Ultimately security is incompatible with backwards compatibility. All OSes in prod today need to be rebuilt from the ground up to be secure for the next century. That means throwing out a lot of code too. It's the cost to pay.
And likely, upsetting power users who want to run with all the safeties off.
It’s more about not being locked out of actual admin access to my own computer.
I expect to have at minimum a developer mode that allows me to enter my password to allow me to run whatever code I want without OS vendor blessing. Heck, add a small coding challenge to unlock it. Whatever.
Qubes OS solves this with hardware virtualization, which is really fast and secure.
[0] https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/how-to-organize-your-qubes/
When I clicked the link I was expecting something like a unikernel, eg https://roscidus.com/blog/blog/2016/01/01/a-unikernel-firewa...
[0] https://forum.qubes-os.org/t/devuan-or-other-non-systemd-tem...
https://forum.qubes-os.org/t/alpine-linux-template-non-offic...
[1] https://forum.qubes-os.org/t/openbsd-as-a-ubes-os-component/...
[2] https://forum.qubes-os.org/t/mirage-firewall-0-9-0-released/...
Does it then become not a full OS anymore? Mirage is what I linked to above.
Probably not. I mentioned it, because you mentioned systemd. And yes, I saw your Mirage link and showed how you can use it on Qubes.
The copy-pasting between VMs, mentioned in a sibling, requires four steps: (1) copying to the source VM's clipboard, (2) copying to the global clipboard, (3) copying to the destination VM's clipboard, and (4) pasting to the destination. The shortcuts become part of your muscle memory after some use, but until they are, that is just one way in which Qubes gets in the way of productivity.
There are a bunch of minor quirks, often specific to the hardware, which the user needs to learn about and find workarounds for. But if they do, Qubes is probably the most seamless way to work with tons of (well-isolated) VMs. For example, SecureDrop [0] is based on Qubes and does seem to work well for journalists for securely receiving and working with documents from anonymous sources.
> The shortcuts become part of your muscle memory after some use
So you agree that it's doable, just that it requires a bit more effort. It's definitely true.
> bunch of minor quirks, often specific to the hardware
Which is why there is a list of recommended hardware: https://forum.qubes-os.org/t/community-recommended-computers...
* music production software * discord * games * copy and pasting
[0] https://www.qubes-os.org/faq/#can-i-run-applications-like-ga...
[1] https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/8552
[2] https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/how-to-copy-and-paste-text/
[3] https://forum.qubes-os.org/t/question-quality-of-external-us...
Discord runs fine both in-browser and in application. Raptor Lake seems to have zero issue with video voice chat, whereas Comet Lake can drag a bit in large rooms without a GPU. Qubes OS makes it dirt easy to multiprofile from all around the world.
I don't really game like others do; eye candy doesn't draw me in, but solving interesting puzzles/challenges does.
Copy & paste is superior in Qubes, skill issue sorry not-sorry. GIT GUD!
How is it superior? Gamer insults aren't going to win folks over here. They're more likely to cause people to dismiss you.