“It has far too many distros which only confuses someone interested in trying a Linux desktop OS.”

While I agree with you about the number of distros, yours is a straw man argument that insults the intelligence of prospective Linux users. When that apocryphal “someone” goes to the supermarket, does (s)he get “confused” by the many different brands of the same product?

When that apocryphal “someone” goes car-shopping, does (s)he get “confused” by the many different car brands and/or models? Of course not. That apocryphal “someone” tries one brand and, if it is not to their liking, they switch to another. O/Ss are like pasta, cars, or clothes. You can always change them.

It is interesting that those who use that argument to criticize Linux do not see the contradiction inherent in it. On the one hand, the user is smart enough to change their O/S from Windows or OS/X to Linux but then supposedly becomes “confused” by the minor variations between distros.

The problem with Ubuntu, Android, and Chrome OS they are just as much walled gardens as Windows. The only difference is that they are based on Linux.

Kudos to Dell and some others like System 76 who at least stick with a particular distro or like System 76 create their own unique version of a popular distro like Ubuntu.

In the end, it’s not Linux that’s the problem, Chromebooks do very well in their respective markets because they are connected to a familiar company. The OS is simple to use and has good support. Android is another example and Ubuntu does well in support too.

Doesn’t mean though that the Linux desktops will ever have the market share that Windows has. But if there were fewer distros and more focus on a couple of good ones. I think the overall interest in Linux would be a little better. In the end, Linux may only be successful in terms of the general public using it with products such as Chrome OS.

“Dislikes #1,2 & 3”

Were you born with complete Windows expertise? Or have you forgotten the steepness of the Windows learning curve?

Whenever one goes from one O/S to another, there is a learning curve, the steepness of which depends on one’s technical aptitude. Some users have very little problems and some struggle a lot. Most of the problems with switching from Windows to Linux are not learning The Linux Way but UNLEARNING The Windows Way of doing things.

“Dislike #4”

It was true in the year 2000 but not anymore. In my own, albeit anecdotal, experience, I’ve had more problems with hardware drivers on Windows than on Linux trying to use the exact same hardware on both systems.

“Dislike #5

I haven’t found a nice looking, customizable desktop on a machine with less than 1 GB and if it works, it will be as slow as a slug” Have you found a currently supported Windows version that will even run, even as slow as a slug”, on that hypothetical machine?

All the Dislikes mentioned are nothing but straw men set up by users switching from Windows to Linux that want to be using an entirely new operating system but with the same look and feel, functionality, and software as Windows. They basically want Windows without the Redmond Tax.

Look at your post and self reflect. Who thinks they are more intelligent? Who is a fanboi? Who has an attitude? Who has a superiority complex? Who thinks they have more knowledge? Maybe the pot should not be calling the kettle black? One can voice a personal preference without insulting others. You might want to try that.

First off? In regards to Linux NOT being “user friendly”? I would say it all depends on your level of technical prowess. I started my career in IT in 1999 and I found Linux in 2002, and At first? I will admit, it WAS a bit of a struggle, but what in Life isn’t? did anyone here hop on a bike with no training wheels and was immediately able to perform BMX tricks? what about the first time you got behind the wheel of a car? did you instantly turn into Mario Andretti? Anything you want to do in Life from sailing a boat to skydiving from fishing on the lake to rock climbing, involves some “trial & error”.

Its called learning, and you do it from your birth until your death. Its not the fault of a developer that builds and designs their distro, that you are either unable to or unwilling to learn something new. That is called complacency, and the only person to “blame” for a person not being able (or WILLING!) to learn how to use something? is that person.

Regarding the subject of “choice” (aka “there’s too many distros and I’m so confused” syndrome) This is not a negative but a positive. If all you had to choose from when you went to the ice cream shop was chocolate or vanilla exactly how many times would you visit there before you figured out that its bland, and boring and a waste of money. If all you had to choose from was a pickup truck or a beach buggy when you went shopping for a car, how soon before you started complaining about not having enough “options”? having choice is NEVER a negative, it is ALWAYS a positive because it allows you to MAKE UP YOUR MIND, and to FOLLOW THROUGH with your decision.

Its called “being an adult”. I would hate to live in a world where I was only given TWO options (kind of like how it is when it comes to Windows and Apple no?) you either use Windows and risk all manner of infections and mal-ware, and bloat-ware, and ad-ware, and Trojans, and viruses, and hacks etc. or else you refinance your mortgage so that you can spend money on Apple’s sub-par, ridiculously-priced hardware and HOPE and PRAY it NEVER BREAKS or stops working because you’ll be forced to spend more to either get it fixed, replaced, or even WORSE to “upgrade”. So Linux is the ray of light in all that darkness.

In regards to Linux being “ugly”? are you serious? so let me get this straight you buy a Windows laptop (which people always seem to say they get in order to “work”) for the way the OS LOOKS!? I thought you were more concerned with work? why should it matter if Chrome or Firefox or Word or Notepad LOOKS good? as long as you’re able to WORK what’s the issue? I call B.S. (bull sh*t) on that one. You’re not using an OS for the way it LOOKS, you either need to get things done? or else you’re just goofing off. Stop being childish and grow up.

Now on to the matter of driver support / hardware support. Understand, this operating system is maintained and supported by ORDINARY, EVERYDAY PEOPLE. People who have lives, wives, kids, (possibly) health issues, a sick grandmother, an overdue mortgage payment, a delinquent student loan, or a high-stress-level job, and they dabble in their Linux development when they have a chance. Or even if they’re NOT someone with those kinds of issues, even if they devote all of their time to developing and maintaining the distro, they are not OBLIGATED to ANYONE, and they are free to make the distro LOOK, ACT, and SUPPORT what THEY want.

Now having said that? there are some developers who actually DO get “paid” by a distro Red Hat or SLES comes to mind [S-use L-inux E-nterprise S-erver] and they do all they can to ensure their distro works with as much hardware as possible, but not all, and its not THEIR fault if you approach a hardware manufacturer, and he denies you access to his information, then you are forced to reverse-engineer as much as you can the drivers and other components that will make it work with your distro.

Not all hardware manufacturers are like that HP is one of those that give lots of support to Linux and you’d be hard pressed to find an HP printer that DOESN’T work with Linux (keeping in mind that a printer from say 1987 will NOT work with Linux today then again maybe it WILL!?) The bottom line is some people are of the mind that these developers are refusing to write the drivers for certain hardware, this is not the case at all and the true blame should be pointed in the right direction.

And to all those who have this “cult-like” attitude towards their favorite distro? Your fervor is appreciated by the devs, but? its not needed. We don’t need bible-thumping, screaming-from-the-corner advocates for Linux, instead just show someone who’s complaining about Windows or Mac the distro you use, don’t force it down their throats, but just show them. And leave it there. Some people won’t “bite” and they’ll just continue using what they’re “used to” and will forever be in misery.

BUT

There WILL be that one person who constantly badgers you asking you about this program or about that application or why it seems that your machine is so fast, even though its two years older than theirs, or about finding a way to do something with a picture, a document, a file, that they just can’t seem to get done with Windows or Mac. THOSE are the people you take under your wing, and guide them don’t coerce, don’t preach, just point them in the right direction.

Don’t try to force them to use the distro you use the packages and apps you use let them explore show them how to burn a distro’s .iso file to USB, show them how to boot from it then point them to some place like DistroWatch.com and let them see for themselves just how free and open Linux can be. I have helped a huge amount of people make the switch to Linux, and I didn’t hit ’em hard with it. I eased them into it one person? insisted they “needed” Windows and would only experiment with Virtualbox they stayed like that for four years, then one day they emailed me to tell me they got rid of the Linux VM and blew away their Windows OS and installed Linux all the way.

THIS is how you get people to make the switch not by screaming in their ear “USE (distro of choice) OR ELSE!” This is not a competition, this is not a rally or a race, this is just you helping someone else to not be “trapped” anymore by Microsoft or Apple.

And finally…?

Linux IS the “best” operating system out there in existence. No its not perfect not by a long shot. but compared to the other two choices (there’s that word again!..”choice!…LoL!) its the best. When you look at Windows its not a company that can be trusted. When they were confronted with questions about spying? they swore on their very lives that it WAS NOT HAPPENING only to later have to confess that it was when a hacker or two found out. I would never again trust ANY of my data with a company like that.

Now add all the mal-ware, ad-ware, bloat-ware seriously Microsoft? I can uninstall Candy Crush Saga do an update and find that its BEEN INSTALLED AGAIN!?…wtf!?) and the scales tip in favor of Linux again now toss in the fact that you don’t get an office suite with the operating system you just paid $199.00 for and the scales tip yet again, on top of that? add the fact that when you have updates? there’s no way to ignore them (not that you SHOULD mind you!) but if you’re in the middle of a conference call with work and this pop-up keeps nagging you about an update you’re not going to be very productive.
(sometimes the pop-up blocks out everything else and you have no CHOICE..LoL!…that word keeps popping up around here…LoL!). and once again the scales tip in favor of Linux and finally? toss in the whole “Microsoft Loves Linux” slogan from a few years back why is it that you don’t see that slogan much anymore? well its because that to this very day there are STILL lawsuits about b.s. patents that Microsoft is trying to have passed AGAINST Open Source Software.!. the scale? just toppled over.

On the other side of the street? you have Apple, a company that bills itself as being the innovative company of the future, and yet? they design products with LESS ports every time they release something! I saw an Apple Macbook with just TWO PORTS (USB-C on wither side of it) and ONE of those is for CHARGING it! No REAL “content creator” would use such a device and the scale starts to tip in favor of Linux.

Then you throw in the fact that unless you’re in the Apple ecosystem? you don’t get access to a lot of apps so the scale tips even more now throw in the fact that to BUY a “high end” MacBook or (God forbid!) an iMac (saw that they have one for almost $13,000!!! he price of a COMPACT CAR!?) and once again the scale falls to the floor. So its not that I’m a fan-boy, its not that Linux is a religion its that compared to the two choices on either side of the street my most logical choice is Linux, because of ALL the reasons stated above:

• Its free to use, share, alter, and edit
• Its highly configurable
• Its not impervious to viruses, but because of its small target footprint? there’s less chance of getting hit with anything
• It comes in over 300 “flavors” (to hell with just “Chocolate & Vanilla”!….LoL).

You can do anything and everything with it. IF you’re willing to “learn” a new way of doing things (for example I fancy myself a writer and have been writing a book using LibreOffice since LibreOffice was at version 3.x!).

Its not hard to understand once you “learn” the basics (what a .deb / .rpm package is – how to install it. etc)

You can’t break it unless you really…really…REALLY try!)

And that’s just my viewpoint on things….