The Linux World's Biggest Controversies

[Music] So when you think about Linux, you probably don't think that it's all that controversial, but there are some controversial parts of it. And I'm not just talking about from an outsider point of view. There are things that are controversial about Linux when it comes to everyday use and the things that we kind of all fight about. And when you think about it that way, Linux is actually pretty controversial. So, what I want to do today is talk about eight or nine things that have spiced up the Linux usage, if you will. The things that kind of light a fire under some people's asses about how they want to do things a certain way. So, that's what we're going to talk about today. But before we jump in, if you'd leave a thumbs up on this video, I'd be really appreciative. It'd really help the channel. So, we're just going to jump in with the biggest one, or at least the one that I think is the biggest one, and that is systemd. There is a fairly large amount of people out there who just can't stand the systemd is a thing and that people use it and that it's the standard. You know, it it really bugs them. So much so that many people have gone off and created their own systems to use instead. Now, there are some olderness systems out there that are also still in use for the exact same reason. People just kind of stick with them because systemd is evil and bloated, if you know what I mean. So system D has to be I think the first one on the list because it's the one that people seem to fight about the most. Now I'm not sure if this will forever be true because there has been some softening around the edges when it comes to the anti-systemd people or at least it feels that way to me. But still there are a lot of people out there who would just swear by their dislike of systemd and everything that goes along with it. So that's number one on the list. Number two on the list, and this is a weird one, is the free software versus the open-source people. Now, this is a debate that just does not matter to me whatsoever, but there are people out there who are very, very staunchly in the free software space, and there are those who are very, very in the open- source space. Now, me personally, I'm asking like, what the the difference? I thought that they were both the same, but they're actually not. So if you look it up, you'll see that the free software movement is a moral and ethical movement. It's based on the belief that software should be free in the sense of freedom. And this is the Libre people, the people who really truly care about the Libre part of the open-source and really that's the wrong word, the freedom part of Foss. Right? So these are the free software foundation type people. the open-source movement, if I got this right, are less interested in the moral aspects of the movement and more into how it actually affects the source code and the availability of it and the developmental benefits of open source. Now, it's possible that I have that completely wrong because as I said before, this doesn't matter to me whatsoever. I had to go look up the difference. It's how little it actually makes sense to me. So, if I got that wrong, I apologize. But there is this apparently a debate between free software and open source. And I knew that it was there. I just didn't get it. So, there you go. There is a controversy for you if it matters to you. So, let's go ahead and move on to the next one. And I think that this one is bigger than the last one, but not quite as big as systemd. So, I'm going to say that it's the package manager debate. My package manager is bigger better than your package manager. And there are people out there who will swear by the package manager that they use. Now, personally, I'm not one of those people. I like Zipper. I'm a Open Souza fanboy if if you will. I like Zipper. I think it's fine. I will never tell you that it's the best package manager. I don't think I've ever encountered a best package manager. They're all fine. And, you know, there are some that are better than others, but I will not say that one is better than the other or any of the others. So, for those of you who are very attached to your package manager, you've probably gotten into Twitter fights or discord fights with people who disagree with you. And in that case, this is a controversial topic. And part of the reasons why we have so many distros, at least a small part of it, is that people would take a dro and decide, well, you know, I don't like their package management system, so I'm going to create my own. You know, we'll get Pac-Man out of out of the deal, or we'll get apt out of the deal, or we'll get DNF out of the deal, right? people just create their own thing and that's part of creating the independent dros which are kind of the basis for everything else these days and even newer dros that were kind of created things like solless they decided they wanted to create their own package manager so they did so there are more modern examples of dro maintainers deciding that the baseline kind of default package managers that we've had forever aren't good enough so they've created their own and the question we all have to ask is when's enough enough do we really need more package managers and the answer to that is of course yes. So so that's another controversy that has kind of been brewing since the beginning of time. The next one is kind of connected to that but it's a newer debate and that's the whole containerized format of packages. I'm talking about flat packs and snaps. So there's actually two controversies and debates happening within this one. First is whether or not to containerize your packages at all. Some people will say, "No, that's stupid. I want to use native packaging." And they have their reasons for that. Whether that's, you know, more control, less interoperability with other dros because they want more focus on actually getting it to run on their distro. So, you know, kind of watering it down and you whatever. They also might have qualms with both of the major containerized formats being maintained by large corporations. So, there's that. And some people just don't want to move away from the packages that they've always used. So, there's that as well, and there are probably many others. On the other side of that debate are people who think that having a package that can come with you no matter what district you're on is pretty freaking awesome, and they want to use that thing. And they will also have other benefits like security and being able to contain and control permissions and all sorts of stuff. So, which side of that debate you're on really depends on your experiences going through Linux and how you want to adapt to using it. But still, it's something that people have been fighting on on for quite some time now. The other controversy that's kind of been with within this one is snaps versus flat packs themselves. Those are the two major containerized formats and which one you use. You're kind of becoming a part of that team. Some most people I think these days are on the flatp pack side of things. Most people dislike snap I shouldn't say most people. A lot of people dislike snaps and would prefer flat packs. There's are those people who really like snaps and will never use a flat pack. And then there's the app images people and uh nobody likes them, guys. So, I'm just kidding. I just don't like app images. There's nothing wrong with people who use it. That was a justification if I ever heard one. All right, the next one is probably the oldest one on the list. Well, maybe not the oldest one. Package manager debate is probably the oldest one. Uh but Gnome versus KDE. Which desktop environment is the best? The answer to that question is obviously neither of those. They both suck. Uh that's just my opinion. But the point here is that we never actually been able to answer that question and it's just something that has existed since Gum and Katie have been around. So which one you prefer really depends on how you use Linux, how you use your computer, how many options you prefer to have, you know, all that stuff. And you know, even if you don't take any of that stuff to account, sometimes you're just a Gnome workflow kind of guy or maybe you prefer the workflow of KDE or the development cycle of KD or the development cycle of Gnome. How which one you choose really doesn't matter. But chances are if you're a desktop environment user, you are on one side of this debate. Which one it is again will depend. Of course, then there are people who will buck the trend and use XFCE or Mate or Cosmic or Cinnamon, you know, those people. But in the grand scheme of things, that's a fairly small minority people. The vast majority of people, I think, probably use Gnome and KD would be a second place thing in there, mostly because most distros default to using Gnome. But there's still a debate here to be had and it's also a debate that we've been having for, like I said, a very long time. Uh the next one on the list is one that I think a lot of people care about more than they'll admit to and that is that Red Hat and Canonicle seem to have a very large influence on Linux. This isn't really a a versus debate but more of a man those corporations do s surely have their greedy fingers in Linux and that may not be a good thing. And then there are folks that think that it is a good thing. So I guess it could be a versus debate, but there is an argument to be had that Red Hat and Canonicle have too much influence over the direction Linux goes. Specifically, Red Hat who seems to develop everything that we use. SystemD, Whand, Gnome, all of those are primarily or at least somewhat primarily developed by people who work for Red Hat. And that influence causes things to go in a certain direction. And some people don't think that that's a good thing. And some people think that it is a good thing. So it is a controversy that has been happening for a while and it increased quite a lot when IBM purchased Red Hat when they become more of a corporation than just an open-source company. People saw them becoming a little bit more evil and a little bit less towards the open- source friendliness that they'd always espoused. So there's that as well. Canonicle, nobody likes Canonicle. I I don't know if that idea is legitimate or not, but pretty much everybody that I talk to, and I talk to a lot of people in the Linux community, they just don't care for Canonicle all that much. And there they usually have specific reasons for that. Usually lack of interest in the desktop or putting the Amazon thing in the dock or things like that. bad decisions in the past have led a lot of people to just dislike Canonicle and their influence over Linux is still something that kind of peeves a lot of people. So that's another one that's made the list. The sec the next one is actually quite connected on that but it's from external factors that companies like Microsoft and Google and Intel have a phenomenal impact on the direction the way Linux goes. Not so much the Linux desktop but the Linux kernel. They all contribute a lot to the Linux kernel. If in fact I would say if you put those three companies combined, they contribute more to the Linux kernel than anybody else. Now that is a thing that scares a lot of people because the more corporate the kernel becomes, the less open- source friendly or free software friendly I should say it becomes or at least that's the way they think, right? And whether or not that's true or not can be up for debate. But I do think that a lot of people really don't like the fact that Microsoft, Google, and Intel have such influence over the Linux Foundation and the Colonel and Linus himself. So now, if you ask Lionus how much influence Microsoft actually has over him, I don't know what he would answer, but you can't deny that in terms of contribution, Microsoft, Google, Intel do contribute an awful lot to the kernel. Now there is an opposite side to this that if you want your hardware to work which is made by a lot of these companies you want them to contribute to the Linux kernel so that that hardware has a chance to work. So there is an argument there to be had that it is a good thing. Whether or not it is or not it I'll leave that for other people to decide. Uh the last one on the list is the one that is just weird for me and always has been. If you think about it from a corporate perspective, it makes sense. And that is that the Linux Foundation has a supreme disinterest in anything having to do with non-corporate Linux. And specifically, I'm talking about the Linux desktop. The Linux Foundation doesn't care about the Linux desktop at all. And that's weird and has always been weird. They don't use Linux at the Linux Foundation. They use Macs. We know that. We've seen it. we've we've seen pictures, you know, we and not like big foot foot blurry pictures, like actual pictures that we can see them using their Macs. So, uh they don't care about Linux and that has always been very weird and has caused people to not trust them when it comes to the stewardship over the Linux kernel because they're the ones that pay Linus' check and they control a lot of what goes on with Linux development and stuff. And because of their very corporate way of doing things and where all of their funding comes is from major corporations that has led to a a lot of distrust over the Linux Foundation and their steward, like I said, their stewardship over Linux itself. So those are the controversies that kind of brew up in the Linux community, the Linux sphere there. I'm sure there are more. If you have those and you'd like to share them, leave them in the comment section below. I'd love to hear from you. If you haven't already, again, leave a thumbs up on this video. I'd be really appreciative if you haven't already. Also, subscribe to the channel. You can do so by hitting that button just below my face that says subscribe on it. If you do that, you'll get awesome content from me two or three times a week. I talk about Linuxy stuff and I have a good time doing it. So, subscribe. You probably won't be sorry. And if you are sorry, it's pretty easy to unsubscribe. It doesn't cost anything. So, I appreciate it. You can follow me on Mastadon or Odyssey. Those links will be in the video description. You can also support me on Patreon at patreon.com/theinxcast. I release a weekly exclusive podcast for my patrons over there and on YouTube as well for those of you who are a member. And it's basically just 15 minutes of me talking about nonsense. And if that kind of thing interests you, you can get that by supporting me on any level on Patreon or YouTube and that'd be awesome as well. Or you can head over to the shop which is available at shop.thed.org and you can get this awesome Linux Nerd hat along with all sorts of other merchandise. Of course, you can't be a Linux Nerd without a Linux Nerd hat. So, head on over there, check that out. Thanks to everybody who does support me on Patreon, YouTube. You guys are all absolutely amazing. Without you, the channel just would not be anywhere near where it is right now. So, thank you so very, very much for your support. You guys are just seriously fantastic people and I can't say enough about my gratitude towards the I don't know. Anyways, thank you so very much for your support. Thanks everybody for watching. I'll catch you next time. I hope you have a good one. Adios. I keep trying new ends and it just none of it works. Or maybe it works too well. I don't know. Anyways, see you.