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Comment by sourcegrift | Hacker News Reader

I've been using a two character password since the last 10 years of my 23 year linux usage; I log in to console and manually start X. Guess the shame will catch up now.

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Love "manually start X", because I've been considering just doing that. In some weird sense it seems easier.

You can choose the middle ground and start X in whatever file is executed by your shell at login, after checking that X is not already running and that the login has not been done remotely through SSH. Instead of using "startx" (which on a properly configured system would also start whatever desktop environment you use), you can use the start program of your desktop environment, for instance I use XFCE, whose starting program is "startxfce4".

This eliminates the need to do the start manually when you login, but like after a manual start you can stop the GUI session, falling back into a console window, and then you can restart the GUI if needed.

I prefer this variant and I find it simpler than having any of the programs used for a GUI login, which have no advantage over the traditional login.

Funny. But I have to say the shaming of users who have different opinions or want to make different choices (the whole point of free software) is one of the saddest development in the free software world, such as the push for BSD replacements for GPL components, the entanglement of software components in general, or breaking of compatibility, etc. No matter whether you stand, that it is becoming harder to choose components in your system to your liking should give everybody pause. And if your argument involves the term "Boomer" because you prefer the new choice, you miss the point. Android should be a clear warning that we can loose freedoms again very quickly (if recent US politics is not already a warning enough).

Sadly everyone wants convenience. Nobody hates MS because they are bad, they hate them because they are inconvenient. People are missing the fact that Google is exactly where MS was in the 90s and is most definitely as bad if not worse. I hate android sadly linux isn't looking too good rigt now on mobile.

Devs are are missing the point with linux on phone. Get the point part working first lol so that people have some incentive to carry the damned thing. Apps come later

Mobile is a problem. I had a beautifully Linux phone once, the Nokia N9. It is incredibly sad knowing how the world could look.

* phone part

The phone part has been working for decades now; I know cause I've been relying on it for nearly 20 years now on various devices.

Is there a fully usable Linux phone nowadays?

Over the decades I have used Neo Freerunner, Nokia N900 and now Librem 5. All of them were fully usable, though I'll admit the first one required quite some patience (similarly to the PinePhone these days I'd say).

Thanks! I will consider the Librem 5 for my next phone.

You could reproduce your UX by switching to a 0-length password.

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