Oddbean

I’m totally on board with private messaging, private money, private document sharing, and am now trying to migrate to a more private phone. The Linux thing though… That’s the toughest hurdle, at least for old folks like me. I briefly looked into Linux like fifteen years ago. I remember at that time a lot of Linux people used a program called ‘vi’ which was their version of Notepad. The arcane keyboard commands required to perform simple tasks that would ordinarily be done with a quick mouse click or arrow key were such a turnoff. It wasn’t that the program was unlearnable; given enough time, I no doubt would’ve picked it up. It just seemed like whoever created that thing made it *intentionally* difficult to use. I’m guessing that particular app isn’t a thing anymore, but the whole experience kind of gave me a mentality of, “Linux users like doing things the hard way.” Whether it was the expectation that users compile their own apps, or watching these guys repeatedly typing ‘sudo’ time after time before each command line operation, it felt like the Linux community as a whole just enjoyed making simple tasks unnecessarily difficult. That said, it’s been nearly two decades and big tech has become a force for evil, surveillance, and censorship. Maybe it’s time to give Linux another look. Perhaps typing ‘sudo’ a few dozen times per day and memorizing an obscure keyboard combination to move the cursor up a line in my text editor is a small price to pay for a more secure and private operating system.

I think a good way to have the best of both is to have two computers and keep them totally separate. One only for work/normie stuff, one for everything else. Although not everyone can do this. Some dual boot and have different OSs on one computer. That being said Linux has come a long way in respect to user-friendliness and modern feel. Linux Mint, PopOS, and ZorinOS come to mind in particular.

Vim (Vi improved) is still a thing for terminal junkies, however that is just one of the options available. Most "modern" Linux desktops have a simple GUI/visual application alternative available (Mousepad, Leafpad and many others). Using the terminal/console is entirely optional nowadays, it is the one thing that unifies all desktop environments! One desktop environment might've a different application to install new apps, but all Ubuntu derivatives have the same console commands to achieve that. That's why solutions focus on the terminal, but again that's completely optional nowadays. I've heard positive feedback from someone I've converted to Zorin OS, but I'd definitely look at different versions.

Hey you don't need "vi", it's total bullshit. I didn't learn it either. The people who push for that are stuck up. You don't even need the command line. Linux Mint can be installed dual boot and easily learned in the graphical enviornment without commands. Distro Tube and Chris Titus on youtube (via invidious) or odysee (via librarian) are great ways. Farside.link has the front-ends to those. Also our website has a lot of info on the Linux section: https://simplifiedprivacy.com/categories/linux.html

You can just buy a device with Linux preinstalled. That's how people get Windows and MacOS ;) If new is too expensive, try used devices. Brands include #Purism, #Librem, #System76, #Tuxedo, #Slimbook, #Starlabs, #LaptopwithLinux, #Think Penguin, #MNTreform and many others.