From: ronb02NOSPAM@gmail.com   
      
   On 2026-01-28, CrudeSausage  wrote:   
   > On 28 Jan 2026 20:00:10 GMT, rbowman wrote:   
   >   
   >> On 28 Jan 2026 13:52:47 GMT, CrudeSausage wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> On 28 Jan 2026 02:54:49 GMT, rbowman wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>>> On 27 Jan 2026 22:29:00 GMT, CrudeSausage wrote:   
   >>>>   
   >>>>> The numbers don't lie. Ubuntu was the catalyst for a great number of   
   >>>>> people giving Linux a chance and the free CDs weren't the only   
   >>>>> reason.   
   >>>>> Unlike most Linux distributions, both the installer and the installed   
   >>>>> product worked as they should and it made Linux easy for most people.   
   >>>>> That's not to say Debian and others weren't easy enough _before_   
   >>>>> Ubuntu's release, but Ubuntu finally attracted the mainstream users   
   >>>>> who weren't as dedicated as we all were to getting the operating   
   >>>>> system working for us.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Leading to the Year of the Linux Desktop, right? You may have a better   
   >>>> chance of witnessing the second coming.   
   >>>   
   >>> It wasn't the second coming, but suddenly Linux was an operating system   
   >>> which could appeal to regular people as much as the geeks.   
   >>   
   >> Distrowatch's methodology is shaky but assuming page hits have some   
   >> correlation to usage, as expected Ubunutu hits the list in 2005. By   
   >> 2011, a derivative, Mint, was topping the charts. However the page hits   
   >> on all distros had increased.   
   >   
   > Hence, what I was saying about Ubuntu being the catalyst. I don't know why   
   > Mint needed to be created in 2011, but I imagine it was because the   
   > community was offended by Mir or Unity. In Mir's case, Canonical was   
   > actually trying to fix a problem, so I'm a little surprised that the   
   > community were against it. Similarly, there was nothing wrong with Unity.   
   > If people didn't want to use it, they could go ahead and install a   
   > different desktop environment.   
      
   The first version of Linux Mint came out in 2006. linuxmint.com has been   
   active since December, 2000. Clément Lefèbvre would post reviews of Linux   
   distributions on his site before developing his own distribution. I guess   
   he saw something he thought he could improve. The first version of Linux   
   Mint was based off Kubuntu (KDE Ubuntu). So Linux Mint predated Unity. But   
   apparently, by the time Unity had come out, Linux Mint was known as a decent   
   alternative and Unity gave its surge in popularity.   
      
   >> Recently MX Linux was the leader but was replaced by CachyOS in 2025.   
   >> That's why I take the rankings with a big grain of salt. Are people   
   >> really using CachyOS or are the page hits "what the hell is CachyOS?'   
   >>   
   >> Maybe Ubunutu attracted more attention. 2005 was still Windows XP which   
   >> wasn't alienating people. Was it just the free CDs?   
   >   
   > I've seen lots of distributions come and go. At this point, I'm content to   
   > choose either a distribution that is immensely popular like Mint, or one   
   > backed by a company like Pop_OS!. Both are good, but I see more promise   
   > with Pop_OS! because System76 is going in its own direction and doing   
   > what's best for productive users, not trying to please everyone at once.   
   > The keyboard shortcuts enabled by default in Pop_OS! are kind of neat (ex:   
   > Super+T to open a terminal, Super+b to open the default browser, Super+m   
   > to maximize the current window, etc.), but it's still not great with quick   
   > changes to external monitors.   
      
   I'll try Pop_OS! again in a few months. My first trial of Cosmic was okay,   
   but my impression was that it's still in "beta." Besides I'm so used to   
   Linux Mint I don't see ever moving away from it.   
      
   --   
   "Not just insane... Trump insane."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)