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Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

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Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#51

Post by throwaways885 »

StavrosK wrote: post #37
ajkjk wrote: post #16

None of these reasons have anything to do with user experience -- no wonder none of these reasons have earned Linux any market share outside of picky developers.

* Astronomically lower probability of catching a virus. * No bullshit forced updates when the OS feels like it. * No phoning home with you being unable to launch an app when your manufacturer's server is slow. * No shuffling about trying to install drivers for a thousand components before your computer is usable. How's that?

> Astronomically lower probability of catching a virus.

Yes because nobody uses consumer desktop Linux. With higher market share the malware will come.

> No bullshit forced updates when the OS feels like it.

True, but that also means you're going to end up with a lot more botnet nodes out there because people will never update. Or they'll never update and still complain things are not working.

> No phoning home with you being unable to launch an app when your manufacturer's server is slow.

I hear you, but this doesn't happen enough for anybody to care. People would be more fet up by Facebook downtime.

> No shuffling about trying to install drivers for a thousand components before your computer is usable.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Linux drivers still can require endless faffing about. The biggie is that distros won't distribute nonfree drivers by default, for ideological reasons. The average person doesn't understand that they need to go enable some repo in their package manager, only that their machine isn't working.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#52

Post by catach »

fctorial wrote: post #7

It lists file system case sensitivity as a pro, which it isn't. Case sensitivity is the default you get when you don't think about the users, and windows chose the opposite because it's better.

I can agree that system case sensitivity is the wrong choice for probably the vast majority of users, but at the same time it's the right choice for me.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#53

Post by throwaways885 »

fgonzag wrote: post #29
bitwize wrote: post #9

Objective reasons to prefer anything else over Linux: Security. Linux is now the least secure desktop OS available, with limited sandboxing and no provision for checking binary signatures. It's 2020, the net is a dangerous place, and if you want to avoid malware, signature checks must be done on everything from the bootloader up through the user application code.

Limited sandboxing? Ever heard of containers?

What mainstream user software is distributed as a container? Last time I checked it's all just endless deb files.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#54

Post by Asmod4n »

StavrosK wrote: post #37
ajkjk wrote: post #16

None of these reasons have anything to do with user experience -- no wonder none of these reasons have earned Linux any market share outside of picky developers.

* Astronomically lower probability of catching a virus. * No bullshit forced updates when the OS feels like it. * No phoning home with you being unable to launch an app when your manufacturer's server is slow. * No shuffling about trying to install drivers for a thousand components before your computer is usable. How's that?

And when there is no driver available the only option you have is to buy a new device. None of my 4(4!) Sound devices work with a current linux distribution. Not the Realtek Chip on my x570 board, not my logitech webcam, not the speakers in my monitor via hdmi and not my USB Sound Card from Creative.

Not even the onboard Realtek Lan controller works, i had to buy a usb one.

Oh and, i had to plug the cord from all sound devices after a reboot into Windows, because none worked anymore.

This situation is even worse than in the late nineties/early 2000 ish.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#55

Post by phendrenad2 »

StavrosK wrote: post #37
ajkjk wrote: post #16

None of these reasons have anything to do with user experience -- no wonder none of these reasons have earned Linux any market share outside of picky developers.

* Astronomically lower probability of catching a virus. * No bullshit forced updates when the OS feels like it. * No phoning home with you being unable to launch an app when your manufacturer's server is slow. * No shuffling about trying to install drivers for a thousand components before your computer is usable. How's that?

> Astronomically lower probability of catching a virus.

Correct, but when was the last time you got a virus on Windows? (Obviously it's different for Regular Joe User, I'm talking about the HN audience).

> No bullshit forced updates when the OS feels like it.

In practice, my Windows install always updates in the middle of the night when I'm not using it. It closes all of my apps and only reopens the web browser. But, it's not so bad. It doesn't bother me. I can however see how it might annoy some people. But I think the effects of this are exaggerated.

> No phoning home with you being unable to launch an app when your manufacturer's server is slow.

Windows phones home, but to be fair, this post is about Linux vs Windows, and being unable to launch an app is a MacOS problem, not Windows.

> No shuffling about trying to install drivers for a thousand components before your computer is usable.

This is true in some situations. For instance, if you install Windows from scratch you'll have to wait while it downloads drivers. More of an automated process, no shuffling about. The alternative on Linux is to roll the dice and hope your drivers are baked into the kernel, if not you're back to (very manual) shuffling about.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#56

Post by ubercow13 »

fiddlerwoaroof wrote: post #35
StavrosK wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you need web apps wrapped in their own window, though? Just open a browser. Relatedly, Electron is a problem because desktop apps nowadays require a huge browser just to display a window, not because web apps are packaged in a browser to get slightly better desktop integration.

I like Slack and similar having their own icon and entry in the alt-tab switcher. Absent ubiquitous PWA support, electron is sort of the least bad alternative.

You can kind of do this with Chrome for any website. More tools->create shortcut in the menu.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#57

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

bitwize wrote: post #9

Objective reasons to prefer anything else over Linux: Security. Linux is now the least secure desktop OS available, with limited sandboxing and no provision for checking binary signatures. It's 2020, the net is a dangerous place, and if you want to avoid malware, signature checks must be done on everything from the bootloader up through the user application code.

> Linux is now the least secure desktop OS available,

... less secure than Haiku, the OS that runs everything as root?

> with limited sandboxing

With limited default sandboxing (snaps, flatpaks), and assorted add-on options (firejail, bubblewrap), in which respect it's... exactly like NT (sandboxie) and Darwin?

> and no provision for checking binary signatures

I am aware of no package manager which fails to check signatures before installing. They may exist, but at least the major players do.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#58

Post by josephcsible »

throwaways885 wrote: post #51
StavrosK wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* Astronomically lower probability of catching a virus. * No bullshit forced updates when the OS feels like it. * No phoning home with you being unable to launch an app when your manufacturer's server is slow. * No shuffling about trying to install drivers for a thousand components before your computer is usable. How's that?

> Astronomically lower probability of catching a virus. Yes because nobody uses consumer desktop Linux. With higher market share the malware will come. > No bullshit forced updates when the OS feels like it. True, but that also means you're going to end up with a lot more botnet nodes out there because people will never update. Or they'll never update and still complain things are not working. > No phoning home with…

> > Astronomically lower probability of catching a virus.

> Yes because nobody uses consumer desktop Linux. With higher market share the malware will come.

Linux has a higher server market share already, and its virus problem there is still not as bad as Windows'.

> > No bullshit forced updates when the OS feels like it.

> True, but that also means you're going to end up with a lot more botnet nodes out there because people will never update. Or they'll never update and still complain things are not working.

Today, Windows has forced updates and Linux doesn't, and Windows hosts are more likely to be part of a botnet than Linux hosts.

> distros won't distribute nonfree drivers by default, for ideological reasons.

True but misleading. For example, Ubuntu doesn't install nonfree drivers by default, but all you have to do to install them is check the checkbox when the installer asks you. Way easier than dealing with drivers on Windows.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#59

Post by Subsentient »

1986 wrote: post #20

I know quite a lot of folks here are fed up with moves away from native apps and towards Electron-wrapped web apps (and often for totally valid reasons) but it's been a godsend for making Linux a usable daily driver OS. IMO if you're doing eg web dev work in a GSuite / Slack / Figma / etc organization, it's never been a better time to try desktop Linux!

Honestly I'd suggest they just use Qt then. Our company is writing a portable replacement to our Electron client right now. The electron option was absolute garbage, very limited, and caused us untold pain. We got tired of telling customers "we can't really do that". The Qt version is already working on Linux and Windows, and on whatever CPUs we compile it for. There's no excuse for Electron, because there are good, portable GUI frameworks and libraries to use instead. Hell, don't like Qt? Use GTK+! I use GTK+ for my own portable personal projects, I like the API better and it integrates better with XFCE.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#60

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

AzzieElbab wrote: post #47

I have been running Linux on all my personal machines for the last 8 years and I have to say that one thing windows has going for it is it’s graphics system. I have super sensitive eyes and I have to say that even wayland does not cut it when compared to windows. Everywhere else Linux on desktop is either far better or a bit behind but workable

I'm not following; what are your eyes sensitive to / what problem to you perceive in the *nix GUI stack?
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