this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2023
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The last character: I can make you spend an entire day trying to install some software or configuring something specific
Oh yeah, I never had to do this on windows!
Wait! That's not correct.
Maybe I’m unique in this regard, but I can’t remember having any issues installing things on windows since Windows 7. Trying out Linux in college was fun and interesting, but I definitely spent more time futzing around with it to make it work the way that I want it to work.
I think more people would take the Linux community here seriously if people just acknowledged the flaws with Linux based OSes and focused on the actual benefits of Linux over windows. (Which are getting more and more enticing as Microsoft makes windows more annoying.)
I know what you mean and Linux can be the operating system with less issues as well. E.g. I never had printer issues with my system but have to troubleshoot others' printers regularly.
If you only use Linux for browsing and light office work you probably never encounter problems. Even if you play games via steam and Proton there probably will never be something.
The same is true for Windows. If you only use it for a small subset of tasks (browsing, light office work or playing recent games) you will rarely encounter problems.
But if you try to do so without a Microsoft account or if you don't want a bloated start menu, it starts to get tricky.
And don't get me started on playing old games or getting some programming dependencies running. This can be hell.
I know the flaws of windows (I've used it up until last year and still have to use it at work) and I also know the limitations of Linux. They are both not perfect, but Linux is free and Windows becomes more and more shit (as you've said). And this is where I don't understand all the people saying, that windows is easier. It really isn't anymore. It was a few years ago though.
I imagine that most people think Windows is easier because the majority of people grew up using Windows machines in schools, workplaces, etc. I think it could have to do with the sense of familiarity there.
The other problem I think people have with Linux is that the fact that different distros confuses them. Most average people are afraid of the command line, and really want a GUI for everything. Many of these people's first exposure to Linux could scare them away depending on the distro they happened to choose, I think.
Or it's the fact the community is so toxic?
Every computer, doesn't matter brand or hardware, never works 100% out of the box on Linux. Doesn't matter which distro.
You ask online, and people scream at you to run terminal commands or go back to Windows.
You run a terminal command that breaks your system, and people blame you for running random terminal commands..
You go back to Windows, and people say "Linux is so friendly, you don't even have to touch the terminal anymore if you really don't want to!"
Rinse and repeat.
😜
A key distinction is how many of those problems are specifically because of Windows. Is a Windows feature creating the problem?
The concept scares me quite a bit actually, having to fight my OS in addition to entire else I'm always trying to figure out.
Yeah I won’t say windows is better, I know Linux is superior. But windows is a mess with a reason, it works everywhere . But It can’t handle heavy operations , it’s bloated af … etc ir sucks for enterprise solutions. But for a personal computer or server simple apps, people don’t want to wait or struggle .
Yeah, Linux has a lot of good uses, it's just not for everyone nor the average person. There's no way the people who struggle with computer troubles could use Linux.
I think that's sometimes forgotten in all the memes. The people who could actually use Linux are a fairly small subset of all Windows users.
99.9% of Windows software runs after you run the .exe
Which programs require so much troubleshooting for you?
I just spent 30+ minutes troubleshooting an MS office installer today that would just shut off after the splash screen, on a friend's brand new laptop... But then again, I spent two hours trying to get my old Brother network scanner/printer on Manjaro a few weeks ago.
Or: I can only print intermittently at best.
That's HP's fault and isn't Linux specific.
I run Ubuntu at work where we have an Epson printer. My print jobs are mysteriously canceled ~50% of the time, and wouldn't work at all throughout Ubuntu 20.10 and only started intermittently working with 22.10. (They were mysteriously quite reliable with 18.10.) Looking around on the Ubuntu forums, I was hardly alone. None of the posted fixes worked for my case, and seemed unreliable for others as well. A cursory Internet search shows me that printing problems are endemic to Linux and have been for a long time.
We don't have a Windows machine to compare, but the Mac on the front desk prints 100% of the time without fail barring paper jam or something else that is the fault of the printer.