4 ms·

Linux? Basically everything an average user does is in the browser.

manigandham 7y ago
Except it isnt. Games, media, and all kinds of connected devices and hardware today makes Linux a non-starter. There have been startups before trying to do this, a famous one being Lindows. Never got anywhere.
crispinb 7y ago
Only delusional ideologists even entertain the notion that the primary reason Linux hasn't caught on widely as a desktop OS is lack of preinstallation or marketing (or pick your corporate crime du jour). Desktop Linux has many uses (it's my main OS right now). But the reason it hasn't caught on widely is perfectly obviously that as technology for the regular consumer, it's bloody awful. Many Linux enthusiasts admit this perfectly readily, but for obscure reasons some insist on clutching Linux to their chests as an identity totem. This is probably less harmful than nationalism, so I guess I shouldn't object too much.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
And it's that kind of arrogant computer nerd bullshit thinking that will forever keep Linux from success on the desktop.
arbitrary_name 7y ago
As a privacy concerned individual who is more tech savvy than some (but by no means a technologist or even a dev) - NO. no freakin' way man. I tried to do a dual boot WIN/Linux setup once. What a shitshow - took me hours, multiple attempts, drivers not working, weird quirks trying to get peripherals to work, games not working. Recalling it now makes me angry all over again. 90% of this planet is not capable, nor will ever be capable, of dealing with something that is not a fully fledged, 'stable' mainstream OS, either Windows or Mac OS. That's not good, it's not bad - it just...is. Better get used to it, or come up with a better strategy for changing it.
- crispinb 7y ago
  This is unfortunate but entirely true. I'm a software developer and though absolutely not a Linux expert of any kind, nevertheless very far from being a computer novice. But this is kind of my experience with Linux. I keep logs of configuration & software difficulties I have with OSs. My Linux one for this month is longer than my Windows & OSX ones for the past decade combined. And I'm writing here as (currently) a Linux user - it's the main OS on my work laptop because the things I like about it (stellar performance, notably from the filesystem, fantastic developer tooling) are more important to me than the difficult things. But the difficulties are numberless, and I accept that many things I take for granted on Windows or OSX just will never work well. Most of them could work, but I'll never have time to track down & absorb all the Arch wiki, SO & manpage resources I'd need to sort them out.
davidvgoliath 7y ago
Install Gentoo. Everybody should Install Gentoo.
- stOneskull 7y ago
  not gentoo haiku it's nearly out of beta i think it has games
jhasse 7y ago
And browsers support Windows better (e.g. GPU acceleration).
detaro 7y ago
You'd be surprised how many non-average users you find in most companies then.

Except it isnt. Games, media, and all kinds of connected devices and hardware today makes Linux a non-starter. There have been startups before trying to do this, a famous one being Lindows. Never got anywhere.

crispinb 7y ago

Only delusional ideologists even entertain the notion that the primary reason Linux hasn't caught on widely as a desktop OS is lack of preinstallation or marketing (or pick your corporate crime du jour). Desktop Linux has many uses (it's my main OS right now). But the reason it hasn't caught on widely is perfectly obviously that as technology for the regular consumer, it's bloody awful. Many Linux enthusiasts admit this perfectly readily, but for obscure reasons some insist on clutching Linux to their chests as an identity totem. This is probably less harmful than nationalism, so I guess I shouldn't object too much.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago

And it's that kind of arrogant computer nerd bullshit thinking that will forever keep Linux from success on the desktop.

arbitrary_name 7y ago

As a privacy concerned individual who is more tech savvy than some (but by no means a technologist or even a dev) - NO. no freakin' way man. I tried to do a dual boot WIN/Linux setup once. What a shitshow - took me hours, multiple attempts, drivers not working, weird quirks trying to get peripherals to work, games not working. Recalling it now makes me angry all over again. 90% of this planet is not capable, nor will ever be capable, of dealing with something that is not a fully fledged, 'stable' mainstream OS, either Windows or Mac OS. That's not good, it's not bad - it just...is. Better get used to it, or come up with a better strategy for changing it.

crispinb 7y ago
This is unfortunate but entirely true. I'm a software developer and though absolutely not a Linux expert of any kind, nevertheless very far from being a computer novice. But this is kind of my experience with Linux. I keep logs of configuration & software difficulties I have with OSs. My Linux one for this month is longer than my Windows & OSX ones for the past decade combined. And I'm writing here as (currently) a Linux user - it's the main OS on my work laptop because the things I like about it (stellar performance, notably from the filesystem, fantastic developer tooling) are more important to me than the difficult things. But the difficulties are numberless, and I accept that many things I take for granted on Windows or OSX just will never work well. Most of them could work, but I'll never have time to track down & absorb all the Arch wiki, SO & manpage resources I'd need to sort them out.

davidvgoliath 7y ago

Install Gentoo. Everybody should Install Gentoo.

stOneskull 7y ago
not gentoo haiku it's nearly out of beta i think it has games

jhasse 7y ago

And browsers support Windows better (e.g. GPU acceleration).

detaro 7y ago

You'd be surprised how many non-average users you find in most companies then.