The indoctrination of windows is extreme. Windows is just as hard as linux, harder even with all the layers of obscurity.
And yet... linux is hard, and users decry RTFM as "not growing the userbase"
People don't have the time/will to research alternatives, that's why most of us follow trends. It's the old mantra "if is good enough for him...", and honestly, i don't feel to blame anyone. Computers by now are a necessary tool and people want an easy "switch an play" solution to use it.
I was on a reddit thread the other day which was about Microsoft ending the support for Windows 10. Naturally, I thought people would be boasting about Linux in that thread, but nope, people just want to keep using windows 10 or want Steam to release SteamOS. This was the PC Gaming sub too.
Strange, I was also on a thread about ending support, and I found (and upvoted) tons of comments about switching to Linux. Must have been from different communities.
I mean if people move to steamOS how is that not a win?
That is a win. I was just surprised to not see anyone just say any of the existing distros, you know, multiple solutions that already exist.
I finally switched to Linux, while Linux itself is just as easy to use as Windows, actually installing Linux can be a nightmare. When setup works properly its no harder than windows, the other 95% of the time its about chasing down an easily solved problem but you have to figure out which easily solved problem it is.
I install Linux on many machines each year, and I can't even remember the last time I had a problematic installation. Your experience sounds quite unusual. Are you using some obscure distro?
Mint Cinnamon. It turned out just to be switching the name of a file on the boot media but it took a long time to work through other issues to get there.
The work windows did to make early windows intuitive really paid off. I was able to figure a lot out as a kid so I could play snake and minesweeper etc. Leaning into that will onboard new users, and that's why mint is so successful
Random fact: The guy that did the hook a Macklemore's thrift shop was partially responsible for that.
Windows is not as hard as Linux. You're just being silly at this point. I'm not saying Windows is better, but it is engineered from the ground up to accommodate the lowest common denominator.
Case in point, installing a program on Windows? Double click the exe and you're done. On Linux? It can be that simple but usually is much more involved.
Honestly after using Linux for a while I greatly prefer to just enter one command in my terminal to install something like a CPU monitoring tool or a disk space analyzer. All in all I don't think Linux is any harder vs windows, it's just different and most people are used to working with Windows so Linux is "hard". Like if there's an issue with a program you just run it from terminal and it'll tell you exactly what's wrong usually, whereas on Windows I have to google these obscure error logs from eventvwr.
That's true! I just remember helping my troubleshoot his issues recently and it was a nightmare going into the registry and editing stuff, the UX is so bad!
I love when Linux gets complex because it makes sense. When Windows gets complex with Powershell, or any other horrible stuff in this OS, I just wish it wouldn't lol.
Again, still not the norm. But I pray for all the nontechnical gen-z players of Valorant when something bad happens on their PC lol
Double click the exe, pending update blocks the installer, reboot, click the exe, go through a wizard that ask questions you don't know the answer to (usually defaults are ok though), be prompted for admin password, get blocked by corporate policies, fill out the IT ticket, have them remote to your box and install, reboot, find the program in the menu, run it, have it blocked by HBSS, put in ticket for that, update antivirus, reboot, manually pull group policy updates, reboot, more updates install, reboot, run the program.
Obviously silly, but also real.
It took me more time to read your post than to install a program.
It depends on what you are doing
As it turns out, there are a lot of tools that work best on Linux because they were intended to be used on a Linux system. Same goes for Windows stuff that is meant to be run on Windows. You can make it work but for the most polished experience it is best to stick with something well supported.
Windows has the excuse of being preinstalled everywhere. It makes it very hard to break system or to use the system in a way not blessed by Microsoft.
Linux is fairly easy to learn and gives you lots and lots of power.
It looks like everyone always forget about Chromebooks or kind of ignore them...
I super hate Chromebooks. My mom gave my kid one and it's ruining my life. I should have just binned it and gotten him a real laptop with mint or ubermix.
He has a computer now with ubermix, but it's an uphill battle.
You could ask him what he wants
Best way to engage kids in tech is to give them options.
Oh I know what he wants. He wants me to put games on it. If I do it'll wreck his sleep habits for life
Family link Is Great for that
Depending on his age that may or may not be acceptable. My parents used to have a charging station away from bedrooms. The rules was that tech went on the charger at a certain time.
Tip, you can put full Linux on most chromebooks and chromeos devices. I've done it before mrchromebox.tech
I've tried and failed. I forget the particulars but I wasn't able to get it to accept the change.
On mine I had to use a BIOS flasher tool since it was locked and Dev mode wasn't allowed to be enabled (think it was due to enterprise enrollment), though flashing the image directly worked like a charm following the unbricking guide.
I like Chromebooks
I would use one if it wasn't a privacy and freedom nightmare. I think it would be cool if there was a distro that was rootless by design and unbreakable as possible
I like Chromebooks
I would use one if it wasn't a privacy and freedom nightmare. I think it would be cool if there was a distro that was rootless by design and unbreakable as possible
I feel like linux demands an understanding of the relationship between hardware and software more than windows does.
If all personal computer users were tech tinkerers like they were in the 70s and 80s, then linux and its distros would basically be the default OS everyone used. But that is not the world we live in. Microsoft saw a world where everyone was a computer user and Windows was designed in a way to support that vision.
Theres nothing inherently wrong with catering to the lowest common denominator, linux apostles just need to understand that not everyone can be uplifted to their level, nor do they want to be - or, even, should be.
This was my thought as well. Unix was built from the ground up as an OS to support researchers and engineers. Later people adapted it to desktop use. Windows was built to be easy to use for the average person from much earlier on. I don't think anyone claiming that it's not easier to use than Linux has used it lately or is being completely honest.
Fortunately, today the gap is really small compared to what it was IMO. Compatibility with games has gotten really good which pretty much leaves behind the proprietary professional apps in terms of raw functionality. With Microsoft testing the limits of how much they can exploit their user base, I think we'll see slow but steady growth in the desktop Linux space.
That just depends on what you want to do
If you’re a tinker on Linux then you will be on Windows
If you’re the lowest common denominator on Windows then you will be on Linux
Linux just makes it easier for the user
Microsoft saw a world
That's not what happened. They got a dominant position because IBM could not even on their IBM PCs, and were at the right place at the right time, even if DOS was actually just garbage. With the power/money from this deal, they strongmanned their position as dominant PC operating system long after that era using legal and illegal anti-competitive means.
Microsoft still has wide unethical reach with secret and not-so-secret contracts and agreements not to allow other operating systems to gain a foothold in OEMs. And that's before you get through the sheer inertia from users that completely refuse to try something different on the grounds that they don't want to.
Besides this, the complete apathy in Europe moving off Microsoft software is quite concerning. Companies in the US are already collaborating with fascists in an unreflected way in true capitalist fashion - as happened 90 years ago. The reaction to this in terms of OS selection by companies is to hide their head in the sand and pour concrete for good measure. This will not work indefinitely, and I feel like nobody is going to suffer consequences for being a completely willful useful idiot for what is in summation a batshit fascist regime.
Yes, I am putting Microsoft and fascism on the same pedestal, the end stage in Microsoft bashing. The sad part with this meme is that in 2025 it's not unwarranted.
Nobody has ever been fired for ordering ~~SAP~~ Microsoft, right?
Choosing software is mostly choosing a tool get a job done. Microsoft has powerful software and a big ecosystem around it.
Windows is really good for administrating lots of workstations for large organizations for example.
Honestly Active Directory is so underrated. I think having the ability to run all your machines Inna shared collective with group policies and high controls really helped Windows adoption.
Even today there isn't anything quite like Windows polices. Sure you can get the same effect on Linux but it takes a lot more work and requires more scripting and customization. I think Apple and Android have equivalent management tools but I don't really know how they compare in practice.
This is exactly how I felt when I switched to Linux and it "clicked".
This is what personal computers were supposed to always be like before Capitalism ruined it for everyone.
Hint: :q!
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