> No. This is the fundamental misunderstanding of the point I was making. So I am going to make it crystal clear. The problems I've had with installing slack, I've had with Spotify, Steam, Dropbox and there are quite a few others I am sure I've forgotten.
It's not a misunderstanding at all--you're explicitly blaming the platform, and your subsequent comment does just that:
> Even with attempts such as Flatpack, SnapStore etc. The same situation is present. This is because of the nature of any GNU/Linux distro is that they are all fragmented in terms of underlying libraries, kernel versions, UI versions, package managers etc.
Meanwhile, millions of Linux users have no problems with Steam or Dropbox. But you have unspecified problems, and therefore Linux is bad.
> Nothing remotely equivalent exists for Linux.
That's simply false. If you are being honest, then you don't know what you're talking about.
> Have the wrong distro ... there probably isn't a package.
So then use a popular, supported one. Packages for RHEL/CentOS, Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu, and even SuSe are nearly ubiquitous. If you freely choose to use obscure, forked-3-levels-deep Bob's Linux 2018, don't complain that there's no bespoke package for arbitrary software you want. That's silly.
> Have a slightly older distro ... There probably isn't a package for you.
Also false. Most vendor packages are for years-old LTS releases. If you've actually tried this, you should know this.
> Even with attempts such as Flatpack, SnapStore etc. The same situation is present. This is because of the nature of any GNU/Linux distro is that they are all fragmented in terms of underlying libraries, kernel versions, UI versions, package managers etc.
Bizarre. Flatpack and Snap are specifically designed to solve that problem, but you claim that they have that problem. Why are you saying these things that are patently untrue?
> It is a mess. It will always be a mess as long as people don't recognise it as a real problem.
It's just weird that you say "as long as people don't recognize it as a real problem" immediately after mentioning attempts to explicitly solve the problem. Are you writing these words seriously?
> I doubt it will get solved in our lifetimes.
Meanwhile, millions of people happily continue using their Linux desktops. And millions of people continue using Windows, suffering all of its problems, such as not actually being in control of their own machines anymore (it's amazing how far Microsoft has fallen just since Windows 7).
> If you want to make smart ass remarks about it while ignoring the real issue so be it.
Your words agree with neither my comments nor your own. Bizarre.
> Thanks for taking me out of context. I was specifically talking about user environments which are supplied by those who control the distro.
Not out of context at all. You're blaming the platform instead of the app vendor.
> Please don't be disingenuous.
Please don't project. You say A in one sentence and not-A in the next. You don't even seem to agree with yourself.
> People become familiar with certain user interfaces. Saying that everyone should just understand how to use a new interface even if it mimicks (btw poorly) another OS which is ubiquitous really shows that their lack of touch with the majority of users.
You're saying that an aerospace engineer can't, in a few seconds, click what appears to be a Start Menu-like menu in the Start Menu place, type "browser" into the box labeled "search", and find "Firefox Web Browser"? I don't believe you. If he can figure out how to make an aircraft fly, and use complicated fluid dynamics modeling software, he can figure out how to launch Firefox. Going from Windows to Plasma is no more complicated than going from Windows 7 to Windows 8 and 10--in fact, probably much simpler, considering the enormous UI changes Microsoft made. And it's claims like this that suggest it's you being disingenuous.
> Lots of users can have real problems moving between versions of one application. That why user interface guidelines, best practices, user testing and user interface design are its whole own field in this industry.
Then you ought to be heaping criticism on Microsoft for Windows 8 and 10. How many times have I seen someone move from Windows 7 to 8/10 and say, "I can't use this UI, it's awful!" Instead you act as if Linux UIs are uniquely problematic.
> Pretending because something looks superficially the same means that someone should be able to use it is ridiculous.
"A imitates B, but you can't expect people who are accustomed to B to be able to actually use A." Bizarre.
How many times I've heard someone say, "I installed Ubuntu on my 80-year-old grandma's computer and haven't heard her ask for help since. She barely even noticed a difference. She uses the Web and everything." But your hypothetical aerospace engineer can't launch Firefox. Ah, anecdotes.
> KDE plasma UI is what happens when a teenager that has just learnt how to use Photoshop effects tool has gone mad with gradients and bloom effects, the whole thing is a mess visually.
Now this is where I agree with you. I don't like the default Plasma themes. That's been a problem since KDE 4. But that's superficial. You can change all that. With Windows and Mac, you can't--you can take it or leave it. "But that's complicated, users won't want to do that"--beside the point: they can. Windows has an ugly mess of a UI, and you can't fix it. That's where you ought to be complaining.
> Each time there is a update to Windows 10 they have changed the location of some control panel option for the umpteeth time. So I already know how to use powershell and install the management tools, it is normally easier FOR ME to use that rather than try to navigate the labyrinth of control panel options.
Understandable. A few scripts can make life a lot easier on Windows.
> In response to powershell comment. It is normally easier to just learn a shell like bash on a *nix system and just use that then try using the absolutely awful UIs they normally provide you with.
I'm not a fan of the default UIs, but for an average user, they're certainly more usable and discoverable than looking up shell commands. This is another example of the inconsistency of your complaints. You seem to be complaining about 5 different problems at the same time, mixing them all together.