this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2024
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Linux

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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[–] [email protected] 253 points 10 months ago (61 children)

The idea of free software is extremely socialist/communist. People working together to create something that anyone can use for free, with profit being a non-existent or at least minor motivator.

[–] [email protected] 122 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (7 children)

It's a real shame that generally lefties don't really care about or 'get' software freedom. You should be pushing for free software on all levels. In your personal life and in government. It's crazy how much power a company like Apple, Microsoft or Google has over everyone.

[–] [email protected] 86 points 10 months ago (5 children)

I was leftie before I was techie. If you don't know anything around tech and computers you wouldn't know what to do. Even as a fairly tech-adjacent professional it took me quite a while.

Then again, I only became a real leftie again after kicking all the corpos out of my computer.

Tech used to be (and still is) obscured by heavy gatekeeping. We who understand a little more like to joke about those who don't, and I guess we'll have to stop that if we really want to unite the left. Don't ridicule, explain. The person might never have had a chance to learn the concept.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 10 months ago (2 children)

It’s pretty hard to fight hegemony when your salary is just built on donations. A lot of important tech is also paid for via government grants then the private sector gets to use it and erect the walled gardens when it should be in the commons.

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[–] [email protected] 118 points 10 months ago (28 children)

Please stop posting good reasons to use Linux, I already feel bad enough for the poor people stuck in Win$ and MacO$

[–] [email protected] 72 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (25 children)

I just got rid of my last Windows installation, and I got rid of all my Apple devices a couple years ago. The Linux life is so nice!

On the other hand, I just setup a Windows gaming machine for a friend (I would have pushed Linux, but I live far away and can't commit to being tech support). There were so many hoops to jump through to cut through all the crap:

  • I had to set the region to somewhere in the EU so that my friend can uninstall Edge sometime in March, 2024 without breaking other functionality
  • I had to run a hidden script at a specific point during the install to allow me to not have to use a Microsoft account
  • I had to disconnect the non-boot drive and reinstall because the Windows installer uses motherboard drive ordering instead of UUID to decide which drive to put the boot partition on.
  • I had to run Win Debloat Tools to get rid of all the crap Microsoft adds to their OS
  • I had to find a 3rd party driver update tool because the motherboard manufacturer's software is terrible and installs a bunch of extra crap.
  • I had to install a 3rd party Nvidia driver update tool because their official one requires making an account and gives a bunch of unwanted ads as notifications.

It's seriously bonkers. It makes you really appreciate Linux as a whole and package managers in particular.

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[–] [email protected] 105 points 10 months ago

Relevant Section under Gift economies:

The expansion of the Internet has witnessed a resurgence of the gift economy, especially in the technology sector. Engineers, scientists, and software developers create open-source software projects. The Linux kernel and the GNU operating system are prototypical examples of the gift economy's prominence in the technology sector and its active role in using permissive free software and copyleft licenses, which allow free reuse of software and knowledge.

Essentially the line of thought is that open source software is an example of mutual aid and the gift economy.

[–] [email protected] 99 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I thought it was an autonomous collective.

[–] [email protected] 120 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Listen, strange penguins biting people is no basis for a system of government.

[–] [email protected] 58 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Supreme executive power derives from using sudo, not some farcical user account control.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 10 months ago

I mean, if I went 'round saying I was a sysadmin just because some angry Finn lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away

[–] [email protected] 35 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You're fooling yourself. We're livin' in a dictatorship, a self-perpetuating autocracy, in which the working class--

[–] [email protected] 23 points 10 months ago

Oh, Robert, there's some lovely filth over here...

[–] [email protected] 80 points 10 months ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 28 points 10 months ago (17 children)

I have some newfound respect for the man, it seems. Not that I didn’t respect him earlier, just thought that his toxicity was the defining trait of his temper. I find these takes somehow mellow the image in my mind.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 10 months ago

The man is a swedish speaking Finn originally, it kinda comes with the territory. We might technically be a minority but we're still as Finnish as the rest of them (to a certain degree at least).

[–] [email protected] 25 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I think even he realized his tocicity was a problem a few years ago, so he took time out to work on that and seems much more balanced now.

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[–] [email protected] 75 points 10 months ago (9 children)

Isn't it a benevolent dictatorship with Linus at the head?

[–] [email protected] 131 points 10 months ago (34 children)

Linus' power doesn't come from Ownership, but respect. Anyone can fork it and do what they want, but because Linus is respected, everyone else follows suit.

Anarchism would function in a similar manner, it wouldn't be a bunch of opinionated people doing whatever they want, but people generally listening to experts who don't actually hold systemic power.

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 10 months ago

You can fork it, sure Linus is very respected and his decisions are considered very important but you can fork it and change however you want so it's still compatible with Anarchism.

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[–] [email protected] 53 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Cory Doctorow has a book, "Walkaway" that is basically exploring the politics of FOSS on a societal scale. It's pretty nerdy obv but I enjoyed it and it doesn't overly glamourize any political system the way you'd typically see in political fiction.

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 10 months ago (2 children)

sudo apt install anarchism is a real command in Debian.

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 10 months ago (9 children)

Idk, technically voluntary association is a key tenet of volunteerism/anarcho-capitalism, so if we're just using volunteering as the basis we might as well say it's volunteerism. I think anarcho-communism and anarcho-capitalism are a bit more nuanced than "sharing."

[–] [email protected] 31 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Anarcho-capitalism is a contradictory term that is mostly used to imagine neofeudalism.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 10 months ago

I mean...yeah

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