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The examples in this article about gaming feel very outdated now - the sheer fact that the Steam Deck exists at all is good evidence of how different the curren

The examples in this article about gaming feel very outdated now - the sheer fact that the Steam Deck exists at all is good evidence of how different the current state of Linux gaming is to how the article suggests. A lot of big titles run okay. Anti-cheat is getting more and more support for Linux. Proton + DXVK in particular provides excellent performance for a wide range of titles (and it really is within a few % of Windows). Wine and Proton quite often provides superior compatibility on older titles to running them on modern Windows - a reasonable chunk of my selection of early 2000s titles are broken on Windows 10/11 but work fine on Linux. With regard to the suitability of Linux in general, I've said in previous comment threads on HN about how I try Linux on the desktop every 6 to 12 months to see how I get on with it, and this time (since about April 2022) it has actually stuck pretty well - the combination of hitting more issues with newer Windows, and the fact that Linux (for me Arch + KDE on AMD) has genuinely improved means I now spend more time on Linux than on Windows for basically the first time ever. Linux is far from flawless, but it's making excellent progress.

deleted 4y ago
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adrian_b 4y ago
Yes just browsing quickly I see almost nothing that applies to my computers, and I have used Linux on all my laptops and desktops for about 20 years. Of course, it is pretty certain that there are some combinations of hardware where Linux may have problems. For example: "Under Linux, setting multi-monitor configurations especially using multiple GPUs running binary NVIDIA drivers can be a major PITA." In this sentence, the only point that could be true is "multiple GPUs", because I have not tested simultaneously "multiple GPUs" with "multi-monitor". I use "multiple GPUs" for computation with CUDA, and there are no problems there. I have been using 3 or 4 monitors with an NVIDIA GPU and with their Linux driver for very many years and nothing could be simpler. Even when the monitors have different sizes and resolutions, it is trivial to arrange them in any layout you want with the dialog box of the NVIDIA settings program, in a few seconds, which will be remembered later. There exists no PITA. Another supposed issue "30bit displays are unusable under Linux". This is certainly not true. Since 2015, I have used only 30-bit monitors. The only problem that I have encountered with 30-bit monitors was not related to Linux, but to Java. There are certain commercial programs that have installers written in Java and those installers crash on 30-bit displays, both on Windows and on Linux. This is an old Java bug, which has not been solved for many years. So much for the myth of writing in Java for running the program anywhere. Maybe some of the other complaints have been applicable somewhere, but I do not recognize any of them. For example Firefox and Chrome have always worked for me on Linux at least as well as on Windows. Both have ugly behaviors or bugs that I dislike, but those misfeatures are the same on Windows as on Linux. The only complaint that I recognize is with NVIDIA Optimus on laptops, because some years ago I had to spend a couple of days with a laptop until succeeding to make Optimus work under Linux.
- aordano 4y ago
  I have two NVIDIA GPUs in my main machine, and last year i set up a box with three GPUs, all NVIDIA, for a multiseat config. The box worked just fine both in multihead as in multiseat. NVIDIA can be a pain, but most of the wrinkles are ironed out, unless you have very old (or very new) cards
- itvision 4y ago
  > "30bit displays are unusable under Linux" Have you read the rest of the sentence? It lists current unresolved issues. Who the hell cares you can enable 30bit mode _only_ under X.org when the most crucial applications fall apart under it? > I see almost nothing that applies to my computers Yeah, it's addressed in the article: A lot of people who are new to Linux or those who use a very tiny subset of applications are quick to disregard the entire list saying things like, "Audio in Linux works just fine for me." or "I've never had any troubles with video in Linux." I won't reply to any further comments down in this thread because as always people read a few lines, disagree vehemently and close the page. If you don't bloody care to read everything then just don't post comments, OK? I understand most people nowadays have a severe case of ADHD and only capable of watching 30 second TikToks, but guess what this webpage is not a TikTok.
pjmlp 4y ago
Looking forward to how Steam Deck will change, if at all, the 1% demographics of the Linux Desktop.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

adrian_b 4y ago

Yes just browsing quickly I see almost nothing that applies to my computers, and I have used Linux on all my laptops and desktops for about 20 years. Of course, it is pretty certain that there are some combinations of hardware where Linux may have problems. For example: "Under Linux, setting multi-monitor configurations especially using multiple GPUs running binary NVIDIA drivers can be a major PITA." In this sentence, the only point that could be true is "multiple GPUs", because I have not tested simultaneously "multiple GPUs" with "multi-monitor". I use "multiple GPUs" for computation with CUDA, and there are no problems there. I have been using 3 or 4 monitors with an NVIDIA GPU and with their Linux driver for very many years and nothing could be simpler. Even when the monitors have different sizes and resolutions, it is trivial to arrange them in any layout you want with the dialog box of the NVIDIA settings program, in a few seconds, which will be remembered later. There exists no PITA. Another supposed issue "30bit displays are unusable under Linux". This is certainly not true. Since 2015, I have used only 30-bit monitors. The only problem that I have encountered with 30-bit monitors was not related to Linux, but to Java. There are certain commercial programs that have installers written in Java and those installers crash on 30-bit displays, both on Windows and on Linux. This is an old Java bug, which has not been solved for many years. So much for the myth of writing in Java for running the program anywhere. Maybe some of the other complaints have been applicable somewhere, but I do not recognize any of them. For example Firefox and Chrome have always worked for me on Linux at least as well as on Windows. Both have ugly behaviors or bugs that I dislike, but those misfeatures are the same on Windows as on Linux. The only complaint that I recognize is with NVIDIA Optimus on laptops, because some years ago I had to spend a couple of days with a laptop until succeeding to make Optimus work under Linux.

aordano 4y ago
I have two NVIDIA GPUs in my main machine, and last year i set up a box with three GPUs, all NVIDIA, for a multiseat config. The box worked just fine both in multihead as in multiseat. NVIDIA can be a pain, but most of the wrinkles are ironed out, unless you have very old (or very new) cards
itvision 4y ago
> "30bit displays are unusable under Linux" Have you read the rest of the sentence? It lists current unresolved issues. Who the hell cares you can enable 30bit mode _only_ under X.org when the most crucial applications fall apart under it? > I see almost nothing that applies to my computers Yeah, it's addressed in the article: A lot of people who are new to Linux or those who use a very tiny subset of applications are quick to disregard the entire list saying things like, "Audio in Linux works just fine for me." or "I've never had any troubles with video in Linux." I won't reply to any further comments down in this thread because as always people read a few lines, disagree vehemently and close the page. If you don't bloody care to read everything then just don't post comments, OK? I understand most people nowadays have a severe case of ADHD and only capable of watching 30 second TikToks, but guess what this webpage is not a TikTok.

pjmlp 4y ago

Looking forward to how Steam Deck will change, if at all, the 1% demographics of the Linux Desktop.