this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2024
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Linux can absolutely replace windows for the average user.
I still don't believe Linux needs to be pushed on people and it's simply not for everyone.
It shouldn't be pushed on people, but it should be talked about to give people more choice and agency in their home computing.
The problem is that people dont want freedom and privacy, they want ease of use and software compatibility.
Ease of use has been getting worse. And with the way enshittification has been hitting, the need for compatible software is likely to shift into a need for software that does what it says on the tin without 2 linked accounts and AI integration.
Those weren't any of the points that I brought up. And are poor arguments against telling people their options.
That’s right, you know what’s best for everyone and if you just don’t tell the poor children that the option is even a thing, they’ll grow up happy Windows users and have lots of grandchildren for you.
I got fed up with Windows and recently tried Linux Mint. In regards to ease of use it was like a breath of fresh air. Things just work inherently, and I didn't have to fight with it to remove bullshit I didn't want.
As for software compatibility I've mostly already had alternatives readily available. For other things the tools exist to make them compatible and don't take long to learn.
There is no reason not to recommend it to people who are getting annoyed with the enshittification of Windows.
I dont argue with people about this, because i sleep well knowing that windows days are numbered (simply due to its parent companies structure) while linux/bsd will undoubtedly continue to thrive for decades if not centuries. A little bit of healthy superiority complex is great.
What are you talking about? If Arch is too hard just use Endeavor. /s
I know this thread is 10 years old, but still the steps “My laptop is a bit too warm” – “Scanning for temperature sensors broke my monitor” – “
sudo i2cget -y 6 0x4f 176[WTF?!] fixed it.” are really not unlikely to happen again today. I shot xOrg trying to get control over my fans just this year.Valid, but ultimately no average user is gonna try anything like that on their own.
I think it’s very common, particularly for gamers, to want to take control of their cooling.
Yes, but that's why I keep saying average user. Your average user mostly just browses the internet, casually plays games, and uses common software like word, with increasingly many apps/services being available online. Gamers who mess with drivers, the hardware, and bios settings and such are not really the norm. How many people in your life are afraid to touch the windows settings, if they even know where to find them?
Honestly most of the popularity of windows at home these days I'm willing to bet is because it's what's installed by default, and of course because of familiarity.
You're right of course that professionally you can't always replace windows, and while proton let's you play almost anything there are certain games that aren't available (usually because of anti-cheat). Most pc users however won't notice as they aren't gamers. I do also find that the settings and gui package managers on most distros are way more user-friendly than what you have on windows, which I think is another point in favour of using linux casually.
I think you assume a lower proficiency level for “average user” than I do. Now that I’ve come to think about it, you’re probably right.
Bazzite kinda solves most of these issues though honestly. It's immutable, so it protects you from doing things that might severely impact other systems. It also already has hardware support for things like fan control for a bunch of systems (Nvidia, Steam Deck, ASUS RoG handhelds).
Can confirm. One of my housemates gave another a laptop last month. She asked me to set it up for them, since it came with windows 11, and I have warned her about that virus. I really tried to install windows 10 on the thing, the chip set supports it, but I couldn't get past a step that needed to connect to Microsoft during the installation and initial setup. There are two more tricks I could pull to get the thing running Win 10, which are install Windows 7 and upgrade from there, or pop out the HDD and put it in my working Win 10 machine, and continue the setup using that box, but both of those seem like work.
I ended up slapping Mint on the thing, installed Firefox and Ublock Origin, and gave them the machine. Told them to ask me if they have any issues whatsoever, and they have been using it ever since. Apparently no issues, cause I have asked, and they said nothing they needed help with.