11 ms·

Consider me incredulous. I've been using Linux since '97 and for well over a decade now, I've rarely hit an installation problem. I'm not saying there's never

Consider me incredulous. I've been using Linux since '97 and for well over a decade now, I've rarely hit an installation problem. I'm not saying there's never going to be a problem--especially with brand new hardware fresh off the press, especially combined with a slow moving distro. But trying once or twice every year, and it never working? Either you're running the most exotic hardware on the planet, or you're running the oddest distribution, or you should start playing the lottery.

mgkimsal 5y ago
Or the OP's standards are higher than yours? Things you may gloss over or accept as 'good enough' are unacceptable to people looking for "just works" on par with a comparable windows install on the same hardware.
- lordgroff 5y ago
  Well let's hear it then. Because everything "just works" on my current setup. It's not always so of course, if you buy a laptop with a bunch of OS hostile components, sure that won't work well, but how's that the fault of Linux? And even then, I have a Lenovo that was a very hostile driver experience to start with, and yet everything is now supported in the kernel minus the fingerprint reader.
  - BrandoElFollito 5y ago
    Have you read the first line of my post? Lenovo P51 with two monitors (HDMI) - hardly exotic stuff. You may be lucky, I was not.
BrandoElFollito 5y ago
Is a P51 (what, 3 years old now?) and two HDMI monitors. Is that exotic? Last time I tried it was Ubuntu 20.04 when it was out. The result is in my post above. I work in IT for 25 years and I am a geek at heart. The state of the Linux desktop is horrendous. This is not a problem per se - Linux has a good and stable place on servers. It just means that peopel who want to run a desktop with linux must be ready for a lot of browsing, experimenting, ... Windows users do not.
- lordgroff 5y ago
  Not at all. I'd suggest booting into a live CD environment of a newer kernel distro (personally I am a fan of Fedora which provides a very stock experience). I can't see you having much issue with P51.
- ajvs 5y ago
  You are an exception I'm sorry to say. I've used two ThinkPads with Linux over the past few years with no issues, and am now on a Dell XPS with again, no issues. Try running Kubuntu off of a live USB (you can do this with any Linux distro, you don't need to install it just to test it). I'd honestly baffled if it didn't run perfectly as long as you agree to install the drivers when prompted to.
- selfhoster11 5y ago
  > I work in IT for 25 years and I am a geek at heart. The state of the Linux desktop is horrendous. I share your exasperation (or at least I think that's what I can read between the lines). I really want to like the Linux desktop, but... I just don't. I'm holding out hope for Haiku and Serenity OS. Perhaps one day they will be the ones to achieve the Year of the Linux Desktop, as a successor platform.
selfhoster11 5y ago
Most laptops have issues. I have what I consider to be the best-supported Linux laptops around, and it's still so janky that it's hard to get used to. My opinion is this: Linux does work, but it doesn't work cleanly for desktop/laptop use. There are rough corners galore, especially around support for specific hardware or hardware features. You get used to them eventually, or you're irritated, but they are there.

mgkimsal 5y ago

Or the OP's standards are higher than yours? Things you may gloss over or accept as 'good enough' are unacceptable to people looking for "just works" on par with a comparable windows install on the same hardware.

lordgroff 5y ago
Well let's hear it then. Because everything "just works" on my current setup. It's not always so of course, if you buy a laptop with a bunch of OS hostile components, sure that won't work well, but how's that the fault of Linux? And even then, I have a Lenovo that was a very hostile driver experience to start with, and yet everything is now supported in the kernel minus the fingerprint reader.
- BrandoElFollito 5y ago
  Have you read the first line of my post? Lenovo P51 with two monitors (HDMI) - hardly exotic stuff. You may be lucky, I was not.

BrandoElFollito 5y ago

Is a P51 (what, 3 years old now?) and two HDMI monitors. Is that exotic? Last time I tried it was Ubuntu 20.04 when it was out. The result is in my post above. I work in IT for 25 years and I am a geek at heart. The state of the Linux desktop is horrendous. This is not a problem per se - Linux has a good and stable place on servers. It just means that peopel who want to run a desktop with linux must be ready for a lot of browsing, experimenting, ... Windows users do not.

lordgroff 5y ago
Not at all. I'd suggest booting into a live CD environment of a newer kernel distro (personally I am a fan of Fedora which provides a very stock experience). I can't see you having much issue with P51.
ajvs 5y ago
You are an exception I'm sorry to say. I've used two ThinkPads with Linux over the past few years with no issues, and am now on a Dell XPS with again, no issues. Try running Kubuntu off of a live USB (you can do this with any Linux distro, you don't need to install it just to test it). I'd honestly baffled if it didn't run perfectly as long as you agree to install the drivers when prompted to.
selfhoster11 5y ago
> I work in IT for 25 years and I am a geek at heart. The state of the Linux desktop is horrendous. I share your exasperation (or at least I think that's what I can read between the lines). I really want to like the Linux desktop, but... I just don't. I'm holding out hope for Haiku and Serenity OS. Perhaps one day they will be the ones to achieve the Year of the Linux Desktop, as a successor platform.

selfhoster11 5y ago

Most laptops have issues. I have what I consider to be the best-supported Linux laptops around, and it's still so janky that it's hard to get used to. My opinion is this: Linux does work, but it doesn't work cleanly for desktop/laptop use. There are rough corners galore, especially around support for specific hardware or hardware features. You get used to them eventually, or you're irritated, but they are there.