cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/33746300
The worst thing about Linux is its users
About 15 years ago I gave Linux a try, liked it and showed it to my wife who is less technical than me. She said she found it nicer than windows so I put it in the common computer and never looked back.
You can find as many excuses not to use Linux as I can give you reasons and solutions to try it... at the end of the day, try it, don't try it, it's your decision and you get to live with the consequences of those decisions. Me evangelizing about Linux is just as painful as hearing Window users complain about it yet unwilling to do anything but whine about it
If you do give it a try and have an issue, there are plenty places to get help for Linux better than the MS forums, this is undeniable.
Also, notice Windows is like bumper cars while Linux is like the entire vehicle fleet of the world, you want to drive a tank, you got it... wanna drive a super car, got it... wanna drive a hot air balloon that moves on good wishes, Linux has one distro just like that... you probably should not learn to drive in a Ferrari when you are late for work, choose a beginner friendly distro and move on from there at your pace if you feel like it
This. To many people who "just want to use" a computer, the OS in the background won't make much of a difference, but linux makes it easier for the one maintaining it.
I don’t know how to feel about this. Because the intelligent guy is totally me, but I also recognise that Linux is in no shape for a non tech literate person just to jump into.
You could install Mint on your mother's computer and don't tell her, and she'd probably still think she was using Windows until it came time to install new software. Linux For Normies has come a long way, especially recently. It could be ready for mass adoption very soon, if not already.
until it came time to install new software.
That is the big giveaway. I used the term "It's free" too many times when setting up software for them. "I used to have to pay for all of that."
I just installed Linux mint on my laptop... and fuck me, it is easy as all hell to use. Made me wonder why the hell I took so long to do it! I'm doing some backups on my desktop in order not to lose anything important (and save time) while installing it on my PC... I intend to format my old drive as I move on. So-long Windows!
I agree. My mom has been running Mint for 9 years with no problems. My tech illiterate friend who has an nvidia gpu on the other hand needs a lot of handholding. He would never be able to make a transition on his own.
Yup. Linux + Nvidia is the problem here. I convinced my friend to move to Linux, explaining that all his favorite Steam games work on my Linux machine with no issues, just download and click play, tested it myself. Turns out, I don't have an nvidia gpu, he does, and a lot of the games straight up don't work, and the ones that do need at least one config change, if not more.
I have yet to have any issues on Steam myself when gaming with my Radeon card.
I feel like Linux works for hardcore users and extremely casual users, but it doesn't work that great for medium savvy users.
Like sure if I'm barely using the computer for anything other than a web browser then it'll work fine.
And if I'm willing to do a whole lot of research I can also make it work for power user setups (at an even better outcome than Windows).
But if I'm just a gamer who's smart enough to do some modding and run a couple of game servers and maybe some other utilities, but I'm not incredibly tech savvy otherwise? Not a great fit.
Im the medium user with 6 hard drives, a ton of peripherals, audio equipment, 4 other desktops. I choose linux to make life even harder because otherwise im a lazy pos.
You don't want your mother to be able to install software.
I do like Mint, but now I'm thinking Bazzite might be better for a beginner or average user because all those configurations and default apps/packages meant to make gaming easier also trickles down to having things "just work" for a casual average PC user. 🤔
I'm writing this on Bazzite right now, it's awesome, works great, and it's true that the preinstalled apps and scripts are really useful for someone coming over from Windows... but not just for them! I've been a Linux user for maybe a couple of decades now and I find them very useful.
I am very happy working in Linux as my daily driver, while my husband is bugging me to switch his desktop and laptop over since he is frustrated at how awful the UI in Windows 11 is. But I know he has a low tolerance for frustration and while he has decent technical skills, he tends to accumulate the absolutely most peculiar technical problems I've ever seen. I mean, I'm rather savvy with Windows and he comes up with problems that take me a long time to figure out - issues that would be difficult to cause even if you were intentionally trying to break Windows.
So I don't really know what to do here. He likes my Garuda setup because I've shown him how customizable KDE Plasma is, but the amount of weird shit dealing with the AUR that I have run into, stuff that I can solve fairly easily but a layperson would likely not be able to handle, makes me want to put Mint on his system even if he'll find it less suitable.
Times have really changed, especially in the past five years. Even completely tech-agnostic people use GNU/Linux in my family. Reason is "Because it just works." no more Windows installing things that you hate. No more advertisements in the start menu or file manager. No more screenshots every five seconds. No more Windows slowing down the computer gradually. A relative's computer was unusable because of Windows, because it has slowed down the computer so much that the start menu took 10 seconds to open. All she did was her net banking, text editing and some very light photo editing. Ever since switching to GNU/Linux, her computer works again normally. And all of the tech questions about weird things like programmes randomly not starting have disappeared.
Also, nowadays you really never have to touch the command line. You can use an App-Store-like experience to install your programmes, just like you would on a phone. It also handles all updates automatically. This alone makes it such a better, "normie" operating system than Windows. Hit "update all", and it updates all of your packages for the system, the kernel itself, drivers, the apps themselves, literally everything. Because try explaining grandma, she needs to update the system, then the drivers, then every single application separately. Now you can tell Grandma instead: "Press this button and wait for 20 minutes."
The difference is night and day. Old computers work normally again. You don't need such overkill configurations like most Windows computers have to just run your text editing on net banking. By now it is objectively better.
If you're new, just use one of the many pre-configured options. No need to tinker with your system if you don't want to. Just install one of the literally hundreds "just works" distros that package everything for you.
Lastly, I'm going to say it is no exaggeration if I say installing GNU/Linux has solved literally every single issue people in my family had with computers. Because now it just works. No bloat, no nonsense. Just a computer.
Edit: typo.
Linux is in no shape for a non tech literate person just to jump into.
The tech illiterate are not typically the ones complaining about Microsoft; they mostly have zero clue about what's going on. Stop choosing perfection as the threshold for usability.
I would switch to Linux in a heartbeat if it ran all the programs I use. And yes, I know about wine, but it's still not all there yet. Thankfully there are more and more programs I use that now run natively in Linux, so I still have hope.
if it ran all the programs I use
Got ya fam: don't use the programs that don't run on linux. UR WELCOME
This is how I do it. Emacs has everything you need.
To quote an old joke. Emacs is a good operating system, the only thing it lacks is a good text editor
Sorta unironically. My partner and I have just started switching to other programs.
Honestly, between Lutris and Steam it’s now pretty easy to run most things from windows in Linux. There are some exceptions, such as Office, but the majority of my Steam library runs great. It’s come a long way, even in the last year. The frontends really simplify things.
As someone who considers themselves a "Linux-evangelist" and has run it exclusively on my devices for years, I really despise that the goto method for recruiting others is to shit on other OSs and claim that Linux beats them all. Whilst you're not wrong and all your arguments are true, nobody wants to listen to that.
The most succesful campaigns I have seen has been to gently introduce people to Linux and let them play around with it. Alot of people really just liked it, but where more open to adopt since they arrived at the conclusion on their own, instead of being force-fed it.
"I wish I wish upon a star for a multi billion dollar monopoly to self-regulate"
I am not particularly intelligent, nor particularly knowledgeable on the details on how OSes and kernels work. And I'm comfortably using Linux. One more reason why more people should.
But I agree that it would be very nice if legislation was finally passed to prohibit that spyware bullcrap most of the big players have trying to force down our throats.
Everybody wants to complain about how bad things suck, and then just shrug and keep living with it.
Seriously, it sucks that Microsoft is an evil corporation spying on all Windows users. Nothing will change unless people start coming up with and using alternatives. This isn't some fairytale where government regulation works in our favor, either. The only vote we have that matters to corporations is the choice to give them our money and data.
Linux has a learning curve, and there are some things that are frustrating at first. None of those things are more frustrating than having your personal computer ruled by the robber baron Bill Gates. Just my two cents. I am very intelligent.
Software and games.
No matter some people claims, there are always software/games that simply won't run on Linux or no alternative available.
Who "won't" switch to Linux? Emigrating to Linux is just not as simple as these people believe.
Some of us have our entire lives on Windows that will take forever to migrate with all the obligations and the crushing weight of work that we have to handle in our day to day life.
How society would thrive if we had true freedom.
My first genie wish is for the EU to declare Windows 7 public domain and set up a team to maintain security and driver updates for it.
Fair enough, but most solutions to restrict data gathering by windows are often worked around by Microsoft via eventual windows updates which is a perpetual risk. In my experience, using Linux is less of a headache in the long run.
For me, it's simple, it's gaming. As soon as I can run competitive online games on Linux, I'll switch fully. Meanwhile, my non gaming computer runs Linux, but my gaming rig runs Windows.
Enjoy getting fucked by the corporate rootkits. I hope your gaming PC is just for gaming.
I use arch btw
There’s barely anything you “need” Windows for anymore. Especially as something like 99% of most people’s PC usage is web (including cloud-hosted Office type apps).
You say this, but you haven't met all the programs I have to use for work.
My friend recently switched and I almost lost him from him desperately wanting to use Ableton. He switched to LMMS though and seems to have found more positive than negative from switching now.
Edit addition: If someone near me wants to switch then I'll help them, I'll even recommend it to them, but I'll also let them know what things won't work and what things would need to be switched when they do so.
Of course none of that will stop me from getting a little smile when a Windows user complains about Windows in any form
Hint: :q!
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