Maybe it needs a rebranding. If people have heard of linux, they think it’s for devs, IT nerds, too complicated, etc. Most of the people just have never heard of linux because they don’t look out for it. Most people don’t know what FOSS is, etc. People just don’t know that their OS is spying on them. Chromeos is linux, it’s in every store. Linux made it. Gnu didn’t.
It’s still software support. Yes, there are many great alternatives, but not being able to use apps like everyone and not being aplble to keep the apps you have is just too complicated for many
I come from a Windows and Mac environment and I now happily use Linux Mint. It has a similar aesthetic and is really easy to use. I think not recommending newbies Arch would be a good start.
I agree. Zorin OS is another good option, if people accept the fact that new users don’t care about snaps vs flatpaks. And Zorin OS Pro helps the distro maintainers put food on the table. BTW, its been too long of a wait for Zorin Grid
Linux is the coolest fucking OS, hands down… If you’re a computer nerd. Otherwise it’s inconvenient at the best of times. Many users click around in their OS of choice without fully understanding what they’re doing, myself included. Try this in Linux and you’re in for a really bad time.
It breaks. And I cant imagine anyone who wants to spend time fixing it, much less how long it would take tech illiterate people. Cant explain how many times ive gotten some random error downloding a package, and even ill have a hard time finding what tf the cryptic error message means
That and permissions, though they could be lumped into the first point
Do you think just restarting with no information would be better? I could understand that cryptic error Message could scare some people, so do you think a “blue screen” and restart would be better for the average person?
If the device can self repair behind the scenes, 100% most users couldnt care less about an error message or having to reboot, as long as not too often and requiring too much input. I can see why linux is excellent for servers requiring little to no downtime though
I remember recently there was something where a fairly low level system dependency was having trouble installing during a system upgrade, but only until partway through the install. It caused chaos on my system that took a good week to resolve. I can’t imagine that 99% of people have the skill or patience to go through that process.
That said, that particular problem may be solved by the new generation of distros that allow for rollback of system changes.
The biggest issue ive had (ive only used ubuntu) is the file management. Disks and file system is a bit different from boyh mac and windows, and i had a hard yime figuring out where and how, etc.
I couldnt figure out how to get my home network to work (so my windows pc could grab files off the linux pc) and such.
I had no issues setting that up, between my mac/windows pcs
I do plan on installing linux for my sons pc which he will then be forced to learn to some degree.
I think you just made another point why Linux is difficult to adopt to for non-tech people. It takes a level of understanding about how computers work in general, and operating systems specifically, that that majority of people just do not care to have. It’s not that people are too stupid or anything like that. It’s just that the majority of people absolutely do not care what a Desktop Manager is, or why and how it’s different from the OS itself.
Well… people like you and me care because we think it’s interesting. We are the exception. The very thing we love most about Linux is the thing that stops it from general acceptance. It’s too flexible to “Just Work”.
For file sharing over a network between Linux and Windows, the keywords are “samba” and “cifs”. In my experience, that’s variable levels of pain in the ass to set up, but does work once you’ve got it configured. (Sometimes it’s easier to run an sftp server or similar on the Linux machine.)
Funding. Nobody has figured out how to fund development for large open source OSes outside of the enterprise realm. You crack that, you can have linux be installed by default on Desktop/Laptop computers, and patches that come as a result of that funding benefit the rest of the ecosystem as well. People will use the default, they will complain about it, just like they complain about Windows Update randomly restarting their computer, but they’ll use it.
But also the share of people who own laptops or desktops continues to dwindle. Many people don’t have and see no need for a computer. So they run Android, which is Linux, so I guess we’re winning there?
I personally dont understand why mass adoption is a goal.
The “challenge” to bring users to Linux is simply making them want to use Linux. There are enough flavours and guides ranging from plug and play that anyone can use to build your own kernel and distro from scratch that anyone can find what they want in Linux… if they want it.
The truth is that for a not insignificant portion of computer users, the OS is a means to an end not a feature. Its “the computer”. A laptop that comes with windows 11 is a windows 11 machine.
If you want the average user to move to Linux, create an desktop environment with the option to look and behave like either windows or Mac, have a software compatibility layer for both that can run at the same time, buy a hardware company and include the distro as default and sell it to the masses at a loss to undercut all other options. Flood all consumer electronics stores with them.
Outside that, its not going to happen and I dont know why people want to make a competition out of it. Linux doesnt suit everyone and it doesnt have to. We see less GUIs as a good thing, id rather dev time from the solo/small dev teams go towards the functionality not making it look pretty. The majority of computer users dont agree with that though, and thats fine. I like being able to add/remove from my OS, most don’t and thats fine too. I like rolling updates, the uproar around windows updates with thousands of youtube videos dedicated to people stopping them indefinitely indicates many others dont. Our semi annual O365 update is currently rolling out at work, and people are freaking out that one of their outlook toolbars moved. Never mind its a 4 second fix to move it back, but can you imagine these people seeking out/installing/configuring/using a new desktop environment?
Its not an elitist thing. Id love more of my friends to use linux, but I cant make them want to use something. It either appeals to them or it doesnt. For most the appeal of a computer is the software it runs, and the OS is just a means for that.
I personally dont understand why mass adoption is a goal.
Oh this one is easy. The higher market share the better software support they get.
And as a secondary bonus, the more people use it the more people contribute to it and make it even better. But mostly this one is just an extension of the first point.
Bugs. People that are into linux have enough compium and often the expertise to fix broken stuff that otherwise would work on windows. Your average user will quit after too many things don’t work out of the box.
This is sadly true for so much software, not just Linux but also many Linux application packages and self-hosting packages.
I tried to install Nextcloud yesterday, and failed at three completely different attempts/guides/packages. Same thing happened a year ago. Maybe I’ll try again in a year.
Linux needs more apps that GUI friendly and easy to use, better support for hardware and upgrades that doesn’t break easily. Should come pre-installed with PC. Most people don’t bother or know how to change OS.
The odd thing about this is that because Linux generally doesn’t come preinstalled (though some sellers do have it), I’ve found the Linux installation process is usually smoother and easier than installing Windows.
I realize it’s extra work, though, which is a barrier for some. Worrying about screwing up their new computer and voiding the warranty is certainly a deterrent.
Having worked with preinstalling Windows with a major pc manufacturer, I will say that it is already such a freaking effort that nobody would want to do even more effort to install malware on top.
Notwithstanding so called partner apps… If there’s anything in those, I can’t say.
That would depend on a case by case basis. For basic use (I thought this was the point of the post) I never had anything break, software/hardware either works or doesn’t (I always use the stable release of everything).
I’m an artist who is never switching to linux unless they fix my major gripes (which seem like it’ll never happen just looking at the answers here lol).
Allergic to GUIs
Devs and most Linux users act allergic to having intuitive GUIs. It’s already a pain to use a lot of small programs that don’t have them on windows. I’m familiar enough with using terminals for stuff but I am so incredibly disinterested in using it All The Time or even often.
Not having easy to access and understand toggles/settings are actually a friction point for most users—I think people who are tech inclined seriously need to remember and understand this. Needing to dig for a command to do simple things IS the OS getting in the way in my experience. I’ve seen screenshots of elementaryOS which seems to get this but my next issue is:
Software and hardware compatibility
A lot of things I use for work like CSP, Adobe suite, Live2d, etc aren’t natively supported. I also don’t want to be risking encountering possible bugs or errors trying to get it to run them. Not all my games are from steam either, and I don’t know if those would run. There’s simply too many things I use daily that don’t have native support.
I also keep hearing about AMD driver issues which is no good for my pc.
Overall, as much as I hate windows and microsoft, it’s easier to put up and debloat the garbage that comes up over dealing with the issues above. Because when it works, It Actually Just Works. There’s more google-able tech support answers for it too instead of me needing to ask for help every time I encounter something.
Things that are easy to do does add up eventually, which again, is why needing to use the terminal often is not at all an ideal average user experience especially if this could be cut down with some mouse clicks. I think distros could address this if the devs actually care about the non-tech nerd user experience, but I don’t know if the software support/compatibility will ever be fully dealt with.
Agree with pretty much everything. If I have to fight just to do basic shit why should I bother with it? My tools of the trade don’t work on it, a lot of my games don’t work on it, and my computer itself might not work on it (also AMD here). There’s no value to using it. Just a lot of headaches.
That’s exactly how I feel on Windows. I have to fight with stupid unintuitive guis and when you google for help, the solutions don’t work because Microsoft changed something in some version, switched something around without any logic
Googling never works for me on windows, I just get redirected to their stupid forums with generic “update your pc” shit, problem solves itself after sometime somehow and I never know what the fuck happened in between. Windows to me is a magical box that sometimes breaks and fixes itself. Wasting my time in the process.
The installation process and the fear of frying your computer can actually be a no-no for some users. (Not that it actually happened or can happen but some people are just really scared of doing this type of thing) Like the Linux experiment said : we need to have more accessible Linux hardware like we have Windows Laptops and desktops.
Fortunately we have some and are getting more options with the framework laptops, and there are some other hardware manufacturers who have Linux compatibility as a priority
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