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”
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”
Agreed. There are many facets to this problem, so it’s difficult to get in one post, so I’ll try to reconcile the main points.
The core of what I’m trying to say, is don’t kill Linux trying to become Windows. Linux is great because it diverse, but it also has difficulties because of this. We should not change (nor destroy) the ecosystem for people who do not care to understand it.
That being said, we can also make it easier for people who do care and cooperate to make it over. But if we do this we, as Linux users, have to look at this from the right lens. The question is not “Linux users, what do you find difficult?”; this is survivorship bias. The question is “Windows users, why can’t you get Linux on your machine?”. From this framing, the real issues become a lot more apparent:
The first two points can be solved by purchasing a machine from a Linux OEM (i.e System76). If this is not possible, then you are going to have to do research; if this burden is too heavy, Linux is not for you.
AI has a good and valid use-case here, as it can significantly ease this process (even if it’s only right 60% of the time).
Linux may not have an alternative for your preferred programs; if this burden is too heavy, Linux is not for you.
Developers should follow open guidelines (i.e POSIX). If they refuse to, there is nothing Linux can (nor should) do about it.
The last point can be solved by distro choice, we completely agree here. The problem is finding said distro, which is difficult. For example, I’ve never heard of Ublue until your post. I appreciate distros that handle defaults and don’t push breaking changes. The community can make this better by having a dedicated website (with a decision tree) for choosing a distro, but this has its own set of issues.
No matter, the responsibility falls on the user to pick the right distro; if this burden is too heavy, Linux is not for you.
Torvalds should create a standards/stewardship for a my-first-linux introduction to linux. Super minimalist and specifically puts limits on its complexity. Make it good enough for the average person who has installed windows machines to be able to install
And every one of you linux people need to support all distros including the ones youve never heard of, or wouldnt touch it with the appropriate substitute of 10ft pole
The amount of bickering ive seen about “best distros” is insane. You people sound like rabid sports fans, or idiotic ford vs chevy luddites.
Linux as a brand needs a massive overhaul of its public image.
And that happens by making it dumb stupid easy for people to get started.
What does your computer need to do? Identify a set up, including a version of all the tools 40% of all users will need or rely on, and make it simple to plug a peripheral in and make it work seemlessly.
IIIRC im told Mint is most of the way to this.
If gamers are who made windows what it is today, i think its going to be content creators who will push the next era of pc users