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Is 2021 the Year of the Linux Desktop?

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Re: Is 2021 the Year of the Linux Desktop?

#21

Post by ogogmad »

quantumsolace wrote: post #8

This "year of the Linux Desktop" joke is getting a bit tiresome. What is missing exactly? Sure the desktop is a bit ugly. But pretty much everything works out of the box. If MS released a native Office for Linux I could get rid of my Mac.

Have you tried running Office over Wine?

Have you tried LibreOffice? Admittedly, I don't have to share complicated MS Office documents with other people, but I do like using LO.

[edit] Actually, there are some things about LO I'm not sure about: For instance, I don't know how to use their formula editor, and when I tried using it, I got confused and found another way of inserting mathematical symbols into my document. Also, I don't know how good the spell-checking is, since I don't have a spell-checker working on mine. So these are some caveats in my endorsement of LO.

Re: Is 2021 the Year of the Linux Desktop?

#22

Post by tapia »

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #15
nickjj wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it would be ruined by many of the pressures which ruined most mainstream operating systems I think Linux is different than other operating systems because if something goes mainstream that you don't like you have tons of viable options. With each component of the OS being tweakable you can choose opinions that others have made or forge your own path. For example if you don't like whatever the latest window manager…

This same quality may be part of why it has never gained significant traction though, the proliferation of components and resulting fragmentation have made it a difficult target for application developers. Oh, sure, FOSS applications work fine... because they're open source and rely on unpaid third parties to integrate them into whatever absurdly interdependent ecosystem (a.k.a "distro") you happen to be using. Well,…

I think that's why we have flatpack now.

Re: Is 2021 the Year of the Linux Desktop?

#23

Post by II2II »

sneak wrote: post #3

I think "Linux Desktop" means something other than "a computer running the Linux kernel that runs desktop applications". ChromeOS is as much a Linux computer as is a Tesla automobile. Sure, there's a linux kernel down in there somewhere, but it's not the thing we mean when we say "Linux Desktop".

I am going to disagree.

As far as I can tell, Chrome OS is the Linux desktop and the GNU user space. The user space may not be exposed by default, but it is there. It may not be considered complete by those who expect compilers and X to be installed by default, but those tools can be installed since the underlying infrastructure is in place. It is not another Android where, as far as I can tell, very little of the GNU user space is in place.

Having to switch into developer mode (on older Chrome OS devices) or run Linux applications is a sandboxed environment is beside the point. These are just a security model layered on top of the OS.

Re: Is 2021 the Year of the Linux Desktop?

#25

Post by smackeyacky »

Darmody wrote: post #5
sneak wrote: post #3

I think "Linux Desktop" means something other than "a computer running the Linux kernel that runs desktop applications". ChromeOS is as much a Linux computer as is a Tesla automobile. Sure, there's a linux kernel down in there somewhere, but it's not the thing we mean when we say "Linux Desktop".

Linux Desktop means Linux being a good Windows alternative on your computer.

This already happened for most developers who are the last real users of PCs.

WSL is microsoft giving up. Other users dont really need PCs any more, you just use a phone or a web browser.

Re: Is 2021 the Year of the Linux Desktop?

#27

Post by Foobar8568 »

cloudbonsai wrote: post #13

The original article is: https://www.pcmag.com/opinions/2021-is-the-year-of-linux-on-... The basic thesis of the author was: 1. In 2021, Chromebooks are everywhere. 2. Chrome OS is Linux. 3. Therefore, 2021 is the year of Linux Desktop. Honestly, I'm not sure this is such a great argument. Isn't it rather like "2021 is the year of Chrome dominance"?

I would say because of WSL, it will be the year of the Linux Desktop, it just works™. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/tutorials/gui-a...

Re: Is 2021 the Year of the Linux Desktop?

#28

Post by hkt »

tapia wrote: post #22
AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This same quality may be part of why it has never gained significant traction though, the proliferation of components and resulting fragmentation have made it a difficult target for application developers. Oh, sure, FOSS applications work fine... because they're open source and rely on unpaid third parties to integrate them into whatever absurdly interdependent ecosystem (a.k.a "distro") you happen to be using. Well,…

I think that's why we have flatpack now.

Also snap. And AppImage. Distros have failed conceptually under the stress of too much software, some more than others. I'd say Debian has fared worst and Arch best.

Re: Is 2021 the Year of the Linux Desktop?

#30

Post by BrandoElFollito »

I tried to install Ubuntu 20.04 on my Thinkpad P51 with two monitors. Fonts were funny and the mouse never got the monitors right. Horrible things were happening when I was recovering from sleep mode.

I installed Windows 10 on my Thinkpad P51 with two monitors. Everything worked out of the box.

So at least for me 2021 is the year of Windows Desktop and certainly not Linux Desktop.

Disclaimer: I try 1-2 times a year to install a working Linux on desktop since 1994, and have my family use it. It never, ever fucking worked. I am so pissed of because of that because I have Linux on every backend server and I lost hope that one day I will have a Linux desktop.

Comment: I may have been able to make Linux work on my computer after digging some obscure settings in x.org and whatnot. I just want my front end device to just work - so Windows it is.

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