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As a daily user of Linux on the desktop for over 15 years, I can appreciate many of these complaints, but despite it's flaws Linux on the desktop is a pleasure

As a daily user of Linux on the desktop for over 15 years, I can appreciate many of these complaints, but despite it's flaws Linux on the desktop is a pleasure to use and is better than any other options. This is a nice resource for kernel developers and OSS contributors who wish to make a difference and solve tough problems.

pera 11y ago
Same here: started using Linux in 2000. Back then hardware support was a real big issue, software was missing, graphical environments for normal people not completely ready, etc. I think things really started to change after Ubuntu, and I would say that Linux got "ready for desktop" around 2008-9. My parents for instance have been using Ubuntu for many years (they also have a windows 7 laptop that is completely owned by malware) and they are very happy with it. Things changed a lot, but yeah, Linux isn't perfect yet, and I agree with some points (for instance the dpi thing). The only way that Linux could be massively used on desktop is by having a company like Microsoft making deals with every single manufacturer in the world for decades.
- Ologn 11y ago
  This has been my experience as well. I started using Linux some time around 1993-1995. Linux was inferior to FreeBSD in many ways back then (and for the following few years). Things got better and better and by 2008 it was a lot better on the desktop, and I think Ubuntu gets a lot of credit for that. It still had some trouble with wireless drivers and that sort of thing, but all these problems started clearing up over time.
the_af 11y ago
Same here. I'm so used to Ubuntu that Windows annoys me tremendously, which goes to show that a huge part of the user experience is familiarity with the environment. In my experience some things work better on Ubuntu than on the last Windows version I used, Windows 7. Detection of wireless HP printers, for example. Some things are exactly the same. Finally, some things work slightly worse: drivers for 3D gaming are still a bit worse on Ubuntu (unless you luck out and find the one driver that runs wonderfully and doesn't require any magical incantations), and configuring everything to work just right with some games can still be a pain. Less demanding games are just fine, and I use my Linux laptop a lot for this (heavy user of GOG.com, Humble Bundle and Steam here!). The jury is out on OS X for me. Using my wife's macbook drives me nut, mostly due to lack of familiarity. Some things are just as bizarre as with any Linux/Windows computer; for example, the other day I was advised to hard-reset the macbook because it wouldn't recognize any USB device... if this nice bit of WTF-ery had happened with Linux, the response would have been "what did you expect? Nothing 'just works' with Linux". But I guess computers will be computers regardless of the OS...
dvirsky 11y ago
Agreed. I've been using Linux as my only desktop OS for over a decade, and if you pick the right hardware it's just great. Usually it takes a bit to get it working just right, but once you do that, a well configured Linux box with Gnome is a superb desktop environment.

pera 11y ago

Same here: started using Linux in 2000. Back then hardware support was a real big issue, software was missing, graphical environments for normal people not completely ready, etc. I think things really started to change after Ubuntu, and I would say that Linux got "ready for desktop" around 2008-9. My parents for instance have been using Ubuntu for many years (they also have a windows 7 laptop that is completely owned by malware) and they are very happy with it. Things changed a lot, but yeah, Linux isn't perfect yet, and I agree with some points (for instance the dpi thing). The only way that Linux could be massively used on desktop is by having a company like Microsoft making deals with every single manufacturer in the world for decades.

Ologn 11y ago
This has been my experience as well. I started using Linux some time around 1993-1995. Linux was inferior to FreeBSD in many ways back then (and for the following few years). Things got better and better and by 2008 it was a lot better on the desktop, and I think Ubuntu gets a lot of credit for that. It still had some trouble with wireless drivers and that sort of thing, but all these problems started clearing up over time.

the_af 11y ago

Same here. I'm so used to Ubuntu that Windows annoys me tremendously, which goes to show that a huge part of the user experience is familiarity with the environment. In my experience some things work better on Ubuntu than on the last Windows version I used, Windows 7. Detection of wireless HP printers, for example. Some things are exactly the same. Finally, some things work slightly worse: drivers for 3D gaming are still a bit worse on Ubuntu (unless you luck out and find the one driver that runs wonderfully and doesn't require any magical incantations), and configuring everything to work just right with some games can still be a pain. Less demanding games are just fine, and I use my Linux laptop a lot for this (heavy user of GOG.com, Humble Bundle and Steam here!). The jury is out on OS X for me. Using my wife's macbook drives me nut, mostly due to lack of familiarity. Some things are just as bizarre as with any Linux/Windows computer; for example, the other day I was advised to hard-reset the macbook because it wouldn't recognize any USB device... if this nice bit of WTF-ery had happened with Linux, the response would have been "what did you expect? Nothing 'just works' with Linux". But I guess computers will be computers regardless of the OS...

dvirsky 11y ago

Agreed. I've been using Linux as my only desktop OS for over a decade, and if you pick the right hardware it's just great. Usually it takes a bit to get it working just right, but once you do that, a well configured Linux box with Gnome is a superb desktop environment.