Linux = Password Hell
More arguments against Linux. It really pisses me off that people keep talking about Linux like it is a viable solution for the average user. This is dangerous. Because someone might read it, believe it, and royally screw themselves over.
Argument #1 is more a nuisance than anything. In Linux, passwords are EVERYWHERE. They are required all of the time. There is no such thing as automated updates. Yep, passwords are a good thing. It is a good security measure. But, it isn't that Microsoft and Apple and Google think otherwise that they don't do this. It is because people won't accept it. I can get the desktop manager to automate log-in which is nice. But, I need a password. And I need it every time I update or install anything. This is a pain for the average user. Every time Microsoft has tried implementing better security there has been a huge backlash.
The next argument is that, if everything else is too difficult, you can always buy a Linux computer. But, the average person really can't. I can't walk into a Best Buy or whatever and buy a Linux computer. I can't try out the OS without the skills. And, even where they can be purchased online, they aren't usually easy to find.
Argument #3 is flawed in two ways. It claims that Linux is easy to install. NO it is not. Comparatively speaking, when we're talking installation, we're assuming a machine with an existing OS. Almost definitely pre-installed. Nothing is easier than that. And, in my experience, the Linux installation is not really as easy Windows. But, the biggest nail in the coffin is this... typical users... DO NOT INSTALL OPERATING SYSTEMS. End of story.
Argument #4 is that expectations of support are not met. A TYPICAL user coming from Windows or Mac DOES NOT know to expect that the applications they user regularly may not exist. They may not know that their external hardware (printers/scanners/etc...) may not be supported. For a mainstream user, the lack of a single app may be enough for them to consider it unusable. Even if there is a perfectly acceptable alternative.
Lastly is help. Linux help for most people is almost exclusively online. Typical users do NOT search out the answers online. I have friends and family who will sit on an easily fixable problems for MONTHS while they wait for a tech savvy friend or family member to drop in and fix it for them. With how few people use Linux, that will never happen.
Argument #1 is more a nuisance than anything. In Linux, passwords are EVERYWHERE. They are required all of the time. There is no such thing as automated updates. Yep, passwords are a good thing. It is a good security measure. But, it isn't that Microsoft and Apple and Google think otherwise that they don't do this. It is because people won't accept it. I can get the desktop manager to automate log-in which is nice. But, I need a password. And I need it every time I update or install anything. This is a pain for the average user. Every time Microsoft has tried implementing better security there has been a huge backlash.
The next argument is that, if everything else is too difficult, you can always buy a Linux computer. But, the average person really can't. I can't walk into a Best Buy or whatever and buy a Linux computer. I can't try out the OS without the skills. And, even where they can be purchased online, they aren't usually easy to find.
Argument #3 is flawed in two ways. It claims that Linux is easy to install. NO it is not. Comparatively speaking, when we're talking installation, we're assuming a machine with an existing OS. Almost definitely pre-installed. Nothing is easier than that. And, in my experience, the Linux installation is not really as easy Windows. But, the biggest nail in the coffin is this... typical users... DO NOT INSTALL OPERATING SYSTEMS. End of story.
Argument #4 is that expectations of support are not met. A TYPICAL user coming from Windows or Mac DOES NOT know to expect that the applications they user regularly may not exist. They may not know that their external hardware (printers/scanners/etc...) may not be supported. For a mainstream user, the lack of a single app may be enough for them to consider it unusable. Even if there is a perfectly acceptable alternative.
Lastly is help. Linux help for most people is almost exclusively online. Typical users do NOT search out the answers online. I have friends and family who will sit on an easily fixable problems for MONTHS while they wait for a tech savvy friend or family member to drop in and fix it for them. With how few people use Linux, that will never happen.
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