Spotify. How can I install the app?

[ianp5a]

Limiting oneself to a GUI only approach is to put MS Windows-like constraints on a exponentially more powerful (from a user's perspective) operating system. Through the GUI, you get eye-candy and ease of use, but you're limited to a developers idea of how something can be done or should be done and what can be done. With just a little command line knowledge and maybe some bash scripting, you can literally take total control of your system and make it do anything you want.

Its important to make the power of Linux, whatever that is, available to all users. A GUI is not about 'graphics'. It's about including information about what options are available and automatically displaying the information that you'd need in a second or third command line command. With a GUI, people are very productive, and can do dynamic things where a text command has no chance. Many of us are not here to play at computers. We're here to get their tasks done.

[mr_raider]

Remember, I specifically asked for an easy, non techie and family friendly solution.

create a an admin user account for yourself on all your family members' Linux PC. Then you can use ssh to login to any one of them and do any maintenance tasks, add or remove remove programs, etc... That's what I do. My family can remain blissful idiots whilst I administer their PCs and keep them up to date from my laptop. I installed Juice SSh on my phone so I can update my mom's PC whenever I visit her, from my android phone.

[jglen490]

The GUI and the command line each provide a useful way to interact with Linux. Sometimes one provides a better way to interact with your request than the other. When it's time to process a periodic software update, I'll use the command line to enter:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

which provides a really great way to see the results and capture errors or notices. If I want to install something new, but don't know the exact name, I'll use GUI apps Muon or Synaptic to help me find it and then install from there. So it never has to be "one or the other". I keep a list of useful commands in Leafpad or Kate so I can copy and paste to the command line - when memory fails.

It's all good and gets us where we want to be.

[oshunluvr]

Assuming I'm new to the command line, or I'm afraid to try something new would actually be wrong. I'm only using Linux as you can try out loads of different desktop environments. I look at things from an ergonomics point of view. To decide if the command line is appropriate for someone's task, you need to know the task and their experience before stating that one UI is better than another. Are they using mouse or keyboard? Makes a difference. But it's rarely a case of a simple copy paste for many. It is usually preceded with frustration, web searching, forum posting, and then waiting for an answer before the command line can be used.

Which is why it is always better to get it fixed.

Also true and very on-point. I always recommend to "complain" to the proper source (developers) or post proper bug reports when someone encounters parts of the software that don't work correctly. Generally, posting those things here gets little real traction.

To be totally fair - old folks like myself and Snowhog and a few others on here grew up in the DOS3.1 days. We tend to default to what we know well - that a simple one-liner fixes almost anything. Frankly, when advising someone else to do something in a forum, I find a copy-n-paste command line response to be a much easier way to reply than having to instruct someone to wade through a litany of menu selections with often mandatory screen-shots.

I do actually try to look for the "GUI" way to do things when I have time - just to compare realities. When appropriate, I even take the time to write things like Dolphin service menus to enable command line functionality in the GUI. Then I post about that here to help others who aren't as CLI savvy as some. All that aside: the real power of Linux is only exposed when you open and learn to use the terminal, geeky or not. Limiting oneself to a GUI only approach is to put MS Windows-like constraints on a exponentially more powerful (from a user's perspective) operating system. Through the GUI, you get eye-candy and ease of use, but you're limited to a developers idea of how something can be done or should be done and what can be done. With just a little command line knowledge and maybe some bash scripting, you can literally take total control of your system and make it do anything you want.

[ianp5a]

True, however sometimes the best solution is not specifically what someone asks for. Answering outside the scope of the perimeters established by the original post is not uncommon and may be at least as common of a form of response. Let's also remember this isn't a paid service so no one should retort in a "salty" fashion to anyone replying without expecting a little "salt" in return. This is a hobbyist forum, not a professional domain - although a couple KDE developers do regularly visit here.

Discover is useless to most of us, but I suppose it's going through growing pains. Muon was broken for quite a while as well but is somewhat better. I submit the initial reply to the first post is, in fact, the best solution for someone looking to immediately solve their problem and that was the intent of the reply. What would have been better initial reply: "Just use Muon", "Install synaptic", "Read the ___ing manual" ? I don't think those would have been better. I suppose the "correct" answer would have been "Use Muon. It's is in your menu." Technically correct, but not very helpful. One might assume that since the "correct" answer seems obvious the OP might be better served with a somewhat less-obvious answer.

Well put and accurate for the most part.

Right. A shame. I'm not familiar with the history of Discover.

The option to use the command line when other choices are less-user friendly or unavailable is part of what make Linux better than other operating systems (IMO of course). Just because it can be done with a GUI does not make it user friendly. Try and use Discover for example. What you see as geeky and off-putting others see as life-saving. Honestly, is opening a terminal (use the GUI - just click on "Konsole" in the same part of kmenu that Muon is) and copying a line and pasting it there too difficult for anyone? As Snowhog points out, I think not. Besides, you came to a user forum not a developer forum. Asking a poster to "walk" is not out-of-bounds when they're asking for our time to provide a solution. The alternative might just be silence.

Sure, some want a quick fix. Just for themselves.

I prefer to find out the more appropriate solution, to share with others in a similar situation. Or even request it, so that others have an easier time. Which I did in this case.

Assuming I'm new to the command line, or I'm afraid to try something new would actually be wrong. I'm only using Linux as you can try out loads of different desktop environments. I look at things from an ergonomics point of view. To decide if the command line is appropriate for someone's task, you need to know the task and their experience before stating that one UI is better than another. Are they using mouse or keyboard? Makes a difference. But it's rarely a case of a simple copy paste for many. It is usually preceded with frustration, web searching, forum posting, and then waiting for an answer before the command line can be used.

Which is why it is always better to get it fixed.

[oshunluvr]

Lets not be salty, man just wanted a gui way of installing an app. It's not his fault that Discover sucks.

True, however sometimes the best solution is not specifically what someone asks for. Answering outside the scope of the perimeters established by the original post is not uncommon and may be at least as common of a form of response. Let's also remember this isn't a paid service so no one should retort in a "salty" fashion to anyone replying without expecting a little "salt" in return. This is a hobbyist forum, not a professional domain - although a couple KDE developers do regularly visit here.

Discover is useless to most of us, but I suppose it's going through growing pains. Muon was broken for quite a while as well but is somewhat better. I submit the initial reply to the first post is, in fact, the best solution for someone looking to immediately solve their problem and that was the intent of the reply. What would have been better initial reply: "Just use Muon", "Install synaptic", "Read the ___ing manual" ? I don't think those would have been better. I suppose the "correct" answer would have been "Use Muon. It's is in your menu." Technically correct, but not very helpful. One might assume that since the "correct" answer seems obvious the OP might be better served with a somewhat less-obvious answer.

The command line is an ergonomically poor UI. Where long time users frequently forget the actual knowledge they have built up over the years. Non IT people don't have any of this knowledge, and many spend most of the time using the mouse and not even the keyboard. So thrusting gobbledegook at them is quite off-putting. And many move away quickly to something more appropriate. And having to memorise a different way of working is also detrimental to your productivity.

It's also the case that some people learned their OS before many of the wonderful desktop environments matured. And as such, are unfamiliar with many of the the great usability features, that community volunteers have worked so hard to create. Just to help such non IT people. So it's a tragic shame when people are scared off of using Linux purely because some enthusiasts are not familiar with all the goodies already in place.

Remember, I specifically asked for an easy, non techie and family friendly solution.

Well put and accurate for the most part.

The option to use the command line when other choices are less-user friendly or unavailable is part of what make Linux better than other operating systems (IMO of course). Just because it can be done with a GUI does not make it user friendly. Try and use Discover for example. What you see as geeky and off-putting others see as life-saving. Honestly, is opening a terminal (use the GUI - just click on "Konsole" in the same part of kmenu that Muon is) and copying a line and pasting it there too difficult for anyone? As Snowhog points out, I think not. Besides, you came to a user forum not a developer forum. Asking a poster to "walk" is not out-of-bounds when they're asking for our time to provide a solution. The alternative might just be silence.

[ianp5a]

@ianp5a

We (collectively) aren’t trying to be flippant here, so apologies extended if you see us being so.

One doesn’t have to be an “IT” person to use the Command Line (konsole here in Kubuntu), and using the Command Line shouldn’t be something to fear (re: be uncomfortable with). And as to children; as a rule, they learn new things faster than adults do.

The command line is an ergonomically poor UI. Where long time users frequently forget the actual knowledge they have built up over the years. Non IT people don't have any of this knowledge, and many spend most of the time using the mouse and not even the keyboard. So thrusting gobbledegook at them is quite off-putting. And many move away quickly to something more appropriate. And having to memorise a different way of working is also detrimental to your productivity.

It's also the case that some people learned their OS before many of the wonderful desktop environments matured. And as such, are unfamiliar with many of the the great usability features, that community volunteers have worked so hard to create. Just to help such non IT people. So it's a tragic shame when people are scared off of using Linux purely because some enthusiasts are not familiar with all the goodies already in place.

Remember, I specifically asked for an easy, non techie and family friendly solution.

[Bings]

Lets not be salty, man just wanted a gui way of installing an app. It's not his fault that Discover sucks.

[Snowhog]

@ianp5a

We (collectively) aren’t trying to be flippant here, so apologies extended if you see us being so.

One doesn’t have to be an “IT” person to use the Command Line (konsole here in Kubuntu), and using the Command Line shouldn’t be something to fear (re: be uncomfortable with). And as to children; as a rule, they learn new things faster than adults do.

[oshunluvr]

Thanks. It was in Muon and now it works.
No I'm not getting my kids to mess with the unfamiliar command line.Which always start off as "it's easy, just paste it in". But when that doesn't work, you have to paste the next command in and report back what it says. And so it goes on. If you don't know all the terminology the command line is an alien world. Don't suggested it to non IT people when there are easier and safer ways for kids to do things.
It was clearly worth persevering past nerdy suggestions. which is not only good for me, but for any other users who will find the answer here. And hopefully in the future, in Discover, as I have also reported a request. So they wont have to change over to Solus or Ubuntu MATE , where Spotify is just a click away.

Yes, heaven forbid one might have to learn or try something new or different.

[oshunluvr]

Sometimes you have to get up from the couch and turn on/off/change channels on your TV manually.

lol ...

[SpecialEd]

Frankly the console method IS easier and quicker than the Muon method, IT person or not. You didn't even have to type it, just copy and paste.

[ianp5a]

Thanks. It was in Muon and now it works.
No I'm not getting my kids to mess with the unfamiliar command line.Which always start off as "it's easy, just paste it in". But when that doesn't work, you have to paste the next command in and report back what it says. And so it goes on. If you don't know all the terminology the command line is an alien world. Don't suggested it to non IT people when there are easier and safer ways for kids to do things.
It was clearly worth persevering past nerdy suggestions. which is not only good for me, but for any other users who will find the answer here. And hopefully in the future, in Discover, as I have also reported a request. So they wont have to change over to Solus or Ubuntu MATE , where Spotify is just a click away.

[Bings]

You can install it from an alternative package manager like "muon". That said, what snowhog suggested was easy, you just need to open the "konsole" program, copy paste that line of text, press enter and put in your password.

[ianp5a]

Sometimes you have to get up from the couch and turn on/off/change channels on your TV manually.

Ok. Following your analogy, I'm asking about a replacement TV remote control. I'm not asking how to walk.

I'm hoping to find somebody who knows the solution.