Hacker News Reader

Comment by agent327 | Hacker News Reader

"So how do I install this game?"

"It's really simple! Here's a specific sequence of 21 shell commands that may or may not work, and is certainly incomplete, and you have to modify some of the source of course, we don't say how but don't worry it is really easy, oh and it won't work on these systems, just hack it until it works. Heh, of course you already have a compiler, why would we even mention it. Then do these 8 shell commands that we really hope will work. And then you get a text-mode menu in your shell, that's the game."

Just in case anyone is wondering why it isn't the year of Linux on the desktop yet.

If you don't see the problem here, you're part of it.

View on HN

So, one of my neighbors is a car enthusiast. Can you imagine me walking into his garage, looking at the car he's working on and starting to whine about why I'd need all his tools and special machines in order to get the same car? Who in his right mind wouldn't want to just sit in the car and turn the key?!

That is why it isn't the year of the custom car yet. That person is clearly a part of the problem!

I've been a Linux enthusiast for eighteen years. I started off trying to evangelize it to everybody. At some point I switched my opinion to not recommending it, while still using Linux on all of my home desktop/laptop machines.

I have never quite been able to express why I insist on using Linux while at the same time I don't recommend it to other people until I read this comment.

I almost never recommend linux. People will have problems regardless of the OS, they will hardly find help to solve their problems if they are using linux. Then someone will arrive and blame linux for the problem and then, the user form now on will avoid and bad mouth it.

These days I only recommend linux for people I know they can handle it AND will have some fun learning how to handle it. Or on the "gramma" computer case where usage scenario is very well defined.

But I still find it fun that people get impressed about how it is possible to efficiently use the computer. For example, copying a file to/from a keychain and unmounting it with a single command and with just a few more touches on the keyboard I can open and start editing the file. For people who expect intrusive warnings when an usb drive is plugged in and lots of clicks to find and copy files, doing all that with a few keystrokes is impressive.

Another trick I use to impress more seasoned users and even developers is the cycle of "apt-get build-dep", "apt-get source", configure, compile and run. People get so impressed that they consider start using linux.

But yes, if you really like it, you'll find people for whom you can recommend it.

Neal Stephenson's essay "In the Beginning was the Command Line" might resonate with you as well. It's got batmobiles and tanks and people who break into your garage to upgrade the tanks when you aren't looking.

> Here's a specific sequence of 21 shell commands

Almost all of those are just "apt install" and could be easily done with no command line.

Then there is "run this command or get this zip".

Then you run the only mandatory command, "make".

> that may or may not work

It will work fine on ubuntu but the dependencies might have different names elsewhere.

It's not great, but at the same time it's better than "Oh this only works on windows X."

> and is certainly incomplete, and you have to modify some of the source of course, we don't say how but don't worry it is really easy, oh and it won't work on these systems, just hack it until it works.

I don't see any of this?

> Space Nerds In Space was designed with hackerspaces in mind -- where else are you going to find enough people to run a linux-based multi-player LAN game spaceship simulator for Star Trek nerds but a hackerspace?

Doesn't sound like it targets users who expect one-click installs.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com