• vlad@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 year ago

    Surely we can admit that Linux is ready for general population on the desktop? It’s the better choice overall, but the barrier to entry is very high.

    Edit: I mistyped and missed the word “not”. It’s “not ready for general population on the desktop”. Sorry guys.

    • auth@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      The barrier of entry is basically the same as Windows if you buy a laptop with Linux pre-installed

      • vlad@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        But someone has to install it on the laptop and put in on the store shelf. And I’d love to see that happen. It just hasn’t yet. Not enough.

        • auth@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          There are many available but unfortunately they are usually more expensive for thee same hardware

        • GiantBasil@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          Well, is not super common for sure, but Dell sure sell the same laptops with Ubuntu pre installed, they’re a bit cheaper too. At least in here South america they do, pretty much every single computer they sell has a Linux option from the box.

          But I also can’t think of any other big brands that also do that, so you have a point, Asus and Acer have some models, but they’re harder to find, even online.

    • corm@sopuli.xyz
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      1 year ago

      Eh, it runs most games now which was the only thing it was missing for me.

      • vlad@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        I don’t disagree, but that’s not general population. You need the “normies” to drive adoption.

    • Adalast@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Lol, my power supply on my desktop died earlier this year and I work from home, so I had to come up with something fast. Booted up my Raspberry Pi and connected it to my monitor, ran it as my Linux desktop for 3 days while I waited for the replacement. Did everything I needed and was able to handle my browser games to boot.

    • mihor@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      What barrier, it’s totally easier to use than windblows.

      • vlad@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        Well, in the real world, Windows has won. It’s the default desktop OS. Whatever Linux distro is trying to take over needs to be just as simple to use, and needs to be designed so that most of the knowledge that your grandma has regarding her Windows computer can transfer over. Once that happens, and the only difference between Windows and Linux is the cost, then Linux will win.

        • averyfalken@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          1 year ago

          you use a system like mint and it is as easy if not easier to use that windows and the local application search bar actually works decently and doesnt bring up a bunch of useless fucking web results.

          • vlad@lemmy.sdf.org
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            1 year ago

            I guess the last thing is to get some company to install it on laptops and sell them at Walmart. Because the “normies” are not going to go out to install something themselves.

        • mihor@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          My grandma never lived to see Windows or Linux. But my mom who’s in her 80s learned Linux pretty much instantly when moving from XP to Mint.

          • vlad@lemmy.sdf.org
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            1 year ago

            Yeah, but XP was on the tail end of operating systems that still needed their users to understand what’s going on. Back then, you HAD to be “tech savvy” (at least relative to today) in order to get your computer set up. People understood what a file was. What a file format was. They needed to understand what folders were on their computer and how to get to them from different applications. The kind of knowledge that you’d think people still have.

            Since then every single UX designer has been working towards making everything “just work”. So, at this point people just assume that technology is doing what they intend it to do in their heads. Everything auto opens, auto updates, auto installs, and auto syncs. In modern operating systems you don’t control over anything, but everything is done for you. Obviously that’s not really the case, but that’s the design. And now, most people don’t even have a desktop in their home. Most people do everything from their phone and use a tablet for anything that the phone is too small for. And because of that, many people coming out of school don’t know what a “file folder” even is. What it means to put a file onto a flash drive and move it to a computer. It’s old people nonsense to them.

            I hope that we can bridge this gap, but I don’t know how that would work.

            • mihor@lemmy.ml
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              1 year ago

              You make a very valid point, I didn’t think of that problem before. My mother learned how to use a PC back in 1988 when we had XT and Wordstar. It’s obvious that she understands the basics of OS and filesystems, but I guess that skill is now becoming quite fringe.

        • cheesepotatoes@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Won what, exactly? There are lots of different use cases. Linux, Windows and MacOS all have their place and their own little niches carved out.

          Grandma uses Windows. Okay, that’s cool. All my PC’s and laptops run Linux (usually Debian). We can both be happy…

      • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        How about for gaming? I will admit that I haven’t tried a distro in almost a decade, but I was hearing that back in 2010, and tried to migrate to Linux in 2014 and EvE Online refused to work on either Ubuntu or Mint