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I would absolutely disagree! 20 years ago, Linux required some arcane incantations, but was sold in stores, and was somewhat useful. 10 years ago, Linux require

I would absolutely disagree! 20 years ago, Linux required some arcane incantations, but was sold in stores, and was somewhat useful. 10 years ago, Linux required patiently going through lots of forums to find out why sound didn't work, and tweaking some config files - though fewer than before. This year, Linux was featured on LTT as "Can we viably switch / use Linux for home use as regular geeks?" You're right that "Good Enough" takes many forms, and it is a moving target. But whether it's closing the gap might just be a difference in which timescale one uses.

Aaargh20318 5y ago
Sure, you may be able to download an ISO or USB image and relatively easily install Linux today without worrying about what sound or graphics driver you need like you could with other OSes 20 years ago. But that doesn't mean the competition didn't move forward as well. Today I can wipe the entire drive on my MacBook and re-install everything from scratch over the internet, without install media, directly from the firmware. When can I buy an off-the-shelf computer that can do this with Linux ? After installing macOS I set up my account, enter my iCloud details and all my photo's just appear, I can send and receive text messages, phone and video calls. My clipboard syncs to my phone, and I use my phone to take a photo or scan a document and insert it directly into whatever document I was typing. I can start typing an e-mail on my phone, decide it's too long to type on the little on-screen keyboard and seamlessly move the task to my desktop. I can take a photo of some text on my phone, copy it as plain text, and then paste the text into anything on my desktop. All of this with no setup required. How much time will it take Linux to be able to do all of this ? And what else will it have to catch up to by then ?

Aaargh20318 5y ago

Sure, you may be able to download an ISO or USB image and relatively easily install Linux today without worrying about what sound or graphics driver you need like you could with other OSes 20 years ago. But that doesn't mean the competition didn't move forward as well. Today I can wipe the entire drive on my MacBook and re-install everything from scratch over the internet, without install media, directly from the firmware. When can I buy an off-the-shelf computer that can do this with Linux ? After installing macOS I set up my account, enter my iCloud details and all my photo's just appear, I can send and receive text messages, phone and video calls. My clipboard syncs to my phone, and I use my phone to take a photo or scan a document and insert it directly into whatever document I was typing. I can start typing an e-mail on my phone, decide it's too long to type on the little on-screen keyboard and seamlessly move the task to my desktop. I can take a photo of some text on my phone, copy it as plain text, and then paste the text into anything on my desktop. All of this with no setup required. How much time will it take Linux to be able to do all of this ? And what else will it have to catch up to by then ?