TL;DR: see title
Linux has many issues, but in comparison with other operating systems the only one that actually makes it a worse option is certain apps and games not working. Sure some distros suck, but you can just use the good ones. Sure drivers can be a pain, but plenty of distros do them for you. Yeah you’ll have some issues with Bluetooth or wifi or something like that sometimes, but no more often than on windows (mac too probably but I’ve never used Mac so idk).
Maybe you hate how windows is set up, maybe you hate how some de is set up, just use one that you like. Dont like gnome? Well despite many distros using it, it is not the only option. Try kde, try cinnamon (I hate it but it would be unfair to ignore it), try cosmic when it comes out or popshell in the meantime. Don’t want to lose your current os and be stuck here? Use a VM or dual boot.
All that works fine, it just takes a second to set things up how you want them to be and then you can just use your computer. With a “beginner” distro (I’d recommend pop os, tuxedo os, or mint) cli should be optional in everything you’d actually be doing. The only thing that is a genuine problem with Linux as a whole is that a lot of apps and games just aren’t compatible, be they a less popular app who’s users rely on it or a really popular game that refuses to enable Linux compatibility in EAC.
I know that projects like wine (and proton) are around and are making a lot of progress here, but this problem still remains the only one that an average user with a distro intended for normal use will be expected to deal with. What do y’all think?
Edit: fixed(?) spacing, hopefully it’s easier to read now
Edit 2: wanted to add that as far as I’ve seen, most of the time people have like one app that doesn’t work or doesn’t work properly while everything else works fine, and they are either unable or unwilling to switch.
The only thing that is a genuine problem with Linux as a whole is that a lot of apps and games just aren’t compatible
Because two systems are different.
It is not a problem. Shut up and hack.
I agree.
For people like us, we just adapt. Mainstream users don’t, and the most popular software is currently unsupported:
Apps
- Adobe
- Autodesk
- Microsoft Office
- QuickBooks, Quicken, TurboTax
- FL studio
- Ableton Live
- Solidworks
- Final draft
- SketchUp
Games
- Fortnite
- FIFA
- Apex
- Valorant
- LOL
- Madden
- GTA
- Valorant
- Rainbow Six Siege
- Destiny 2
- Roblox
Fair enough. FYI I have played Apex and Rainbow on Linux before, without issue. As for Riot games: LOL → Dota, Valorant (shows up twice in your list) → CS2. It’s true that a tun of big-budget software is purposely made unavailable to the Linux community, and I’ll always forgive someone who can’t switch because of these wretched companies, but do note that I was a Valorant player before I 100% gave up Windows. I sucked it up and stopped playing. Worth it.
Yeah but the thing about being unsupported is that they can pull the plug anytime, like it happened with Apex.
I also let go things from my Windows past, namely the Adobe suite which I depended on for work. I freaking love Inkscape now more than Illustrator.
But normal users won’t suck anything up.
The only thing that is a genuine problem with Linux as a whole is that a lot of apps and games just aren’t compatible, be they a less popular app who’s users rely on it or a really popular game that refuses to enable Linux compatibility in EAC.
To that I say: then pick a different program or way of doing things. I used to use a Mac over 15 years ago, and part of that experience is not being able to use certain programs that you can use on Windows and finding alternatives. Many companies have multiple versions, nowadays, but that wasn’t always the case, and it’s not uncommon to find programs that only work on one OS.
If your favorite game doesn’t work on Linux, there’s ways to solve that problem (e.g. dual boot, GPU passthrough to a VM), but 80% of games in ProtonDB are currently gold-rated or better without those measures. Many people miss the functionality of certain programs, so people create ones that do similar or even better things (Remmina is so much better than Remote Desktop Connection), or they can utilize web versions.
I get that there are occasions where you just can’t make something work, but I would say that for the majority of users, their “unsolvable needs” stem from credulity where they can’t imagine any other way than using “Program.exe.”
It’s up to us to help new users find those new ways to do things.
Slightly off topic but after years of using CorelDraw it’s so hard to pick up inkscape.
I use Linux on my home laptop now and try to use FOSS software on work laptop (it’s still Windows 10), and I try to stay with Inkscape as much as possible, but some things are just muscle memory at this point and some workflows can’t be replicated with Inkscape.
It’s not hard to change software, it’s hard to chage habits and workflows.
Other than that, Inkscape is great software, only missing a few features I wish were there, and having many more features that CorelDraw doesn’t have.
Remmina is a treasure
Tried the KDE version (KRDC, I think?), and it had trouble maintaining a connection. Furthermore, Remmina doesn’t care if the endpoint doesn’t want you to save username and password; it will do it anyway based on your preferences.
It’s simply superior.
I’m at the point where I still miss some Windows functionality but at the same time I’ve been on Linux for half a year now and can say with absolute certainty that there are now things that I would miss from Linux if I switched back to Windows.
So both OS can now irritate me equally in different ways.
Idk I don’t miss anything. We got good software too, some of which is Linux specific or simply works best there. Get a PS5 and call it a day
The only thing I really miss is CAD software for working with BREPs, I wish there was Rhino for Linux. However, I can do like 99% of projects in OpenSCAD.
Yeah there arn’t many reasons not to switch to Linux but people still won’t because they don’t have any good reason to switch. People just don’t seam to care about there privacy and the idea of open source or know why it’s important. Although I’m hopeful that will change in the future
Another reason is the idea of installing another os is intimidating for a lot of people most people buy a laptop or pc with windows pre installed and they just sign in and go the idea of changing installing an os seams to risky or like too much work. A good comparison is when I tried to convince some of my friends to use firefox one of them uses opera gx and he knows how terrible of a browser it is but he won’t change because he doesn’t want to move all his tabs. Another one just hated the name “firefox” for some reason.
Maybe try suggesting Vivaldi? It’s not the best (and it is still chromium based) but it’s way better than chrome and has all the garbage that people talk about on opera. I use Vivaldi myself and I like it a lot.
yeah ok it seams alright.
I tried to break it into paragraphs but it doesn’t seem to have posted like that, sorry for the wall of text.
