Ask HN: Why don’t you use Linux as your daily driver OS?

Post by plouc » Wed, Sep 01, 2021, 8:55 AM UTC

ASalazarMX wrote: post #120

Engineering-MD wrote: post #114

I would like to, but just always put off by various small things. I like the UIs available in linux and the free and open software. But often there is a difficulty, a nag, an issue to solve. And things don’t fit together, it’s lack synergy between its components. Hardware support is another difficulty- track pads like others said. Tbh, I am looking to upgrade my laptop, and was thinking of going pure linux, but all t…

I learned that you gotta pick a boring Linux distro as your main OS. For me it's Kubuntu LTS. Sure, I've had small glitches like bluetooth headphone issues or flaky double screen support, but once you solve them, you're set for 5 years. At my age, I'll upgrade my main OS maybe 10-15 times at most. I used to eagerly try the six-month releases, but I can't devote time to beta test anymore. Give me a boring, non-bleedin…

Post by hypertele-Xii » Wed, Sep 01, 2021, 9:38 AM UTC

hammyhavoc wrote: post #228

hypertele-Xii wrote: post #38

Switching OS incurs costs. The benefits must outweigh the costs. I'm a great fan of the principles and philosophies of Linux, but if I'm to use it as my daily driver, it has to be above all else a practical solution. There's so much weird shit involved with Linux that the costs outweigh the benefits. Weird shit like, Linux refusing to let me copy files on an external hard drive because "I'm not the owner" of those fi…

Reaper might be the best DAW ("audio editor" in your own words), period. Been used for all sorts, including a Call of Duty score. You don't need to study distros for years. Linux is Linux. Manjaro, Mint, Pop, Ubuntu, pick one, and get on with your work.

Post by andor » Wed, Sep 01, 2021, 9:41 AM UTC

zbrozek wrote: post #15

Generally unpolished quirkiness that requires time and attention to resolve. For example, in ten years of using Linux at work I've never experienced tear-free browser scrolling despite hours of fussing with X11 and compositor settings or graphics drivers. Or how my default file associations change unbidden all the time, frequently to poor choices like GIMP to open a JPEG. And more recently Internet Explorer through W…

Post by jakopo87 » Wed, Sep 01, 2021, 9:55 AM UTC

ToFab123 wrote: post #248

mcv wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would really like to have an OS that quietly keeps itself up to date without bugging me about it. My work Macbook and Windows laptops also bug me a lot and keep demanding reboots at inconvenient times, with popup notifications blocking things I need. Just quietly download your updates, install them in the background, and quickly switch to the new version at some point when I'm not using it.

That is pretty much what Windows 10 does. Okay, maybe not quickly switch to the new version as we all know that it can take 10 - 20 minutes sometimes, but here is the thing. By default it reboots and install the updates when I sleep so I don't notice this. It always puzzles me when I hear that Windows suddenly starts to install updated while you are doing something, because that is not the default. The default is to…

Post by muzani » Wed, Sep 01, 2021, 10:24 AM UTC

hiram112 wrote: post #242

muzani wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really like snapping windows to parts of the screen. Mac doesn't do this well. Linux, well, I do a search for it, and get this: https://askubuntu.com/questions/26346/how-to-use-window-snap... The first answer is great. That second answer is typical with every "how do I do anything in Linux" question. It's a chain of things I dread and I end up spending an hour because I forget to type "cd .scripts" and then get los…

> Do you Linux users just apply random advice like that off the internets without seeing what every line means? This isn't just a Linux issue. I've used Windows many years, and the vast majority of solutions to problems is inserting some cryptic string into the registry and rebooting. Though I eventually dumped Linux, too, a few years ago as the solutions to the weekly show-stopping bugs, driver issues, and kernel gl…