Sometimes I wonder if we make simple tasks harder than they need to be just because we’re using Linux.
Need to install an app?
A beginner might think:
«“Open the software center, search for it, and click Install.”»
But someone else might immediately open a terminal, add a repository, import a key, edit a config file, run three commands, and write a shell script to automate it.
And honestly… sometimes the terminal really is the better option.
But sometimes I wonder:
Are we solving problems efficiently, or are we just enjoying the process?
Where do you draw the line between:
“Linux gives me control”
and
“I made this way more complicated than it needed to be”?
I’m curious what you think.
Especially Linux users who have been around for years: have you ever caught yourself overengineering something that could have been done in two clicks?
Simplification does not always work. It strictly contradicts notion of being in control. Frankly, I do understand how to simplify something and see no way how it would be possible to overcomplicate. I think that things are complex by themselves.
In order to provide two clicks for a user one has to hide vast variety of possibilities, options and controls and to preconfigure hopefully sane defaults for them all. Unix/Linux cli utilities are written by very knowledgeable and involved people who tend to expose as many options and usage modes as there exist. They do not hide true internals behind a big nice button reading ‘Hey, do at my desire!’.
P.S. I suppressed my temptation to add something about AI usage.
Contrary to my tendancy to be verbose with my responses, I will try to be succinct:
No!
Now for the podium …
Every one of us has a “lazy streak”! There are no exceptions. That is human nature!
We only do what we think we need to do, in that moment, from whatever our gestalt of reality is at that time, the minimum necessary to get us to our goal.
Later, after “sober second thought”, we may realize we didn’t do enough CYA to prevent scenarios that are “bad” and feel an internal obligation or drive to go back and, again, only make those changes that are necessary!
…
After some/much time has elapsed, we may “daydream” and think of having some fun (after all, everybody likes to play using their strongest suits), to test out limits, to expand our skill-set, by “playing with that old piece of code” … just to see what might come out of that play-time!
Maybe in some ways yes. But not like Windows and Mac. Like Apple thought draging things to the trash to delete was making things simple for users. There’s probably an easier way but in any case on Linux the complexity allows for simplicity. Seriously, we can generally find so many ways of accomplishing the same tasks.
There’s probably an easier way but in any case on Linux the complexity allows for simplicity. Seriously, we can generally find so many ways of accomplishing the same tasks.