185
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by tomenzgg@midwest.social to c/linux@programming.dev
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] danielton1@lemmy.world 72 points 1 month ago

"Why do people willingly use Windows?"

Because they are brainwashed into thinking it's the easiest platform, and that any problems they encounter are because that's just how computers are.

[-] AlecSadler 27 points 1 month ago

Or because work requires us to

[-] danielton1@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

That sounds more like forced than willing to me.

[-] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 23 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

No, its mostly because 99% of people dont build their own computers and because 99% of prebuilts/laptops come with Windows preinstalled. Thats literally the only reason. If all devices came with Linux preinstalled, most people would be too lazy to switch and buy a windows license. This would change the market share of Linux which would immediately cause companies to prioritize making their software run on linux. Its really just corporate inertia.

[-] danielton1@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

That too. But I also know a lot of people who aren't tech-literate who refuse to consider buying anything that doesn't come with Windows because "it's too hard"

[-] BestBouclettes@jlai.lu 15 points 1 month ago

It's the de facto standard for many reasons, none of them being individuals' choices. Microsoft paid and pushed for Windows to become the default OS on pretty much all OEM hardware, they lobbied super hard to push people into using Office, they gave massive discounts on licences for corporations, big and small companies.

It has nothing to do with individual choices, it created the problem you mentioned in your comment though. People just became complacent and ignorant because of that, not the other way around.

[-] danielton1@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

True, that's why I said they were brainwashed

[-] artyom@piefed.social 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Because what's the alternative? Pay $1k+ for a disposable MacBook or suffer through making Linux work.

[-] danielton1@lemmy.world 29 points 1 month ago

Don't forget about the disposable laptops with Windows 10 that are no longer supported because Windows 11 doesn't like their TPM or CPU!

[-] artyom@piefed.social 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Forget about TPM or CPU, Apple just stops supporting devices for no reason other than they're old. If they even manage to survive that long.

[-] macaw_dean_settle@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Sounds like someone who wants to hang onto their horse because it just works, but the mess that horses create on the road way affect everyone.

[-] subignition@fedia.io 18 points 1 month ago

More like slaughtering a perfectly healthy horse when all it needs is new horseshoes.

[-] masterofn001@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

My 7 year old penguin can lap most peoples horses.

Why would i want to use a new horse that comes crippled, always watches me, supports genocide, keeps putting the saddle back on that I keep telling it I don't want to use, prevents me from riding it the way i want, and tells me my horse and assless chaps are no good every few years?

[-] subignition@fedia.io 28 points 1 month ago

Yep, that's the brainwashing!

[-] Garbagio@lemmy.zip 8 points 1 month ago

What do you mean "Making Linux work?"

[-] ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 10 points 1 month ago

I know people like to joke this, but there's plenty of "I use distro X because it works well with Nvidia gpus", "I had to use XYZ to make the drivers for my steering wheel work" and "I use software XYZ which doesn't quite work (fast enough) through Wine/Proton".

Windows entire shtick is that due to its market dominance, companies will make sure their product works with Windows, hence it's a very plug-and-play OS.

Sure, Windows does shit users don't always want or like. But it doesn't generally outright break things these days. And if it does, the instructions online on how to fix it are generally a bit easier to follow than those for Linux.

Linux being a bit harder to set up isn't really Linux' fault. And these days the chance that your distro outright works without tweaks is fairly high. But it's not at the same level as Windows is yet.

[-] BremboTheFourth@piefed.ca 8 points 1 month ago

Windows doesn't generally break things? Weird, I wonder why I've been having to tour my clients' homes and having to either circumvent their arbitrary 11 requirements or install a pirated version of 10 LTSC. Must be a fluke. Besides, Microsoft is following every tech company and trying to replace actual programmers with AI, so I'm sure they'll never fuck anything up again.

And the instructions online for how to fix things are NEVER easier. What on earth? Troubleshooting Windows for the last 15 years has meant browsing a dozen forum posts with your exact issue and getting nothing but a bunch of script-following helpdesk people taking 3 paragraphs to ultimately tell you to restart your computer. And now, on top of all that garbage, you have to sort past a bunch of generated garbage articles. Better hope someone posted your problem on Reddit and didn't get their post deleted for whatever reason cuz there's no way to find anything useful otherwise

[-] accideath@feddit.org 2 points 1 month ago

It’s not broken though, if it doesn’t work by design, which is the case for Win 11‘s system requirements.

Doesn’t mean it’s good design but it’s not technically broken.

[-] BremboTheFourth@piefed.ca 2 points 1 month ago

Intentionality has nothing to do with whether something is broken or not. If I take a brick to a window, is that just bad design?

Their computers stopped getting security updates for no good reason. They broke it. I have to go in and fix it.

[-] sapousername@mastodon.uno 5 points 1 month ago

@ChairmanMeow @Garbagio this is a fair comment. But except for gaming and some niche software (Photoshop, Cubase), I don't think windows is really better than Linux. Nowadays you can easily use windows software via winboat or Gnome Boxes, and this works well for 50% of the windows-only software. 90% of the activities are in the browser. Many software have valid and usable alternatives. In the end, anyone could use Linux with the same easiness if just it was pre installed, at least in dual boot.

[-] ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 7 points 1 month ago

Yeah but that's precisely the thing isn't it: you need to know Winboat, Gnome Boxes, VMs etc... exist, you need to know how to configure it and how to use it.

I've installed Bazzite a while ago for my sister after my old gaming PC didn't support W11 which I donated to her. Took 2 reinstalls because apparently it's very easy to mess with hard drive mounting in a way that bricks the OS into an unrecoverable boot loop. Then, I needed to get her games working through Lutris, which did eventually work but updating those games then became an issue. I know how to do it, but she still has difficulty getting the steps right. Had I left it to do it herself, she would've been far too intimidated to even get started properly (and she's above-average when it comes to computers). And of course 90% of computer work happens in the browser, but people are unlikely to switch if that remaining 10% doesn't also just work out of the box.

Arguably this all isn't Linux' fault, but that doesn't magic the issues away. Windows is just a lot more familiar and harder to brick beyond repair. Of course it's less powerful and more bloated, but managing to get a Linux install to that point is often still quite hard for many people. And the average person has very little patience to make something work.

[-] kittenzrulz123 2 points 1 month ago
[-] artyom@piefed.social 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)
[-] kittenzrulz123 2 points 1 month ago

I mean yeah the comment was pretty fair but what did you except saying "Linux doesn't work" in !linux@programming.dev

[-] artyom@piefed.social 1 points 1 month ago

I didn't say that.

[-] jacksilver@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

The only real options for the average user are Mac or Windows. Linux just isn't as user friendly, and a lot of the customization and flexibility of Linux is actually a determinant for non technical people.

I'm a technical person and I can't stand Linux as a main driver. Love it for development and as a server, but it can be very janky for UI things.

[-] solomonschuler@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 month ago

I used windows out of concern that my university may use an application unavailable on Linux (I'm an electrical engineering major) I shouldn't have been since even if there isn't, I could always use bottles/wine to get the .exe file.

[-] danielton1@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

That's fair. I've noticed that Wine's support of non-game software can be hit or miss depending on what it is.

I'd say your case is more necessity than willingness.

this post was submitted on 27 Oct 2025
185 points (100.0% liked)

Linux

10440 readers
449 users here now

A community for everything relating to the GNU/Linux operating system (except the memes!)

Also, check out:

Original icon base courtesy of lewing@isc.tamu.edu and The GIMP

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS