this post was submitted on 01 Jan 2024
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https://mullvad.net/en/help/install-mullvad-app-linux

Trying to install VPN and these are the instructions Mullvad is giving me. This is ridiculous. There must be a more simple way. I know how to follow the instructions but I have no idea what I'm doing here. Can't I just download a file and install it? I'm on Ubuntu.

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[–] TheAnnoyingFruit@lemm.ee 4 points 10 months ago (3 children)

I think if you read through this you have pretty much everything you asked about. As for understanding what these sorts of commands do in the future I think ChatGPT is actually really useful for stuff like this with good documentation. Just ask what the commands do and it is usually quite helpful. Someone already said it but you have to want to learn this. If you want something easy to use and you don’t have to learn buy a Mac, you want great software compatibility buy a windows pc. If you want something that is more private and a community effort use Linux but unless you are using steam os on a steam deck it is not even close to being as user friendly as the others. I hope this changes but the current goals and mindsets of people in this community will prevent Linux from becoming easy to use and in the case of steam os you just need lots of money to make it an easy experience. There are a million other reasons that Linux’s current state is this way but this is the gist.

[–] ReversalHatchery@beehaw.org 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If you want something easy to use and you don’t have to learn buy a Mac, you want great software compatibility buy a windows pc.

That is very bad advice, as that may well not be a solution. There are people who want to use their computers without the ads, data mining and forced program defaults windows is doing.

That's true that if people switch OS, they'll need to learn a lot of new things. But don't forget that not only sysadmins and adventurous people use Linux.

That being said, there are distros that give you a decent GUI frontend to the package manager, for example openSUSE

[–] TheAnnoyingFruit@lemm.ee 1 points 10 months ago

Well what you said is true but this depends on the person you are recommending it. I didn’t know the op and generally can’t determine how interested they are in computers. I have friends who are just so use to their current understanding of using a computer with windows they wouldn’t be willing to learn anything else at all. They didn’t find yast easy to use because yes you have a gui for installing things but they don’t know all the things they need to install and it isn’t the most simplistic gui. Again you aren’t wrong it’s just that I’m hesitant to recommend people to use it unless they want the benefits of using Linux and are willing to learn.

[–] library_napper@monyet.cc 2 points 10 months ago (2 children)

ChatGPT is garbage in garbage out. It'll probably tell you to curl a file off the internet and pipe it to bash as root.

[–] TheAnnoyingFruit@lemm.ee 2 points 10 months ago

I’m just suggesting he ask ChatGPT to explain what commands he copied off the internet do. I don’t suggest asking it for commands

[–] deathbird@mander.xyz 2 points 10 months ago

To translate the second sentence for OP: it'll probably tell you to run a command to download a sus file and immediately run it as admin.

[–] Critical_Insight@feddit.uk 2 points 10 months ago

I made this thread because I try to learn/understand

I have a Macbook, it's what I use the most. I used to have Win7 on my gaming rig but Steam dropped their support for it so my options was either to go with a newer Windows or try Linux. As all of the games I play seemed to work on Linux with just minor tweaks I thought I'd give it a try. So far I'm really happy with how to OS works once it's set up but it's the setting up part that's really confusing to me.