Not a Linux hater, just a realist
I removed Windows 10 from my laptop. Entirely. I primarily used my laptop for web browsing and despite a decent processor and SSD drive, it wasn't as fast as I felt it should be. Also, with just a little over 128GB of drive space, I found Windows and its updates took up too much. If I had a 256GB drive, I would probably still be on Windows.
Anyways, the switch is the reason for the recent uptick in Linux related posts.
I'm a software developer. And even if I never had Linux installed as a primary OS in the past, I'm still no stranger to Linux, the command line or it's quirks. Which is why the articles I'm seeing about how easy it is and why people shouldn't use Windows, etc... are ticking me off so much.
But, don't get me wrong. If you have the skills and the patience (and an interest), then Linux is definitely much better than it was 10 years ago when I last tried any semi-serious attempts at using it.
My posts largely sound negative because I feel like I'm swimming against a current of naive posts.
I want to repeat some salient points I made in previous posts; my laptop is neither brand new or crazy old. It is maybe 3-4 years old. It is running a Core i5, so a very mainstream processor with embedded graphics. Put another way, the hardware is not bleeding edge. There has been more than enough time for drivers and support to be sorted out. And it isn't so old that any components would have had support deprecated or ignored by mainstream OSes. In my opinion, this device should be the perfect candidate.
And yet, I hit issues with the WiFi in some distros and the display in others. I want to point out, that even for an average Linux user... these problems are insurmountable if this was your only machine and your only OS. Unless you are a crazy advanced technical Linux user, you're not solving most problems without at least either a trip to a forum, or a download of some alternate package. Without WiFi or a working UI (on a machine with no ethernet port... as is becoming increasingly more common) you are SoL.
That is just the total deal breaking issues. I started with Linux Mint. I tried switching desktop environments. Went about as well as I remembered. I ended up needing to switch back to the original DE. But, it never ran quite the same afterwards and my system was now bloated with apps I couldn't really use in that DE.
In the end, I wiped everything out and went with Ubuntu Budgie. I like the UI better than the one that comes with Mint for the most part. But, I get an error every time I open the software center. Everything seems to work. But, for some reason, I get an error. Installs often say they fail, but attempts to reinstall show they succeeded the first time. And the list goes on.
Budgie isn't the most polished of DEs (or at least, not outside of Solus). But, one of the loudest arguments in favour of Linux has always been choice. Except that, often times those choices don't work. I would say reality is this; if you want Linux, you need to download a crap load of ISOs. Install them to USB. And find the handful that work well enough out of the box on your machine. Those are your choices. The ones which don't work? Well, you can probably get them to work if you have the time and the skills. But, for most hardware I find you will end up with a choice of between 1-3 distros.
Despite all of this, I'm no hater. I don't really see myself going back to Windows on this machine. For what I use my secondary PCs for, Linux is better in every way. My primary PC will probably always be Windows though.
I just want to set the record straight. Linux IS NOT ready for mainstream. And, frankly, I don't think those who maintain Linux distros could really afford it anyway. If it is "free", the typical person isn't going to donate. The sites would go offline. When I consider the situation I typically end up thinking that it isn't really so bad that Linux isn't mainstream.
Anyways, the switch is the reason for the recent uptick in Linux related posts.
I'm a software developer. And even if I never had Linux installed as a primary OS in the past, I'm still no stranger to Linux, the command line or it's quirks. Which is why the articles I'm seeing about how easy it is and why people shouldn't use Windows, etc... are ticking me off so much.
But, don't get me wrong. If you have the skills and the patience (and an interest), then Linux is definitely much better than it was 10 years ago when I last tried any semi-serious attempts at using it.
My posts largely sound negative because I feel like I'm swimming against a current of naive posts.
I want to repeat some salient points I made in previous posts; my laptop is neither brand new or crazy old. It is maybe 3-4 years old. It is running a Core i5, so a very mainstream processor with embedded graphics. Put another way, the hardware is not bleeding edge. There has been more than enough time for drivers and support to be sorted out. And it isn't so old that any components would have had support deprecated or ignored by mainstream OSes. In my opinion, this device should be the perfect candidate.
And yet, I hit issues with the WiFi in some distros and the display in others. I want to point out, that even for an average Linux user... these problems are insurmountable if this was your only machine and your only OS. Unless you are a crazy advanced technical Linux user, you're not solving most problems without at least either a trip to a forum, or a download of some alternate package. Without WiFi or a working UI (on a machine with no ethernet port... as is becoming increasingly more common) you are SoL.
That is just the total deal breaking issues. I started with Linux Mint. I tried switching desktop environments. Went about as well as I remembered. I ended up needing to switch back to the original DE. But, it never ran quite the same afterwards and my system was now bloated with apps I couldn't really use in that DE.
In the end, I wiped everything out and went with Ubuntu Budgie. I like the UI better than the one that comes with Mint for the most part. But, I get an error every time I open the software center. Everything seems to work. But, for some reason, I get an error. Installs often say they fail, but attempts to reinstall show they succeeded the first time. And the list goes on.
Budgie isn't the most polished of DEs (or at least, not outside of Solus). But, one of the loudest arguments in favour of Linux has always been choice. Except that, often times those choices don't work. I would say reality is this; if you want Linux, you need to download a crap load of ISOs. Install them to USB. And find the handful that work well enough out of the box on your machine. Those are your choices. The ones which don't work? Well, you can probably get them to work if you have the time and the skills. But, for most hardware I find you will end up with a choice of between 1-3 distros.
Despite all of this, I'm no hater. I don't really see myself going back to Windows on this machine. For what I use my secondary PCs for, Linux is better in every way. My primary PC will probably always be Windows though.
I just want to set the record straight. Linux IS NOT ready for mainstream. And, frankly, I don't think those who maintain Linux distros could really afford it anyway. If it is "free", the typical person isn't going to donate. The sites would go offline. When I consider the situation I typically end up thinking that it isn't really so bad that Linux isn't mainstream.
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