Linux

I simmarily roll my eyes when people volunteer "I'll go vegan as soon as lab grown meat is cheap, healthy and indistinguishable." Every meat eater says this to me at some point.

Like okay, that's nice? Lots of us live and thrive just fine without it, but even when all your hurdles are passed you'll find some other reason.

Just own it and say you don't care. Stop lying.

I really don't get this community's insistence on getting people to use Linux no matter how much destruction they bring. Steam games on Linux are not what anyone has in mind when they say Linux doesn't have games. Because Linux isn't binary compatibility, it's libre software.

In my circles, if someone says "Linux such and such", we assume they might be referring to their FreeBSD computer as well. Here it seems Linux is more likely to refer to Android. Emulating a sketchy Windows game doesn't make Linux the better platform for games. The Windows games are always going to be best on Windows, and now your Linux computer has malware on it.

"it has to run every single piece of windows software or else its useless"

It's a little strange that you think "I want feature parity with what's working for me (from my perspective)" is:

1. A lie.
2. Unreasonable to ask for.

The healthy responses would be "Well, I hope either support grows or your needs change, because of some philosophical reasons you might not care about... yet" or, if they're open to it "Oh, it can do this if you put a little work in, let me help you."

The unhealthy response is to accuse people of moving goalposts as if someone's tool of choice is a political debate. It can be, obviously, given FOSS philosophies, but honestly this kind of screed just drives people away.

I'll move once it has Steam VR support. I don't care if it's just one VR game at the start. I just want to be able to see my monitors and play one game. And I know other options exist. But I want Steam.

If your computer is mainly a toy I really DGAF what you put up with to use it.

I can't believe I bought a windows license in July, back when I built my new PC - was planning to use Windows for games exclusively and Linux for everything else.

Haven't booted into Windows since at least November, it's a great feeling. Every game I play (including new releases) runs fine on Linux.

What a time to be alive!

(note: the only game I can't play is Valorant, but that's the same on Windows, too, as it requires secure boot)

Every so often, when an online game gets support on Linux I give it a go. I almost immediately remember why I stopped playing them, most of them are cesspools of toxic pkayers, predatory micro (and mavro) transactions and the works. 100% of games worth playing run on linux already.

Why is it a lie if people don't want to switch, because their games are not there yet? Maybe someone plays a lot League of Legends, or Fortnite, or Valorant, or Destiny 2 or whatever [insert your game here]. They don't know what awaits them in Linux and think its a similar operating system without the bullshit of Microsoft. Lot of people would happily switch, if they have the courage to install it themselves (with burning iso or boot disks). If the games are the most important thing, then its hard to argue to switch, if their games are not working in Linux. Because doing so would mean leaving friends behind too.

Its not a lie. My brother is in a similar situation. He purchased a Steam Deck in a situation where he was thinking about getting a laptop. First it was nice, but then more and more he could not play the games he wanted to, besides a few software compatibility issues like Discord. Now the next PC he purchased (I build it for him) has Windows. Windows bugs him, but its a necessary evil. He will switch, if his games are working in Linux and if he can be confident that future games he want to play will work on Linux as well.

Well windows has 100% support. So it's reasonable that an alternative that people want to use would be as accessable.

Sorry

This has been a common mode of discourse since the 90's.

Who cares.

Folks that're going to use Linux already are. Folks that are curious about it are trying it, and occasionally they post asking for help. Everybody else is using what they use and has no interest in changing.

If it doesnt work on Linux I aint buying. Fucking manchilds without self respect.

It's pretty hard switch. I have a high interest in Linux, and I have 100% game compatibility. But I'm always running into issues that are so bad I have to abandon ship. I broken Ubuntu, Nobara, Debian, OpenSuse, and EndeavorOS. Truly Linux isn't ready for newbies.

This is an terrible take. You must have switched the moment you became aware of Linux, had no qualms or before the switch, didn't mull it over even a little bit.

Please go back in time to when you weren't using Linux yet, and direct this rant at yourself and see how you like it.

I think you put too much weight on everything, including your opinion. I am not trying to be insulting, just realistic.

I can equally say that I hate how so many people say, "just switch to Linux, its easy and does everything." Neither of those is the case because it doesn't factor in the learning curve nor does Linux do everything.

So if you want more Linux users, focus more on being helpful. Ask what their specific concerns are, or what apps they must have vs would be nice to have. Point people to distros that would fit their use case (it's mind boggling as a non Linux user to just look up what distro to get). Then point them towards how to find answers to their questions and troubleshooting steps.

Nuture the seeds you plant and they will grow. Yelling at them that they aren't growing isn't going to help.

As a Linux user, this post is exhausting.

SteamOS is exciting. Many people had their first proper experience of using Linux with the steamdeck and many of those thoroughly enjoy the experience. I imagine its a great comfort to know that your OS is being supported by the same people who gave you such a great experience in the past.

I'm sure theres a tiny fraction of people who absolutely are just moving the goalpost over and over, but most people just want something that works for them with minimal friction. SteamOS will do that, and it'll be familiar.

Try to play Diablo 2 or Commandos on a new windows box ... Possible but a huge hassle IMO.

Hey it’s just like EVs or any other new technologies. The enthusiasts or believers will dive in first and deal with all the complicated setups. If it is actually better, these enthusiasts will form a company or already be a company who will create a product that will dominate the industry because they have a better product. Valve is definitely setup to be that company with the funds and competitive reasons to compete with Microsoft (windows/xbox store vs steam store). Steam store is their money maker but they face risks from Microsoft. Luckily Microsoft has to be careful due to antitrust issues because of their size, ie, Apple Store.

Be a cheerleader, encourage these people to take the dive. If you’re hating on people who want their stuff to just work you’ll never grow to get the casual pc / gamer user. Change is hard, most people are not looking to tinker.

I understand what you’re saying and I guess it’s true that some people are just finding excuses.

But I think you also lack some empathy towards everyone ´s user’s case.

Personnaly, switching fully to Linux was pretty easy as 99% of my gaming is being done on Playstation.

On my playstation 5 I can know for sure that I can play every game I fancy.

Why am I gaming on consoles? Mostly because it involves no tinkering.

So, despite having gotten rid of Windows a while ago, I would easily give up if I had to tinker to get a game running.

I know that gaming on Linux as never been so easy, but gaming on PC (windows or linux) looks already too difficult for some people with all the requirements.

I might jump to a Linux gaming rig in the future, but I can also understand why some people are choosing an easy path.

People won't like it to hear but let's face something: if your reasoning to keep using a proprietary system that violates your privacy and belong to a evil company is because you have to play videogames your intelligence and self control is that of a child.

Pointless discussion.