In this episode of the Linux Cast, the hosts engage in a lively discussion covering two main topics: the pervasive frustration with online subscription models and a deep dive into the philosophy and practicality of Suckless software. The conversation begins with a "mini topic" where the hosts share personal grievances about the difficulty of canceling subscriptions and newsletters, criticizing deceptive web design, escalating prices of services like Netflix and Adobe, and the "retention nightmares" of customer service. The main segment focuses on Suckless software, where the hosts debate its merits. They praise its minimalism, efficiency, lack of bloat, and the rewarding experience of creating a perfectly tailored system by patching the source code, highlighting it as an excellent way to learn C. Conversely, they criticize the software for its poor out-of-the-box usability, the necessity of patching for what they consider basic functionality (like moving windows in DWM), the frustrating and inconsistent nature of the official patch website, and the minimalist-to-a-fault documentation. The episode concludes with their "Nuggies of the Week," recommending various applications and tips.
The Linux Cast on Suckless Software and Subscription Nightmares
0:02:04 The Frustration of Subscriptions: The hosts discuss the difficulty of unsubscribing from newsletters and services, calling it the "real dark web." They note that unsubscribe links often don't work or are intentionally designed to be confusing.
0:04:41 The Pervasiveness of Subscriptions: The discussion expands to critique the subscription model in general, from rising streaming service prices (e.g., Netflix) to the extreme difficulty and cost of canceling services like Adobe Creative Cloud and even paid mods for video games.
0:13:51 Favorite Suckless Software: The hosts share their preferred Suckless tools, with DWM (Dynamic Window Manager) being a top choice. Dmenu and SL status are also praised for their utility and scriptability.
0:19:24 The Pros and Cons of the Suckless Philosophy: The hosts debate whether the Suckless approach—minimalism achieved by patching source code—is beneficial or lazy. The main pro is creating a highly efficient, bloat-free system tailored exactly to the user's needs.
0:22:51 A Critique of Default Usability: A major con discussed is the poor usability of Suckless software out of the box. DWM is criticized for lacking a fundamental feature like moving windows within the stack by default, forcing users to patch it immediately for basic functionality.
0:28:13 Is ST (Simple Terminal) Usable Unpatched?: The debate extends to the ST terminal, which is also considered unusable without patches due to lacking features like scrollback and proper resizing, requiring significant effort to match the functionality of other modern terminals.
0:32:47 The Frustrating Patching Process: While the hosts find patching fun and relaxing, they criticize the Suckless website for its poor organization, making it difficult to find the correct and most recent patches for different software versions.
0:48:52 The "Code is Documentation" Argument: The hosts critique the Suckless community's approach to documentation. They argue that while code can be documentation, using single-letter variable names and minimal comments makes the source code difficult to understand for those not already deeply familiar with it.
0:54:36 Suckless as a Learning Tool: Despite the frustrations, the hosts agree that working with Suckless software, particularly DWM, is an excellent way to get hands-on experience and become more familiar with the C programming language.
1:00:54 Nuggie of the Week - Reaper: Nate recommends Reaper, a powerful and affordable Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) available for Linux, Windows, and macOS.
1:02:46 Nuggie of the Week - Skulls: Tyler recommends Skulls, a pre-packaged version of Coreboot that simplifies the process of flashing a free and open-source BIOS onto supported hardware like ThinkPads.
1:06:08 Nuggie of the Week - Rclone: Drew recommends Rclone, a command-line tool for synchronizing files and directories with various cloud storage services, including Google Drive and S3 object storage.
1:06:50 Nuggie of the Week - Feni: Matt recommends Feni, a multi-column web client for Mastodon and other Fediverse platforms, and also advises listeners to always have a spare M.2 drive on hand.