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Controversial Opinion - 2022 will finally be the year of the linux desktop for 2 reasons: 1) steam deck will fix gaming on linux. 2) flatpak + snap will finall

Controversial Opinion - 2022 will finally be the year of the linux desktop for 2 reasons: 1) steam deck will fix gaming on linux. 2) flatpak + snap will finally fix distributing software on linux.

BiteCode_dev 5y ago
For now, flatpack and snap sandboxes perf hit are quite significant, and devs don't manage the permissions well so you often end up with software that can't open the files you want. When you fire and electron app from a sandbox, it's a hog riding a slug, then you try to open your files only to find yourself in a temp folder or chrooted to a config subdir. It think those tech can bring a lot, but there is still work to do.
- TOMDM 5y ago
  Snap permissions are a mess. The fact that I have to give Remmina each of its permissions one at a time after installing with snap is silly.
- teddyfrozevelt 5y ago
  Flatpak doesn't hurt performance any worse than something like Docker. It's Snap that's slower since they keep the entire app compressed on disk. Permissions are also up to the app developer in the case of Flatpak so if they don't use portals like they're supposed to then they can just allow the app to access the whole host filesystem. You can change this easily too through your terminal or an app like Flatseal.
beebeepka 5y ago
No doubt. My 3700/rx5700 build has been running Manjaro with minimal issues overall, including on the gaming side. We're close to the point where pretty much everything will be running in an year or so. It's remarkable how much can change in just a few years
SkyMarshal 5y ago
To nitpick, it’s really Steam Play (Proton) + Lutris (for games not available in Steam) + Wine that have already fixed gaming on Linux. With those three you can play ~90% of games now. The Steam app is already widely in use, but it remains to be seen how successful Steam Deck will be. And Linux Desktop is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed. Lots of innovators and early adopters, aka the cool kids, are now on Linux Desktop, including for gaming thanks to the above. It’s only a matter of time till the mainstream and late adopters follow.
- kiawe_fire 5y ago
  Not to mention, recent work with things like Maui in KDE and the “platform building” nature of Gnome 40+ have lent a growing polish to the desktop experience of both environments. There’s still a lot of work to be done for Linux to reach the hardware and software ubiquity of Windows or the UX polish of MacOS, but I increasingly see a more diverse set of talent, including design talent, lending their experience to the platform. And as more disciplines work on the ecosystem, eventually demand for a more diverse set of software will follow. Combine that with an initially lukewarm reception to Windows 11 so far, and growing privacy concerns on MacOS, and the incentives for an alternative platform are more widespread than they’ve been in a long time. I know “the year of Linux desktops” has been a thing for forever, but it really does feel closer to the tipping point than ever. Doesn’t mean it will definitely happen, but the momentum feels more with it than against it, IMO.

Controversial Opinion - 2022 will finally be the year of the linux desktop for 2 reasons: 1) steam deck will fix gaming on linux. 2) flatpak + snap will finally fix distributing software on linux.

BiteCode_dev 5y ago

For now, flatpack and snap sandboxes perf hit are quite significant, and devs don't manage the permissions well so you often end up with software that can't open the files you want. When you fire and electron app from a sandbox, it's a hog riding a slug, then you try to open your files only to find yourself in a temp folder or chrooted to a config subdir. It think those tech can bring a lot, but there is still work to do.

TOMDM 5y ago
Snap permissions are a mess. The fact that I have to give Remmina each of its permissions one at a time after installing with snap is silly.
teddyfrozevelt 5y ago
Flatpak doesn't hurt performance any worse than something like Docker. It's Snap that's slower since they keep the entire app compressed on disk. Permissions are also up to the app developer in the case of Flatpak so if they don't use portals like they're supposed to then they can just allow the app to access the whole host filesystem. You can change this easily too through your terminal or an app like Flatseal.

beebeepka 5y ago

No doubt. My 3700/rx5700 build has been running Manjaro with minimal issues overall, including on the gaming side. We're close to the point where pretty much everything will be running in an year or so. It's remarkable how much can change in just a few years

SkyMarshal 5y ago

To nitpick, it’s really Steam Play (Proton) + Lutris (for games not available in Steam) + Wine that have already fixed gaming on Linux. With those three you can play ~90% of games now. The Steam app is already widely in use, but it remains to be seen how successful Steam Deck will be. And Linux Desktop is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed. Lots of innovators and early adopters, aka the cool kids, are now on Linux Desktop, including for gaming thanks to the above. It’s only a matter of time till the mainstream and late adopters follow.

kiawe_fire 5y ago
Not to mention, recent work with things like Maui in KDE and the “platform building” nature of Gnome 40+ have lent a growing polish to the desktop experience of both environments. There’s still a lot of work to be done for Linux to reach the hardware and software ubiquity of Windows or the UX polish of MacOS, but I increasingly see a more diverse set of talent, including design talent, lending their experience to the platform. And as more disciplines work on the ecosystem, eventually demand for a more diverse set of software will follow. Combine that with an initially lukewarm reception to Windows 11 so far, and growing privacy concerns on MacOS, and the incentives for an alternative platform are more widespread than they’ve been in a long time. I know “the year of Linux desktops” has been a thing for forever, but it really does feel closer to the tipping point than ever. Doesn’t mean it will definitely happen, but the momentum feels more with it than against it, IMO.