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Why Linux is not ready for the desktop, the final edition

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Re: Why Linux is not ready for the desktop, the final edition

#81
> Regressions are introduced all the time because Linux developers spend very little to no time checking that their code changes don't cause regressions or breakages outside of the problems they're trying to fix or features they're implementing.

Wow. Such sweeping generalizations make me not want to pay attention to anything this article has to say.

But let's entertain the possibility that parts of that statement are true. It's practically impossible for "Linux developers"—whatever that means—to ensure that a change they make doesn't break something downstream. Unlike proprietary operating systems, the Linux ecosystem is not maintained by a single company, so it's impossible to know and account for all the environments a piece of software will run in. Distro maintainers work tirelessly to ensure bugs don't make it to users, but it's simply impractical to test every single combination of hardware and software that exists. This is extremely difficult even for proprietary operating systems where development is centralized, let alone for a distributed environment like most software for Linux, and Linux itself, is developed in.

When you think about it, it's a miracle of modern software engineering and a testament of the power of collaboration and the free software movement that the Linux ecosystem works as well as it does, and in many areas matches or exceeds the functionality of other operating systems, all the while preserving important user freedoms. GNU/Linux is a stronghold for user-friendly computing among alternatives from companies that want to control how you use your computers, or profit from your data or attention. It's not perfect, but it's one of the few options we have (besides the BSDs, but I wouldn't consider them to be as user-friendly).

Re: Why Linux is not ready for the desktop, the final edition

#82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The benefits outweight the issues.

Sure, if I want to spend weeks and months of time learning how to: * move my arms again, so I can learn how to * push myself up again, so I can learn how to * move my legs again, so I can learn how to * crawl, so I can learn how to * walk. Cost of entry is a very real issue with NixOS and many/most of us are not interested in taking that time, so until it's easy / reasonable to use for most people's lived experiences…

In my case I managed to get working desktop in about 15 minutes without any prior Nix knowledge just by following their tutorial, then about 16 hours to read/learn/experiment and 8 more hours to complete my environment and 8 more to move my homelab to Nix. Since then I spend around two hours every six months to update and polish my flakes.

Although Nix knowledge helped me tremendously in managing heterogenous codebase with more than a million of LoC

Re: Why Linux is not ready for the desktop, the final edition

#83
post #7

Again? I’ve been using Linux on my desktop since 2004 or so. And lack of games is always brought up as if gaming was one essential feature of a computer. That’s what consoles are for.

Games happen to be software, that hundreds of millions use, especially younger tech-oriented people. So yes, it IS essential if you want to make a PC people will use.

Re: Why Linux is not ready for the desktop, the final edition

#84

- "The vast majority of applications exist only for Windows, and speaking of games, Linux hasn't seen any AAA titles for many years now," The vast majority of AAA titles run seamlessly on Linux. Per protondb[0], ≥80% of the top 10, top 100, and top 1000 are rated "platinum" or "gold" for Linux functioning (by users). [0] https://www.protondb.com/

Wine/proton work so well at this point it may as well just be considered just another runtime environment (like Java or the .Net vm).

Best stable ABI for linux :/ (somehow win32 is indeed best stable runtime for linux)

Re: Why Linux is not ready for the desktop, the final edition

#86
post #80

Everyone I know that uses linux for their PC, has constant, daily issues and complaints, and they all use a different distro that they promise is the best. Without even going into any of the other issues, that's enough to keep me away. Even as a nerdy programmer, I don't have the time, energy or any reason to use something that will make my life harder and impact my ability to do what I want to do. I can't see any co…

Everyone I know is happy with linux and do not complain at all, instead prefer it over other systems. Me, using linux professionally for the last 15 years I'm just so so happy that system like this exists. Maybe I've been lucky but I've never had permanent problems with it with my last four computers, three of them being notebooks, one desktop. Nothing gets in my way, nothing breaks, I'm more productive than I'd ever be in any other system.

Re: Why Linux is not ready for the desktop, the final edition

#88
The main reason why Linux on the desktop has never gone mainstream is that it is extremely difficult to find a good laptop that comes with Linux preinstalled, where the OEM is responsible for ensuring a seamless experience, as any bugs in WiFi, audio, drivers, peripherals, etc. is the OEM's responsibility, not the consumer's.

99% of computer users will never consider replacing the operating system that came installed on their system, they don't want to risk bricking it or losing data.

Re: Why Linux is not ready for the desktop, the final edition

#89
post #81

> Regressions are introduced all the time because Linux developers spend very little to no time checking that their code changes don't cause regressions or breakages outside of the problems they're trying to fix or features they're implementing. Wow. Such sweeping generalizations make me not want to pay attention to anything this article has to say. But let's entertain the possibility that parts of that statement are…

And if the assertion was true, I'd be feeling those regressions at least monthly on my leading edge, unstable (~amd64), Gentoo box, that is my daily driver desktop I use at $DayJob.

This box has been stable enough to make money. But not as stable as my backup (also Gentoo) which runs stable and updates weekly.

Edit: my biggest source of stability issues are Nvidia drivers mis-matched from kernel. Takes a whole reboot to fix.

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