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re: Tell me why linux wouldn't work for a large majority of residential users
Posted on 8/15/14 at 3:17 pm to TigerinATL
Posted on 8/15/14 at 3:17 pm to TigerinATL
quote:
Linux is not a consumer focused operating system, it's an enterprise level operating system that is being maintained by hardcore computer hobbyists.
This is wildly false of at least 3 distinct distros. Further, anything that used KDE and names the programs by what they do as opposed to their actual names (ie- the web browser says "internet" instead of "Mozilla Firefox") that comes installed with OpenOffice, gimp, a web browser, and mozilla thunderwhatever their email client is called would barely know the difference between that and windows, other than what would be goofy-looking themes to them.
2
Posted on 8/15/14 at 3:39 pm to Hopeful Doc
quote:
would barely know the difference between that and windows, other than what would be goofy-looking themes to them.
They could put this goofy-looking theme on it:
or this one:
Posted on 8/15/14 at 4:06 pm to Hopeful Doc
quote:
This is wildly false of at least 3 distinct distros.
67% web server market share LINK , under 2% of desktop market share LINK Consumer ready and Consumer focused are not the same thing. I think that's kind of at the heart of the OP, Linux is ready, why isn't it more widespread. Is anyone besides Ubuntu and Chrome making a commercial effort to push Unix/Linux to the consumer desktop/laptops? (obviously counting OS X as a class of its own)
Posted on 8/15/14 at 4:21 pm to Korkstand
quote:
This is a really, really old criticism of the Linux community, and it's really not like that anymore. Hasn't been for over a decade.
I don't know. My problem with the printer driver was about a month ago. There wasn't a linux driver for the printer I had. After a lot of googling, I found another driver that was supposed to work, and then I had to figure out where to put it (the instructions were unclear, and like I said, I'm not a power user.) Okay, finally got the printer working, but it won't scan. After a lot more googling, I found out you just can't get this printer to scan in Linux. At all.
I'm a linux user, and for me, the advantages far outweight the disadvantages. But there are disadvantages. If I were a new user, the experience I related above would have sent me back to Windows, never to return.
Posted on 8/15/14 at 5:28 pm to TigerinATL
quote:
67% web server market share LINK , under 2% of desktop market share LINK Consumer ready and Consumer focused are not the same thing.
Of course consumer ready and consumer focused or not the same thing. Linux also isn't just one thing. Tell me the server vs desktop share running ubuntu, fedora, or mint. Those three are consumer focused operating systems. There are many others as well. Talking about "Linux" as if it is one, single experience/OS is a farce at best. You must compare versions, distros, and to some extent even the kernels and the shells before you can really make good comparisons. That said, as a day-to-day OS, if you put KDE Ubuntu (kubuntu) on someone's computer today, they would have learned all basic tasks described (word processing, spreadsheet design, web browsing, email (including desktop-configured client) in a matter of hours. Installation of new software is even easier than Mac OSX or windows. The OSX App Store is less inclusive of the programs capable of running on OSX than the Ubuntu repository's GUI on most Linux (end-user focused) distros.
For bonus points, Ubuntu comes with WINE which stands for "WINE is not (an) emulator" which will allow the installation of most windows applications inside of your Ubuntu system. That does take some small amount of learning to use- you do have to make it all the way to google and ask "how do I install x on WINE?" And then follow GUI-based installation. So not really hard at all.
Posted on 8/15/14 at 5:32 pm to Hopeful Doc
quote:
For bonus points, Ubuntu comes with WINE which stands for "WINE is not (an) emulator" which will allow the installation of most windows applications inside of your Ubuntu system. That does take some small amount of learning to use- you do have to make it all the way to google and ask "how do I install x on WINE?" And then follow GUI-based installation. So not really hard at all.
I use WINE, and it can be squirrely. Works well for some Windows applications, buggy on others, and not at all for a few.
I guess I'm sounding like a Linux hater on this thread, and that's not my intention. I'm using it right now. I just wish it were better, that's all.
Posted on 8/15/14 at 5:36 pm to Jim Rockford
WINE is a patch that will work for a lot of things. It will not work for everything, in particular many business specific apps. But when discussing what will and will not run on it, I think we are really reaching outside the realm of what the basic home user needs. I did not intend for it to sound like it was an end all be all solution.
Posted on 8/15/14 at 6:02 pm to Jim Rockford
quote:Printing and scanning is definitely a weak spot for Linux. Not the capability itself, but driver support, as you found out. Some manufacturers are starting to write Linux drivers for their equipment, but for those that don't you just have to wait for someone to volunteer their time and write one. As for scanning, many scanners have a scan to email feature, which I generally prefer over software that "pulls" a scan, but I understand that is kind of a wonky workaround.
There wasn't a linux driver for the printer I had. After a lot of googling, I found another driver that was supposed to work, and then I had to figure out where to put it (the instructions were unclear, and like I said, I'm not a power user.) Okay, finally got the printer working, but it won't scan. After a lot more googling, I found out you just can't get this printer to scan in Linux. At all.
quote:Yeah, and it's really a shame that companies don't always provide Linux support for their hardware.
If I were a new user, the experience I related above would have sent me back to Windows, never to return.
One thing that looks promising is Google's Cloud Print. They have a strong incentive to keep improving this so that Android phones can print to any printer, and one side-effect is it makes it possible for a single Linux software package to provide support for ANY printer that can be printed to via Google Cloud Print, no special drivers necessary. I think this is a great step forward in an effort to standardize printing. The more peripherals that can communicate via network, the better IMO.
Posted on 8/15/14 at 6:10 pm to gmrkr5
quote:so?
still a Unix based OS
OS X is more robust because it only has to deal with 1 manufacturer.
Posted on 8/15/14 at 7:00 pm to TigerinATL
quote:
I guess to a certain extent Chromebooks are the first iteration of "linux" for the consumer.
ChromeOS is a great example of what the OP is asking. It is a mainstream consumer product that does all the basics, plus it's packaged in good hardware.
Posted on 8/15/14 at 8:42 pm to Korkstand
quote:
ave you tried Linux since 2002?
I work on linux and unix every day. Gnome, KDE all those shells suck compared to OSX and even Windows 8 for desktop productivity. Linux is by far the best server OS available.
Posted on 8/15/14 at 9:15 pm to Jim Rockford
quote:
It would be great if you never, ever, had to fool with anything under the hood. Installing/uninstalling software, drivers, customizing things, etc is more of a "hands on" experience than a lot of people would be willing to learn.
Sorry, this is the first time I'm checking back on this thread, so I'm sure I have a lot of responses to look at, but I'll just start with this one...
Clearly, you aren't aware of how dumb the general populace is. While people are capable of installing software because some pop-up box jumped up and told them they need to reg-pro-clean-optimize their pc, I've found most people are too dumb/lazy to find their way to the Windows control panel to remove software anyway.
So, ease of removing/installing software I think is a moot point.
Posted on 8/15/14 at 9:22 pm to TigerinATL
quote:
This might be a bit above the "average users" head, but one advantage I've always found with Windows vs. Linux is that if I have a problem it's very easy to find a wealth of documentation and solutions online for Windows, this is not the case for Linux, at least not the command line varieties I deal with for web serving.
You're overestimating your average user. I find, that when a user decides to Google for a solution, they'll click on the ads and install adware before they ever find a legit software package to do what they wanted.
Posted on 8/15/14 at 9:56 pm to FreddieMac
quote:
I work on linux and unix every day. Gnome, KDE all those shells suck compared to OSX and even Windows 8 for desktop productivity.
So it's not about how easy/hard it is to "get apps working" anymore, now it's about productivity?
This post was edited on 8/15/14 at 9:57 pm
Posted on 8/15/14 at 10:21 pm to FreddieMac
quote:
all those shells suck compared to OSX and even Windows 8 for desktop productivity
I think it's purely a matter of preference. I think Gnome 2 was far superior to the other commercially available shells.
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