UPDATE - I did not at all expect the number of views or comments on this article, so do note I did write this as a very one-sided deal, as I thought "I would probably get no more than 200 views"... but instead, that turned into 57,000+ views and over 180 comments. While that is amazing and cool, I do wish to make sure people understood that I put in "For 300 viewers if I am lucky" amount of work into this article... I do very much regret some of my wording but I will neither change or delete anything. I just wanted it to be clear on how large this got, and how quickly it got there. Thank you to all who chose to comment... and kept it nice. New readers, keep an open mind to what/why this article is one-sided. Thank you.
So I got many comments on my previous article, many by Windows 10 users who are ignorant to modern Linux. I still see people claiming that Ubuntu is terrible... and throw 16.04 LTS into the argument. I have seen this happen so often, and people who do not understand Linux or what it has now always try to throw the claim "Linux is not as good as Windows 10", and that argument is void of any real arguments. I always hear the same several arguments thrown around, and I have to say that they are about as easily debunkable as flat-earth science.
"Linux doesn't have as much software"
While partially true, in sense of high-end enterprise software from Adobe, you could argue that. However, as you can replace everything to do with Google, you can replace the entire Adobe suite with something on Linux. To focus on the main ones: Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere. Four Linux apps can easily replace them: Kdenlive (video editing), Inkscape (vector graphics), GIMP (image editing and manipulation), Krita (drawing and art). For game developers, I mean you probably heard of these two but Unity Engine supports Linux and Godot supports Linux. GameMaker: Studio (1 and 2) can be easily supported by Proton and Wine, while not losing out on speed. Adobe itself can theoretically run over Wine. Wine being the compatibility layer (not emulator) of Windows programs.
Heck in that same field, gaming. While some companies idiotically ban Linux users for no reason, many others don't. Games like CS:GO, Team Fortress 2, Minecraft, and more fairly large games support Linux out of the box, not to mention so do thousands of games. Some games also work fairly well with Proton, with games like the Sims 3 only needing a slight amount of work (by renaming a couple of files). Games like GTA 5 also work fairly well, and other communities all over the world work their butts off so others can enjoy the games smoothly on Linux.
One last thing for software and that is that Adobe might start supporting Linux one day, and when it does, the survival of Windows 10 is gone.
"Linux is hard to use/install"
Here is the deal. False. Even Arch Linux, a distribution known for being hard is just simply a long process you need to be slightly accurate with. Most distributions not only come with a GUI but also an easy GUI installer. Ubiquity, Calamares, and others all have easier installations than normal Windows 10. Yes, Windows 10 is harder to install than Linux. Not only that, but Linux also has many hardware manufacturers. Companies like HP, Lenovo, Dell, and more support both Linux and Windows 10 to come pre-installed. There are also even manufacturers who are Linux only. System76 is one of the largest of these.
Let's get into using Linux. Well, I can't see how it is harder if you don't pick a distribution that is intentionally difficult like Arch or Gentoo. Most distributions have tools where you can ignore the command line, like the app stores, something Linux has had for a while, even before Apple. To install software, it is harder to do on Windows 10. Let's see the steps to install an app on Windows.
- Google the app name/go to the website
- Make sure you download the right thing
- Go through the install wizard
- Restart your computer (might not be required for all apps)
Now on Linux, there are three ways to do it. Let's go through the CLI method first, the GUI method, and the app store method.
CLI:
- Google what the package is called on your package manager
- Run the package manager. (Optional: Update repos)
GUI:
- Google the app name/go to the website
- Download the proper edition (.deb, .rpm, .AppImage)
- Install it and run it
App Store:
- Open the app store on your distribution (if one is supported)
- Search for the app
- Install the app and run it.
So Linux does it faster, and easier. With three methods to do it, and much more possibly supported. Even Flatpak and Snap can centralize the process, so if you use a smaller distribution it won't be as much of an issue on the supported repos. And for the CLI method, on Ubuntu, that command would be sudo apt install some-package, Arch Linux it is sudo pacman -S some-package, Fedora it would be sudo dnf install some-package and I think you get the point.
Many Windows 10 stans always claim that "Linux is worse because you need the CLI, which is difficult." Which is false. Nano is easy to write files as you would in notepad, HTop is like Task Manager on Windows, and other tools on the CLI have the same goal. Efficiency. You can 100% ignore the CLI, but the reason it exists to do things faster. You don't have to use it.
"Linux is toxic"
While true sometimes, any community has the toxic parts. Same thing in Windows 10. However, the easiest way to avoid it is to stick with something based on Ubuntu. While you might still see it sometimes, most of the Ubuntu users (including myself) are 100% willing to answer the stupid questions and will enjoy doing it without bullying you. Arch Linux also has it's nicer parts, with people willing to help out, and even Manjaro has a decent community for helping with Arch.
So even the most toxic of Linux isn't that hard to avoid, and it isn't most of these communities. Communities will sometime even learn a little bit for you so you can have an easier time.
Well what about Windows?
Well, there is a lot wrong with Windows. You can't make it your OS. It is filled with adware, bloatware, lagware, and spyware. Also for a US$100 price tag, well that isn't worth it now is it. A lot of Windows only specific apps only need mild work to get running on Linux, those who are more of an issue plan to support Linux (some at least), and major corporations see Linux as a valuable thing to support, including Valve (the people behind CS:GO and Steam) who contributes to Wine and even has a setup of their fork of Wine called Proton, which is built into Steam. What Windows 10 support compared to Linux is the life support of a couple of games who ban Linux users for no reason and Adobe, but if Adobe supports Linux, Windows 10 will no doubt fall. Even now Windows 10 is slowly bleeding users.
Top comments (232)
As a linux user, who time and time again goes back to windows, here are some considerations I have:
Everything is easier after you know how to do it
Windows is easier for most user because they are used to it. on companies it's probably the OS they will see all day.
At home, the majority of people use windows as well. The cognitive load to learn a new OS is huge. I use linux almost everyday, and I still struggle on what is the name of the programs (dolphin, epiphany, and other names are not really nice to know what they do...)
Yes, it may be easier for us, who know how things work, but not for the common user, who uses MS word, MS outlook, and MS Edge (chrome, if you are lucky).
One of the companies I had a contract some time ago asked me why outlook was crashing. The reason was because the files were to big for outlook to handle. They would not remove old emails, and ask me to solve it. Mozilla thunderbird was the best solution, but it took me almost an year to train the users to open thunderbird instead of outlook. A YEAR. seriously. nobody complain about the change anymore, and everyone who uses it loves it, but it was a really problem at the time.
It's not easy to change people's mindset, and even harder to change their mindset AND their daily tools.
Someone who knows how to use photoshop on a daily basis also will know how to find solution for their problems. The same way we know, almost by instinct that stackoverflow will have a clue on what is wrong with our code, other professions will have theirs. Changing this will make their work go in a slower speed, and maybe with a lower quality, until they know how to use the new tools correctly. Not everyone can, or want, to do this.
Community pressure
What would you say to someone who uses notepad to code, and is struggling with it? Install vscode, use VIM, etc...
The same happens in the other industries as well... When they struggle to install the printer, and ask someone, what you think they will say? Install windows.
Or even worse, when the printers is not compatible with linux, and there is nothing they can do about it. How does the user feel? They know that on windows that printer would work, but now they have to just..... throw it away, and buy a new one? This is crazy, nobody would do that.
Interface
Yeah, the interface.... before it was ugly, and now it's ok. not perfect. its OK. And I'm considering the modern ones, not the ones that look like a rip off of win95.
Speaking of Win95, have seen the interface for programs like LibreOffice?
Straight from windows 95/98, right?
Yes, you can use GDocs, but not everyone will do it. Most homes and companies will prefer a local app for that.
Why do I go back to windows?
Yeah... now here is the fun part. I don't like windows, i think it's memory consumption is terrible, and the windows defender is a pain in the butt...
However, skype for business work only on windows (regular skype should kinda work on linux), and NVIDIA, and printers, etc...
Now, I know that this is not a fault on the OS side, BUT it doesn't allow me to work, or communicate with colleagues, or print something(I confess I gave up on printers at this point).
YEs, NVIDIA is responsible for the Graphics card lack of drivers, but the problems between nvidia and linux is not MY problem either.
Game development
Yes, unity should have support, but Unreal engine, the biggest one, that bigger games are developed.... Not really. Again, not the OS fault, but people will not use it, if it doesn't solve their problem, right?
conclusion?
I really hope that adobe start to work on linux, and other programs start to work on linux, because i really would be proud of us, who advocate for those changes.
I just don't see this happening so soon (or at all)
Here, here! I 100% agree with what you've said. I love how easy it is to develop in Linux compared to Windows. But I also have 20 years of experience using a Windows machine so I lose some productivity with a pure Linux environment. Sure, I could learn how to do everything all over again and probably be just as productive, but I have better things to do with my time.
And then, as you mentioned, is the issue of drivers. Getting Ubuntu 20.04 to work with my NVIDIA card was not as difficult as I expected; however, I definitely notice it does not work as well as it does in Windows. I also have a few peripherals that are created with Windows users in mind. I'm not interested in replacing any of those to switch to another operating system. And there are a few programs I have been using for years that I couldn't get working with WINE.
I make due using Chocolatey or WSL where I can (which covers ~95% of my workflow), a VM when I need it, and when all else fails, I have dual-boot set up.
I am by no means a Windows fanboy. But to say that Windows has no future because you're a developer and cannot see the myriad of use cases for a Windows machine outside of your own world is myopic at best.
Exactly. To be sincere it gets a little tiring to hear year after year that this will be the year that Linux will finally win over Windows and that everyone will suddenly realize how it's better.
Frankly, as both a Windows and Linux user I think it's easier to me to recommend developers on Windows to try WSL2 as soon as it's on stable than it would be to recommend the average user to move to Linux.
To me the biggest problem with Linux is that everyone seems to forget how steep the learning curve is after climbing it and just suppose everyone will be as inclined to go through that learning process. And constant fights and ego issues don't help anyone either.
And from my experience convincing my co-workers to move to better tools and tech (such as moving to Git from TFVC, using CI/CD instead of manual deploys, and things like these) it doesn't really matter how better the alternative is. They will always be resistant to change what they're used to. And if the current solution is already solving their problems any tiny friction can make they consider it's not worth the change at all. And boy there's a lot of friction on a move to Linux.
Heck, I've just tried Ubuntu 20.04 and I had to install gdebi just so I could install Chrome. And this is because Canonical devs decided .deb packages aren't as cool anymore now that they have their own thing.
How the hell do you expect the average user to move to Linux if they can't even install Chrome smoothly because some devs decided it doesn't matter?
If there's one thing that has held desktop Linux back, it's this: "let's reinvent the wheel, again".
What he said it's blatantly false.
I knew it, since I'm a exclusive Linux user for more then 6 years now, but... I just download Google Chrome (deb package) on my Ubuntu 20.04 to test, and surprise: you can install it without installing any additional software! Just right click and choose open with installer. That's it.
About reinventing the wheel, that's exactly what's promote innovation! That's why Linux is years ahead of Windows...
By the way, with WSL Microsoft repeating a mistake made by IBM with OS/2 and Windows 3.x: IBM enabled running windows applications inside OS/2 and as a consequence nobody cared to create native versions of the software. Once software vendors realize that by switching to linux versions they can cover "both worlds" amount of windows-only software will quickly drain.
For web and other development, I think this is already the case, and WSL is Microsoft admitting that they have to support Linux software. But it's also not a mistake on their part. Say what you want about Windows, but its GUI is rock solid. Getting to use it, while still having access to Linux for development in a (nearly) seamless integration is a win win.
"Say what you want about Windows, but it's GUI is rock solid."
KDE is better... I hate KDE. Cinnamon is a very stable one with a similar look, and Deepin is just fine as well (and Deepin can also look like macOS, and honestly is better looking than even macOS).
Other than that you make a fair-ish point.
OS/2 was rock solid in comparison to constantly failing Windows and ability to just restart died app was a win win for users. OS/2 was more stable, had much faster file system and great memory management which resulted in significantly better performance. OS/2 also had much better and far more advanced object oriented UI. Modern Windows still can't compete to Workplace Shell even after 25 years.
None of these advantages did help OS/2 to survive. So, I'm pretty sure that MS committing a mistake.
I remember writing articles like yours back in 2006 when I first started using linux desktop.
Since then, linux and windows, and especially Microsoft have come a long way.
And today I can say that Windows 10, with WSL is a far more productive environment for me to actually get work done. The closest linux desktop is Budgie, and it's had major bugs just sitting unfixed for years now.
Just a little advice: try a actually solid and stable shell: Gnome or KDE and you will never want to work with Windows again... They're literally light years ahead of everything windows.
BTW: what are the major bugs do you refer?
I used Gnome for years, but when 3.0 was released it was a paradigm change I did not need or want.
I'll buy "windows' gui is rock solid" when they fix the task manager's icon and the "copying files" popup is actually dark when I use dark theme. 😡
Agreed,
everyone has its own way to work and be productive.
But, I never said windows has no future... quite the opposite. I guess this was meant to the OP ?
Yes! Sorry that wasn't clear. I was definitely directing my ire towards the OP, not you :) You pretty much summed up everything I was going to say in my original knee-jerk response in a much more succinct way.
I had a touchscreen laptop that I wasn't using and decided to install Ubuntu and give it to my 5 year old for watching videos and playing some games and video calling her family and a few friends. She can navigate the heck out of Linux. If she ever uses my gaming laptop or surface pro on windows 10, shes absolutely lost. Lol.
Hah! Same with my kids. My 14yr old does a ton of digital art and she uses Krita 4.2, Paint Tool Sai for all Manga stuff; The later is a Windows app. She installed it without an issue using wine. One of her friends told her to use Photoshop, so I installed it on a Windows VM, she said it sucked, LMAO 😂😂😂. Also she has a fully Wacom Intuos 5 and guess what no driver installed required. The OS found it in an instant.
This is so cool! Glad to hear that
Good to hear since my touchscreen laptop has A LOT more glitches with Windows 10 then one without a touchscreen.
Windows 10 glitches weren't ever an issue. It worked perfectly fine. But it's an older dual core with 4gb of ram and it was a snappier experience with Ubuntu. The laptop originally came with windows 8, so you can imagine what a potato it was on 10.
I mean there's a case use for both. I'm still running dual boot between 10 and ubuntu on my main desktop but the majority of performance arguments for Linux are pretty moot on that system. 3950x with 64gb ddr4 4000 and dual 2080ti's in nvlink. Its a beast. Usually I use the linux boot for Linux exclusive apps and windows for everything else on that one.
I am seeing more and more people and organisations switch to GSuite over MSOffice.
Also GSuite works offline and is much cheaper.
Slack and Teams work much better than skype and both have linux native apps (or coming soon)
Slack has one, Skype (regular) has one, Teams might have one. Alternative apps: Telegram, Discord, Zoom. All have a client for Linux.
Teams for Linux is available now as a preview version. I haven't noticed any differences compared to the full release Windows version.
Yeah, I use Teams on OpenSUSE daily and everything works just like in Windows. Never had any problems.
Yes I agree with you, more companies are making the jump. I myself moved the previous company I worked for from Azure and MS Office to Google Cloud and GSuite. Not only is the Google option more efficient and reliable but you also don't need a PHD to navigate the cloud UI.
Hey there I've been using Linux for past 1.5 years now(arch Linux for 6 months now) and it's fun.
Let's get into the stuff
I agree with most of the points you mentioned, but still it's all up to the development, I used to think it's linux which is complex and hard to understand, believe me I've been using windows ever since I started using a computer and to my surprise it is actually windows which is too complex to understand, after hopping between both the places thousands of times I found whaaa?? Windows had this? And that? Why did no one ever mentioned it? Windows literally has god knows how many exes to do some specific things and like no one knows about it. The ones who make the best use of these tools are the indie developers who spent a 20th of their lives to understand them and that much equals to a user who uses a Linux distro as part of their daily lives, it's all because of the community it remains alive
Linux turned out simple because it just had everything explained and defined,
Since I'm a student and I don't play much games except for Minecraft, osu!, touhou, csgo and then there's those titles that just can't be played on linux, if it said no on protondb it's no, give up like I did for rust, for that I still preserve the copy of windows that came along with my laptop and also when I have to run some other tools.
The only thing that puts me in trouble till this date is Nvidia drivers, it's much worse if you do it on a laptop, welp that's a problem between Nvidia and linux.
If you still want to use windows just use it, there are gaming VMs now, just make a KVM virtual machine and pop in a gpu and a spare keyboard and mouse, I tried it and it's butter smooth.
Another option is use an ltsc edition of windows 10, it pushes updates like once in a year or two.
Using your logic that means everyone should still be on MS/DOS as there is such a big learning curve in switching over to Windows from DOS. I have migrated hundreds of users from Windows to Linux and every single one of them found Linux to be way easier to learn and use than Windows. If you find it so difficult to learn to use Linux that says a lot more about your ability, or lack thereof, than it does about the operating system.
well, people moved from DOS because they ended up having to (the same for people moving from win XP to seven, or 10), but people complained. a lot. The only reason people moved is because microsoft didn't support it anymore and pushed the new versions. But there was a huge friction in this transition. When win 8 was presented, a lot of people just chose to ignore it, and win 10 is a polished version of it (at least on UI).
But people will stay with the tools they know, for as long as possible. people don't like to change. This is what I am talking about. As long as people have the option to stay with their system the way it is, they are ok with it.
Personally, i don't find more difficult to learn linux. I chose it every time possile, and it makes me more productive... But not everyone is like me.
Also, saying that the problem is the user who doesn't have the ability to learn the OS, is quite problematic... Sure, some people will have some disorder that prevent them to learn, but in most cases, it's just not worth the effort. Consider an artirst, or designer who uses photoshop daily. Why would this person change their entire workflow, pipelines, software, etc... to use linux over windows? If the results are the same, the difference would be on the price. But this is considered on the price of your work...
In the end of the day, learning windows, or some linux flavor will solve your problem, it's just a matter of which one you are used to.
Linux lovers (me included) also have their own reasons to avoid windows. Most of the time it'not blind hate, it's just that one OS fits us better.
Printers work well on my Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 😂
Skype for Business? It's Teams now and it has an official Linux app by Microsoft.
Skype for business still exist.
When I had an interview at the company I work now, I tried to make a call meeting work,but I couldn't,because it doesn't work with Linux.
Yes, Microsoft is trying to migrate to me teams, but it is still a slow process.
Hopefully we will use teams soon at my work, or some other tool...
Libreoffice has a nice interface in Linux. You just need to turn on Notebookbar and download a better GTK theme.
I'm using an Nvidia card in my desktop. It works fine. Skype? I didn't even think it had a proper desktop app any more, isn't it just an electron app now?
🤣🤣🤣 LOL. You must be a very dimwit person. I feel sorry for you... Comparing that screenshot of an Ugly interface with the actual modern Gnome or KDE environment, just a moron.
First things first:
I believe attacking my person, calling me a moron is against the community rules. Feel free to debate ideas and disagree with me all you want, but don't try do offend someone else. Let's keep this community a nice place, ok? If you need help to find it, please let me know, I will gladly point where the code of conduct is located.
Now, about the screenshot: I compared LibreOffice writer interface with Microsoft word (latest version). Not the entire OS UI.
I used this to illustrate one of the ways those programs differ. The key point is that the alternatives we have now are not good enough to replace the windows software.
You can do the same for other programs as well, like the Adobe suite, or blender and Autodesk software. They are not a good replacement for most professionals who use those software.
So, you should mention that on your comment. By omitting this very important portion of your analyses, makes it's entirety highly misleading and purely false.
Hey, but I get you. You know everything in this article is true. As the writer said: the last piece for windows to be history of the past, is Abode Software on Linux...
The writer is also 17 and wasn't trying to make an unbiased article
But it's true in it's essence... You feel it, I feel it and more young people starts to feel it. And most important: it will be maybe sooner than we expect.
BTW: congrats on your great article! ❤️
I thought it was a smooth transition between talking about the UI in general to the interface for programs, but maybe there was some confusion there.
Don't worry, I will try to make it more clear next time. Thanks for the hint on that
Please be kind.
Thanks Kai.
Also, congrats on this post. I disagree with you point of view, but it is a great article :)
Hey Luis, your comments are not inline with our code of conduct. Please be more respectful and constructive.
Thanks Ben
This battle had existed since inception of Linux, if all arguments were true, Windows would have died a decade ago.
The only problem with all arguments is, knowing and using Linux is just more of a fantasy.
Windows is still alive just because vast majority of users did get windows together with computer and then gets used to it. Look into comments above - even IT people often get used to windows and don't want to try to switch completely because they "have better things to do with my time".
Overall popularity often has nothing in common with real technical qualities, otherwise Windows 95 would loose to OS/2 Warp and Windows NT - to Linux decades ago.
Fair enough, but as I mentioned that is slowly becoming less of an issue. Also, I pointed out that if fulfilled have a high probability of stabbing Windows having it bleed a huge amount of users as many would still switch, even if it was because an article like "Adobe Supports Linux" and/or "Adobe now supported on Ubuntu" causing curiousity
Yes, hardware vendors turning towards Linux more and more. For example, recently Lenovo added more Linux laptops to their product range.
A person from Lenovo joined a Linux podcast, joined by a Fedora developer. I thought that was fun.
Lenovo will be shipping several new models of laptops with Fedora preinstalled. Here is the official announcement.
Yesss, YESSS, give in, to your anger.
But seriously, we need more metaphors like this in technical discussions. Gets the blood flowing, so to speak.
"if all arguments were true, Windows would have died a decade ago."
I mean not necessarily, and Windows 10 is bleeding users.
Is it, though? Overall PC sales are declining, as more people switch to mobile devices for their day to day, but that's not the same as folks switching to Linux. Ubuntu is never going to be more popular than Windows; it just doesn't have enough financial backing to reach the level of polish users expect. That said, Linux in the form of Android, Chrome OS, or some other big-tech backed distro is likely what we'll end up with as most applications move into the browser. At that point, though, it won't matter what the underlying OS is, as long as it can run a browser. Mind you, I'm not taking about is developers; I'm talking about my mom, or a ten year old that needs to get some homework done.
"Ubuntu is never going to be more popular than Windows; it just doesn't have enough financial backing to reach the level of polish users expect."
From Canonical - The company behind Ubuntu - this is their list of partners.
Microsoft is on there, and so is Azure (a Microsoft owned product). Not to mention 3 OEMs and 3 hardware makers I can recognize, plus a major telecom, plus Google (via a cloud platform, but still google) and Amazon (via AWS, but still amazon), plus Oracle, plus IBM.
Not only is Ubuntu well sponsored, but also some sponsors are partial/full competitors. IBM with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Microsoft with Windows 10 and Azure Sphere (Azure Sphere is a Linux server operating system), Google with ChromeOS and Android (both Linux based platforms, ChromeOS being forked from Gentoo), plus Google's experiment Fucsia.
Also with the whole world going mobile, two things.
Also also, ChromeOS will not take over the market, it would not be sane. Yes, many schools and offices might invest into it, dekstops and laptops will forever hold place, until desktops die out, where laptops will stay.
My 5 cents.
That's kind of my point. Linux popularity is growing, but that's not the same as Ubuntu as a primary desktop OS growing. Microsoft is a partner because it relies on Linux for Azure and WSL.
Linux was great for those categories of users even 10 years ago. Moreover, it was (and still it) rock-solid and easily survived for years without any need for external maintenance. Unlike windows which required clean reinstall every 2-3 months or so, just because registry was filled with garbage and whole system was full of viruses and malware.
All of the above is from my personal experience, because I've installed linux for my mom and for my kids.
In the last 10 years, I installed windows 3 times, because I switched 3 laptops. No problems whatsoever. I guess it also depends on the user.
Well for any user who just uses Browser to do everything OS does not make difference but when you have set of complex business operations, Windows wins. To run business, teaching anyone to use gcc and compile and google how to run something for hours isn’t really a business practice.
When you have to set of complex business operations then OS does not matter, because all these operations are done at backend and visualized in browser. And windows as corporate desktop OS has far higher TCO than any competitor.
And please, don't use "teaching anyone to use gcc ..." stuff. It was not valid even 10 years ago and even less now.
Exactly. Main focus here is on the completely non-technical people as OS users. My experience tells me that for this category of users windows has no "inherent" advantages in regard to ease of use. And in identical conditions Linux is far more reliable than windows. Moreover, I've observed a steep learning curve, when those users were forced to start using windows. In other words: only user inertia and some software vendors are helping windows remain a most widely used desktop OS.
Developers of top product companies use Linux, that is it is easy for them to create a company culture to save huge license cost as the end users are developers they can work little bit more to work on Linux.
This discussion is biased, this discussion is not real as this thread does not include non technical business stack owners.
This discussion is completely real. There is no need to be a non-technical person to be aware about consequences of using any OS in business. For at least last decade use of Windows for business can be justified only with need of some specific software which is not supported on other operating systems. For long time office suite was main obstacle, but today it isn't anymore.
Ok you win...
I must admit I find these kinds of articles rather infuriating. If you like Linux then that's great, I'm happy for you, use it all you like. But why do some Linux users, especially developers, think they're so superior to Windows users.
I've been a dev (Scala mostly) for decades. I've used Linux, Mac OS and Windows over the years and I choose to develop using a Windows machine now.
I have nothing against Linux. I used Arch for years and I enjoyed it's simplicity. Personally I prefer using a CLI in most cases so using a Linux terminal feels quite natural to me.
The thing that really annoys me is when someone learns a bit of bash and then thinks they're some kind of hacker God. As if a shell and a package manager are unique to Linux!
When I picked up Windows I took time to learn powershell and scoop and ... shock, horror ... I actually prefer them to bash and pacman (or bash and apt if your into Ubuntu)
Sure powershell is a different language to bash so it takes a bit of getting used to and in some cases it's annoying, but it's not like bash doesn't have problems.
Windows terminal is great! I run neovim in it so I can edit files and code very quickly. My main editor is vscode (oh sorry that's another evil M$ product!).
Scoop is very well maintained and allows me to install anything I like without leaving the terminal, sure it's better at installing CLI based tools but I also use it to install graphical software to like Firefox and vscode.
Very occasionally I need to collaborate with other developers in a Linux only environment (almost always because someone has bodged the build process with a bash script which could and should have been written in a cross platform way) and when this happens I drop down to WSL where I have a full Linux kernel running in Windows.
Please stop this OS fanboyism, it doesn't help anyone. Try using Windows from time to time you might actually like it.
It can give languages from the 1960s a run for their money in the ugliness stakes and it can be so verbose that it makes Java look succinct, but it's one hell of a power tool. I even use it on Linux now.
Yes!
also powershell is more object oriented than bash, isn't it? I find it really interesting. Would love to have that on bash, instead of cutting/awking away the output!
I'm a Linux user, and as a software developer I'm quite happy with it. But you have to put yourself in the shoes of the average computer user. While Linux can be good for a class of expert computer users, it won't be simple for everyone. When I got my laptop, since it's using proprietary firmware for its wifi, I couldn't connect to the internet and I had to use my other PC in order to find and download drivers. They had to be compiled and installed using the shell. This operation alone would be difficult and scary for 80% of the users out there.
If you are trying to use Linux to do graphics design professionally, good luck. Gimp doesn't slightly compare to Photoshop in terms of file format integration, ease of use, user interface, user experience and functionalities.
Let alone sound design, gaming, professional accounting, professional 3D rendering and animation, and so on...
Linux can be good for the computer expert and enthusiast. But it's not a good OS for the others.
These are my 5 cents, and I am a 15+ years Linux-only user, so I don't think I'm too biased towards Windows.
GIMP is slowly but surely improving to levels of Photoshop, Inkscape is a solid vector graphics editor (while having a learning curve), Krita is a top-tier art program. GIMP is still very powerful and I am fine using it. Plus you are seeing more and more support for proprietary hardware like NVIDIA support on Linux, plus tools are being developed to help with that. Plus as I said, when Adobe turns Linux, Windows falls. Sound design has tools like Audacity, bitwig. Professional accounting is an area I do not know about. Professional 3D rendering, well I know CAD software is on Linux, and Blender (3D animation tool) is available on Linux. Gaming, well that has tools like Lutris and Steam, Proton, and Wine. Animation, Synfig Studio is a fair choice. Areas you did not mention but also work are video editing with Kdenlive, Openshot, Shotcut. Office software has many options, my personal favorite is LibreOffice.
Not to mention Adobe can work on Linux if you are savvy enough. Game development, there is Unity and Godot. Online chat, Discord, Telegram, IRC tools like Pidgin, Skype, Zoom.
Plus the average computer user will not even need the high-end professional tools, just things that work. If they REALLY need to edit a photo, GIMP is fairly easy to pick up. They need to email someone, well they will do that over browser which only the new Edge browser isn't yet supported. If they want to play games, yes they are semi-limited but not horribly. Note pad editors are plentiful, and if the user is comfortable enough to do it, they can do it in the CLI.
"Linux can be good for the computer expert and enthusiast. But it's not a good OS for the others." is just simply false.
Ok, so what about professional creative work? Every piece of professional software has its own workflow, capabilities, and compatibilities. You can't just throw a blanket on the whole digital painting community and say 'just get krita', but that's probably the easiest creative group to consider. If you want to talk about 3D professionals, oh boy. The pipelines can get pretty complicated, the programs are even more specific and while yes, Blender is very powerful, it can't do everything its competitors can and its workflow is much different. And the rest of the programs in the pipeline? Does meshroom, substance painter, standalone cloth sims, third party renderers, and hundreds of other plugins work with linux?
For sound designers or music producers, audacity is a laughable suggestion in comparison to the industry standard tools. And GIMP, while it is extremely good for being free, just doesn't even come close to photoshop. Photoshop has so many use cases and a lot of what it can do is specific to it - at least in a single application - I'm sure there's the right mix of specialized, hombrew apps out there which can substitute some of the more photoshop specific features but why would you even try if your freelance work depends on photoshop.
I don't want to sound rude, but I guess OP has a lack of real life work experience
His/her bio says he/she is 16. So it makes sense. I had that kind of fan boyism too at the time.
No, I am 17 now. Also, feel free to use whatever pronouns.
I also yeah, have almost 0 work experience - at least... at an actual company. I am trying to be more professional, but I do slip up sometimes. Also, sometimes I don't keep to my aim.
Yeah I just saw in another comment you're older now :). Still, if you want to be more professional, one thing to do first is understand the world you're getting into. Windows is here to stay and for good reasons. Linux is great and all, you can love it and even make it part of your professional environment (some comments here tend to prove its possible, even on mostly Windows ones) but don't dismiss Windows for the wrong reasons. Windows fills every use cases, while Linux may offer different distro targeted at different workload.
Another one laughable claim is the comparison of professional tools. Most free and open source tools are light years behind what the industry uses. And when they're not, it doesn't mean they'll push people toward linux. One example I have in mind is Blender : we are currently evaluating whether or not it would make a decent replacement for some of our (Adobe) tools. It won't make us switch to Linux, far from that. We're only considering it because it's available on Windows. You have to understand that in a real professional environment, you can't just swap one tool for another. It's made of different toolchains, workflows, etc. And all of theses tools go hand in hand in your development pipeline.
"GIMP is slowly but surely improving to levels of Photoshop" - is it being developed faster than Photoshop though? GIMP is fine for people who don't need top-notch software of that type. At a high professional level using GIMP instead of Photoshop is much more tricky.
"when Adobe turns Linux, Windows falls" - statements like this don't take into account factors like the OS install base, the cognitive load of switching operating systems, and a variety of other factors. Do you think all of your extended family would switch to Linux as a result of Adobe making their software available there? I'm sure mine wouldn't. Especially those family members for whom accessing basic preferences in unfamiliar software is a challenge.
Don't forget Darktable which is brilliant!
I haven't seen wireless issues in Linux for years. Even proprietary wireless firmware is downloaded over Ethernet at install time.
I am a full time Linux user, but sorry I really can't agree with this. You're listing out billions of reasons not to use linux and then going "but other than all those compromises everything else is great"
I'm not an expert but I'll list out some of the common problems I've faced using linux.
We all know we can throw professional work out the window if we're stuck not using Adobe's suite. You can be the special snowflake with the kdenproject file but it's not gonna sit well with your coworkers. Not to mention none of the alternatives truly fill the adobe gap, and especially because these alternatives don't play as well with each other as adobe's family does.
Gaming.... god where do I start? I didn't spend 4-500$ on a gpu to get upto 80% efficiency on wine or proton in many games, and 0% in some others. When PC gamers build their PCs many of them do it with the OS being a "means to start the game". It could be an empty screen with dropdown to select the game and a start button for all they care. I didn't spend this much money to get wine performance.
Linux is easy to install ha? well sure the default install is. So when I installed Pop_Os! a while back, I had a partition where I had things I needed to keep. The options were to "install alongside windows", "clean install", "custom install". I wanted to do a clean install while keeping that paetition. but this clean install wipes the entire hard drive. Install alongside windows then, oh damn pop needs a 500mb efi partition but windows' existing one is 100mb. Very useful.
Manual Install then. Make a boot, root, home, swap, efi... look up good sizes for them... check if your motherboard is uefi or not. Very user friendly. Oh well gotta do what I gotta do.
Yay popos is on. where's my other drive? oh I gotta mount it. Oh it disappears when I reboot. I need to set it to automount. Why can't I compile code from it? oh it mounts as root. I have to edit some file somewhere to mount it as the current user, can't be done from the gui.
All this could've been avoided if I were reinstalling windows. I could've deleted C: and installed windows, that's it.
App store haha. You're gonna run into an app that's not on the distro's own store nor available as an appimage or deb file the first day you install any distro. great, you'll find a nice link that adds the ppa and stuff. And then we get into the whole new mess of managing ppas. One of the reasons I moved to Arch and Manjaro is to use the AUR so I don't have to manage this stuff.
Linux is great, I hate windows like the plague and I'm absoluetly glad to be using manjaro on my work laptop and arch on my raspi without even any gui. But I never make the mistake of telling casual people to use a linux distro. It's silly and irresponsible. I hope windows goes away forever and I can use linux on my gaming rig someday, but not even gonna consider it now.
I laughed reading this, because i ran into the same problems. almost all the time
I used to do that. That was a mistake.
I can see that all of ur arguments depend on compromises. Compromises to use my photoshop, my printer, my unreal engine, etc. If u are a very flexible person (and got the time) to change everything u have been used to, to a new software and new UI then congrats, u can do the jump from windows to linux, but I doubt any average or even above average windows user who got a normal job (dealing with linus is not part of it) would have the free time or dedication to adjust his life to linux.
If average users suffer using windows in many cases, what do u think if they get to use linux? If it's not easier not just to do, but to understand and to interact, then average windows users are not willing to change their life style.
My experience in linux is limited to few specific uses depending on my needs, I used it last time to setup a server using QEMU and KVM and that didn't go well, I searched a lot and spent a lot of hours just to be able to adjust the command given to me by a guide article to suit my needs and my machine, if it was windows it would have been much easier for me.
Even if windows is bleeding users, which I don't know if it's true or not, those are not average users because average users will use windows their whole life and I doubt they will even know what linux is to start with
In the dnd I would love to see linux actually getting better than windows and not with the compromises u did and I will be happy to make the switch.
Yes, there are compromises, but every day the compromises become less and less. Also, I have never had printer issues on Linux, while my Windows 10 using family has.
Desktop Linux is slowly growing, and even currently up by ~600% for Ubuntu between March and April. All this article is, is to say that the claims Linux has made about taking over are starting to sink in and take hold. Not that Linux will be bigger than Windows next year or even in 5 years, it will be a slow and steady process, but we are finally seeing singular distributions pass the 1% mark on the grand scale.
I won't lie, Linux isn't perfect and I prefer other operating systems personally (like FreeBSD). This article isn't saying that Windows will fall tomorrow, but we are seeing the end of the tunnel.
What I am trying to say is Linux is finally user friendly, not only that but is also supported by many OEMs, including large scale ones, and compared to Windows is a much better product overall. Yes you will absolutely lose out joining in immediately, but you have many great alternatives and choices to experiment with, and those who don't need Photoshop, Unreal engine, Roblox, or a couple other games, and can live with only needing to learn a little bit (as it is a different operating system family), Linux is rock solid and easy.
Bloatware and ceip can be disabled and removed with one powershell script. And stuff on linux do not work as they do in theory. Did you ever work in enterprise that is not a software company?
Also with disabling bloatware, it still is there taking up disk space. That's why I also been using the term lagware. You disable the lagware. Plus the spyware isn't easy to get rid of. Plus don't forget the adware.
Those are small apps, like 20mb for all if you remove them with powershell you free space from %appdata% and you also can get rid of them by removing them from wim file if you really wanna get rid of them. You can disable everything, use whatever term you wanna use *ware you can remove it. Where I work everything is removed and customed.
I am 17, I don't even work for a software company,
Why do you make this kind of post “windows has no real future” when you don’t even know what is going on? Was this classic click bait?
The answer is, yes. Very sensationalist.
That explains everything... You could have given it a much better tone by saying "Why students should prefer Linux?" or "Why Linux is becoming good for day to day usage?". Putting a click bait headline like the current one is awful, you spread hatred and you will get hatred in return.
when i say Windows i am taking about windows10..
when i say linux, i have ask, which distribution, release version, kernel version etc etc etc.. and ultimately it may not work for my kind of work and if it stops working i wouldnt know where to go and whom to ask.
ps: I use linux mint tricia and hv been using for last 10 month...
One thing i hv learnt, more option means more confusion, i am never satisfied with my customisation or look or sw i hv installed, 40% of my time goes into this effort..
With Windows, i know i hv limited things to do, so i dont do and dont worry. i save significant time and money
Easy fix: Just focus more on Ubuntu when talking Linux, they will correct you and then it is done.
rofl
then i guess, we should base this article on ubuntu and not on linux per se
I felt to be a little inclusive, but one article I plan to do is an honest and solid comparison between Ubuntu 20.04 and Windows 10. With the help of family members who use Windows 10.
Have you actually surveyed creative professionals on how interchangeable these tools truly are, and how much friction is created in transition, or are you making a blanket hypothetical statement?
Every Adobe replacement, you mentioned are not even remotely user friendly, and not polished.
No major AAA game titles run on linux.
You are misled into believing Linux good, Windows Bad. But it all comes down to personal preference, and users want a well polished environment. I've been a long term Linux user who dual booted occassionally to run Adobe products or gaming. I've used Ubuntu, Arch and PopOs over a period of 5 years. I recently switched windows, with Vscode Remote containers, i really do not miss linux even a bit.
Average joe consumer, doesn't care about open source, containers, CLI tools, power usage. Majority of windows users just want to get the work done, none of the products offered as alternatives dont even come close. Nvidia drivers still have issues, and break occassionally. I can just reverse rant, but like I said its just a preference and not going anywhere untill Linux and its software has a major overhaul.
What are "Major AAA game titles?"
Games published by Major publishers, other than Steam. Eg: Origin. also not all games on steam run via proton.
protondb.com/ there are several major games that have less than Gold rating.
There is a serious lack of understanding here. People will not change. This is something so rooted in their brains. I work as a UX Researcher and I know how hard it is to force people to change their habits. I use a Linux machine at home. My dad will never touch it because he don't how to use it. He is 50 years old now. Linux's learning curve is a bit steep. Windows works out here because you can wander around and find your way through the OS. Talking about software alternatives, we simply cannot resolve to GIMP or Krita. There is a reason why people use Adobe. Every file will seamlessly work with each Adobe products. I can save Adobe audition file and open it in Adobe premier. Same goes for illustrator and Photoshop. This productivity flow is something that cannot be replicated with Linux as of now. Maybe in the future, if Adobe brings it's apps to Linux but not now. I personally use a 2-in-1 device and touch has been a massive input method for me for the past 3 years. Linux support for touch is poor and almost non existent. I cannot use my pen and draw right on my screen with palm rejection working and then there are these GPU issues. People use Windows at the end because it is easy to use. You click on something and it will open. Installing and uninstalling apps are easier in window. Linux is strong as a OS but it doesn't have the bells and whistles to actually attract regular users. You can argue all you want but Windows will not die atleast not soon as you expect it to, if they were able to pull off Windows for ARM successfully. There will be no optimised Linux alternative in that market. People don't have the time to pause and learn new tools and new OS in a company. You cannot put a pause button on that. I also just rea thay the writer is 17 years old. It's a joke man. Either he is joking or he never had any actual work experience in company which doesn't do software development.
You hit it spot on. It's about the work flow, about getting things done. Apple did this successfully but costs a fortune. I am familiar with linux and use it for work but after 20 years messing with it I cant use it as a daily driver if I expect to get work done.
Using Linux mainstream is like using a Custom ROM on your phone. It is all well and good untill you face an error and have to reinstall everything because as an average user cannot fix errors that they face. Troubleshooting is a huge problem in Linux. I can use a restore point in Windows 10 and restore back to that point. People think everyone loves to tinker with the terminal and install stuff that they like. My dad still calls me, if he see a command prompt xD
This seems to make some implicit assumptions about how regular folks choose their software.
It's like how we make other choices in our lives: the man in the Television said so. I really think you're giving these hypothetical users of yours too much credit.
If it's installed on the laptop they'll use it, if it's marketed enough they'll use it, even if it eats their data and first born son alive, end of story.
And let's be honest, Windows hasn't eaten any small children since at least the 90s.
You're incredibly off base here. I can't replace Resolve with any of the open source video editing programs. I can't use the Linux version of Resolve, it's just so feature incomplete and buggy. I can't replace Photoshop with Gimp. I can supplement Gimp with Photoshop though. Linux is a hobby OS as far as I'm concerned. I'll load it up in a VM or on a drive for a fun weekend project. I do that every so often with a bunch of distros just to see how things are progressing. They never progress. There are always regressions and dumb complications in the way to getting half as compatible and production ready compared to just installing Windows 10 Pro and enrolling in the fast ring preview.
There won't ever be a Linux takeover of market share.
Fragmentation and "choice" are actually the biggest issues with Linux. Y'all just need to get behind one distro and get proprietary drivers going strong and software support going less open source. That's the only thing I can think of because like, what Linux has been doing this long actually isn't working.
Maybe incredibly casual users are cool with Linux. Maybe hardcore developers are okay with it. But professional media (video and audio) people that need more than basic editing ain't gonna be okay with Linux.
Video not mine but definitely gets into good details.
youtu.be/DpXUQgCbtQw
Now I'm not anti other OSes at all. I love messing with Haiku, BSD, various Linux distros... But I'm Windows 10 fast ring all day every day every computer I own.
I've yet to experience an ad in Windows.
What bloatware?
Lagware? What!
Spyware... Okay, there is telemetry for things in Windows and most of it works with features people rarely take advantage of and even if you don't use them it still collects. But it really isn't an issue.
Eh, it goes up and down in the big browser agent stats but Linux will still just be like 0.6%.
I have used Resolve on both Linux and Windows 10. I can say confidently that Resolve works just as fine on Windows as Linux. Linux is used in almost every major corporate entity in server space (par that of the 2 companies who refuse to use it), and in desktops, it is seen in Google and Amazon, others I am not as sure on the facts. Linux as a whole has been between 1% to 2% market share, the past month we have gone from 1.7% to 2.9% (the highest it has ever been).
Yes, Windows has bloatware. Lagware is applications that are either slow on their own or lag the system (non-intentionally). One grand example of lagware is the file explorer (especially when trying to search the drive.
The video you linked is outdated. Severely. Yes, 2018 is only a couple years away, but in 2018 we have yet to really see AMD smack Intel as hard as recently. Two years is about 20 in computer years,
Want to find an ad on Windows? Open your app menu, or just look very closely on your login screen.
Plus, as a Linux user who actually isn't too much of a developer (ironic considering where I posted this), and I am 17 with not a lot of computer know-how outside of Windows. I actually only started using Linux in late 2018 / early 2019 with Fedora 29.
I am a video editor, graphics artist, logo designer in my spare time. Even making Ubuntu Lumina isn't a tech-savvy process, just trial, and error. I would seriously recommend rechecking the facts and numbers in your reply too.
None on either of mine - are you using a dodgy copy of Windows or something?
Downloaded from microsoft.com/en-us/windows/get-wi...
Also on the prebuilt systems I own
I even went to see if I was crazy or something, so I googled it. I am not crazy, it's there.
Same with the login screen
If you can't see the ads, well on the login screen they are a little hidden, but there are links. The start menu has them too, they are very obvious.
I sort of feel like by the time Linux might be ready to beat Windows, it will coincide with Microsoft ditching Windows in favor of a Linux flavor. MS is sort of turning into a diversified software/hardware company that doesn't need to leverage Windows, and has a ton of leverage in open source.
Kind of like the oil companies which hang onto oil and fight innovation as much as possible.... Until they can gain enough of a position in alternative energy and then they stop fighting its adoption so much and become a diversified energy company.
Yeah, these "energy" companies don't care so much about the tech as they care about being in control.
As for Micro$oft, now that they've found a mechanism beyond source control to exercise control over your use of technology, why not open source it all?
Your opinion makes sense to me...
Considering how windows is investing on Linux and open source in general, i think this may be case.
I am not sure if Microsoft will just "ditch" windows, or come with a solution to customers, vendors, and companies to transition to some other platform. Any thoughts about it?
For most of the windows user who wants to try linux but fear that it's complex. Try
LinuxMint Cinnamon Edition. linuxmint.com/LinuxMint is friendly for Windows users. It has a similar design which makes people who move from windows navigate easily.
Linux has a really cool thing known as Live OS, which basically means you can try a Linux OS without installing, directly from the bootable USB.
So, install it into a bootable usb and give it a try.
Mint is a great distro,
but i don't think the main problem here is "fear". Sure it's one of the key points, for regular users, but I don't think many developers would fit in this description....
But mint is one of the best distros i've ever used...
Yes. I agree. For a developer who wants to experience linux or looking for something to start knowing linux. Mint is a great choice.
Some comments may only be visible to logged-in visitors. Sign in to view all comments.