Advice Request The Year of the Linux dissatisfaction

[shmu26]

there is good-quality free software for linux that is hard to find for Windows.

Well, it's hard to find if you search google for windows software, but it's there.
Today I discovered that both PDF Arranger and MP4Splitter, which I happily use on linux, have Windows versions too! If I hadn't learned their exact names from linux, I never would have discovered them.

 

[mazskolnieces]

There is big, expensive software, such as Microsoft Office and Adobe products ,that need bigger money than linux can provide. A virtual machine helps for that.

Microsoft gave so much money to the Linux Foundation that it completely changed its board and voting procedures to be exactly what Microsoft wanted. In the past, all LF members - including lowly general members - could vote. Now, nobody can vote except for executives, large financial contributors and Microsoft has the greatest percentage of LF board seats. M$ controls LF. Therefore, M$ controls the Linux kernel.

Microsoft now owns the Linux Foundation and Linus Torvalds.

Didn't anyone here know that ? It's really old news...

 

[Digmor Crusher]

Yah, tried Linux once, never again. If I can't figure something out in 5 minutes, its gonzo. Plus it seemed very awkward. Nope. Windows is multiple times better.

 

[jackuars]

Microsoft gave so much money to the Linux Foundation that it completely changed its board and voting procedures to be exactly what Microsoft wanted. In the past, all LF members - including lowly general members - could vote. Now, nobody can vote except for executives, large financial contributors and Microsoft has the greatest percentage of LF board seats. M$ controls LF. Therefore, M$ controls the Linux kernel.

Microsoft now owns the Linux Foundation and Linus Torvalds.

Didn't anyone here know that ? It's really old news...

MS joining the foundation doesn't mean it owns it. There are many big name companies that supports the foundation AT&T, Facebook, Google, Oracle, Samsung, Tencent and literally 10-20 more. Every company wants to rule Linux, none of them can or ever will. By it's very nature and GPL2 open source licensing, prevents it from gaining controlled by a single entity. All companies will continue to fund Linux, even if Microsoft stops doing it one fine day.
By the way this thread isn't anything about it., let's go back to the matter at hand.

 

[klepto]

My first Linux box was on a crappy 386 sx and it was slackware in '95-96. I find that its easy to find things to love about Linux but distros sadly come and go. They either don't find ways to monetize or the in fighting destroys from within. In the Linux world there are narrow minded goons who can easily ruin a good thing. Recently I was using Antergos based on Arch Linux and that distro went belly up. I moved to Qubes OS and the founder of that walked away to move on to greater things and now it is stagnant. Somehow I find myself using a Windows box...

 

[mazskolnieces]

MS joining the foundation doesn't mean it owns it. There are many big name companies that supports the foundation AT&T, Facebook, Google, Oracle, Samsung, Tencent and literally 10-20 more. Every company wants to rule Linux, none of them can or ever will. By it's very nature and GPL2 open source licensing, prevents it from gaining controlled by a single entity. All companies will continue to fund Linux, even if Microsoft stops doing it one fine day.
By the way this thread isn't anything about it., let's go back to the matter at hand.

It is relevant to the topic - because Linux kernel development is guided wholly by the Linux Foundation. Microsoft has now replaced 4 members of that board with its own members.

You do know that Microsoft's CEO once called Linux a cancer. But now Microsoft leadership is very smartly embracing Linux. It's even developing its own Linux. Probably going to go the route of RedHat or Canonical, but with 100+ million customers willing to pay. Microsoft is the most shrewd of all the big tech operations.

A Linux controlled by Microsoft or a consortium of large corporations will bring all the money, resources, and organized, coordinated development to Linux that is required to make it a much more useable and viable product.

In the Linux world there are narrow minded goons who can easily ruin a good thing.

How apt. Truth.

FOSS shall forever be a train wreck, except for the projects that directly or indirectly have tons of money behind them.

Which is implicitly the point of the article linked by the OP - that Linux usability is terrible because of the community and lack of money.

 

[shmu26]

Yah, tried Linux once, never again. If I can't figure something out in 5 minutes, its gonzo. Plus it seemed very awkward. Nope. Windows is multiple times better.

If it seemed awkward, my guess is that you installed straight Ubuntu with the Gnome desktop. Installing Kubuntu will take care of the awkwardness. But if your frustration level is 5 minutes, Linux is not for you.

 

[ForgottenSeer 85179]

If it seemed awkward, my guess is that you installed straight Ubuntu with the Gnome desktop. Installing Kubuntu will take care of the awkwardness. But if your frustration level is 5 minutes, Linux is not for you.

This is exactly one of the problems Linux has.
Nobody can blame user for not trying different Distris just because of another design / GUI.

And also Linux user's blame other's as they use the "wrong" Distri / another one is better. This is just ridiculous.
This ends in the situation Linux nowadays is.

@mazskolnieces: Very good post!

 

[shmu26]

This is exactly one of the problems Linux has.
Nobody can blame user for not trying different Distris just because of another design / GUI.

And also Linux user's blame other's as they use the "wrong" Distri / another one is better. This is just ridiculous.
This ends in the situation Linux nowadays is.

@mazskolnieces: Very good post!

I am very happy with the linux situation as it is! The current chaos puts up high enough barriers to keep out 99% of home users, which is the only reason why linux is not riddled with malware. Furthermore, the absolute anarchy in distros and desktops provides an almost unending variety for individualists, as opposed to the monolithic and creativity-stifling Windows OS. If you are square peg, and Microsoft is trying to pound you into a round hole, then the answer is linux.

These are my wistful thoughts as I write this post on Windows because I have some pressing jobs to do and I want something boring that just works...

 

[klepto]

I am very happy with the linux situation as it is! The current chaos puts up high enough barriers to keep out 99% of home users, which is the only reason why linux is not riddled with malware.

The thing is, early Linux OS makes the current Linux OS look like a Fisher Price toy in comparison. It will continue getting easier to use and the makers of the dreaded Internet of Things has adopted it for the most part so eventually malware creators will seek to exploit it.

 

[mazskolnieces]

Keep Linux 100 % command line terminal, and there won't be a single typical home user in sight...

The guy in the article just wants bugs fixed. He can live with a 100% terminal environment or even a minimalist GUI enviornment... as long as all the programs and features work.

But, you know, those that build distros got more important things than to fix stuff... like making flashy GUIs and bashing their "competitors." The major flaws are of little relevance or priority to the Linux community - as Deidemondo so aptly points out.

I bet within 10 years, Microsoft's Linux kernel will be built out such that dual-booting will be relegated to the trash pile. The Microsoft OS will be a single OS that combines\integrates both Windows and Linux into a single OS structure that will be fully featured and the user can pick-and-choose what they want to use. That'll give Linux a huge boost, but at the same time give a lot of distros a black eye. Watch for the distropocalypse.

 

[Eggnog]

Lunduke has a nice COVID-style "Linux Sucks" on his YouTube channel, done from his studio and not at a convention. He thinks Linux for the desktop has been killing itself off and is dying a slow, inevitable death. No cohesive vision, too many cooks spoiling the broth, miserable backwards compatibility, and a whole lot more. Interest in Linux is at an all-time low. The year of the Linux desktop is a pipe dream, which is a shame.

 

[Lenny_Fox]

On old hardware, like I had on my previous laptop Linux works great, all my hardware components worked, while most vendors stopped updating drivers on Windows7 for that laptop, so in terms of compatibility and using up to date (system) software the situation on Linux (I like Manjaro for the rolling updates) is better than Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7.

So Linux for old hardware is still the best and with some effort it is possible to replace XP and Windows 7 with a nearly identical Linux desktop variant on old hardware. But I am afraid that is the desktop niche for Linux shines, is at it best, mimicking old Windows versions on old hardware.

When you buy a fast new laptop/gaming desktop in terms of performance and compatibility Windows is the better choice,

 

[bayasdev]

Now I see Windows and Linux as tools suited for different jobs, I prefer Linux for programming but I won't try to run any Windows application on it because who's better being Windows than real Windows and viceversa. Btw Windows has a wider set of propietary software that's definetely superior than its FOSS counterpart and the graphical stack it's on a whole new level compared to Linux where the GPU is barely used but I can't speak the same about Windows for CPU bound tasks because Linux it's clearly betetr at that.

By dual booting you get the best of both worlds without doing sacrifices

 

[ForgottenSeer 85179]

By dual booting you get the best of both worlds without doing sacrifices

Did you try WSL 2 from windows?

 

[bayasdev]

Did you try WSL 2 from windows?

WSL 2 is garbage in the same way WINE is a deadly plague for Linux, bare metal Linux is wayyy faster than any thin hypervisor for compiling heavy stuff.

 

[Handsome Recluse]

FOSS shall forever be a train wreck, except for the projects that directly or indirectly have tons of money behind them.

But then software in general is a trainwreck - which is what the person in the article would also talk about

 

[AG3S]

Guys.. I would recommend trying POP_OS!...

I am personally not a Windows user for about 12 years. It is not that I dont like it and such.. it is just not meant for my tasks...

POP_OS! is backed up by a hardware company which makes it a more reliable choice.

If you are willing to try Linux I would recommend to have patiece as all operating systems have a learning curve which should be passed. And ofcourse Linux is not for everyone as Windows is not.

 

[shmu26]

Every OS is dissatisfying because software is far from perfect and is not expected to get there any time soon. So you just need to find what works best for you.

 

[ForgottenSeer 72227]

There are pro's and con's to any piece of software, os, etc... nothing is truly perfect. I watched Lunduke's video and I fully agree with him. Linux does have a lot of potential to be great, the problem is, in it's current state it will never over take Windows, or Mac OS on the desktop. FOSS sounds great on paper, but in reality, it just doesn't work out. It's really the main cause of Linux's desktop failure IMHO.

Virtually all programs look like they belong with Windows 95, or Windows 98. I've recently loaded up LibreOffice and was like hello Office 1997. There's way too much fragmentation on many fronts for it to ever take off. Even Linus Tervold's himself has commented on this and has stated that Linux desktop will never take off as a result of the fragmentation. Furthermore, there is no money to be made in Linux/FOSS. No one want's to pay for software outright and they heavily criticise any developer who dares charges a measly $5.00 for their program. They constantly point to donations, but let's be honest, if donations worked, then why to so many projects just stop development. A large portion of Linux/FOSS developers are doing this in their spare time outside of their main job.... I wonder why??

Don't get me wrong, I like Linux, but I am also a realist and it's not going to take off in it's current state, it just won't. Until they can get a unifying voice, reduce the fragmentation, actually make money to attract more developers and fund things like marketing, it' will never happen. At the end of the day @geminis3 said it best, Windows, Mac, Linux are all tools at the end of the day. Some are good at some things, others are good at something else. You can use more than one if you like aspects of each one, no law saying you can't.

Btw Windows has a wider set of propietary software that's definetely superior than its FOSS counterpart and the graphical stack it's on a whole new level compared to Linux where the GPU is barely used but I can't speak the same about Windows for CPU bound tasks because Linux it's clearly betetr at that.

It's funny that you mention that. I follow a lot of Chris Titus Tech videos and he is very much a Linux supporter. For a long time he's criticised propitiatory programs like Final Cut pro, as they "charge too much, etc..." and that an FOSS alternative like KdenLive is just as good and "free." He has used it to edit his videos and I will admit he's done a good job with kdenlive. However fast forward till now where he has tried Final Cut pro and he suddenly changed his tune and admitted to the fact that Final Cut pro is better and easier to use. Say it ain't so, a proprietary program makes a better program that a FOSS one? I guess that money they charge doesn't help them hire good talented programmers, etc...