Why Linus Torvalds doesn't use Ubuntu or Debian

[@GameCyborgCh]

Imagine being Linus Torvalds and every family keeps asking you to fix their computer because he's the guy who created the OS that keeps the entire internet running edit: To all of you saying the Linux isn't actually an OS it's just a kernel. I know, I just said it like this because the majority of people will understand it.

[@thisisabot9920]

@Brad Allen Unix is being phased out in many places

[@thisisabot9920]

@Brad Allen you sure about that bud? Microsoft Azure runs a third of their servers with Linux based OS. So in conjunction with the countless thousands of servers that run Linux and Unix based OS, I’d say you’re probably wrong. Where are you getting you’re info?

[@Przemolob1]

@Brad Allen mac os server? are you intoxicated?

[@Przemolob1]

@Brad Allen seems legit

[@lucasrodrigues9766]

How does Linix keep the internet running? Give me sources.

[@Aegisfromashes]

I really enjoy that he says he is not technical. A lot of people tend to associate any mastery in a branch of IT as having absolutely or professional knowledge in other areas. He knows the kernel space, probably almost better than anyone else, he doesn't need to know distro's or architectural level systems design. Similarly, an architect or an end user doesn't need to know about the kernel space. He's a master at what he does, and what he does, doesn't involved the distro space.

[@NoneRain_]

yep. My eyes bleed every time I see my programmers friends use their computers.

[@travis1240]

I think he's being humble (for once). Linus also wrote Git, which means he also knows a great deal about distributed development and distributed systems in general. On the linux side, he did a great deal to make Linux usable, not just write the kernel. That said the distributions took what he did and ran with it. It's fair that he doesn't know a great deal about them. I'd still say he's very technical though.

[@hectorcanizales5900]

@@channelname8775 F

[@hectorcanizales5900]

@@channelname8775 are u on arch now? I'm on PopOS

[@ltray_9613]

@Clinton Reisig Linux distros nowadays are easy to install. I even find windows more difficult to setup because of 1000 questions about security, my personal data usage and whatever else they come up with

[@TheSkunkyMonk]

Wonder if he's ever caught the kids sneaking windows on a dual boot

[@emmettbrown6418]

Then I need some tips from his kids, because later distributions always want to murder my windows Partition. Installer: Do you want to use the whole disk? Me: NOoooo! Not that disk! I have a disk over here. See? Nice Linux partitions. Installer: Thank you for your input. Installer: Now destroying Windows.

[@sniperkyle6152]

@@emmettbrown6418 🤣🤣🤣

[@sadiqueiqbal6065]

@@emmettbrown6418 Yeah yesterday only I fcked it up with Ubuntu 😑😑 Now cleared the whole disk

[@jackkraken3888]

Definitely, they just want to play games..

[@MrCh0o]

@@emmettbrown6418 You might want to not just look at the partition that's used but also where the boot manager is being put (obviously no bueno if the native Windows one gets overridden, hence why these installers typically ask where you want to put it) I've seen some distros actually take that into account in their installation routine by detecting previously installed systems and giving you options to keep these alive

[@NeelBasu]

"So that I can get on with my Life, which is mostly the Kernel" lol

[@cjtronan]

ONE YEAR LATER: My kernel is better than yours!

[@jodazague8333]

@Apjal Guruji found the snowflake

[@MaghrebProductions]

His life be like: cat /etc/shadow | grep “wife” >> /dev/null && sync

[@joelpichette]

@@MaghrebProductions Wow how many people can understand that great joke... hehe I like it.

[@benschneider3413]

@@MaghrebProductions I got most of it. But why is his wife in the password file and why sync the dumpster aka /dev/null

[@merkantelismo]

I thought he'd sarcastically answer, "I'd rather write my own OS from scratch than install a distro"

[@insitakaya1672]

Dex4Sure Doesn’t matter. Writing a Kernel IS A HUGE THING. It’s not something you easily do even if you’re a programmer. Even companies like Apple gave up on their own Kernel.

[@____-gy5mq]

They didn’t give up. They just felt it was pointless to reinvent the wheel when BSD did the job.

[@johannbauer2863]

Dex4Sure What about Alpine Linux? :P

[@jekbembo5974]

@Dex4Sure you talk to much, the guy is the one who invented Linux and till now Linux foundation still paying him to maintain the kernel. Even Apple, Microsoft, Google, ibm, Oracle still paying him through Linux foundation and to maintain their Linux kernel machine. If he wants to make his own os he can, but what for?

[@jekbembo5974]

@Dex4Sure you talk to much kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6PRcmmtpatjpZY He had many teams under him, if he want he can, do you think people's in Debian is smarter than him?

[@WolfireGaming]

> Creates Linux > Can't install Linux (In all truth, raw Debian can be a pain, so I see where he's coming from)

[@gorillaau]

WolfireGaming That should be, "Create Linux Kernel", "Cant install some Linux distributions"

OpenBSD is far more secure than Debian, and actually easier to install. OpenBSD only gives a default install, allowing the user to determine what gets installed whereas Debian installs everything including the kitchen sink. Thus, there's more security issues to be addressed.

[@Kenlauderdale123]

his time is expensive anyway.. so the hurdles are not worth it..

[@i-am-your-conscience]

@ Stan. I had a good laugh :D Not only for the comment but for providing it as an option for Linus Torvalds

[@megawattapps]

He created the Linux kernel, and that's it, just the kernel. The operating system, C compiler, BASH, etc, were created by Gnu. It should really be called Gnu or Gnu / Linux since that's the OS that "Linux" uses, but the name "Linux" stuck and now everybody just calls it Linux even though the kernel is just a small part of the operating system.

[@skaltaccount]

For some context: Linus tried to install Debian in 1999, which at the time was way harder to install than Arch Linux or even Gentoo nowadays. To add salt to the wound, it had to be done entirely through a physical copy.

[@mareksicinski3726]

what about linux from scratch?

[@thenewguy7527]

​@mareksicinski3726 LFS has too many unnecessary packages. Reading the book, you'll learn more about building packages from source than how the OS actually works. It's not even that complicated, just tedious - the majority of your time will be spent waiting for software to finish compiling. In order to create a truly minimal system, you only need a bootloader(optional if using UEFI), a kernel, init system(or a script that runs as PID 1), a shell and coreutils that allow the user to interact with said shell. If you're interested, I suggest reading about tldrlfs, as well as µlfs for a practical example.

[@Bytes255]

​@@mareksicinski3726My boy, Linus Torvalds has literally made Linux from scratch

[@MrHatoi]

The fact that he's standing next to a DebConf logo makes this 100x funnier

[@davidciprys7811]

It would be hilarious if he said: "Debian is hard to install...Btw I'm Arch user.

[@m3109c1t0]

Linus Torvalds = An asshole who made a kernel that's it.

[@abdullahali1293]

i downloaded debian onto my laptop, thought it was going to die but realistically it was pretty easy o_O

[@NJ-wb1cz]

If a distro is hard to install - it means it's creators are lazy, or incompetent, or didn't have enough resources. Neither of that is something to be proud of, and neither of that is the reason to install that distribution. The whole point of a distro is to make user's life easier. Otherwise you can just download everything from individual sites of the authors and build everything yourself.

[@NJ-wb1cz]

@@RachidWasTaken well, that's certainly progress. Now, where do I click to make my Arch install an LTS distribution?

[@yosha2467]

@@m3109c1t0 An asshole who made a kernel and git and "that's it"? People rarely succeed in doing just one of the 2 things the guy contributed in the world and you're trying to sell it as a nothing.

[@PASTRAMIKick]

He uses the best OS, TempleOS.

[@AlfaAddict]

The OS of God

[@folksurvival]

F Terry.

[@DJDiarrhea]

The 2mb distribution specifically

[@l3p3]

sarcasm alert

[@kapoork4129]

Holy C intensifies

[@shuvamsky]

Linus Torvalds:Debian is hard to install. Arch Linux: Hold my beer.

[@matucsmatuques1265]

Gentoo: Hold my beer.

[@kocbilo]

LFS: Hold my water, hops, yeast and barley.

[@fahreza31]

Gentoo: "Hold my problem"

[@fishyc43sar]

101 reasons I fell in love with Fedora Xfce

[@NJ-wb1cz]

People who have a life:

[@ktheodor3968]

This is a 2.43 min-long footage, at which minute exactly does he say anything about Ubuntu? He comments that he found difficult to install Debian, that he's not good at maintaining machines, etc, but no mention did I hear about Ubuntu in particular. This video's stated title is deceiving & false.

[@kennethflorek8532]

The reason you would look at this video is that you might think Linus Torvalds is going to say something material about Debian and Ubuntu, which does not happen. All he says is he just picked one distro to stick to to make life simple for himself, not saying that this deliberately unnamed distro is better or worse than any other distro. He only tried Debian once long ago (before 2007), and had some difficulty installing, which he only means to show why he sticks with only one distro, and how rotten he is at figuring out variant distros. Besides, it isn't interesting to him to try out different distros. He doesn't say that he didn't muddle through, like a lot of us, and get Debian installed. I am going to guess getting Debian running was not what he meant, but installing a more recent version of a program than the ten years out-of-date, but purportedly stable, one in the repo, which on account of dependencies can involve determining, searching for, and hand installing many dozens of other packages.

[@ktheodor3968]

Thanks for your response. I take note of what you say, but if it is as you say then why title the video "Why LT Doesn't Use Ubuntu.."? It has little/nothing to do with Ubuntu *as such*, does it? LT's 'problem' is more to do with his not enjoying installing an OS. By this token, the video could've been titled " Why LT Doesn't Use Open SuSe/Mageia/Kali/Arch Linux etc...". There's no obvious link between the video's title *and* what Torvalds actually says in the footage. Clearly, the video's title is there to deceitfully draw one's attention. Hence my issue with this in the first instance.

[@kennethflorek8532]

Yes they title things this way to get views, or to get people riled up, and I was annoyed at being conned, not unusual on youtube. I think they put Ubuntu in the title because it is the most well known and widely liked distro, so it would get the most hits, and stir up the most people. Throwing a bone to the truth, they put Debian in the title, on which Ubuntu is based. A lot of commenters took the bait and started arguing about distros, using Torvalds to supposedly prove something. Torvalds, actually, is just as definite about the things he doesn't care about as the things he does, and here he doesn't care about linux distros, what so many hard core people get worked up about. IAC, Ubuntu is not just Debian with different wallpaper. True, the workings underneath are some some derived version of Debian's substrate, partly because Ubuntu sends back its development work to Debian to use if it pleases, but Ubuntu has poured loads of time and money into smoothing the difficulties of using linux, and Debian does not adopt it all, because it has its own goals. If you have trouble on Debian, it doesn't mean you will have the same thing on Ubuntu, and the reverse. That being the case, even if Torvalds ripped Debian, which he did not, that was Debian of 7 years ago, when Ubuntu had not yet done the huge amount that it has. If you have used current Ubuntu, and straight Debian stable from 7 years ago, you can tell the difference, believe me.

[@GrindTheIdiotOnline]

Ubuntu is a Debian based distribution of Linux, you should know about the three main Linux families

[@etyrnal]

ubuntu IS debian... so he doesn't have to mention it

[@RichardSmart]

Loved the 'not technical' comment he made in this clip. Its infuriating when people try to label others as 'technical' (primarily at work) just cos they happen to know something they can't be bothered to learn themselves, then follow it with the assumption that said person must also know everything about all the other 'computer related things' that they cannot be bothered to learn themselves as well.

[@cuttlefishn.w.2705]

Preach! I blame movies/TV for making every programmer also a hacker.

[@matthewgarber5517]

Cuttlefish N.W. I wish I could like your comment more then once

[@cr-yi7ep]

@@Facebook-StevenSchmidlap FFS, you troll, why don't you just crawl back under the rock you crawled out from. Nobody here is interested in your trolling.

[@jojodroid31]

Ah, I see you know how to change your car tyres. Could you maybe look at my cracked piston?

[@Wolterhon]

@@cr-yi7ep what did they say?

[@TheRealXyzven]

He's so brilliant and focused that he knows his limitations. Creating an OS isn't the same as installing one. Just like designing an engine isn't the same as installing one!

[@ClemensKatzer]

Yep. And especially designing an engine (=kernel) is not the same as building a whole car (=distro).

[@mememothership3162]

@@ClemensKatzer thats a nice metaphor to understand the difference between the two

[@obsmagician]

Yeah, the best engineer who create the best car is probably an average pilot. That's true for almost everything. Even g.od who created life on earth did not survive very long when He came on earth. Died miserably at the approximate age of 33?

[@Bongdick445]

Terry Davis is smarter

[@Nightshft42]

He's just managing his time. To go with Clemens' comparison: when the engine constructors assemble cars all of the time, WHEN should they construct the engines? Nobodys time is unlimited. What I hate the most about this "can you fix my computer" situations is the "for me it's so difficult, but for you it will only take five minutes" mindset.

[@jnauttube]

Thank you for describing the difference between someone who's a brilliant developer but not strong in system administration. People never understand this dichotomy

[@summer20105707]

The most amazing thing about Linus's speech here is how candid he is. Its inspiring.

[@timothythompson3288]

I used to be an OS snob but now am not. What would have horrified me about Linus' "attitude" in the past now seems to be refreshingly honest and to the point. If Torvalds doesn't want to mess with install messes, why bother with the ones that present the biggest hassles? Totally agree (even though he may not be completely on top of the modern versions of both installs mentioned).

[@maskednil]

Yeah, I used to mess with Linux distros a decade ago as a college kid then I got a job and my spare time was used for gaming so I stuck to Windows. Now I have no job and wanted to try running multiple distros in my laptop. I got about 5 in a multiboot USB. Start with Garuda, then Linux Mint. And it's a week later and I'm just happy with being stable and not chasing and analysing every distros. Life's too valuable.

[@CristalianaIvor]

@@maskednil Honestly Garuda is not worth it in my Opinion. NO offence to the def teams but it looks like some script kiddies threw some RGB LEDS at Linux... And there is no too big Difference between the Debian based Distros like Ubuntu, Linux Mint and there of - so the only things I would try are Debian based distros and Arch-based distros. Theres also Red-Hat based distros - but they are for professional use, therefore not in the Mix. (EDIT: meaning try only one of the different kinds: so try one debian based, one arch based ect) For Arch-based Distros there are some pitfalls too: My geeky internet friends told me for example that Manjaro uses it's own packages and therefore introduces new bugs ontop of shipping the packages later... In my Experience: Gaming on Ubuntu worked just fine.

[@CristalianaIvor]

Honestly the choice of Desktop-Environment feels bigger to me, than the choice between e.g. Linux mint and Ubuntu. For Arch-based I got reccommended EndeavorOS and will try that next. Or maybe if I feel super geeky I will install Arch the "usual" way over the console (for braggin rights haha)

[@CristalianaIvor]

And the only big difference between Arch and Debian based distros is: Arch uses rolling-releases, meaning it will always have the newest features, but updates are more likely to break something. For me personally I had never had an update break something for my Ubuntu in the three years or so Ive been using it for Gaming and productive work.

[@penguin12902]

As an Admin, I use whatever is the most consistent. I have too much to do to "fiddle" with why this OS doesn't run this software. I use Windows for everything I can and Ubuntu LTS releases for anything else.

[@TheJacklwilliams]

One of the things I admire the most about Torvalds is his brutal honesty. He admits, to himself and others his blind spots and doesn't try to let on like a genius in all things. He focuses on the Kernel and isn't fond of installing those other bits. Per his point, pretty much everything I've ever installed is a pain in the ass if it has any level of complexity whatsoever. I've been working with Linux for awhile now and I'm far from understanding the install process of apps but, getting better. I don't believe my level of intelligence approaches Linus or any of the legends in our business. In fact I think of all the wins I had over the years my main quality is relentless dogged refusal to give up. Anyway, Linus has some very good points. He spends his time where he sees he can have the most effective results and without any higher purpose, what he enjoys the most.

[@Taktiker12]

this man should receive a nobel price of information technology ...great Mind .

[@l4ndst4nder]

Considering that he’s at a Debian convention I’m sure his is trying to be as nice as he possibly can. But I’m guessing he’s frustrated with many Linux distro’s compatibility issues and comparing it to Windows.

The liberty is both nice and infuriating. Fragmentation is the infuriating part.

[@brainguy3263]

Linux makes some really good operating systems. The problem is support. They have the worst support I have ever seen in my life. It's like these people simply do not understand human beings.

[@brainguy3263]

Also you can blame the misspelling on my phone phones are worse at spelling then Linux is at support

[@tintindb]

In fact I was going to add that it's kind of ironic what he's saying given that he seems to be at a Debian conference...

[@lordzeuscannon6400]

They probably asked, or paid for him to be there. Not that he's there because he gives a rat's ass about debian

[@pssst3]

I've been in IT since before Microcosm and Apple,and agree completely with his reasoning. If you've have something that works and does what you need, why change?

[@rodrigosouto9502]

This is wisdom. With age I'm understanding more and more the true meaning of your statement

[@goku445]

You can't let a system sit. It has to be updated. At some point the hardware won't support the hardware which is rather late with debian...

[@prateekpanwar646]

It is that you can change many times also make it perfect 99/100. But there are a lot of other things to look out. So yeah this quote isn't good for development. But, it's like "If it ain't broken, Don't fix it". But it's very useful to find and spend time on other new things than just repeating over old stuff which won't give you much result for lot of time

[@Mr.Leeroy]

We are stuck with windows because of this crap

[@Mr.Leeroy]

@championchap distro hopping exist because of this.

[@NeilRoy]

This wasn't really him saying anything against these distros, but more that he is used to a certain one, understands how to get it up and running and doesn't need to make things more complicated by switching to something else, which I totally understand.

[@davids3539]

He definitely had something against Debian. And then hasn't retried it since.

[@TheRhalf]

@@davids3539 don't fix what isn't broken

[@gustafengstrom8139]

I didnt' hear him mention Ubuntu?

[@sumukhs5996]

maybe it is?

[@gustafengstrom8139]

It's a confusion mark

[@DipakChakraborty033]

It's called clickbait!

[@EricMewhort]

The guy asking the question was wearing an Ubuntu shirt, I guess that was enough to put it in the title.

[@BrunoGomesbg6293]

Because he don't. The title is fake...

[@Athenian888]

He uses Fedora,as can be found in Wikipedia. ''Linus Torvalds, author of the Linux kernel, says he uses Fedora because it had fairly good support for PowerPC when he used that processor architecture. He became used to the operating system and continues to use it''.

[@dengan699]

I was on Mint for 4 years, and installed Debian couple of weeks ago. Very smooth and enjoyable. Do recommend.

[@kikiretzorg1467]

What DE, could I ask?

[@Darkest_Soul_187]

Living legend.

[@rich1051414]

What people do not understand is the distribution scene is not Linus's, it is a consequence of his work, but that means nothing for his knowledge or experience on that subject. I can tell here that he is trying to be careful not to reveal his ignorance on the subject, but really, he shouldn't need to, that isn't what he does.

[@charlesneely]

Richard Smith but he is responsible for the alternative OS system those are his children and grandchildren many times over thank you Linus

[@MarkWestscoutingmaniac]

Linus wrote only the core kernel. Still required extensive use of command line (bash) and didn't have a very well designed GUI for your average entry level Linux user.

[@Littlefighter1911]

And this is exactly why people over at GNU want to call it GNU/Linux and not Linux. (Which I honestly find stupid). Linux is not the "operating system" in the old fashioned sense of the word (1990-2000), where it meant all programs that come with it as well. Just a kernel. As such a system that uses GNU programs on base of the Linux kernel should be called GNU/Linux.

[@Synthwave89]

@@Littlefighter1911 I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX. Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called "Linux", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project. There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called "Linux" distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.

[@majortom91gsg]

@@Synthwave89 why not call it GiNUx

[@Papayalexius]

Linus, you're the best ahahaahah, really funny, humble, intelligent and great person. Don't ever change!

[@user-ft4bf7os5d]

ا

[@cassiee.3969]

"Humble." I... are we talking about the same guy? He's like... famously unhumble.

[@impwendel]

Not humble

[@alexanderleeart]

0:19 what the hell was that smile

[@gc8972b]

his punchline failed

[@ClintEastree]

The same smile a got before Bill cosby put a roofy in my Pepsi

[@michaelvilain8457]

This has been my experience with developers. They know what they're developing but the "bigger picture" of where it fits with everybody else's systems, the printers, the backups, etc. isn't something they care about. I do devops and automated install/setup, so I can see why he'd get fixated on his distro of choice and not want to spend time support all the other computers in his house. There's a DevOps guy on KZbin (Jeff Geerling) who got around this problem by writing automation so that his desktop and any additional laptops would be installed and maintained with automation tools. That way he can focus on his fun stuff with Raspberry Pi kubernetes clusters, kvm boxes, a cheap NAS, and doing videos on all these projects.

[@rkj11107]

so you are not a developer and you see a bigger picture ... than THE developer? ok. its like saying nurse sees a "bigger picture" than doctor.

[@olivia-jtrans5693]

he's honest

[@damsLock]

olivia-J Trans ii

[@totalbrainfail1812]

@@ryukblack3501Not funny, Didn't laugh.

[@two-pumpchump8911]

Ur pretty

[@cjtronan]

@@totalbrainfail1812 thats cause tramps aren't funny

[@lingux_yt]

@@ryukblack3501 there isn't such a thing. it's "Trans"

[@marc2377]

The man writes *Git* and finds Debian hard to install. Oh, I've seen it all... I find it easier to install Arch Linux than to use the Git command line. Oh and did I mention he wrote it in C?

[@error.418]

Git isn't hard at all...

[@bryede]

I don't think he meant Debian is hard to install by nature. I think he meant that it failed on his machine(s) so he quickly gave up on it. I've had that happen from time to time with everything I've installed including Windows.

[@FathinLuqmanTantowi]

yea, some machine are just bad apple

[@user.netizen11]

He is being sarcastic u moron kid.

[@parallel4]

How is the git CLI hard to use? Seriously.

[@zachdyer1208]

I'm happy with Mint it worked for me without any problems.

[@ShiroCh_ID]

same here with Kde Neon and Kubuntu altough Neon is the most stable of all 2

[@scaramouche768]

@@ShiroCh_ID how do I get into linux as a windows user? I find it difficult to download apps from the internet as it's not the usual way as downloading an exe/zip and saving it in a folder.

[@arieltheartist3161]

@@scaramouche768 The best way to get into Linux is grab virtual box and download some ISO of a linux distribution you find interesting. Some of these have curated app stores like discover on KDE neon or pop store on Pop OS. These will allow you download apps to linux. However its worth noting that many of the software offered on Linux is open source, Gimp, Krita, Libreoffice, VS code, sublime, davince resolve, etc so you will probably not find your regular paid apps like you find on windows or mac, but instead free alternatives. Keep in mind some of the distributions will require you to activate repositories in the terminal command line, and use a get function that will install the intended software. Hope this helps.

[@HelvecioGomes]

I'm using MX Linux very stable.

[@LoydAvenheart]

I'm using Arch because I hate myself.

[@mrdubachery]

I can relate to an extent. During 8th grade and HS, I spent all of my time hacking bash scripts, compiling custom kernels, and all of the other fun Linux stuff we do when we start out. Then after 6 years or so of that, I just wanted something that I didn't have to screw around with so I could actually get something done. I ended up switching from Arch to Ubuntu for that reason, and I'd always been completely against Ubuntu, but Arch became too much of a chore.

[@ByteMeCompletely]

Gentoo got to me. Now I track Mint and Neon.

[@arian_xyz]

I'm using Arch now, but I think I'm getting to that stage where I just want my computer to just work without having to configure something I don't understand, but that I am copying from a wiki. Although I think that Arch is a very good linux distribution for those who want to start familiarizing themselves with the terminal and the system configuration.

[@traveller23e]

@@arian_xyz I'm at that fabulous point where I have arch set up basically exactly how I like it. My only fear is having to reinstall the OS for some reason though, which would be a real PITA.

[@XxZeldaxXXxLinkxX]

@@traveller23e *Laughs in NixOS*

[@energy-tunes]

Filtered

[@JR-uy2nd]

He is right, old Debian versions, and this is not recent, were hard to install. Were in 20 years ago they were a nightmare with cryptic language and default options that will make the machine not boot.

[@mrinvader]

i love the way he speaks!!! very entertaining and comfortable!

[@carterpryor3880]

I can relate to him here. "When it comes to maintaining these machines, I'm a disaster."

[@VannrithSourisVa]

my definition of maintaining is "reinstall" :D

[@beat461]

From Wikipedia: A *Management Information Systems (MIS)* focuses on the management of information systems to provide efficiency and effectiveness of strategic decision making. The concept may include systems termed transaction processing system, decision support systems, expert systems, and executive information systems. The term MIS is often used in the business schools. Some of MIS contents are overlapping with other areas such as information system, information technology, informatics, e-commerce and computer science. Therefore, the MIS term sometimes can be inter-changeable used in above areas.

[@K0media]

Thanks mate, that really helped me out. 👍

[@Kevin-jb2pv]

That's funny, because IMO Debian has consistently been the smoothest install process for me other than the super ease-of-use oriented distros like Mint or Ubuntu (which, I mean, is essentially just Debian+)

[@c99kfm]

When did you start using Debian? Did you ever experience the old (early 2000s) installation, what was its name, maybe dselect?

[@Kevin-jb2pv]

@@c99kfm I first installed Debian sometime in the mid-late 2000s. I didn't ever go through the bad times I've heard about, but AFAIK _most_ early Linux was a bitch to install. Maybe Debian used to be comparatively worse, but for the last 10 years the installation process for pretty much any distro that makes an effort to streamline the process has been pretty smooth sailing, IME.

[@MaryShinabarger]

So refreshing to hear Linus' admission of not being good at maintaining or MIS! So often I feel like I must learn EVERYTHING technical to steer my career towards the tech world. Very Impressed Linus Torvalds!!

[@franciscofuentes8916]

I don't even have kids and I think just like him.When I first new about Linux I tried lots of distros also because at that time I had plenty of time but now I wouldn't like to spend my time trying distributions.

[@MetalTrabant]

My love for Linux started with trying out lots of distros, and I still love to discover them. There are so many flavours, and most of them are totally free. It's like a free candy-store, you can't just stop at one :)

[@andrewkelley9146]

Personally I have always found that the Debian Installers were always the ones that performed the best for any of the hardware I ever used.

[@zekigpr]

Agree.

[@joancatala]

try OpenBSD installer.

[@alles_muss_anders_werden]

That's right !

[@petebateman143]

Same.

[@kodirovsshik]

True

[@elbarqelsa3ek481]

He said it guys. He likes to install things in a short time to get on with his life. I respect that and I am like that...what is the point from taking hours trying to install gentoo or arch ?! Life is short

[@getgle]

installing gentoo is fun

[@amineabdz]

@@getgle it is ,if you're a masochist

[@matyasmarkkovacs8336]

@@amineabdz Actually it is not that hard to install Gentoo. I would say it requires time, rather than hard, however of course it's really not for beginners. And yes, it's fun to install if you are interested in Linux and OSs. :)

[@blehmeh8909]

Elbarq Elsa3ek arch takes less than an hour

[@lingux_yt]

we waste hours on netflix... we can waste hours on anything we consider fun

[@brainmind4070]

Installed Ubuntu alongside Windows on my computer yesterday. Very simple and straightforward.

[@gabrielpar3519]

"Ubuntu or Debian" he didn't even mention Ubuntu at all

[@Seven71987]

Maybe the title was just misleading and errored. Also I think debians installation has gotten easier since this interview.

[@jeffwads]

This sounds like a laugh track from some old 70's show. The audience would probably laugh if Linus farted or coughed.

[@chrispotterfan]

it's because the audience is a bunch of nerds xD

[@rudyprakom]

I'd probably laugh too if Linus farted or coughed.

[@inemanja]

yeah... it's pretty sad... especially considering that he is an asshole... well. world is full of kiss-asses

[@mrbale1815]

yeah crowd sux

[@АлексейГриднев-и7р]

@@inemanja in the full video from this conference, there have been miltiple people who called him out for his behaviour. He just doesn't care... Unfortunately, a great person does not necessarily mean a good person.

[@d74g0n]

All I hear is a Steve Carell voice impression from the Office. Linux Revolution!

[@DrRChandra]

See, Mr. Torvalds, in that respect, you actually ARE good at MIS. Maintaining a heterogeneous environment is more difficult. Most shops try to minimize the number of platforms they support for that reason.

[@lokpatitiwari3314]

I had install ubuntu three times in Row. He never said any word on ubuntu and no one asked. Change the title. But thanks i love the way Mr Trovalds speaks

[@sematic_x9931]

Up to 4th install.. have to reinstall everytime I restart box it seems..

[@ChilenonetoYoutube]

THANK YOU!!!! The Distro / OS is not real life. is what YOU DO USING your OS that is really important.

[@MoneyGist]

This.

[@perfectlyroundcircle]

I really appreciate how humble Linus is. Just goes to show that just because you're great at some things, it doesn't mean you're automatically great at everything related to that. It's not because you don't have the intelligence to do it, but you simply lack the interest, motivation, or time required to become good at another thing. Most important reason is time, because time is so limited. You can only do so many things.

[@dddux]

In my experience, Debian used to be hard to install back in the day [10 or more years ago], but nowadays not so much. It's also really easy to use net installer that is like 242MB and install from the nearest/fastest Internet mirror. I can't remember the last time I used a CD/DVD to install it. A small, 9.95 USB stick does the job. ;) Ubuntu is also easy to install, but I somehow like Debian. I must be too used to it. Xfce Debian, that is.

[@goku445]

I'm using Mate mate!

[@Mr.Leeroy]

"9.95 usb stick". lol. I'm not even sure why exactly you did not bother to state your currency, is it because US is so drowned in marketing BS or you just don't care if the rest of the world exists.

[@pedroferreira4323]

@@Mr.Leeroy i know your comment is 2 years old, but the stupidity you presented in it is timeless

[@k-c]

Depends on the hardware. Debian is my go to but it is a pain in the ass to work with on some of most common hardware.

[@marcuscook5145]

I've only ever had trouble with Debian on absolutely bleeding-edge hardware. It's a highly stable OS that takes a while to get kernel updates and obviously, drivers are integrated into the kernel. This can especially be tough if you want to use LTS releases on brand new hardware.... You better hope someone has backported the driver you need. Overall though, I still use Debian more than any other distro.

[@joopie46614]

10 years later, Debian changed a lot. It's gotten very very easy to install, it's basically on par with Ubuntu in terms of installation. I can set up a VM with a Debian ISO and install it in ~5 minutes including installation time. You even get the option to do a GUI installation instead of a command line installation, with the desktop environment options already being available.

[@spudhead169]

He's right about the "sticky" distro. I started my Linux life with Unbuntu, so that's what I typically use even if another distro would be more suitable. I'm just used to it and I don't have to go rooting through forums posts and stackoverflow posts to get simple things done.

[@stephenjones8928]

@0:42 "so that I can just get on with my life...". My opinion of the guy just went up by an order of magnitude.

[@PsychoTrain123]

inistall gentoo

[@Kometgamer]

Gentoo isn't hard to install, especially if you use the stage 3 tarball and install from an existing Distro.

[@rizalm.s.5994]

yeah gentoo isn't hard until you encounter package blocking each other, conflict, or even smallest mistake in setting use flag can lead to depression. well, after using it for awhile i found myself accustomed to it. but i will admit that it has a steep learning curve to get gentoo working the way i want it.

[@Kometgamer]

Valid point, Gentoo can be frustrating when package/use flags block each other, especially if you have to mix ABI's (e. g. for steam). But it feels super rewarding once you figure it out imo

[@GradyRoy]

my only hang up with Solus is that it OpenVPN simply doesn't work on it. Other than that, it a GREAT and speedy Distro.

[@muCephei_]

XD

[@r351574nc3]

So his argument is that he wants an OS that is easy to install regularly because he's always switching machines. I find this a very interesting argument. If Debian doesn't cut it for him, I wonder what he does recommend. People in the comments and in the video want to pounce on the why argue whether it's true or not, but if he thinks it is difficult, which one did he think was easy? Also, he says he hasn't tried it since 2007, so whatever operating he went with in 2007 is one I would like to hear about. Which was it?

[@derpityderp-derp4007]

+Leonidas Prime Linus doesn't install.. He images his systems.. So when he gets a new machine, it's like a drag n drop, kinda.. A very efficient way to maintain your computing life. Basically, he and his personal systems are the dev for the families systems. then he "releases" to them every year.. I would not be surprised if he has a package manager, repo system, etc setup so they only get updates and packages through his repo. They probably even have him package all the software they need. Bet this guy is busy..lol

[@r351574nc3]

Blue Balls Matter I see your point, but there are a couple wrinkles. 1. He creates his images with an installer (still considered installing) 2. In the video and linked articles he claims to be non-technical. Basically, that he can code on the kernel, but he doesn't consider himself a competent tech support resource (he barely knows how to run an installer). I get the family part. He does mention family members. It's just that he also mentioned those other things. I think because he wanted to solidify his reasoning to be more about him than the influence of others. Basically, IMHO he didn't want to use family as an excuse in his own defense of the distribution he uses.

[@r351574nc3]

Blue Balls Matter I realize in my previous comment that there was some speculation in there. I wanted to let you know this is understood. It's just my opinion (besides anything he quoted in the video and linked articles). I don't want to portray my opinions as fact.

[@StrangelyIronic]

The concept of a professional, master, etc just wanting a simple solution to get on with their life in their field extends to pretty much every field. I repair clockwork items (mostly clocks, watches, old cameras, etc) along with tool making/machining. I've got a smart watch and for film cameras I use a Mamiya 645 Pro TL, they both get the job done well for a fair price and comfortably/no worry effort. Even for cameras I use a Fuji X-T30 or Panasonic G9, both with vintage lenses, a lot of the time anymore.

[@aptlinux]

So simple and Great personality. Love him.

[@theloniousMac]

Never once heard him say Ubuntu.

[@bankoftrustnwobot3218]

For a good reason

[@boliussa]

What is MIS? And how could linus do it better?

[@digitalexpl0it]

management information services (IS for short most known as IT (Information Technologies))

[@ZaCaptain1229]

THANK YOU I WAS WONDERING THE SAME THING

[@RockawayCCW]

What is MIS?

[@reformed_attempt_1]

Respect for changing the title ❤

[@morrisoniesko]

Damn bro top tier content, I'm sure you had to visit multiple countries to produce a masterpiece like this

[@eliausi9696]

I'd be interested to know what distro he uses.

[@NahrAlma]

That's the only way to use GNOME3. Dash2Dock, Places menu and so on and so forth

[@truth-uncensored2426]

He uses mostly Fedora.

[@dcos5]

The guy who posted a duckduckgo link...lmao

[@getgle]

MacOS

[@CalvinJary]

He runs Windows 10 so he can game.

[@DIJAMIN]

Linus is just so humble, awesome

[@nainorotodox]

lmao nice joke

[@LyncSoftConsulting]

I installed debian couple of months ago ..its easy now to install and configure but network drivers are still very hard to detect in debain systems

[@hootiebubbabuddhabelly]

It is strange with technical people. I remember I had to explain what a .zip file was to a programmer, at one point, years ago. But a .zip file was just office stuff, which some used all day everyday but some did...well...never. She was all about math and CAD and engineering. She wasn't an "office" person. She was an engineer. It seemed funny, at the time, but it was a bit like expecting someone to know how to change the oil in a car simply because they drive one. One has nothing to do with the other.

[@betablockrr]

He later complimented Ubuntu on making it super easy to install and making a user friendly installer

[@Lagspike99]

Now: Why am I watching this the night before my completely unrelated exam?

[@CreeVal]

How did you do on the exam?

[@Lagspike99]

@@CreeVal Wish I could see the exact date of my comment. Then I could have checked. Anyways, I think it was neural networks, got the highest grade on that one at least :) Now I work as a senior data scientist.

[@feddundas]

LOL

[@waseemq1522]

LMAO 😂😂, wait what this comment was 3 years ago ,hit me up on discord waseemq1#1161 🙂

[@maxchellmastom5501]

@@Lagspike99 bruh

[@r351574nc3]

A lot of people in the comments seem to be reading the title incorrectly. No Ubuntu isn't mentioned. No, it's not misleading. Yes, Linus doesn't use Ubuntu. Yes, it's the same reason he doesn't use Debian. You can argue the relationship between Ubuntu and Debian all day long, but if you listen to why Linus says he doesn't use Debian, you'll find: * It's the same reason he doesn't use Ubuntu * Has nothing to do with Ubuntu being based on Debian.

[@aris95]

He is not a distribution tester he just likes to maintain code. Maybe linux community should establish a special distribution responsible person...

[@franz1242]

First-steps linux user: -Hey I've just installed Debian, I'm a pro! Arch users: -nop

[@lunedefroid8817]

LFS users : lol

[@cjtronan]

@@lunedefroid8817 1]-Puppy linux: you aint seen it all boi! 2]-steam OS: wanna try a kibble? 3]--SLACKWARE -- : bring your eggs: butter: bread: salt: pepper: And Ill whip you out some omelettes from them eggs

[@Littlefighter1911]

"How though are you?" "How though am I?! I installed Debian 10 on a computer this mornin'" "Yeah. So?" "Using deboostrap and a Ubuntu netinstall environment, without any guide" "Right this way, sorry to keep your waiting"

[@getgle]

Gentoo users: laughing at arch kiddies

[@GodlyMullet]

@@getgle Gentoo is so much better though.

[@amdenis]

It amazes me how much deeper, broader and more complex things have gotten since the 80's and 90's. It takes people like Linus Torvalds and others to pave the way, but just like medicine, software and related pros have had to really specialize to really excel or break new boundaries. Many of them would find it hard to even persevere let alone succeed in areas like data science or AI-- and the fact that a distro install can seem too complex for him is great evidence of this. It is fairly commonplace for us to wind up having to use tweaked installs of Conda, docker and many custom-crafted *Nix commands, symbolic links and related methods just to get the typical versions of PyTorch, TensorFlow and related environments peacefully coexisting on their different GPU, CPU and related driver versions-- while installing and operating on Mac's and PC's running a minimum of 2 OS's. Getting a single distro to install on whatever desktop, server or various embedded devices, let alone virtually any computers, is fairly trivial in comparison. Like many, I have had to spend weeks building up a reasonable data science stack-- even with the aid of Conda, Docker and related utilities. Pretty much a given in professional circles of AI and data science. And don't get me started about Quantum-AI testing and integration. I am so glad People like LT was able to avoid that, or we likely would not have what we have today.

[@amdenis]

Sammy Smith - Although I developed and patented a lot of close to the metal systems over the years, such as chaos theory entrained base band communications hardware and digital control systems on the Cray XMP systems, when I worked as a team lead at NCSA in Champaign-Urbana in the 80’s-90’s, I find quantum-AI development we are doing here today a LOT more challenging. In fact, as I inferred, back in the 80’s literally one person could design and fully breadboard an entire PC. The average PC had only 10’s of man-years of knowledge behind them, and the typical OS and supporting firmware, often less, at least architecturally. Interestingly, one of the old motherboards (the Apple IIe) is still used in embedded form and runs along side the serial controller chips of Macs. However, that entire motherboard of a few decades ago does not even account for 1% of the circuit count on the modern computer it runs- and much less if you add a GPU to the mix-whether on-board or in-slot. The firmware and direct memory and instruction control sets now typically have 5-11 layers of control and interface systems that they interface to and require to support a modern OS, whereas a few decades ago it was 1-3, including OSI interfacing. In contrast, when we develop and deploy production AI now, we are often jumping down to LLVM optimized compilation of CUDA cores driven pipelining code of calculations and metadata, across concurrent Hub, JS and multiple optimized emdedded versions of a given AI enabled system; all of which are often written in some combination of C, Swift, Python and Node.js running in Kubaflow pipeline via a TFX architecture that relies on hundreds of different Python, C, Node and other libraries that ALL have to version comply with each other. Whether the dev groups use AirFlow, Kubeflow, Spark or whatever to pipeline development, deployment and secure upgrades, this is the base standard, and kids are NOT graduating with these skills. My point was that this modern level of complexity is what has NECESSITATED stack installation, management and dev/deployment tools like Conda, Docker and the like- none of which would have even been necessary decades ago. We often hire well vetted top of class CS AI / CS DS grads and post-grads, and 95% of them have any such experience, as is understandable; so, at least 30% of their time is spent learning for the first few years.

[@thesebi]

yesterday i installed debian 12 with MATE desktop on an old low-end "Samsung R509-Aura T3200 Daria" that I bought back in 2008 for studying, because it was affordable. It works and was very easy to install. If it weren't for Linux, that Notebook would be intolerable slow. The boot time is even faster, than windows 11 on my more modern machine. Obviously there are restrictions in capability and response time because of the old hardware, but it works well, for what it is.

[@nohomelessleftbehind5409]

My first Linux distribution was Slackware 2.0 in 1997 when I was working for IBM Global Services at LSI Logic, and it was difficult to install, more so then Solaris 2.5, but I bought a copy of Caldera 1.2 at MicroCenter in 1998 when I worked at FlowWise Networks and found it to be a breeze to install with the Lizard GUI user interface.

[@ByteMeCompletely]

I installed a much older Slackware, around 1991, I believe. It's vi editor was named elvis. 8o)

[@_sneer_]

@@ByteMeCompletely The first Slackware release, version 1.00, was distributed on July 17, 1993, at 00:16:36 (UTC). First Linux kernel was released September-October 1991. I don't think that there was any Linux distribution active back then. Elvis is still in Slackware 15.0

[@exoltik3199]

I've had nothing but buggy installations of debian derivatives on nearly every PC I've installed them on. It doesn't take a lot to break Ubuntu and it's interface is very awkward. I switched to OpenSUSE recently and it's been incredibly stable. Virtually no errors. Installing packages and dependencies generally easier (the amount of support for OpenSUSE is astoundingly good) and I've not once had to touch a terminal while using it. OpenSUSE deserves more of a spotlight. It's a fantastic distro. Never had a great experience with Ubuntu.

[@themedivalchad]

Linux Mint: Hello 👋

[@alexandrebouvier7731]

I installed Debian 10 two months ago and if you use the unofficial iso with the non-free firmware / softwares, it's super easy... If you want a productive desktop environment, pick debian, ubuntu lts or centos... You can add an other distribution (a rolling release distribution like archlinux or fedora or a non-lts ubuntu) on a dedicated ssd just by curiosity if you want to try the lastest softwares. Actually I run Ubuntu 20.04 and it will be my main system for the next 2 years, I don't want to reinstall my OS every 6-9 months.

[@hamza-elixirofknowledge]

in the details. when you get stuck, roll back to the beginning and start over. The other weay is to focus entirely on one set of commands

[@jackwoodhead]

Hey man, I know this is a 6 year old upload but can you please change the misleading title? Linus didn't mention Ubuntu once in this; he was talking about plain Debian. Your title makes it sound like he shares this same opinion on Ubuntu when in actuality it clearly follows the same easy-to-install philosophy he said he desires in the video.

[@wilfredmanahan]

He has a point. Why bother installing Linux distro on his computer when his main goal is to expand the GPL core which is kernel.

[@EduardKaresli]

I find Debian 8 to be pretty easy to install (coming from Windows)... pretty fun to use as well... awesome OS...

[@programmingandfinance8239]

+Eduard Karesli you dont have any problems with debian ? because youre coming from windows background

[@Filip_Phreriks]

+trompowsky chess About 4 years ago, I tried Ubuntu. It was my first experience with anything other than Windows. But I didn't really like it. Then I installed Debian and I loved it. The more I used it, the more I loved it. I tried a lot of Distros but always go back to Debian or a Debian based distro. If you just want a rock-stable system that's easy to use out of the box for e-mail, browsing and school/work but don't really need the fancy stuff out of the box than Debian is for you.

[@programmingandfinance8239]

NITROLLATOR ive been using ubuntu unity and its good for me except i couldnt find proprietary drivers for my graphics to play games,, but overall linux is too good for me , because you used both distros are there any good things debian has compared to ubuntu?

[@Filip_Phreriks]

Ubuntu is based on Debian. Without Debian there was no Ubuntu. They are pretty similar. Debian is somewhat faster and less bloated with stuff you'll probably don't need. But Ubuntu has a better "out of the box" experience. The reason I didn't really like Ubuntu is not because it is bad, not at all. I just thought it had a lot of stuff I didn't need which is heavier on your pc. If I need stuf, I'll download it from the Debian repos. I have just done a Debian netinstall, which means you only get a command line and build up your whole system from there. I now have a fully working system on my old slow netbook that only uses 70mb of ram. It will blow your mind how responsive a 10 year old 1.3Ghz, 1GB DDR2 machine can be if you build up your own Linux with only the stuff you'll need. If you want to learn Linux, the best tip I can give you is to try different distros and read a LOT of tutorials and forums if you have any problems.

[@mollifynature]

У меня одна хорошая подружка, когда мы были студентами, устроилась на хлебокомбинат подрабатывать. Потом месяц на булки смотреть не могла. Закроешь глаза, говорит, а перед тобой батоны, батоны....)

[@Pyro-Moloch]

Я чуть не пошел на хлебкомбинат работать однажды, мой друг меня об этом же предупреждал. То же было когда в алкогольный магазин пошел устраиваться. Один день там поработал, мне той же ночью бутылки эти снились.

[@mollifynature]

@@Pyro-Moloch 😁

[@adityatiwari2005]

KZbin: lets recommend this after 6 years.

[@muskyoxes]

I tried to install debian in the 90s, it didn't recognize my modem, and i stopped. I tried to install debian two weeks ago, it didn't recognize my wireless, and i stopped. It's a complete disaster if an installer can't find the internet. The internet has to be there to fix any other problem.

[@tonyrulez69]

No mention of Ubuntu... WTF is the title??

[@scbtripwire]

Holy shit, he upgrades his computer twice a year. It must be nice having so much money.

[@almoch]

So basically this explain why Linux is such a mess - the main Linux guru is not using Linux daily. I wonder if Linux would be a better place if he would do otherwise.

[@UnidimensionalPropheticCatgirl]

He does, just not debian, he has ran some variaions of fedora for eternity now.

[@Xenochrist95]

I agree here. I've always told my friends I appreciate a distro that works out the box.

[@carzoparazzo9698]

Debian in this days its easy to install, the problem start when you need to download private software, like HP wifi card driver, video card, etc. So that take some time and ofc you need another computer in order to download the drivers and supply the Debian one. But once installed it runs beautifull

[@dendelane]

Can anyone tell me what a "mis-person" is? 😅 1:34

[@lukasijus8690]

He wants so say that is not interested in management information systems

[@AntiCookieMonster]

I know other mentioned arch as harder to install... but I'm not convinced. Arch is about as hard when setting things up (drivers and all), but it has far better documentation(wiki) compared to weirdly segmented and sometimes cryptic docs of Debian. Seriously, I moved to arch because it was easier to setup and manage and in practice was more stable desktop as I wanted software that wasn't at least half year out of date. Plus I have an inkling of how things work on this distro so I know where to start were something to break.

[@samfreelancer2657]

Is that video old ? because old versions of Debian on early 2000 were difficult to install. too many bugs xorg server crush repeatedly. Plus it was server install only.

[@Пащьчька]

когда пишешь английскими словами...

[@rlenclub]

I like how he changed his tune once the girl came up

[@achequisde]

I really dig the atmosphere on this room!

[@mattlm64]

Debian is indeed a pain to install, but I like my debian-based SolydXK installation.

[@77seban]

After 9 years which distro is he using now ? 🙂

[@Flavor_Flav]

Fedora.

[@klodgta2003]

Why they call Personal Computer as a machine?

[@Fostravel]

"Super easy, barely an inconvenience" is what she should have said

[@Lonewolf-ei5yv]

He seems like a honest person.