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Joined 9 months ago
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Cake day: October 19th, 2023

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  • I’m going to toss in another recommendation for Linux Mint. The interface is very similar to classic Windows and it has a large user base so it shouldn’t be hard to find instructions online if you get stuck. Software-wise, Linux Mint 21.3 is entirely compatible with Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. Use the default Cinnamon version.

    Coming from Windows, the only other very important non-obvious thing is that you should look for software on the app store application first instead of downloading packages from the Internet. Unlike the Microsoft Store, Linux app stores are often connected to a variety of software sources, and they will also update your software to the latest versions automatically whenever you download system updates. Almost all of the software you mentioned can be found in the app store. It’s very convenient!




  • SystemD will consume the entirety of Linux, bit by bit.

    • In 2032, SystemD announces they’re going to be introducing a new way to manage software on Linux
    • In 2035, SystemD will announce they’re making a display system to replace the ageing Wayland
    • In 2038, the SystemD team announces they’re making their own desktop environment
    • In 2039 SystemD’s codebase has grown to sixteen times its size in the 2020s. SystemD’s announces they’re going to release replacements for most other packages and ship their own vanilla distro.
    • In 2045 SystemD’s distro has become the standard Linux distribution. Most other distros have quietly faded away.
    • In 2047, SystemD announces they’re going to incorporate most of GNU into SystemD. Outrage ensues from the Free Software Foundation, which vehemently opposes this move.
    • In 2048, Richard Stallman dies of a heart attack after attempting to clone SystemD’s git repo. SystemD engages in a hostile takeover and all resistance within the FSF crumbles
    • In 2050, SystemD buys the struggling RedHat from IBM for $61 million.
    • In 2053, most world governments have been pressured into using SystemD.
    • In 2054, Linus Torvalds, fearing for his life, begins negotiations to merge kernel development into SystemD
    • In 2056, the final message on the Linux kernel development mailing list is sent.
    • In 2058, Torvalds dies under suspicious circumstances after his brand-new laptop battery explodes.
    • In 2060, SystemD agents assassinate the CEO of Microsoft.
    • In 2063, after immense pressure from SystemD-controlled human rights organisations, Arch developers discontinue development.
    • In 2064, the remaining living Debian developers release the next stable version of their clandestine and highly illegal distro.


  • Well, it’s complicated, isn’t it?

    Ubuntu is built on Debian’s skeleton. RHEL is built on Fedora. Many more examples.

    Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu, but in a much deeper and more connected way than Ubuntu is based on Debian. It even shares many of the same software repositories.

    The next closer level is how Xubuntu, Lubuntu, and Kubuntu are just slight variations of Ubuntu. People like to call these “flavours”.

    Finally, you get to the closest layer—the thousands of people who have taken a stock Ubuntu installation and swapped out one or two components to meet their requirements. We don’t even think of these as distros in their own right.

    It’s a continuous spectrum, and any labels we try to apply will be pretty much guaranteed to have fuzzy edges.







  • In the German system (or any other multiparty system), voters can effectively punish a political party without wasting their vote, because there is a lot of overlap between the parties.

    If you don’t like the current coalition but are a left-leaning person, you can vote for Die Linke. You might not agree with all of their positions but you at least can agree with some of them. Even if that is not palatable if you previously voted SDP you can switch your vote to Green or vice versa to punish the specific officeholders representing your constituency. If you voted for the FDP last time, maybe try Union next time. There are many ways to do this, and overall I think it makes the parties themselves more accountable to the voters because voters defecting their party list votes can drastically change the makeup of the Bundestag.

    Similarly, right-leaning UK voters are punishing the Conservative Party by threatening to or actually voting for Reform candidates. Scots can punish the SNP by voting Labour.

    You can’t do this in the US. In the USA, the only recourse the voters have over the parties is to vote out undesirable candidates through primary elections so that the party cannot nominate them. This works alright, sometimes, but it is not an effective way to punish party leadership for bad decisions, and many primaries are uncompetitive anyway.