My thought as to why people don't use Linux over Windows/OS X.

[kaldor]

It's not that Linux isn't ready in my opinion. It's that people expect it to be what they already have. When I started Linux, I didn't compare; I started from scratch and appreciated it.

People want MS Office on Linux. They shouldn't want that. They should use OpenOffice or another free suite, not try to get their own stuff working.

People want MSN, not pidgin. Note: It's Linux, not Windows.

"Linux sucks cause it can't play games". No, it just doesn't run the games you want it to. Just don't use Linux.


My point being is that it isn't really a problem with Linux. The problem is that people don't want to change away from the software and such that they know. If more people stopped trying to compare, and learn to do things the "Linux way", I think there'd be much less frustration with new users.

It isn't Windows. If you want to do everything that you do the same way as on Windows, don't switch to another OS.


Linux is fully capable of taking off in the market. It's just that people "need" their current apps/programs to work, when they shouldn't. In some cases, yes, commercial software that's Windows-only is a must. But when it comes to stuff as simple as "I need to make Word documents, so I can't switch to Linux" it's just silly.



Edit: This goes for *BSD and Solaris as well.

Edit2: This is why Mac OS X is popular these days. It's more compatible than it has been for a long time now. People can do the exact same thing as they can on Windows, meaning they'll adopt it. If MS released Office 2010 on Linux, or Adobe released Photoshop, etc, the same would happen.

[Simon17]

So basically, if people lowered their needs and expectations, Linux would be satisfactory.

[Megrimn]

Comfort zone. And there are oodles of people who wouldn't even switch from windows to macOSX for that reason.

[kaldor]

So basically, if people lowered their needs and expectations, Linux would be satisfactory.

No, if people didn't look to find the exact same things it'd be satisfactory.

[derekeverett]

The thing that I had a hard time appreciating myself was that you have to put the time into learning Linux or it will blow up in your face. I'm having more fun than ever right now customizing my Ubuntu, but it took me a while to get here. I even walked away from Linux for a while on a couple of occasions due to frustration. But these days I'm using it 90% of my computer time.

I think I also made the mistake early on of deciding in my own mind that it had to be one or the other when it comes to operating systems. It doesn't need to be that way and I don't think it should be that way for most people. But having the choice and the know-how to switch between OS's based on your needs, wants and interests is very satisfying and rewarding.

That's what freedom is to me. It's not about "having to be open source" or "having to just work" or "bringing my preferences to the masses"... to me it's just being able to make choices for myself from a growing list of options. The more you are willing to experiment and put the time in to learn then the more you will benefit.

I've grown as a person by learning about Linux. Not just in a tech way.. it's taught me about patience and the rewards of learning something different just to name a couple things. I still have lots to learn and am looking forward to it. I know I'll get frustrated again in the future but I don't think I'll "freak out" on Linux again.

Wow... I kinda went into a bit of a speech there lol sorry about that folks..

Bottom line.. I don't think people using Linux "over" Windows is even important, (while I admit the conversation is sometimes interesing) but more use alongside Windows might be a good thing for more people.

[factotum218]

I don't know. I think too much is put on the distributions and not the software its self. If the software and application dev teams had nearly as much attention and manpower to innovate and bring in new ideas and features, it would have been.

Just a random example, but look at Quanta+, it's more or less been the same app for 10 years. Nvu and Kompozer, same thing. It's all getting a bit stagnant in some areas. It's almost as if Adobe is in charge.

[ctrlmd]

well people in general always compare between two things and chose the best one
if all the applications and games available on linux better than windows everyone will switch to it.

[kaldor]

2. It has less peripheral support from that of windows and perhaps mac.

A bit off topic, but I've never run into any problems with my computers at all.. yet.

That's probably a reason I adopted Ubuntu so quickly; everything I own "just works". Cameras, printers, scanners, webcams, wireless, externals... I've never run into a problem at all except for graphic performance on old 2 ATI-powered computers.

My Brother printer even had a picture of Tux on the box it came in.

[swoll1980]

So basically, if people lowered their needs and expectations, Linux would be satisfactory.

So is that what we are? Are Linux users a bunch of people that lowered their needs, and expectations? Here I thought we were people that opened are minds.

[dragos240]

I honestly think it's more because "My computer came with windows, why change it and make it harder." The majority of people will want windows because it's what came with their computer, people are stubborn, and in these cases, could care less about changing their OS, no matter how good it is.