Can confirm. Just switched to Linux about 2 weeks ago. I am happy enough, but there was a brutal learning curve. This was for a distro that is user friendly, too. I was able to install just fine, but actually getting my environment set up is an ongoing process.
Many Linux distros are getting there, but they still aren’t ready for casual users.
Wouldn’t you have the same experience if you moved from iOS to Android, never having used Android before? Does that make Android not ready for casual use?
If you have used Windows your whole life, there will definitely be a learning curve getting used to Linux and whatever desktop environment you choose to use.
I personally have better experience having casual users use Linux than Windows.
In fact, one has a similar learning curve going from Android to iOS (as I learned when I transitioned to iPhone) even if iOS is broadly considered more “user friendly.”
I think you’re onto something. Switching to Windows would be painful to anyone used to Linux regardless of all the philosophical differences simply because the OS works differently. Lord knows I despise MacOS despite people who use it saying, “it just works.”
I was only using “from iOS to Android” as an example. I believe it would be equally difficult going from Android to iOS. As you, I also despise using MacOS. It’s a struggle, because I’m not used to it in any way.
There is a difference between going from a GUI based OS to a hybrid GUI/console OS.
For both iOS and Android the only difference is where things live. The processes are still the same.
This is not the case with Windows and Linux. If you want to install something in Windows you go to a website and download an installer. For Linux, you find out if there is a package. If not you go to a website and see if there is an app image or zip file. You then need to know where to place the downloaded file, how to get it running (making it executable), knowing how to chmod and chown (it is better to have to do it like in Linux, but it is an extra step), and how to add it to your desktop (there is no right+click and add to desktop/create shortcut option in Arch based distros like there is on Windows). If there is a service component you may need to go into command line and systemctl to enable it.
Your comparison to iOS and Android is not really appropriate.
You can download and run anything on Linux the exact same way as in Windows. One has all features of the others but more, it’s comparable because it literally is better on every account
I’m curious what setup you have to do?
I do some customization of KDE on my desktop, but for my laptops it’s always install and use without the need to setup anything.
Which distros are you using on laptop? I have a gaming laptop, I’ve been procrastinating on the switch because I dont want to lose some things. I really enjoy the control software for the lights and fans that it came pre-installed with, for example
If anything, Linux gives you far more control over those things and it’s usually much easier to do than in Windows.
I’ve been using Bazzite for gaming for over a year now and it’s great. It is immutable though, so while you can do just about anything you can do in other distros, the process can be different.
I’ve seen a lot of people suggesting CachyOS lately for gaming, if you want something that isn’t immutable.
I don’t use my laptops for gaming, only casual web browsing and the occasional 3d print or code script.
I have used fedora in the past but a failed update broke it, so I’m using cachyos now.
The only issue I had with the laptop, is that it’s recognized as a 2-in-1 and sometimes would switch to the tablet mode which disabled the keyboard. Either I found how to disable it or cachy doesn’t have the issue.
I am using CachyOS. I was able to find my way around because I knew what I needed to look up due to existing server experience, but a first time user would likely struggle a lot more.
Can confirm. Just switched to Linux about 2 weeks ago. I am happy enough, but there was a brutal learning curve. This was for a distro that is user friendly, too. I was able to install just fine, but actually getting my environment set up is an ongoing process.
Many Linux distros are getting there, but they still aren’t ready for casual users.
Wouldn’t you have the same experience if you moved from iOS to Android, never having used Android before? Does that make Android not ready for casual use?
If you have used Windows your whole life, there will definitely be a learning curve getting used to Linux and whatever desktop environment you choose to use.
I personally have better experience having casual users use Linux than Windows.
In fact, one has a similar learning curve going from Android to iOS (as I learned when I transitioned to iPhone) even if iOS is broadly considered more “user friendly.”
I think you’re onto something. Switching to Windows would be painful to anyone used to Linux regardless of all the philosophical differences simply because the OS works differently. Lord knows I despise MacOS despite people who use it saying, “it just works.”
I was only using “from iOS to Android” as an example. I believe it would be equally difficult going from Android to iOS. As you, I also despise using MacOS. It’s a struggle, because I’m not used to it in any way.
There is a difference between going from a GUI based OS to a hybrid GUI/console OS.
For both iOS and Android the only difference is where things live. The processes are still the same.
This is not the case with Windows and Linux. If you want to install something in Windows you go to a website and download an installer. For Linux, you find out if there is a package. If not you go to a website and see if there is an app image or zip file. You then need to know where to place the downloaded file, how to get it running (making it executable), knowing how to chmod and chown (it is better to have to do it like in Linux, but it is an extra step), and how to add it to your desktop (there is no right+click and add to desktop/create shortcut option in Arch based distros like there is on Windows). If there is a service component you may need to go into command line and systemctl to enable it.
Your comparison to iOS and Android is not really appropriate.
You can download and run anything on Linux the exact same way as in Windows. One has all features of the others but more, it’s comparable because it literally is better on every account
I’ve been using Linux for 20 years. The learning curve is still too steep for me.
I’m curious what setup you have to do?
I do some customization of KDE on my desktop, but for my laptops it’s always install and use without the need to setup anything.
Which distros are you using on laptop? I have a gaming laptop, I’ve been procrastinating on the switch because I dont want to lose some things. I really enjoy the control software for the lights and fans that it came pre-installed with, for example
If anything, Linux gives you far more control over those things and it’s usually much easier to do than in Windows.
I’ve been using Bazzite for gaming for over a year now and it’s great. It is immutable though, so while you can do just about anything you can do in other distros, the process can be different.
I’ve seen a lot of people suggesting CachyOS lately for gaming, if you want something that isn’t immutable.
What gaming laptop is it? I had an ASUS Strix and it worked wonders with https://asus-linux.org/.
Acer Predator Triton
I don’t use my laptops for gaming, only casual web browsing and the occasional 3d print or code script.
I have used fedora in the past but a failed update broke it, so I’m using cachyos now.
The only issue I had with the laptop, is that it’s recognized as a 2-in-1 and sometimes would switch to the tablet mode which disabled the keyboard. Either I found how to disable it or cachy doesn’t have the issue.
I am using CachyOS. I was able to find my way around because I knew what I needed to look up due to existing server experience, but a first time user would likely struggle a lot more.
get excited for a random system update to boot you to a GRUB rescue console soon!
set up?