Major Linux Problems on the Desktop 2013

[sudodus]

I cant remember the last minor problem I had let alone a major one.

IMO Linux will never be a desktop replacement for the majority, it will always be for the minority.

I know it sounds elitist, but to me I think it will always be the same.

Peace

+1 too,

but this is how it is now, and many people are happy with it, many of us at the Ubuntu Forums belong to this group. But Aysiu is right about making linux to a real alternative for the vast majority of people. Or maybe we should say: Look at what Apple and the android phone manufacturers do!

I would ask these questions: Will it be possible to do it any other way (Linux for the majority)? Would that be better?

(I don't know the details about the license of android, and how free or limited it is.)

[Paqman]

there is definitely a strong subset of Linux users and developers who are trying to make "desktop" (meaning laptop, too) Linux "easier" or "more user-friendly" for everybody on every kind of hardware.

Wrong approach.

Inclined to agree. The expectation seems to be that people don't use Linux because it isn't good enough, and that if we simply make it "better" there will be a mass change of opinion.

What Linux would need to succeed on the desktop is not going to come from improvements on the developer side. What it needs is good marketing, good (industrial) design, focused leadership, and strong relationships with OEMs et al. It would take a large powerful company like Google or Amazon with a well-targeted product and big marketing pockets.

[krishna.988]

Many people in general doesn't bother to think about the OS they are using as they are able to do many tasks easily in their Laptops and Desktops which came with the default OS; except a small chunk of people like us who bother to think and install Linux (because of the love to the OS) and replace Windows.

This being the case Linux will really find it hard to penetrate the Desktop, the fact being many issues still present in Linux as in the link shared by OP..

[hzFVOW00pw]

PC sales plummeted 20% in my country this year. If this is a wordlwide trend then Linux for the desktop will have a hard time over the coming years. It will be more difficult to maintain, and ironing out the "issues" could prove to be next to impossible with a dwindling user base.

[Erik1984]

PC sales plummeted 20% in my country this year. If this is a wordlwide trend then Linux for the desktop will have a hard time over the coming years. It will be more difficult to maintain, and ironing out the "issues" could prove to be next to impossible with a dwindling user base.

Maybe, if we talk market share, this is actually good for Linux. The type of users moving away from desktops to tablets are probably the same type of users that shouldn't be using a real computer ( slightly exaggerating there ) My point is that the migrating users were not the target audience of desktop Linux anyway. The people who choose to still use desktops will still prefer Windows overall but the percentage of (potential) Linux users amongst them will be higher. In a shrinking desktop market I could see Linux reach 5% or something.

[hzFVOW00pw]

Maybe, if we talk market share, this is actually good for Linux. The type of users moving away from desktops to tablets are probably the same type of users that shouldn't be using a real computer ( slightly exaggerating there ) My point is that the migrating users were not the target audience of desktop Linux anyway. The people who choose to still use desktops will still prefer Windows overall but the percentage of (potential) Linux users amongst them will be higher. In a shrinking desktop market I could see Linux reach 5% or something.

Could be. OTOH, the type of users sticking to desktops will be the more tech savvy, and people who need their PC as a workhorse. That includes photographers, video editors, graphic industry. But those are not Linux strongholds, because the applications are not up to standards...

[DiabolicalClaptrap]

No reliable sound system, no reliable unified software audio mixing (implemented in all modern OSes except Linux), many old or/and proprietary applications still open audio output exclusively causing major user problems and headache.

Too many layers of abstraction lead to the situation when the user cannot determine why his audio doesn't work (ALSA kernel drivers -> ALSA library ( -> dmix ) -> PulseAudio server -> Alsa library + Pulse backend -> Application).

A big amen to that. I use PA server. Of course, there are latency issues but at least it lets people use more than a single channel.