is in a flatpak or contained in some way. If someone doesn’t want to learn at least the basics of how to use a computer and how to try to fix your problems they probably shouldn’t be using computers honestly.
Of course there’s issues that aren’t easy to resolve and that’s what forums and IT technicians are for too.
Ubuntu maybe, but Linux ain’t a product. Most Linux distros aren’t there to make a profit, they’re there because someone thought they’d be useful. They don’t care about markets hare or anything like that.
If you put the faults of Ubuntu on all of Linux then you don’t know much about Linux at all.
If Ubuntu does stupid shit, let it fail who cares there’s a billions distros to choose that provide a better experience than Ubuntu, and certainly better than Windows and macOS
Not there to make a profit? Then why the fuck do all of the major distros have donation pages, and shops, and foundations, and all of the other things that generate money for a handful of people? Stop fucking acting like mainstream Linux distros are still Slackware equivalent one-man operations. That’s horseshit and you fucking know it.
Then why the fuck do all of the major distros have donation pages
To help for whatever, but they’re donations, not selling you anything, not there for profit.
shops, and foundations, and all of the other things that generate money for a handful of people?
Not every distro, not even every mainstream distro, has this. And not every one of these things is necessarily there to make a profit over being a simple donation.
If you think accepting donation necessarily means wanting to make a profit then you might not be the brightest star in the sky
this software isn’t available in the selection that Fedora/Ubuntu/Mint/whatever
My man, those repos are vast as shit. The only time you will run into this situation is either if you’re using obscure software (that most newbies won’t use, and then again if you can’t Google a few things you shouldn’t be using obscure software) or stuff that isn’t supported on linux at all.
limiting user choice
We aren’t limiting user’s choice. You can do literally everything you want on Linux, just need to know how. You need to know how to do stuff in other OSes too btw, but doesn’t mean they will let you do everything.
Those repos are nowhere near vast as shit. It’s trivial to find software that isn’t one or more of them, and quite often what is there isn’t remotely a recent version.
Removing the ability to install .debs is literally limiting user choice and walling things off so the user doesn’t hurt themselves, the same shit that every fucking Linux knob has been squealing about Windows and MacOS doing for decades.
This shows to me that you either didn’t use Linux a lot or don’t understand it.
quite often what is there isn’t remotely a recent version.
That is cause you’re using a stable release distro. If you wanted up to date packages you wouldn’t use something based on Debian stable but either a rolling release or semi-rolling like Fedora. Or Flatpaks, appimages, and the many other options you have. Again, not hard stuff to figure out if you are willing to learn. User’s fault.
Removing the ability to install .debs
Nobody is doing that, except maybe Ubuntu, you just need to learn how to do it. And if your distro does it, well wouldn’t you know it there 100000 distros more you can choose. Again if you’re looking for .debs first of all you’re not getting something different than what you’re getting on the official repo, and secondly you’re almost certainly looking for software that is lesser known or has bad support for Linux. In 2023 almost everything someone needs is in the repos of distros like Mint and Debian. Certainly everything for the type of user that is too lazy to Google anything.
That is cause you’re using a stable release distro.
No. That’s because the latest version of the software has some incompatibility with the distro that the distro devs can’t be arsed to fix. If you’re not aware of how often this happens then YOU are the one that clearly doesn’t actually use Linux on a daily basis.
Oh look, I can make blind assertions about your lack of knowledge too.
Nobody is doing that, except maybe Ubuntu
WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK WE ARE TALKING ABOUT YOU ILLITERATE COW-FELLATER?
well wouldn’t you know it there 100000 distros more you can choose
Yeah, sure, just completely reinstall your entire system because one fucking dev doesn’t like having to deal with users installing .deb files. Goddamn Linux apologists are morons sometimes. It’s like you’ve never actually used a computer you HAVE to use. They’re just your masturbation tools and nothing more.
lesser known or has bad support for Linux.
So the majority of software, you mean. Have you even fucking been to github.com? Do you think every one of those programs is in a repository? DO YOU FUCKING KNOW HOW ANYTHING WORKS OUTSIDE OF YOUR PRECIOUS WALLED PACKAGE MANAGER GARDEN?
In 2023 almost everything someone needs is in the repos of distros like Mint and Debian.
Says you, and who the fuck are you besides nobody?
Certainly everything for the type of user that is too lazy to Google anything.
Again, a cunt blaming the user for a distro removing options. Fuck off.
I see you’re angry, but it makes you look bad if you let it out on others. Can’t you just discuss this in a civilised manner? I get that you’re edgy and think you’re smarter than the rest of the people, but you’re literally here to complain about a pretty newbie thing to do, so I’d refrain from telling others they’re illiterate.
You don’t need to reinstall your distribution if you want to install DEB files, you just need to find a way that is not broken. Although I’d really recommend reinstalling another distribution if you’re using Ubuntu because they keep doing questionable decisions.
I don’t know what to respond to the rest of your angry rant because it doesn’t contain substance I would be able to respond to. Looking at your other posts it’s probably not worth engaging with you anyway since you’re digressing into angry rants 80% of the time. Hope you can prove me wrong.
That’s because the latest version of the software has some incompatibility with the distro that the distro devs can’t be arsed to fix.
You are using a stable release distro (like ubuntu) and expecting it to act like a rolling release and then get surprised when it doesn’t act like one. Again, if you don’t know what you’re doing and your tools, it ain’t the tool’s fault if shit ain’t working the way you expect it to.
If you’re not aware of how often this happens then YOU are the one that clearly doesn’t actually use Linux on a daily basis.
I have been using Linux on a daily basis for years, from mint to arch, and I can tell you haven’t, or more likely haven’t looked up how ot works, by how easily resolved the problems you mentioned would be of you just took the time to Google and inform yourself a bit on the tool you want to use.
WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK WE ARE TALKING ABOUT YOU ILLITERATE COW-FELLATER?
You’re the one here who keeps saying Linux sucks because of an Ubuntu-only problem and then complaining about it when people rightly inform you that you can always choose another option that doesn’t have the problem or do things differently to achieve the same result.
completely reinstall your entire system because one fucking dev doesn’t like having to deal with users installing .deb files.
Takes 15 minutes or less. And if you don’t want to do that you can do something else like flatpaks, learning how to do what you’re trying to do with the terminal or another way. You have plenty of choice, you just need to stop baby raging, Google a bit and fox your issue.
Says you, and who the fuck are you besides nobody?
I can say the exact same response to you saying the Mint repos are small. I am someone who used mint for about 2 years before switching off of it and know people who have used it for as long as it exists and never had to install programs that weren’t some very uncommon/specialized ones from outside the package manager.
Again, a cunt blaming the user for a distro removing options
The distro removing an option is shitty but if you don’t want to switch to a different distro or do the necessary work to fix it then it is your fault when the problem isn’t magically fixed. This isn’t proprietary shit, you don’t have to beg the company overlord to fix it for you (if they want). Open the browser, look for a solution to your problem that you like, and solve the issue.
I think you’re mixing up “You shouldn’t do this” with “you shouldn’t be able to do this”. The former is common in Linux, the latter is not. No one is advocating for the latter.
I like finally seeing someone sane in a Linux sub. Am I dreaming? I love Linux but I hate how unapologetically elitist and blind the fanbase is regarding the egregious user-unfriendliness.
“But it works for me!!” - Yeah, Bob, you just spent 25 hours troubleshooting your network drivers and recompiling their kernel module.
“Just choose the distro you want!!!” - Yeah, Alice, you just spent 5 hours researching the various distributions available.
“I never had any problems!!” - Yeah, Kaitleiynn, you have the exact hardware configuration and OS combo that works perfectly.
“Oh look, this software isn’t available in the selection that Fedora/Ubuntu/Mint/whatever decided I should have. I guess I can’t install it despite the fact that there are compatible packages for my distro.”
Yeah right. Walled garden horseshit. Linux apologists do anything they can to move goalposts, to the point where using it is fucking impossible if you actually listen to every asshole’s personal opinion.
If you can’t adapt to the user’s behavior YOU are in the wrong. End of fucking story.
And seriously, you’re using an app store to illustrate why limiting user choice is good. What the actual fuck are you doing on a Linux sub anyway?
To avoid this issue, I use a distro that doesn’t give a flying fuck about what the user wants.
That’s the original Linux way: Someone makes a distro in their free time for fun, or for themselves. If it’s useful to others, great. If not, they can go change it, make their own distro or fuck off.
Repeat after me: FREE SOFTWARE ISN’T A PRODUCT. THERE IS NO PROFIT. MARKET SHARE IS IRRELEVANT.
So keep using Windows. Nobody cares.
respectful counterpoint: marketshare is important, especially if we want to get more users to use ethical softwares instead of corporate controlled proprietary messes.
that doesn’t mean this particular issue needs to adapt to a Windows-style approach (and in fact it already can with flatpakref files, AppImages, etc.), but dismissing accessibility to people unfamiliar with Linux or dismissing having a goal of increasing Linux usage is harmful to the longevity of desktop Linux in society, and harmful to the goal of competing with the monopolistic, proprietary platforms that currently dominate.
There’s distros aimed at newbies. Maybe these distros should ship with a small, quick, idiot-proof tutorial saying (with fancy images too) “hey don’t do this, do this instead” “if you need to do this you can do so like this” and some common troubleshooting but you’d still have some folks who refuse to listen and do something that breaks their system. And we as a community should only tell noobs to use one or two distros like Linux Mint, at most a few other options in case someone needs something more specific. But aside from these distros not every distro should aim for larger marketshares, in fact some are probably better left with low marketshares (for desktop users anyways).
Also, it is impossible to have a system that doesn’t have problems at some point and users shouldn’t expect to not run into issues and they should be willing to at least try and look up a solution, and this doesn’t go just for Linux. The closest to an unbreakable system that I can think of is Debian where the only thing someone uses is Firefox to navigate the safe sites, possibly with uBlock Origin on and the browser is in a flatpak or contained in some way. If someone doesn’t want to learn at least the basics of how to use a computer and how to try to fix your problems they probably shouldn’t be using computers honestly.
Of course there’s issues that aren’t easy to resolve and that’s what forums and IT technicians are for too.
UBUNTU IS A PRODUCT. IT MAKES PROFIT. MARKET SHARE IS HOW THEY MAKE MONEY FOR DEVELOPMENT.
Or did you not even bother reading the fucking headline?
Or were you too busy moving the goalposts to even do that?
Ubuntu maybe, but Linux ain’t a product. Most Linux distros aren’t there to make a profit, they’re there because someone thought they’d be useful. They don’t care about markets hare or anything like that.
If you put the faults of Ubuntu on all of Linux then you don’t know much about Linux at all.
If Ubuntu does stupid shit, let it fail who cares there’s a billions distros to choose that provide a better experience than Ubuntu, and certainly better than Windows and macOS
Goalpost moving fuck.
Not there to make a profit? Then why the fuck do all of the major distros have donation pages, and shops, and foundations, and all of the other things that generate money for a handful of people? Stop fucking acting like mainstream Linux distros are still Slackware equivalent one-man operations. That’s horseshit and you fucking know it.
To help for whatever, but they’re donations, not selling you anything, not there for profit.
Not every distro, not even every mainstream distro, has this. And not every one of these things is necessarily there to make a profit over being a simple donation.
If you think accepting donation necessarily means wanting to make a profit then you might not be the brightest star in the sky
My man, those repos are vast as shit. The only time you will run into this situation is either if you’re using obscure software (that most newbies won’t use, and then again if you can’t Google a few things you shouldn’t be using obscure software) or stuff that isn’t supported on linux at all.
We aren’t limiting user’s choice. You can do literally everything you want on Linux, just need to know how. You need to know how to do stuff in other OSes too btw, but doesn’t mean they will let you do everything.
Those repos are nowhere near vast as shit. It’s trivial to find software that isn’t one or more of them, and quite often what is there isn’t remotely a recent version.
Removing the ability to install .debs is literally limiting user choice and walling things off so the user doesn’t hurt themselves, the same shit that every fucking Linux knob has been squealing about Windows and MacOS doing for decades.
This shows to me that you either didn’t use Linux a lot or don’t understand it.
That is cause you’re using a stable release distro. If you wanted up to date packages you wouldn’t use something based on Debian stable but either a rolling release or semi-rolling like Fedora. Or Flatpaks, appimages, and the many other options you have. Again, not hard stuff to figure out if you are willing to learn. User’s fault.
Nobody is doing that, except maybe Ubuntu, you just need to learn how to do it. And if your distro does it, well wouldn’t you know it there 100000 distros more you can choose. Again if you’re looking for .debs first of all you’re not getting something different than what you’re getting on the official repo, and secondly you’re almost certainly looking for software that is lesser known or has bad support for Linux. In 2023 almost everything someone needs is in the repos of distros like Mint and Debian. Certainly everything for the type of user that is too lazy to Google anything.
No. That’s because the latest version of the software has some incompatibility with the distro that the distro devs can’t be arsed to fix. If you’re not aware of how often this happens then YOU are the one that clearly doesn’t actually use Linux on a daily basis.
Oh look, I can make blind assertions about your lack of knowledge too.
WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK WE ARE TALKING ABOUT YOU ILLITERATE COW-FELLATER?
Yeah, sure, just completely reinstall your entire system because one fucking dev doesn’t like having to deal with users installing .deb files. Goddamn Linux apologists are morons sometimes. It’s like you’ve never actually used a computer you HAVE to use. They’re just your masturbation tools and nothing more.
So the majority of software, you mean. Have you even fucking been to github.com? Do you think every one of those programs is in a repository? DO YOU FUCKING KNOW HOW ANYTHING WORKS OUTSIDE OF YOUR PRECIOUS WALLED PACKAGE MANAGER GARDEN?
Says you, and who the fuck are you besides nobody?
Again, a cunt blaming the user for a distro removing options. Fuck off.
I see you’re angry, but it makes you look bad if you let it out on others. Can’t you just discuss this in a civilised manner? I get that you’re edgy and think you’re smarter than the rest of the people, but you’re literally here to complain about a pretty newbie thing to do, so I’d refrain from telling others they’re illiterate.
You don’t need to reinstall your distribution if you want to install DEB files, you just need to find a way that is not broken. Although I’d really recommend reinstalling another distribution if you’re using Ubuntu because they keep doing questionable decisions.
I don’t know what to respond to the rest of your angry rant because it doesn’t contain substance I would be able to respond to. Looking at your other posts it’s probably not worth engaging with you anyway since you’re digressing into angry rants 80% of the time. Hope you can prove me wrong.
You are using a stable release distro (like ubuntu) and expecting it to act like a rolling release and then get surprised when it doesn’t act like one. Again, if you don’t know what you’re doing and your tools, it ain’t the tool’s fault if shit ain’t working the way you expect it to.
I have been using Linux on a daily basis for years, from mint to arch, and I can tell you haven’t, or more likely haven’t looked up how ot works, by how easily resolved the problems you mentioned would be of you just took the time to Google and inform yourself a bit on the tool you want to use.
You’re the one here who keeps saying Linux sucks because of an Ubuntu-only problem and then complaining about it when people rightly inform you that you can always choose another option that doesn’t have the problem or do things differently to achieve the same result.
Takes 15 minutes or less. And if you don’t want to do that you can do something else like flatpaks, learning how to do what you’re trying to do with the terminal or another way. You have plenty of choice, you just need to stop baby raging, Google a bit and fox your issue.
I can say the exact same response to you saying the Mint repos are small. I am someone who used mint for about 2 years before switching off of it and know people who have used it for as long as it exists and never had to install programs that weren’t some very uncommon/specialized ones from outside the package manager.
The distro removing an option is shitty but if you don’t want to switch to a different distro or do the necessary work to fix it then it is your fault when the problem isn’t magically fixed. This isn’t proprietary shit, you don’t have to beg the company overlord to fix it for you (if they want). Open the browser, look for a solution to your problem that you like, and solve the issue.
I think you’re mixing up “You shouldn’t do this” with “you shouldn’t be able to do this”. The former is common in Linux, the latter is not. No one is advocating for the latter.
Unless you’re Ubuntu, apparently.
Ubuntu doesn’t hinder you installing DEB packages, it just hinders you to do so if you’re an idiot.
Flatpaks
I like finally seeing someone sane in a Linux sub. Am I dreaming? I love Linux but I hate how unapologetically elitist and blind the fanbase is regarding the egregious user-unfriendliness.
“But it works for me!!” - Yeah, Bob, you just spent 25 hours troubleshooting your network drivers and recompiling their kernel module.
“Just choose the distro you want!!!” - Yeah, Alice, you just spent 5 hours researching the various distributions available.
“I never had any problems!!” - Yeah, Kaitleiynn, you have the exact hardware configuration and OS combo that works perfectly.