Why do some people think Linux is so hard to use?

[asddf]

It did used to be very hard, it's only really in the past 5 years it's become accessible.

[rg4w]

Because of this simple recipe:

1. Install Ubuntu
2. Try to play a DVD

I got mine working after spending some time here (thanks to all who've posted info on that), and I understand why the necessary components for playing DVD movies aren't included in the distro.

Still, it's among the things that will continue to hold perceptions of Linux back in the minds of mainstream users.

[samwho]

I agree with the points on hardware. I once had the experience of trying to get dual-screen working on a seemingly unsupported graphics card. It would work to a certain point, I could get low resolutions working on it fine but the optimal resolution wouldn't work for love nor money.

I think the "normal" Ubuntu dual-boot install is as easy as Wubi these days. Removing it is a bit of a different story (unless they supply an uninstall feature now, haven't tried getting rid of a Ubuntu install in over a year).

I think Linux operating systems give you a lot more room to screw up. Windows is used to hiding everything from you and protecting you from doing stupid stuff (unless you're browsing porn, then you're pretty much on your own). Linux is used to giving the user absolute freedom to do whatever they want to. So it's obvious that the curious minded person with a little bit of Linux knowledge has a huge tendency to break things But how else are you supposed to learn? I know that most of my (admittedly limited) Linux knowledge has come from fixing stuff I've broken by accident ^_^

Unfortunately this doesn't work for everyone...

[ac_d600]

I think the reason some people think linux is hard to use is
because somethings in linux are hard to do.
Compiling software!! only in linux would you ever come across this.. if
linux ever wants to be taken seriously as a alternative to Windows or
Macs this is something that has to change. I use 8.04 and I know I have
no chance (well maybe I do but it goes beyond my knowledge) to be able
to run new versions of the Gimp or Abiword on my machine but if I ran
WinXp I would have no such problem. (and this has nothing to do with
compiling)

[aysiu]

Compiling software!!

I would say it's people insisting that one must compile software in Linux when it's really just a niche thing. Ubuntu Software Center has 99% of the software most people would want. Anyone who needs to compile software uses obscure software.

[LowSky]

Because of this simple recipe:
1. Install Ubuntu
2. Try to play a DVD

Just to point out, Windows XP suffered from the same problem too.
In my own experience Linux became an comparable option with the release of Ubuntu 7.04. And in the past 3 years, 10.04 is just as good as Windows 7 in my opinion.

I do still dual boot on my desktop but Its for my love of games. My HTPC and my netbook run Ubuntu exclusively.

[aysiu]

Just to point out, Windows XP suffered from the same problem too.

Except that it didn't, since 99% of the time, Windows XP was preinstalled and the OEM would include the necessary codecs to play commercial DVDs.

[Penguin Guy]

This isn't just a problem with Ubuntu, it's a problem with life. People don't like change, even if it's for the better.

[jerenept]

they prefer if we "computer people" just improve what they use now, rather than adapt.

[aysiu]

In answer to the thread subject, it's a combination of things:

1. Just a few years ago, Linux was hard to use, and it's hard to shake a reputation once you've earned it, especially with no marketing department.
2. The primary way to get a Windows computer or a Mac computer is to buy a computer with the OS preinstalled. The primary way to get a Linux computer is to buy a Windows or Mac computer and install Linux on it yourself. DIY is always harder than someone doing it for you.
3. Because of the DIY nature of Linux, most Linux users are geeks or power users, making it seem to everyday users as if it must be extremely difficult to use Linux.
4. People tend to develop a false nostalgia for what they're used to. If a long-time Windows user experiences problems in Windows, those are just computer problems. If that some long-time Windows user experiences problems switching to Linux, she'll be a lot quicker to judge Linux as too difficult to use instead of just having problems as any OS would.
5. Along those same lines, migrating to Mac OS X from Windows is not always easy either, but Macs don't suffer the same way Linux does because Apple has a very strong marketing department and people spend money on Macs and often end up rationalizing away any problems because they don't want to feel stupid for having spent money on something that isn't as great as they thought it would be (a lot easier to write off a free "product" as being garbage).
6. Sometimes (not always or even usually) Linux really is hard.