With all the ads on the page it looks more like a scam then a Linux distro to me.
On mobile half the page size is filled with ads.
Ad, some content, donation links, some content, ad, some content...
Give these guys a break.
If I'm being honest, why the hell are you surfing internet without ubo?
I guess you said mobile so its most likely chrome so guess what? Firefox mobile has ubo and heck even Firefox focus has decent ad blocker. Even on iOS you have some content blockers so you really don't have any reason to use chrome on phones.
If they are making money regardless of my using ubo, that's good for them.
Sure, blame the user… This is why we have distros with ads like the OP. It’s our fault for seeing the propaganda you shove down our throats. Give me a break.
That reminds me of that "Windows 12" OS someone made by basically slapping a theme onto Linux lite and trying to sell it (Michael MJD made a YouTube video about it)
Are you old enough to remember Lindows? in like 2000/2001 it was a straight Windows ripoff, even used the old Win 9x/2k theme iirc, and had WINE built in, preconfigured and would intercept windows programs automatically and run them via that. It was blatant enough MS actually took them to court, ended up settling by buying the Lindows trademark from them for 20 million and getting a pinky promise they wouldn't be so confusing to consumers by trying to pass it off as a Windows equivalent. The product was eventually renamed Linspire and continued as a noob-friendly distro with less 'Hey, we're actually Windows!'.
After being a GNOME fanboy for decades, v3.0 and beyond left me disillusioned. I took to ElementaryOS and Mate, which was alright. Then I discovered KDE Plasma (thanks to Steam Deck) and absolutely fell in love with it. Well, well, well…how the turn tables[1].
Obligatory reminder that elementaryOS, "the easiest to use Linux distro" made as a knockoff of macOS, expects users to format and reinstall every year when a new version is released.
Some ads - fine. Selected and appropriate ads - fine.
Let me explain via my experience of THIS website on an iPhone.
A banner ad appears at the very top, covering most of the cookie notice. I would be surprised if this doesn’t violate EU law.
Upon collapsing it and agreeing to give my soul to the Cookie Monster, another ad takes up most of the screen. This ad, ON A SOFTWARE SITE, says “download now! Start downloading. Download your copy now [green arrow]”, with a small logo at the bottom left saying “learning lab”. ON A SOFTWARE SITE.
I scroll down half a page. Another banner ad appears.
Then I see a tiny amount of information in an infographic followed by a form to donate in US $ or EU $ (not € - they’re asking for euros in $…).
Below that, another Download Now ad, this time from The Books Master. It takes up half the screen.
Then a bit more content. Some testimonials too. Then… another half screen ad. Then the page footer and another half screen ad.
From my estimation, 50% of the page is ads, two of which are deliberately misleading (on behalf of the advertiser).
I have absolutely nothing against ads, but this takes the biscuit. I would absolutely not be surprised if this was done in prep for posting to hacker news, knowing the views it’s going to get - but Id also not be surprised if it’s just designed by someone who doesn’t understand the dreadful public image that this has.
I’ve never heard of the distro. It doesn’t look like it’s designed for the likes of me anyway (clue’s in my username). But I could never direct someone to a site like this.
Not illogical at all. It gives you information about the creators and is atypical for open source folks to commercialize in user-hostile ways. It's like a moral version of code smell.
If open source makes money thats great. But if your site contains more ads than content I don't spend my time finding out how you differ from other linux distros. Being "Free" is definitely not enough.
But I get it, that was no constructive criticism so I try to do better.
- the ad/content ratio is way to high
- too many unnecessary animations and the choice of colors make me think its bad design. And i transfer this opinion on the main product.
- its not clear at all to me why I should choose this distro over all the other free, easy to use linux distributions
- all of the above points drive me away from spending more time on the site to find out more about the project
This is highly subjective, but it seems like I'm not the only one struggling to find the information I want in a time I'm willing to spend.
2Gkashmiri|2 years ago
I guess you said mobile so its most likely chrome so guess what? Firefox mobile has ubo and heck even Firefox focus has decent ad blocker. Even on iOS you have some content blockers so you really don't have any reason to use chrome on phones.
If they are making money regardless of my using ubo, that's good for them.
gabereiser|2 years ago
unknown|2 years ago
[deleted]
seedie|2 years ago
But I'm not using one because I usually don't mind seeing ads as it's the main income for most sites.
In this case the ad to content ratio is just too much for my taste. Too many ads and not enough distinction between ads and content.
BTW I tried to add more constructive criticism in another reply https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36653500 as the parent is flagged dead by now it might not be easily visible
unknown|2 years ago
[deleted]
KSPAtlas|2 years ago
RuggedPineapple|2 years ago
montroser|2 years ago
In all seriousness, if you're actually looking for a Linux distro for a less-techincal audience, check out ElementaryOS.
sheepscreek|2 years ago
1. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=How%20the%20...
jll29|2 years ago
(I had installed it on one box a few years ago and liked it, but moved back to Ubuntu once I learned about its conflict in the team.)
ComputerGuru|2 years ago
I can't recommend it.
still_grokking|2 years ago
One person project…
Of course no security team…
uwagar|2 years ago
phendrenad2|2 years ago
seedie|2 years ago
There are so many ads and they sometimes blend with the content that it's hard to find information. That was my experience. YMMV
i-use-nixos-btw|2 years ago
Let me explain via my experience of THIS website on an iPhone.
A banner ad appears at the very top, covering most of the cookie notice. I would be surprised if this doesn’t violate EU law.
Upon collapsing it and agreeing to give my soul to the Cookie Monster, another ad takes up most of the screen. This ad, ON A SOFTWARE SITE, says “download now! Start downloading. Download your copy now [green arrow]”, with a small logo at the bottom left saying “learning lab”. ON A SOFTWARE SITE.
I scroll down half a page. Another banner ad appears.
Then I see a tiny amount of information in an infographic followed by a form to donate in US $ or EU $ (not € - they’re asking for euros in $…).
Below that, another Download Now ad, this time from The Books Master. It takes up half the screen.
Then a bit more content. Some testimonials too. Then… another half screen ad. Then the page footer and another half screen ad.
From my estimation, 50% of the page is ads, two of which are deliberately misleading (on behalf of the advertiser).
I have absolutely nothing against ads, but this takes the biscuit. I would absolutely not be surprised if this was done in prep for posting to hacker news, knowing the views it’s going to get - but Id also not be surprised if it’s just designed by someone who doesn’t understand the dreadful public image that this has.
I’ve never heard of the distro. It doesn’t look like it’s designed for the likes of me anyway (clue’s in my username). But I could never direct someone to a site like this.
Enginerrrd|2 years ago
The examples aren't very good analogies.
hordehamhill|2 years ago
alrlroipsp|2 years ago
[deleted]
seedie|2 years ago
But I get it, that was no constructive criticism so I try to do better.
- the ad/content ratio is way to high
- too many unnecessary animations and the choice of colors make me think its bad design. And i transfer this opinion on the main product.
- its not clear at all to me why I should choose this distro over all the other free, easy to use linux distributions
- all of the above points drive me away from spending more time on the site to find out more about the project
This is highly subjective, but it seems like I'm not the only one struggling to find the information I want in a time I'm willing to spend.
(Edited to fix formatting and typos)
Takennickname|2 years ago