With Linux, I can change just about everything. If I want a real-time kernel, I can switch. If I want a different desktop environment, change. If I want more control from my keyboard, Linux has my back.

As much as I agree with the sentiment of the article, this is a terrible reason and more likely to scare people away from Linux rather than get them to install it.

If you know what a "real-time kernel" is, you're probably already using Linux and you are a highly technically literate user. Any "normal person" user is going to look at that and think "Oh, I guess I need to understand technobabble in order to use Linux". Normal users care about easy, preset defaults, not customization.

Once again, Linux adoption is kneecapped by its own users, who forget what normal people really care about.

[–] BombOmOm@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

Linux adoption is kneecapped by its own users, who forget what normal people really care about.

Yep. My primary goal has always been: 'It just works'. I'm fairly techy, but I don't want to fix shit constantly.

What finally got me to switch was Windows no longer 'just working'. Every update was another assault that required active effort on my part. PiHole, debloating, O&O Shutup, etc, etc. This coupled with Steam bringing Linux gaming into the prime-time, means the OS that most resembles 'is just works' is no longer Windows.

For most users, Linux just works. That is the angle that should be pushed. Particularly right now there is a massive opportunity to swap your family members over. No reason for Gran to throw away her facebook machine just because it doesn't like Windows 11. Throw Mint on there, point her to the Firefox icon, and she is good to go!

[–] aceshigh@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The computer savvy folks don’t need to be reminded. The non savvy folks who don’t have time to learn Linux are stuck with windows/apple.

[–] varnia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Many tech-savvy people just haven’t made the switch to Linux - often out of convenience rather than capability. Focusing on broader adoption first could make it easier to introduce Linux to less technical users later.

[–] WraithGear@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

still have game holdouts that need windows, waiting until they are dropped by the friend group

[–] snugglesthefalse@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 days ago

Yeah, I haven't switched cause I just haven't felt like I've had the time

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[–] bobaworld@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

One of the biggest things keeping me from jumping into Linux as my primary OS is because of nvidia's performance issues, particularly with DX12 games on Linux. I'd be taking like a 10%-30% performance hit. I know the games will "run" but I want them to run well, that's why I spend so much money on my GPU.

[–] Rooster326@programming.dev 7 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Real-time Kernel?

Like my popcorn?

Desktop environment

Jimmy I work in an office. What are you talking about?

Your average Windows user... Probably.

[–] Mihies@programming.dev 32 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Security: Linux doesn't need antivirus, just don't install infected software. Riiiight? Sorry, but this is silly.

[–] addie@feddit.uk 50 points 4 days ago (14 children)

Centrally managed repositories help a lot, here. Linux users tend not to download random software off of sketchy websites; it's all installed and kept up to date via the package manager.

Yes, Linux malware and viruses exist, and we shouldn't pretend otherwise. The usual reason for installing Linux virus scanners is because you're hosting a file/email server, and you want to keep infected files away from Windows users, tho.

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[–] Sunshine@piefed.social 44 points 4 days ago (24 children)

It’s easier than you think to try out on dual boot. You can also run your windows apps through a virtual machine!

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[–] shapis@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I just wish games worked fine on Linux.

[–] noddy@beehaw.org 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

What games? Because a lot of games do work fine, maybe even most of them. The problem is that the outliers are often games that a lot of people are playing (see https://areweanticheatyet.com/). Those games are usually not my cup of tea anyways.

[–] shapis@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The two I tried recently that were problematic were wow and last epoch.

Allegedly they both work fine. They don’t though.

[–] noddy@beehaw.org 1 points 2 hours ago

I'm usually playing steam games, and I often will find a solution to make it work on protondb if I have issues. Most of my games I can just install and run though. But I understand it being frustrating if your favourite games don't work or require lots of tinkering. I have played a few older games outside steam as well. I usually use Bottles for that, as it creates a wine prefix for me that's set up with DXVK, etc out of the box.

[–] baropithecus@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Good news, an overwhelming majority does work fine, and a significant number of those actually run better than on windows. I just switched to Linux on my desktop pc (because of win 10 EOL and because fuck microsoft) and I'm amazed how smooth the experience has been.

[–] shapis@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I read people online saying this often. But I’ve neve been able to play things without hiccups on Linux before.

With very very few exceptions.

[–] baropithecus@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I wonder why our experiences are this different. What distribution of linux do you run, on which hardware and how recent is your experience? For what it's worth, I have an AMD cpu and gpu with cachyos (which is a flavor of arch with some gaming optimizations pre-applied at install). I'd urge you to give it another try, Proton/Wine has really advanced a lot in the past few years.

[–] shapis@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 days ago

Mostly Debian and arch. But I’ve tried bazzite too at one point.

Experiences range from 5 years ago to like. Today.

And all my hardware is amd as well.

[–] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

They do

[–] shapis@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago

I’ve read people saying this here on lemmy often.

But it really hasn’t been my experience at all with very few exceptions.

[–] matelt@feddit.uk 25 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The first paragraph alone filled me with so much emotion because my very first computer was a Pentium 75 too! If I hadn't switched over to Linux earlier this year I would do it again in a heartbeat 💓 best decision I've ever taken!

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