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0 pointsWorkaccount22y ago0 comments

You are correct. If you use a computer to check your email from your grandkids because you somehow still don't have a smartphone - yes, the terminal is optional.

But please, enlighten me how an average modern desktop computer user could install a free media codec pack on a user friendly distro without opening the terminal?

Linux has this problem where if you want to do anything above the absolute most basic tasks, you have to start goolging and copy+pasting cryptic lines of text into the terminal and cross your fingers that it does what you hope it will. As soon as you break away from the tasks that 95% of users do, you're in for punishment.

Mind you, I have been using ubuntu for 18 months now. And have been using Linux on and off for 20 years. I do it because...Micorsoft, but holy shit am repeatedly stunned by how average-user hostile linux is. They just refuse to stop speaking Klingon except for the most absolute basic things.

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yjftsjthsd-h2y ago· 2 in thread

> But please, enlighten me how an average modern desktop computer user could install a free media codec pack on a user friendly distro without opening the terminal?

Do you need to? I thought Ubuntu shipped codecs by default these days. But if it's an extra package, I was pretty sure Ubuntu shipped a GUI frontend to package management these days, and if that's not good enough you can use it to install synaptic and do whatever you need[0][1].

> but holy shit am repeatedly stunned by how average-user hostile linux is. They just refuse to stop speaking Klingon except for the most absolute basic things.

To marginally overextend the metaphor, you speak English (which is a terrible mess of a language[2], but it's familiar to you), immigrated into the Klingon Empire, appear to understand that Klingon is actually a more efficient language, and still want the Klingons to stop speaking Klingon and convert to using English, because you want it to be easier to flee the Terran Empire[3] if they did even though most people won't do so regardless.

[0] https://itsfoss.com/synaptic-package-manager/

[1] https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubuntu-help/addremove-install...

[2] I say this as a native speaker: English is a horrible mess of a language, mostly because it started as 3 other languages in a trench coat and never stopped tacking on bits and pieces of other languages.

[3] Okay, the metaphor is way more than marginally overextended, but it's not like people would flee the Federation...

esafak2y ago

He is saying you need to meet people where they're at. At least give them the option.

yjftsjthsd-h2y ago

For the simple case, the option is there (Ubuntu and Fedora have their software centers and GUI control panels, SUSE has YAST), just most native users don't use them. For the complex case, it's not practical because that would mean overhauling the long tail of packages.

BenjiWiebe2y ago

In my favorite distro, the KDE spin of Fedora, tested on a fresh install. Click the Discover button on the toolbar, or click the "Start" menu -> System -> Discover (Software Center). Type codec in the search bar. Browse the results, the GStreamer codec packs are in the top 10 results and have descriptions about what formats they add.

No terminal needed. Of course, on my own installation of Fedora, I've actually uninstalled the GUI package manager and use dnf in the terminal. :)

EDIT - And if the new user doesn't find the Discover app by browsing around, it will be the first result if you use the search bar in the start menu and search for "install". This aspect is truly easier than Windows. EDIT 2 - Oh, actually the Welcome/onboarding thing that pops up on a new install explains what Discover is for...

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