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I've tried many times to run linux, it usually ends 3-4 hours later in frustration. I tend to run older hardware so a lot of times support isn't there. I will a

by 6DM 10y ago

I've tried many times to run linux, it usually ends 3-4 hours later in frustration. I tend to run older hardware so a lot of times support isn't there. I will admit that it's getting noticeably better (or I'm getting luckier).

marcelluspye 10y ago
How old is older? There are a lot of distros designed with the purpose of making old hardware useful, up to definition of old.
- 6DM 10y ago
  Probably 2007-2010 range, I still have my budget desktop that I put together in 2008 if that gives you an idea. These were never top of the line machines so they don't get much love. I usually just went with Ubuntu because at the time it seemed like it was user friendly. I tried openSUSE at one point. If you can name a distro better aimed at supporting these types of devices I'm game.
reacweb 10y ago
After using exclusively linux at home during a couple of years, I have bought a laptop to my wife. I wanted to experience windows 8 (new at that time). It was a complete week of frustration. Almost no application are present by default, the video player complains about all file formats, installation of visual studio express succeeded only at the third try for no obvious reason. The ergonomy was a nightmare (it became usable after discovering many keyboard shortcuts that existed already in win7). Linux is fast to install (when no problem occurs). Software installation (and deinstallation) is a breeze. Everything is available out of the box. I maintain a diary with a list of non default packages to install: apt-get install nfs-common wine gnome-media openssh-server squid curl filezilla curlftpfs ethtool docker.io xtightvncviewer x11vnc tmux whois git wakeonlan youtube-dl npm sshfs Concerning support for old hardware, it was the main reason that made me switch to linux: vista64 had no support for my printer and my scanner.
- pdimitar 10y ago
  Windows 8 is a horrible example. Windows 10 is miles ahead of everything Microsoft ever had. It's basically a much better Windows 7, in all regards.
kminehart 10y ago
That's weird. Older hardware is usually what works best on Linux. The only hardware-related issues I've ever had have been trying to run a brand new graphics card or on the latest macbook.
Nursie 10y ago
At this point if you can't get linux of some sort running on PC hardware it's probably you that's the problem. Back in the 90s, sure, there were a hell of a lot if blocking issues. But now? Frankly anyone posting on a tech site that can't get it up and running adequately should be embarassed.
- 6DM 10y ago
  The only thing embarrassing here is this comment. I can get linux "some sort of running" but that's frankly not good enough for me. I need both proper screen resolution AND audio working. I need logins without errors and networking that actually works. These are my experiences and no amount of an attempt to shame me will get rid of them.
  - Nursie 10y ago
    I have had no issue with any of that for years now. Unless you have some really exotic hardware, it's hard to empathise here. Linux is an industry standard, I think this sort of brag about how much trouble you have with just getting it running reflects much worse on the complainant than the system. 20 years ago? Sure. Now not so much.
    - 6DM 10y ago
      > I think this sort of brag about how If anyone is bragging here, it's you, so no need to be a hero. If you're hearing this a lot, maybe it's not us and instead it's people like you. The whole point of a good UI is to make it easier for people that don't regularly use your system. So if you're hearing this a lot then maybe it really isn't good. > Linux is an industry standard On servers it is, on desktops Windows still rules and that's for a reason. Common users don't need to hit up a Reddit beginner forum or spend hours pouring over documentation to learn the command line and all the various utilities for their chosen distro. On the server, yes it's rock solid and I've had a pretty good experience with it. On the desktop, no. Also, my experiences are not from 20 years back, try 2.
      - 10y ago

by 6DM 10y ago

marcelluspye 10y ago

How old is older? There are a lot of distros designed with the purpose of making old hardware useful, up to definition of old.

6DM 10y ago
Probably 2007-2010 range, I still have my budget desktop that I put together in 2008 if that gives you an idea. These were never top of the line machines so they don't get much love. I usually just went with Ubuntu because at the time it seemed like it was user friendly. I tried openSUSE at one point. If you can name a distro better aimed at supporting these types of devices I'm game.

reacweb 10y ago

After using exclusively linux at home during a couple of years, I have bought a laptop to my wife. I wanted to experience windows 8 (new at that time). It was a complete week of frustration. Almost no application are present by default, the video player complains about all file formats, installation of visual studio express succeeded only at the third try for no obvious reason. The ergonomy was a nightmare (it became usable after discovering many keyboard shortcuts that existed already in win7). Linux is fast to install (when no problem occurs). Software installation (and deinstallation) is a breeze. Everything is available out of the box. I maintain a diary with a list of non default packages to install: apt-get install nfs-common wine gnome-media openssh-server squid curl filezilla curlftpfs ethtool docker.io xtightvncviewer x11vnc tmux whois git wakeonlan youtube-dl npm sshfs Concerning support for old hardware, it was the main reason that made me switch to linux: vista64 had no support for my printer and my scanner.

pdimitar 10y ago
Windows 8 is a horrible example. Windows 10 is miles ahead of everything Microsoft ever had. It's basically a much better Windows 7, in all regards.

kminehart 10y ago

That's weird. Older hardware is usually what works best on Linux. The only hardware-related issues I've ever had have been trying to run a brand new graphics card or on the latest macbook.

Nursie 10y ago

At this point if you can't get linux of some sort running on PC hardware it's probably you that's the problem. Back in the 90s, sure, there were a hell of a lot if blocking issues. But now? Frankly anyone posting on a tech site that can't get it up and running adequately should be embarassed.

6DM 10y ago
The only thing embarrassing here is this comment. I can get linux "some sort of running" but that's frankly not good enough for me. I need both proper screen resolution AND audio working. I need logins without errors and networking that actually works. These are my experiences and no amount of an attempt to shame me will get rid of them.
- Nursie 10y ago
  I have had no issue with any of that for years now. Unless you have some really exotic hardware, it's hard to empathise here. Linux is an industry standard, I think this sort of brag about how much trouble you have with just getting it running reflects much worse on the complainant than the system. 20 years ago? Sure. Now not so much.
  - 6DM 10y ago
    > I think this sort of brag about how If anyone is bragging here, it's you, so no need to be a hero. If you're hearing this a lot, maybe it's not us and instead it's people like you. The whole point of a good UI is to make it easier for people that don't regularly use your system. So if you're hearing this a lot then maybe it really isn't good. > Linux is an industry standard On servers it is, on desktops Windows still rules and that's for a reason. Common users don't need to hit up a Reddit beginner forum or spend hours pouring over documentation to learn the command line and all the various utilities for their chosen distro. On the server, yes it's rock solid and I've had a pretty good experience with it. On the desktop, no. Also, my experiences are not from 20 years back, try 2.
    - 10y ago