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The argument is the same, but Linux desktops did get a lot better, and with better support, since then. There's now multiple distros with great UX to choose fro

The argument is the same, but Linux desktops did get a lot better, and with better support, since then. There's now multiple distros with great UX to choose from (as opposed to "learn xfree86 and stop whining") and indeed Wine works great with lots of programs. I say this as an avid Windows 10 user. IMHO there's still a usability gap (which is why I'm on Windows), but it's narrowing. GP's argument has a lot more merit now than it did 15 years ago.

cm2187 9y ago
Driver support is only part of the problem (but still a problem). The absence of self discoverability / the RTFM approach of linux will always create a ceiling in term of adoption outside of professional developers. Except when you stick a consumer GUI and specialised hardware on top (android/chromeOS). But these are not general desktops on which people can work.
kristofferR 9y ago
Desktop Linux suffers from the same chicken-and-egg problem that doomed Windows Phone. Developers don't develop for it since the user base isn't large enough, and people don't switch to it because app support is severely lacking. How good the raw OS is doesn't matter that much when the apps aren't up to par. Your Wine comment illustrates my point - while Wine is an awesome project - even apps running perfectly through it feel like they're running on Windows 2000. That's fine if you just care about the functionality of the app, but not if you care about the user experience.
int_19h 9y ago
Back in 2005, there were numerous distros with great UX. SUSE was great, Mandrake was pretty good etc. Ubuntu was the new kid on the block, but was already showing great promise. Wine worked for a lot of stuff, and there was Cedega for games. I agree that things have improved since then... but with hardware, for example, it's very much a moving target. Your chances of running Linux on a random new PC bought off the shelf, or assembled from off the shelf components, and having all the hardware fully supported without mucking around with firmware, kernels, configs etc, are still low enough that hardware shopping needs to be done specifically with Linux hardware compatibility in mind, checking lists for what works on what distros etc. And I'm not talking about exotic stuff here, but basic things like WiFi.

cm2187 9y ago

Driver support is only part of the problem (but still a problem). The absence of self discoverability / the RTFM approach of linux will always create a ceiling in term of adoption outside of professional developers. Except when you stick a consumer GUI and specialised hardware on top (android/chromeOS). But these are not general desktops on which people can work.

kristofferR 9y ago

Desktop Linux suffers from the same chicken-and-egg problem that doomed Windows Phone. Developers don't develop for it since the user base isn't large enough, and people don't switch to it because app support is severely lacking. How good the raw OS is doesn't matter that much when the apps aren't up to par. Your Wine comment illustrates my point - while Wine is an awesome project - even apps running perfectly through it feel like they're running on Windows 2000. That's fine if you just care about the functionality of the app, but not if you care about the user experience.

int_19h 9y ago

Back in 2005, there were numerous distros with great UX. SUSE was great, Mandrake was pretty good etc. Ubuntu was the new kid on the block, but was already showing great promise. Wine worked for a lot of stuff, and there was Cedega for games. I agree that things have improved since then... but with hardware, for example, it's very much a moving target. Your chances of running Linux on a random new PC bought off the shelf, or assembled from off the shelf components, and having all the hardware fully supported without mucking around with firmware, kernels, configs etc, are still low enough that hardware shopping needs to be done specifically with Linux hardware compatibility in mind, checking lists for what works on what distros etc. And I'm not talking about exotic stuff here, but basic things like WiFi.