It's interesting how Linux is mostly appealing to the older generations. I say that because when I first started getting into Linux myself (around 2003, I was 11), it mostly wasn't older generations but rather teenagers and young adults.

For me, back in the day when I was just a young one, I wanted to learn Linux because it was interesting and I liked tinkering with computers and code, mostly back then it was about building websites and running my own servers, which if you wanted to do that, there was no easy "click a button and let it do it for you" method, you had to actually sit down and learn it first, which in my opinion is what made it interesting and fun.

Anyone remember geocities? Good times, good times.

I still spend way too many hours sat in front of a desktop computer though, that hasn't changed much

However, it would appear now that the median age of a Linux user is 45 What happened?

However, it would appear now that the median age of a Linux user is 45 What happened?

Kinda wonder if it's less Linux and more this website attracts a slightly older audience (like the ones that use websites and forums, lol).

I will say I'm glad to see other people of similar maturity (if not age)!!

Maturity? Older, sure. Sure I'm 31, but not necessarily mature. I'm still the same old pirate drinking rum that I was in my teens

I wouldn't call myself mature. Old? Yup. Mature? Nope.

Although, in principle I agree that many younger generations are using Facebook, Tiktok etc all from their smartphones.

Meanwhile I'm not using those platforms and only pick up my smartphone when I get a phone call or text (Sometimes, I don't even pick it up for a text if it's via signal, I just launch signal on my desktop instead to read and reply to messages ). My GrapheneOS phone can last 2-3 days without a charge since the screen is so rarely turned on

But I can't help but wonder if sometimes smartphones and easy "do it for you" tech is doing more harm than good. I learned so much having to do things the hard way that so many new generations simply don't have to learn since they can just tap a button and it's done for them automatically.

What happens when all us old folk are gone? Who will retain that knowledge?

Kinda wonder if it's less Linux and more this website attracts a slightly older audience (like the ones that use websites and forums, lol).

I'm sure that that contributes. I'm going to hazard a guess that a lot of folks here have seen the rise and (figurative) fall of those formats, and there are surely plenty who lived through the attacks against open-source software in the late 1990s and early 2000s too, who may very well have had this stuff highlighted to them through that. Stuff like that dates the lot of us!

I will say I'm glad to see other people of similar maturity (if not age)!!

I've been pleasantly surprised by this. I'm used to being the oldest in my gaming circles by about a decade or so.

The younger crowd don't even believe you if you tell them that games used to come on cassette-tapes and you had to wait multiple minutes just to load the title-screen - that is, if they know what a cassette-tape is at all!

My GrapheneOS phone can last 2-3 days without a charge since the screen is so rarely turned on

Mine's an Android phone, but it does photography more often than phone-calls, and it goes for about nine or ten days on a charge!

But I can't help but wonder if sometimes smartphones and easy "do it for you" tech is doing more harm than good. I learned so much having to do things the hard way that so many new generations simply don't have to learn since they can just tap a button and it's done for them automatically.

I was shown an article about that recently - you might find it interesting, too: FILE NOT FOUND - A generation that grew up with Google is forcing professors to rethink their lesson plans

What happens when all us old folk are gone? Who will retain that knowledge?

At that point it comes down to what we leave behind, I guess.

Last edited by Pengling on 8 August 2022 at 11:20 pm UTC

Word of warning: Alcohol consumed tonight.

I've been pleasantly surprised by this. I'm used to being the oldest in my gaming circles by about a decade or so.

The younger crowd don't even believe you if you tell them that games used to come on cassette-tapes and you had to wait multiple minutes just to load the title-screen - that is, if they know what a cassette-tape is at all!

I quite vividly remember VCR, Cassette Tapes and CRT. I guess that makes me old.

I still own a large number of cassettes and VCR's from when I was younger.

I also remember you used to bit able to visit camden market and meet that little asian guy and get any film you wanted, or get your PS1 chipped etc.

The first computer I built was entirely from parts purchased from londons camden market with my great uncle who sadly passed away since at the young age of 87, he was a lot like me, and taught me a lot about computers - I swear he was a genius, ex royal navy, he played instruments, did computers, even taught me how to make home-made batteries at the age of 8 and various things with electronics. Even if he was giving me rum by the age of 13 telling me it would make me a man and put hair on my chest haha It was more than my real father ever did who barely managed to bother to see me once a month, in some cases even less so.

Sadly such places don't exist any more

Recently, I acquired a classic VGA CRT monitor. Just for kicks. No word of a lie I had some kid ask me while I was carrying it across the road "Why does this monitor have a big box on the back?"

Mine's an Android phone, but it does photography more often than phone-calls, and it goes for about nine or ten days on a charge!

Haha, yeah. People seem to misunderstand that the more you use a phone, the quicker that battery will drain.

As for photography, I recently debated buying a proper "photography" camera - for my world travels. It's funny I balked at the price (£600) - yet I'll happily dump £400 into a set of sennheiser wireless headphones.

Camera, technically has more tech. But some reason I won't spend that money on it. Strange how that works.

I was shown an article about that recently - you might find it interesting, too: FILE NOT FOUND - A generation that grew up with Google is forcing professors to rethink their lesson plans

I'll read it tomorrow

At that point it comes down to what we leave behind, I guess.

No children, so I have no one to pass my knowledge to.

Although, it's also a good thing that I don't teach them to commit digital piracy or drink

But generally, if someone asks me a tech question I do my best to answer to my knowledge with full details.

Last edited by BlackBloodRum on 9 August 2022 at 9:14 am UTC

I was shown an article about that recently - you might find it interesting, too: FILE NOT FOUND - A generation that grew up with Google is forcing professors to rethink their lesson plans

Whaaaat?! I know many computer illiterate people but I wouldn't even think that someone would be unable to understand directory structure.

I was shown an article about that recently - you might find it interesting, too: FILE NOT FOUND - A generation that grew up with Google is forcing professors to rethink their lesson plans

Whaaaat?! I know many computer illiterate people but I wouldn't even think that someone would be unable to understand directory structure.

Yes. I was amazed too. I don't think I agree with the conclusions though. Accept that these things change? So no one of the new generation will know how computers work on the inside?

Since I was always a gamer, the question for me would be When rather than How.

I've known about Linux a bit before Ubuntu came out, tried installing Slackware and failed, had no idea how to install it at that time. When Ubuntu came out I've installed it a few times, I remember the first game I managed to play on it was Doom 3.

Eventually I went back to Windows and then making the complete switch to Linux in 2014 which was during the Humble Bundle hey days and native games.

Hard to believe 8 years have passed already since then.

I first tried Linux in 2001, on an old Pentium-120 I'd bought on eBay. I was immediately fascinated and wished I could use it as a daily driver. Over the years I regularly had Linux on a secondary PC/notebook and once I found out about Proton I soon decided to ditch Windows. First, because I really like the idea of free software and second because I far prefer the customizabilty of Linux desktops.

I also remember you used to bit able to visit camden market and meet that little asian guy and get any film you wanted, or get your PS1 chipped etc.

This reminds me of the guy at the A3 car boot sale on Sundays who always had copies (ahem) of the latest games. This is what got me into the original Doom from iD Software!

Some Linux gamer talked down to me on Steam forums and said I "did not have the faculty" to use Linux and dismissed me.

Basically someone dared me, and I was like

"hold my beer"

;)

I was a Linux user before I became a Linux Gamer. Back when the only games for it were things like Xbill and solitaire!

Some Linux gamer talked down to me on Steam forums and said I "did not have the faculty" to use Linux and dismissed me.

Basically someone dared me, and I was like

"hold my beer"

;)

Yeah. That was me. I thought you needed a push...

Came from C64, the DOS/Win3.11 and later Win95 on a Packard Bell 486SX 25 Mhz. My first PC that I owned myself was an Escom Pentiun 60 with Windows 95. After that I got an IBM Aptiva Pentium 200 MMX. I believe that one also ran Win95 but I upgraded to 98 at that time. After that I ran AMD systems. First a Duron and after that an Athlon. Those were Win 2000 machines.

And I believe there is where my interest in Linux started. I have used Mandrake Linux KDE for the longest time but also used Suse but switched to Fedora when it released. Still using it today.

It was a hobby to compile KDE and installing it on a bare system. Also did a gentoo install for fun. But most of the time I was busy getting games to run through WINE. Spent hours on winehq analyzing other people's logs and adding mine.

Dual booted with windows, first 7, then 10, for a while to test things out before trying them under Linux.

Then came Proton along and I found that I just wasn't booting into Windows anymore. So I decided to reclaim the space.

I bought back many of my old computers, as well as others I could never own, because they are retro now. At this time I have three C64s, an Amiga500, Sgi Indy, Dell XPS 720, PS3 slim, Nintendo WII, and an IBM Aptiva AMDK6-2. The last one was in an unused state and I couldn't pass it up.

So technically I still run windows in a way, just not on my main machines.

Ha, sounds similar to my timeline of computers, though I started with the Atari 800XL + 1050 Floppy drive, then inherited a Heath Zenith with a green monochrome screen... but then upgraded to an Atari Mega STe, which I had for quite a few years, until we got a Pentium 75 (which I soon after overclocked to 100mhz) Packard Bell that was a piece of crap... but I never suffered through the 8086-486 era until recently I decided I wanted to play with them...

Really started using Linux a while before Windows 98 was released. First distribution I really liked was Debian 1.3, and I kind of stuck with it since. Well, Debian anyhow, not 1.3 :P

Some Linux gamer talked down to me on Steam forums and said I "did not have the faculty" to use Linux and dismissed me.

Basically someone dared me, and I was like

"hold my beer"

;)

Yeah. That was me. I thought you needed a push...

What always cracks me up on the Steam Forums is the people who have absolutely zero interest in whether or not a game gets a native port, yet always goes into every 'please release a native port for Linux/macOS' thread and insists that the developers should only concentrate on servicing them and Windows... as if they get physically ill at the thought that people who use other operating systems should be able to enjoy a game...

Some Linux gamer talked down to me on Steam forums and said I "did not have the faculty" to use Linux and dismissed me.

Basically someone dared me, and I was like

"hold my beer"

;)

Yeah. That was me. I thought you needed a push...

What always cracks me up on the Steam Forums is the people who have absolutely zero interest in whether or not a game gets a native port, yet always goes into every 'please release a native port for Linux/macOS' thread and insists that the developers should only concentrate on servicing them and Windows... as if they get physically ill at the thought that people who use other operating systems should be able to enjoy a game...

Yeah. Uhm. Above post was a joke BTW.

Anyways, those users probably don't realize that we wouldn't be where we are now weren't it for Proton.

Some Linux gamer talked down to me on Steam forums and said I "did not have the faculty" to use Linux and dismissed me.

Basically someone dared me, and I was like

"hold my beer"

;)

Yeah. That was me. I thought you needed a push...

What always cracks me up on the Steam Forums is the people who have absolutely zero interest in whether or not a game gets a native port, yet always goes into every 'please release a native port for Linux/macOS' thread and insists that the developers should only concentrate on servicing them and Windows... as if they get physically ill at the thought that people who use other operating systems should be able to enjoy a game...

Yeah. Uhm. Above post was a joke BTW.

Anyways, those users probably don't realize that we wouldn't be where we are now weren't it for Proton.

Oh, I took it as such :P

And Proton wouldn't be where it was if it were not for the decades of development on Wine. I remember when Wine could barely run notepad. It has come along a LONG way. But native and supported would still be a more favored choice for most than a Proton wrapped and supported by Valve.

But I can't help but wonder if sometimes smartphones and easy "do it for you" tech is doing more harm than good. I learned so much having to do things the hard way that so many new generations simply don't have to learn since they can just tap a button and it's done for them automatically.

What happens when all us old folk are gone? Who will retain that knowledge?

Every generation thinks that of the following generations. It's Progress, in a way. It's natural to want a better life for our children, but to also be annoyed(?) by the better quality of life we've given them. And yes, with Great changes in our technology and society, we have to adapt how we teach and learn and new things come and old things phase out.

That doesn't mean the challenges aren't there or aren't any less difficult. Just new. After all, it would say much about our generation if we couldn't conquer our own and pushed it down to our kids, wouldn't it?

Maturity? Older, sure. Sure I'm 31, but not necessarily mature. I'm still the same old pirate drinking rum that I was in my teens

I wouldn't call myself mature. Old? Yup. Mature? Nope.

Although, in principle I agree that many younger generations are using Facebook, Tiktok etc all from their smartphones.

Meanwhile I'm not using those platforms and only pick up my smartphone when I get a phone call or text (Sometimes, I don't even pick it up for a text if it's via signal, I just launch signal on my desktop instead to read and reply to messages ). My GrapheneOS phone can last 2-3 days without a charge since the screen is so rarely turned on

What happens when all us old folk are gone? Who will retain that knowledge?

Im in almost the same boat as you..... I am in my 40's and I am still as mature as I was in my teens..... I never stopped being the class clown as you can tell from my stupid one liners I post in the news articles...

My old dumb phone never leaves the house...... When I leave the house I want to be disconnected from the Internet and the people who are not physically around me.... And being harder to track is an added bonus...... I spend enough time on the internet sitting in front of either my Desktop PC doing my own thing or the companies laptop working from home (the laptop still uses Windows.... But its not my laptop so I cant touch it).....

I have never used Facebook or Twitter or Instragram or any of that social media crap..... 1. because I dont have any friends so I never got peer pressured into it (which I think is how it became so popular) and 2. My life is so boring even Randy Newman couldnt be bothered to sing a song about it so why would I want to bore anyone else with it???....... The added bonus is that my job is always safe since there are no old tweets or facebooks posts to drag up from years ago to get me cancelled......

As for passing on my knoweledge.... Well theres not much to pass on..... And even if there was there is no one to really pass it on to.... I have no kids and never want any...... And because of that ive been single for nearly 20 years......

You cant teach an old dog new tricks....... But you can them new stupid one liners and a new operating system...... I am living proof of that

Maturity? Older, sure. Sure I'm 31, but not necessarily mature. I'm still the same old pirate drinking rum that I was in my teens

I wouldn't call myself mature. Old? Yup. Mature? Nope.

Although, in principle I agree that many younger generations are using Facebook, Tiktok etc all from their smartphones.

Meanwhile I'm not using those platforms and only pick up my smartphone when I get a phone call or text (Sometimes, I don't even pick it up for a text if it's via signal, I just launch signal on my desktop instead to read and reply to messages ). My GrapheneOS phone can last 2-3 days without a charge since the screen is so rarely turned on

What happens when all us old folk are gone? Who will retain that knowledge?

Im in almost the same boat as you..... I am in my 40's and I am still as mature as I was in my teens..... I never stopped being the class clown as you can tell from my stupid one liners I post in the news articles...

My old dumb phone never leaves the house...... When I leave the house I want to be disconnected from the Internet and the people who are not physically around me.... And being harder to track is an added bonus...... I spend enough time on the internet sitting in front of either my Desktop PC doing my own thing or the companies laptop working from home (the laptop still uses Windows.... But its not my laptop so I cant touch it).....

I have never used Facebook or Twitter or Instragram or any of that social media crap..... 1. because I dont have any friends so I never got peer pressured into it (which I think is how it became so popular) and 2. My life is so boring even Randy Newman couldnt be bothered to sing a song about it so why would I want to bore anyone else with it???....... The added bonus is that my job is always safe since there are no old tweets or facebooks posts to drag up from years ago to get me cancelled......

As for passing on my knoweledge.... Well theres not much to pass on..... And even if there was there is no one to really pass it on to.... I have no kids and never want any...... And because of that ive been single for nearly 20 years......

You cant teach an old dog new tricks....... But you can them new stupid one liners and a new operating system...... I am living proof of that

Ha, trying to mess with himem.sys configuration on a DOS machine to squeeze a few more KB in the 640 space is entertaining to me, but younger people certainly just want their game or whatever to work...

I am pretty much in the same boat you are, but don't mind teaching others, and actually do have friends. 😜