Most people don’t give much thought to their operating system, but with Windows 10 support ending in October 2025, many will start searching for alternatives...
  • DoeJohn@lemmy.world
    17·
    3 days ago

    It’s not ready for everyday users when you disable basic multimedia codecs. I know it’s a US patent issue but still, you can’t expect newcomers and everyday users to just “install a browser via flatpak instead” or “just get your mesa and ffmpeg from this third party repo”

    • A7thStone@lemmy.world
      8·
      2 days ago

      Installing any OS is not for everyday users. Most people wouldn’t have any idea how to install windows either. Whoever is setting up the computer should take care of all of that to begin with. I’ve set up multiple computers for older family members with SUSE and they are all happy with them, and I get almost no tech support calls. The one exception is printing, but you get that with anything because printing sucks. It’s really to my advantage with my step father’s computer because he has negative computer knowledge. He was one of those people who had a million add on bars in IE because he’d click the accept button on every shady website he visited.

  • 58008@lemmy.worldEnglish
    376·
    3 days ago

    I love that Linux exists, but I really don’t appreciate the bullshit PR speak about how regular users can switch from Windows with little-to-no friction. The second something doesn’t work as expected, even a minor thing, they’ll be at a complete loss about how to even investigate the issue, let alone correct it. Windows competency doesn’t transfer to Linux for even the most basic under-the-hood stuff. The less honest you are about that, the fewer people will try Linux a second time, and the more people will write off the entire endeavour as being the domain of computer experts/enthusiasts.

    • MyNameIsRichard@lemmy.ml
      161·
      3 days ago

      The second something doesn’t work as expected, even a minor thing, they’ll be at a complete loss about how to even investigate the issue, let alone correct it.

      In the majority of cases, this is no different from Windows users on Windows.

  • Captain Baka@feddit.org
    451·
    3 days ago

    Most people don’t give much thought to their operating system, but with Windows 10 support ending in October 2025, many will start searching for alternatives…

    I predict most of them are going to waste a ton of money and buy a Window 11 device. Or waste a shit-ton of money and buy a Apple device. Or just say “fuck it” and keep Windows 10 (that’s what my mom will surely do. I stopped caring, as my dad still wants to use his even older Windows 8 shitbox and my mom 100% agrees to this).

    • foremanguy@lemmy.ml
      14·
      3 days ago

      I think that all the people that are on Windows 10 today will keep even if the support ends

      • Captain Baka@feddit.org
        7·
        3 days ago

        Well, that’s what I said. Old shitboxes and such. May be old, but would run like a charm with Linux. But is a shitbox because the installed OS (WIndows in this case) is completely obsolete.

        • thejml@lemm.eeEnglish
          5·
          3 days ago

          I would argue that win 10 that’s been working on there for a long time will also run like a charm. Or enough of a charm that they won’t care to change it. And if it starts throwing errors, preventing the from doing things they want, or breaking down, they’ll just think it’s the machine and replace it. Most people don’t think of OS and Machine as separate, independent things.

          • Captain Baka@feddit.org
            2·
            3 days ago

            Throwing errors? My dads Windows 8 machine does not throw any error. It’s just as slow as the continental drift. For years already he just keeps blaming his internet connection for that, which is obviously wrong because my Linux laptop works absolutly fine and responsive inside the same network. He doesn’t even think about it that his computer itself could be the problem. I suspect it is part of a botnet or some shit like that but he does not care what I say, so I don’t care about his online vulnerability. Because of all this I know that inconveniences do not necessarily convince a person to do something that’s needed to be done (use Linux or buy new device).

      • Captain Baka@feddit.org
        9·
        4 days ago

        People actually do this shit? Bruh. Why jump through hoops installing Windows 11 when installing Linux (the ones with graphical installer) is much easier and much less of a hassle? smh

        • Jumuta@sh.itjust.works
          2·
          3 days ago

          people get their info on foss from normie-catered sources like linus tech tips that echo back normie sentiments for relatability

        • Grangle1@lemm.ee
          7·
          3 days ago

          Combination of software availability and the perception that Linux is only for developers/servers and you have to be a computer genius to use it. Even if you can convince someone that just running Linux isn’t rocket science, there’s still commonly used software like the Adobe suite and MS Office that just don’t have feature-parity level alternatives, even if those alternatives are almost there. I can do most of the stuff I used to do at work on LibreOffice compared to MS Office, but not everything. And while compatibility with the MS Office file types has really improved leaps and bounds over time, there’s still some noticeable issues when opening those documents with one program after making changes with the other. People mention Photoshop a lot as a deal-breaker, but especially with GIMP 3.0 coming, GIMP will be a lot closer to Photoshop than most Linux PDF editors are to Acrobat. The only one I can find that has even close to Acrobat’s features is Master PDF Editor, a piece of paid software (if you want all those features without an annoying watermark) that I don’t think the free version of is in many repos. People say to use LibreOffice Draw, but that’s drawing software meant for entirely different file types and is really not good for any PDF with any type of formatting in it because Draw isn’t designed to handle it. I don’t need those features on my own home PC, so I’ve been running Linux on my personal machines since 2009, but for those who do need those things, it might be a hard sell.

          • muhyb@programming.dev
            2·
            3 days ago

            I mean, I get MS Office part but do normal people use Adobe stuff (aside from Acrobat)? As I see, normal people don’t even know how to use Photoshop. The ones who can use Adobe products can use Linux as well without a hassle in my opinion. However, a change requires to relearn things. Probably that’s the reason people don’t seek a change, unless they feel a little adventurous.

            If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Hopefully, Microsoft will break that cycle.

            • data1701d (He/Him)@startrek.websiteEnglish
              3·
              3 days ago

              I think your Adobe comment isn’t quite right. I have two family members who are professional photographers and use Photoshop; Photoshop is so important to their workflow they can’t give it up just to use Linux. They thus stick with Windows (though one’s work had them using Macs for a bit, so they see it as acceptable).

              In contrast, although I sometimes used Photoshop in hobbies (a euphemism for memes), I never used any features so specific to Photoshop that I couldn’t just replace it with a combination of Inkscape and GIMP.

              I think the truth is as much as I hate Adobe, Photoshop is the best at what it does right now compared to competitors; GIMP 3.0 has a dismal UI and a weaker feature set, and the latter is largely true of a lot of the web-based editors as well.

              • muhyb@programming.dev
                1·
                3 days ago

                I approached this as they are more techie than a regular user, so they can learn Linux faster if they want. Otherwise, it’s their job and they are not a regular user. It’s the same for MS Office too. If it’s related to someone else’s job, it’s most likely irreplaceable. However MS Office is not a must for people who just want to write or do some spreadsheet.

                Basically I exclude jobs from “everyday users”.

                Well, it’s true that Photoshop has no real competitor, at least in the FOSS world. Otherwise we wouldn’t have this conversation. :)

          • Captain Baka@feddit.org
            1·
            3 days ago

            Many of the things you said are definitely right. But People who ACTUALLY need Windows for stuff like Photoshop or whatever would buy a new PC anyway. I think more of the casual “we always did it like that” kind of user. What do most of them need? Language localization, Firefox (or Chromium or for fucks sake even Edge), basic text editing and a basic PDF Viewer. For that kind of usage profile you definitely don’t have to force Windows 11 on your 12 year old PC. Any Linux can do that job like Windows would do, but without using scripts to force it on your machine and most likely with better performance too.

  • deadcream@sopuli.xyz
    264·
    4 days ago

    Latest Tumbleweed snapshot has a Mesa bug that causes 50% chance of black screen after login. A few weeks before that Plymouth was broken causing >1 minute boot times. To solve these issues users need to learn how to rollback updates from command line, so it’s certainly not a good replacement for Windows.

    I know it’s rolling release distro but you can’t claim “it’s rolling release so bugs are expected and it’s your fault for using it” and “it’s betest and stablest system ever, everyone should use it” at the same time.

    • BCsven@lemmy.ca
      1·
      2 days ago

      Yeah too bad, they should have hilighted that on GNOME DE with OpenSUSE it prompts you that updates are available and you hit OK or cancel. KDE might have something similar.

      • ReversalHatchery@beehaw.orgEnglish
        1·
        2 days ago

        KDE too, but those users who have literally no idea how does the computer work, they won’t even remember to check that popup window. an automatic solution is what is needed.

        • BCsven@lemmy.ca
          1·
          2 days ago

          GNOME puts it right in your face as a dialog message…but yeah people will ignore it

          • ReversalHatchery@beehaw.orgEnglish
            1·
            2 days ago

            I also sometimes (but often enough, including a time this week) hear people discuss to not install updates because of this and that.

            but then if I think about it, I have trained myself too to this:

            • I avoid updates to my smart tv, because I know with facts that they’ll enshittify it, including patching in admin access (was not obtained by a no-interaction attack), flooding it with ads and even more tracking, and even more preinstalled apps and their own tracking. this applies to any “smart” appliences
            • I am cautious with android updates, because they sometimes break things with no way back, not even a real way to do backups. besides that, major version updates always reset some settings including to not connect automatically to any random ISP’s cellular network. versions starting with 8 also introduced many new arbitrary limitations out of the user’s control that cannot be reverted
            • I’ve seen many apps on the play store get enshittified, but sometimes f-droid apps to make changes that I would wish they rather didn’t do
            • windows updates breaking expected and unexpected things just as well
            • linux is fragile regarding updates, though at times an immediate reboot solves it (when the issue is caused by incompatibility between the the on-disk and in-memory versions of the programs and program libraries)
            • BCsven@lemmy.ca
              2·
              2 days ago

              TV I agree, my LG updated and now streaming video is broken.

              For android phone GrapheneOS.

              I haven’t found Linux to be fragile. I think that is distro dependent.

              I’m on same OpenSUSE (with version upgrades) since 2017. Every update has been fine, only time it was an issue is when nVidia driver got ahead of the kernel for a few days. But OpenSUSE you just choose the previous snapshot.

              My wife’s laptops is NixOS for maybe 3 years now, no issues.

  • QuazarOmega@lemy.lol
    3·
    3 days ago

    Most of the list is either websites or websites on steroids (Electron), it’s more than sufficient for “everyday users”, but it doesn’t really say anything new about the state of the Linux desktop, it’s been like this for a few years in that aspect, but it has progressed a lot as of recent on many other aspects which are worth making a notice about.
    On the other hand I think it’s important to mention those things we don’t have or can’t ever (or who knows when) have, because the companies behind those products don’t care at all for the platform, or care about in a negative way, several of those are used by “everyday users” and I’m sure it can be a deal breaker for them. I guess it’s a decent campaign to cater to those looking at their options with the incoming end of Windows support at least

    • Ephera@lemmy.mlEnglish
      9·
      3 days ago

      Zero-setup snapshotting, GUIs for system settings, more sophisticated repo management, less custom-patching of software, more utilitarian than minimalist.

    • bravemonkey@lemmy.ca
      71·
      4 days ago

      For me it’s that Tumblweed at least uses BTRFS by default, so rolling back to a previous snapshot is a breeze if needed.

      • NotAnArdvark@lemmy.ca
        2·
        4 days ago

        I switched to Tumbleweed from Ubuntu but was wary of the rolling release idea. I went in thinking “Well yeah, they need a file system like BTRFS to back out of bad updates.” And this was the case for me when Zoom stopped working after an update during a month when I really needed Zoom to be working. But, somehow, BTRFS has turned into a personal requirement for me everywhere. Things went wrong on Ubuntu too, wouldn’t it have been nice to be able to easily roll back the change that did it?

        So, I still find it irritating how often little things change with Tumbleweed, but I love having BTRFS in the background making sure I can back out of any major issues.