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The problem with Linux on laptops is Linux itself. The notion of Linux on anything other than servers turns most consumers off. Imagine if Android were called

The problem with Linux on laptops is Linux itself. The notion of Linux on anything other than servers turns most consumers off. Imagine if Android were called Linux Phones instead. It would be a disaster. Linux should be used incidentally to the device or laptop itself. Or it should be spared for those who really want to know and understand more about it. I used Linux on a laptop for a couple of years and, mostly, loved it. I hope Red Hat doesn't brand it as such.

bertiewhykovich 10y ago
The fact that you've been downvoted is, I think, actually indicative of a major impediment to Linux's spread. Linux is not a consumer OS. There's no way around this: it is not designed to be user-friendly, it's designed to provide power to power users. Using Linux as a consumer is a miserable experience and the vast majority of people who have a choice will choose otherwise. Unfortunately, the Linux community has such faith in their project that they're ill at ease with hearing about its failings. It's not clear why they should be, though: Linux is a (relatively) great OS for its intended purposes, and there's no need for it to extend to every possible use case. Linux on the desktop is a somewhat pointless goal, and the community would benefit from embracing that fact.
- executesorder66 10y ago
  > Linux on the desktop is a somewhat pointless goal, and the community would benefit from embracing that fact. Please no. Linux works great on the desktop, even for casual users. I have installed Linux on a few friends old laptops and they've all loved it. Distro's like Elementry, Manjaro, Mint and Ubuntu make it easy for casual users. There are only 2 problems with Linux on the desktop remaining. 1) Games. A lot of gamers would love to switch but love their games that are currently Windows only at the moment. This situation is slowly improving. 2) The fact that almost everyone uses MS Office. MS works hard at making sure it doesn't follow standards so LibreOffice et al. won't be 100% compatible with it, so most businesses/people just revert back to MSOffice due to compatibility reasons. But if they all just switched to LibreOffice they'd get just as much shit done.
- ae_keji 10y ago
  While I agree with you, I think you're forgetting how little competition there is as far as desktop OSes go. Microsoft is practically trying to run Windows 10 into the ground (disable pro features with the anniversary update, then force everyone to upgrade to Enterprise, for example), while Apple will never officially allow OS X on anything other than their products even if hell freezes over. This leaves Linux as a serious competitor with significant advantages in its community driven design, that allow a group to fork and existing project and make a modern desktop OS suitable for the average user. The problem is mostly that no one has bothered to do that, or done so successfully (Chrome OS was a great try, and I think it's here to stay, but it's still a little too locked down).
- trhway 10y ago
  >Linux on the desktop is a somewhat pointless goal, and the community would benefit from embracing that fact. given the way a lot of typical consumers use desktops/laptops - web browsing, skype, plus may be some business software, i.e. almost tablet use case, they would actually wouldn't even notice if their windows were replaced by a nice looking Linux with good power management and printing and in general working without a glitch. That one - working without a glitch is the main threshold it has to jump over.
- boynamedsue 10y ago
  I was really surprised by the down votes tbh.

bertiewhykovich 10y ago

The fact that you've been downvoted is, I think, actually indicative of a major impediment to Linux's spread. Linux is not a consumer OS. There's no way around this: it is not designed to be user-friendly, it's designed to provide power to power users. Using Linux as a consumer is a miserable experience and the vast majority of people who have a choice will choose otherwise. Unfortunately, the Linux community has such faith in their project that they're ill at ease with hearing about its failings. It's not clear why they should be, though: Linux is a (relatively) great OS for its intended purposes, and there's no need for it to extend to every possible use case. Linux on the desktop is a somewhat pointless goal, and the community would benefit from embracing that fact.

executesorder66 10y ago
> Linux on the desktop is a somewhat pointless goal, and the community would benefit from embracing that fact. Please no. Linux works great on the desktop, even for casual users. I have installed Linux on a few friends old laptops and they've all loved it. Distro's like Elementry, Manjaro, Mint and Ubuntu make it easy for casual users. There are only 2 problems with Linux on the desktop remaining. 1) Games. A lot of gamers would love to switch but love their games that are currently Windows only at the moment. This situation is slowly improving. 2) The fact that almost everyone uses MS Office. MS works hard at making sure it doesn't follow standards so LibreOffice et al. won't be 100% compatible with it, so most businesses/people just revert back to MSOffice due to compatibility reasons. But if they all just switched to LibreOffice they'd get just as much shit done.
ae_keji 10y ago
While I agree with you, I think you're forgetting how little competition there is as far as desktop OSes go. Microsoft is practically trying to run Windows 10 into the ground (disable pro features with the anniversary update, then force everyone to upgrade to Enterprise, for example), while Apple will never officially allow OS X on anything other than their products even if hell freezes over. This leaves Linux as a serious competitor with significant advantages in its community driven design, that allow a group to fork and existing project and make a modern desktop OS suitable for the average user. The problem is mostly that no one has bothered to do that, or done so successfully (Chrome OS was a great try, and I think it's here to stay, but it's still a little too locked down).
trhway 10y ago
>Linux on the desktop is a somewhat pointless goal, and the community would benefit from embracing that fact. given the way a lot of typical consumers use desktops/laptops - web browsing, skype, plus may be some business software, i.e. almost tablet use case, they would actually wouldn't even notice if their windows were replaced by a nice looking Linux with good power management and printing and in general working without a glitch. That one - working without a glitch is the main threshold it has to jump over.
boynamedsue 10y ago
I was really surprised by the down votes tbh.