this post was submitted on 31 Mar 2025
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    Linux is too hard (lemmy.blahaj.zone)
    submitted 1 day ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
    230 comments fedilink hide all child comments
     

    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"

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    [–] [email protected] 5 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 21 points 15 hours ago (3 children)

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 6 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 3 points 4 hours ago

    You described installing old windows, before update took care of drivers.

    [–] [email protected] 7 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

    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?

    [–] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 13 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

    I mean if people move to steamOS how is that not a win?

    [–] [email protected] 8 points 14 hours ago

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 6 points 13 hours ago

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 20 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

    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

    [–] [email protected] 3 points 15 hours ago

    Random fact: The guy that did the hook a Macklemore's thrift shop was partially responsible for that.

    [–] [email protected] 19 points 16 hours ago (5 children)

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 1 points 22 minutes ago

    Yes. After using Linux for servers and lower end machines I switched to mint on my main desktop a week ago. And while I'm quite pleased, it was not a seamless experience. I had to use a script that fixes my Bluetooth headset that connected but wasn't showing up as an audio device when reconnecting, and apt sometimes having very out of date packages that just don't work anymore. I love Linux but i really find it frustrating that many Linux users just seem a bit out of touch, don't see that even some basics sometimes need weird fixes and that windows is just better at working out of the box. I really want Linux to get there but tbh i don't see that happening in the near future.

    [–] [email protected] 1 points 51 minutes ago

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 2 points 2 hours ago

    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

    [–] [email protected] 9 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 6 points 12 hours ago

    Not relevant when you own the machine.

    [–] [email protected] 9 points 15 hours ago

    It took me more time to read your post than to install a program.

    [–] [email protected] 3 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 11 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 2 points 13 hours ago (3 children)

    It looks like everyone always forget about Chromebooks or kind of ignore them...

    [–] [email protected] 7 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 6 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

    You could ask him what he wants

    Best way to engage kids in tech is to give them options.

    [–] [email protected] 5 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

    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

    [–] [email protected] 2 points 5 hours ago

    Family link Is Great for that

    [–] [email protected] 3 points 9 hours ago

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 1 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

    Tip, you can put full Linux on most chromebooks and chromeos devices. I've done it before mrchromebox.tech

    [–] [email protected] 1 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

    I've tried and failed. I forget the particulars but I wasn't able to get it to accept the change.

    [–] [email protected] 2 points 2 hours ago

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 3 points 13 hours ago

    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

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    [–] [email protected] 61 points 1 day ago (11 children)

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 11 points 17 hours ago

    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.

    [–] [email protected] 6 points 17 hours ago

    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

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