Frustrating, that’s the word I was looking for when I was looking for about using Windows. My kids started using computers with Linux (Zorin first, then PopOS and now Fedora Gnome) and they won’t touch their mom’s computer because she uses Windows. They both say that’s a hideous and unnecessarily complicated OS 🤣. If I may say so myself, I’ve done great as a dad, lol.
It’s perfectly stable. Linux just generally attracts people who like to tinker and tweak things, in particular because it’s much easier to do and gives you a lot of power and flexibility in making the machine your own.
My laptop running Arch Linux has remained problem-free for the last 6 years or so since I installed it.
yeah i’ve basically never had an issue that wasn’t my fault for tinkering with something that is either unstable or that i didn’t understand well enough.
i will say that rolling releases like arch can introduce system-breaking issues (it happened to me like twice in the 3 years i’ve been running arch, but man it sucks when it happens) so users who aren’t so into tweaking and messing with their systems should probably opt for something more stable.
I would argue that, even if you’re not into tinkering, you’re still better off running a solidly proven Linux distro that requires minimal to no maintenance other than software updates (Debian stable, PopOS, Linux Mint, etc.). Just “flatpak” your way into having what you want, and leave the system itself alone, just like you do with Windows, but with less chance of something breaking and driving you mad when you suddenly land a BSOD. In any case, it’s highly likely that you’ll end up beginning to tinker after somentime feeling comfortable with Linux, happens to everyone I know has come to this side of happiness. Be aware that, once you are used to ANY Linux use, you’ll be wondering why you put up with all the Microsoft or Apple crap for so long. I can’t imagine ever going back to that.
And some are intended to fiddle with (Arch and Gentoo for example). Others are made to explore new ways to do things (like immutable root, state managing package manager, each app in their folder Mac-style, such things). Of course there’s a lot of stable general-use distros too. But you may ask someone else for examples.
Yes Stable Linux variants (also known as distros) are very widely used, and range from Linux mint which is completely stable with no issues for day to day use (assuming you don’t use an Nvidia card) to Debian which which has a selling point of not changing anything beyond security updates for like 6 years straight
Most people here will be talking about there bleeding edge systems which will use code that is often in beta or use systems so new they don’t have proper documentation (the bcachefs file system which showed up last month comes to mind).
Just ot make it clear to OP, Stable does NOT nesesarily mean bug free. Just like how most people are on the “stable” branch of Windows 10 or 11,but they still encounter bugs, “stable” Linux distros can also have bugs.
The difference between “stable” and not stable is that: 1.) The system is “stable” in that it’s very unlikely to crash. Stable Linux distros are much preferred for servers, for instance. 2.) Any OS related bugs you find will still be there likely until the next big release. (with Debian iirc this is like every 4 years)
I never had issues with Nvidia on Mint, but I recently upgraded to a 7800xt and had issues in some games. Switched to Ubuntu 23.10 with Wayland and back to no issues. I recommend Mint for all new Linux users, unless you have current gen hardware. Then you might want a newer kernel. Linux Mint is very stable and you can expect the same amount of bugs as Windows 10. Less bugs than Win11 I think.
What?! Damn… That’s what I get for just apt updating in the terminal and assuming it’s fixed to 5.15. I’ve read that Mint is still behind on Wayland support though, so my switch to Ubuntu still feels justified.
The biggest issues I’ve had were either because of hardware (native drivers not supported by manufacturer) or because I was manually editing config files.
Depends on your use case. Most of the people running Linux I think are the kind that want to experiment and try different stuff, opposite to the regular user of Windows. And you know when you do changes chances are something to break much higher.
If you install some user friendly and stable distro, VSCode, browser, word editor and you never touch the terminal or do any changes it will be solid and stable.
Linux has distributions. Think of it as windows preconfigured for different target groups or by different groups. They all have different goals and ideals. There are stable distributions like Debian and distros built on top of that or unstable ones like Arch and Gentoo + all the distros built on top of that.
Each have trade offs. Many stable distributions don’t get all the newest software or features because in order to be stable, everything has to be tested. (No software is bug free anybody who tells you otherwise doesn’t know what they’re talking about). Some stable distributions do have new software and features but are very difficult to configure or set up.
There are unstable distributions that get “bleeding edge” software and features, meaning as soon as they are released they are available very quickly thereafter. Things are bound to go wrong more often here and the system can break in unexpected ways that require more knowledge to fix.
If you want a stable system, don’t use an unstable distro unless you know what you’re doing.
Until one of the RAM sticks went bad, my parents, who are in their 60s ran Ubuntu Linux for years without an issue. I set it up in 2016, as a dual boot with Windows. They almost never booted into Windows, and told me they preferred Linux.
Yes, 16.04 LTS. And they updated as I helped them update, but never went beyond some patch level of 16.04. The point here is that they ran for many years with complete stability, no viruses or malware, and preferred it.
My children ran Mint desktops for years without issue or complaint. When I bought them new laptops though I decided to let them run the default Windows.
(To preface, when I say “Linux”, I’m referring to the effectively established colloquialism that “Linux” means kernel + utilities + distribution = operating system)
Right. In fact, at home, I run all three operating systems. To me, it’s using the right tool for the job. Windows is a great OS for gaming (though Valve is working to make it as viable on Linux, it’s still not…quite…there, but close). Mac is great for UX, media work, and as a work PC (software development or otherwise). Linux is great for tinkering, software development, and running services.
The “issues” that the OP even refers to are usually not so much real issues, but rather a person simply trying to learn. And that’s what is great about Linux for someone who doesn’t yet know it – there’s a LOT to learn. I’ve been using Linux since 1999 (big box Redhat 5.1!) and I still often learn something new about it.
The “issues” that the OP even refers to are usually not so much real issues, but rather a person simply trying to learn.
Very much agree. In a lot of cases the problems people encounter are just a different and therefor unfamiliar way of doing things. This can sometimes be remedied by finding a GUI that is more similar to what they are familiar with, but this is also likely a different and unfamiliar task :)
No issues really. They had used Windows machines at school as well as chromebooks so they were not married to any single interface. For them the GUI was a way to open a browser or art program. It was the tools that mattered.
That makes sense. My kids were exposed to Chromebooks at some point (when I was still a Google tool), but the freedom to break and fix whatever that want with Linux just dazzled them, which adds to my happiness 😏
Keep in mind that all the people who are just happily going about their day to day with it and not having issues are probably not posting. The only reason most people make posts is to complain about something or get assistance troubleshooting an issue. It also really depends on what all you want to do with it.
I agree. I am posting about Linux when I use it, but have been back on windows for years now, and guess what - I’m not posting about Linux. This proves your point.
My current issue is i see you guys constantly having issues, editing files etc.
These guy cannot self-develop
They never learn thing themselves. Never read books. Never read manual pages.
Just ignore them.
Is it not stable?
Commits to softwares around Linux (userland, system maintenance tools, etc) usually just works (even if alpha). There are few bugs.
Alpine Linux edge+testing is much stable (my only issue come from testing mesa packages, just don’t upgrade this package to any version without -r0 or -r1 or like that :) )
Can you not set it up and then not have ongoing issues?
Yes.
A system that never have to su root (except for shutdown, reboot).
Been using fedora for a few years now and the most recent issue I had was it wouldn’t update because of Google Chrome for some reason. Uninstalled that and it works just fine
I use Ubuntu for everything I do (except building and testing windows binaries) beside upgrading when it asks me to I never really have to worry about anything, everything I use just works and the ui is fine.
I’m not a big gamer and I only really use open source software so I don’t know if you’ll want to do things I don’t but I do pretty much everything else: image editing, video editing, CAD, coding, all sorts of weird internet stuff.
People will say I’m crazy but I love freeCAD, the sketch and part benches are all i really need because I’m mostly using it to make project boxes and dial holders but it’s nice that it can do so many other things. Not great for artistic tools I’d use blender for that but technical stuff it’s great.
Im a big zorin fan. Its an out of the box distro that focuses on windows compatiblity. that means it comes with tons of preinstalled apps so that you can do things right away like edit docs or watch videos but it also comes with well configured play on linux so that there is a good chance you can run any needed windows programs that you need to. Maybe people graduate out to more unixy stuff but its funny. Im a tech guy but in my personal life I just want to install and go. https://zorin.com/os/
This seems to imply that other operating systems don’t have issues and don’t require editing files.
Compared to Windows, I’ve had fewer frustrating issues on Linux. I think the reason you hear about these issues is because the Linux community naturally encourages sharing these issues. If I have a niche problem, I can share it, then the community will work together to solve it so it isn’t an issue anymore. On Windows, you might run a troubleshooting wizard that might solve the problem, and if it doesn’t you’ll probably take it to MS support who’ll walk you through it. If that doesn’t fix it, you’ll likely just wait for a bug fix in the next update. Point being, they get talked about less because the system doesn’t encourage problem solving on the users end (as much as Linux does).
As for editing files, sure, you do a lot of that on Linux. On Windows, you use a settings menu to fiddle with things, but all that settings menu does is give you a button to press. Pressing that button is just a fancy visual way of editing a file somewhere. Linux just often forgoes the graphical interface and encourages you to get used to editing those files directly.
Just to add one point to the end there, a lot of times in Windows it isn’t even a file it’s editing, or at least not a plain text file you could even edit manually, so it’s much more obfuscated even than that.
Or it’s a setting in the registry that pretty much everyone says “do not touch if you don’t know what you’re doing, you will break your system”… Nowhere in Linux will you be editing something that can break your install while configuring your default keyboard layout (as an example)
Yes thats definitely something worth noting. I was just bringing up the point that in the end, all settings are just little parameters in some file or registry, and that there’s no practical difference between flipping a switch in a GUI to the off position vs adding a ‘#’ in a config file to comment out a line or option. One just looks intimidating if you aren’t used to it, but in reality it gives you much more control and teaches you more about your system.
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