DonationCoder.com forum
 
Read-only archive. This is a static copy of the DonationCoder.com forum. Reading and searching work as before; logging in, posting and private messages do not.
Archive of 2026-10-21 · About this archive · Main site

Author Topic: Etcher on Linux?  (Read 6,647 times)

Davidmiler

  • Participant
  • Joined in 2020
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Etcher on Linux?
« on: November 25, 2020, 02:57 PM »
How do I install and use Etcher on Linux for making a live Linux USB?

40hz

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2007
  • **
  • Posts: 11,861
Re: Etcher on Linux?
« Reply #1 on: December 03, 2020, 12:23 PM »
Full information, download links, and instructions can be found here:

https://etcher.download/

Shades

  • Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • **
  • Posts: 2,954
Re: Etcher on Linux?
« Reply #2 on: December 03, 2020, 01:03 PM »
How do I install and use Etcher on Linux for making a live Linux USB?

Was Linux not intended to be a clean operating system, unburdened by the bloat that comes with Windows applications?
So why would you even consider Etcher? It is already an abomination on Windows, it should be prohibited on every other operating system...  ;)
The easy path is usually downhill...

4wd

  • Pedantic Old Bastard
  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • **
  • Posts: 5,652
    • Coding Snacks
Re: Etcher on Linux?
« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2020, 02:45 PM »
How do I install and use Etcher on Linux for making a live Linux USB?

I would have thought that most directions on making a live Linux USB drive have instructions for using dd, at least most of the ones I've seen have.

Otherwise there's the always useful unetbootin.
"I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail." - Muriel Strode, 1903

40hz

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2007
  • **
  • Posts: 11,861
Re: Etcher on Linux?
« Reply #4 on: December 04, 2020, 03:55 AM »

I would have thought that most directions on making a live Linux USB drive have instructions for using dd, at least most of the ones I've seen have.


Absolutely.  :Thmbsup:

dd would be my preferred way to do it.

Although unetbootin as you mentioned is also a good alternative. Only problem I’ve run into with it in the past was that it could behave funny at times depending on the distro. But that’s probably more a thing in the past than now.
« Last Edit: December 04, 2020, 04:04 AM by 40hz »

40hz

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2007
  • **
  • Posts: 11,861
Re: Etcher on Linux?
« Reply #5 on: December 04, 2020, 03:57 AM »
Was Linux not intended to be a clean operating system, unburdened by the bloat that comes with Windows applications?
So why would you even consider Etcher? It is already an abomination on Windows, it should be prohibited on every other operating system...  ;)

New one for me. Why is that?

Shades

  • Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • **
  • Posts: 2,954
Re: Etcher on Linux?
« Reply #6 on: December 04, 2020, 04:52 AM »
120 MByte and not even capable of doing what a similar 1 MByte tool can do. Etcher is based on Electron. A browser(engine) isn't the most optimal software for many tasks (as are web-interfaces, but that is another rant), but Electron does just that. Haven't verified it, but I also read somewhere that Electron does collect a lot of telemetry data from systems it runs on.

Generic coding and using a sort of VM to run that code on every available platform. That is the Java concept. And while that has been a pretty successful concept, especially in the workplace, it didn't catch on with consumers over the years. And now that Oracle owns Java, I don't expect a bright future anymore. But Electron seems hell bent on using the same concept, but using a browser(engine) and javascript. Both known for  using a lot of computing resources in not so efficient ways when compared with code written directly for the platform the application needs to run on.

The amount of resources Electron uses, the need or want of coders to only see Electron as their hammer to solve their (computational) problems with...it all feels so inefficient and 'bloated' to me. Almost like an unwillingness to do a bit more effort and create optimized code. After all, code is created once and used many times on many computers. Better make it as efficient as possible when it is still in the hands of the coder, so all it's users don't have to spend (time/energy) when the code actually runs. Because when code runs efficiency decreases run-times, which makes processes as a whole run faster. And time is money. Offset against the cost of running software, the costs for developing platform-specific software are a pittance.

Sorry, ranting again.
The easy path is usually downhill...

wraith808

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • **
  • Posts: 11,205
    • Participated in NANY Challenge Fourteen Times
    • Coding Snacks
    • Writer
    • Hardware Hacker
Re: Etcher on Linux?
« Reply #7 on: December 04, 2020, 01:41 PM »
Although I do know that Electron is a bit bloated, it's not the worst in terms of unified platforms, and the user experience being uniform across platforms is a big win.  It's also much faster time to market because of removing a lot of the normal development considerations of web applications.  It's not the best, but in my opinion, it's no where near as bad as what you're saying.

Original address: https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=50745.0