
I Moved to Linux and It’s Even Better Than I Expected - pauljonas
https://medium.com/backchannel/i-moved-to-linux-and-it-s-even-better-than-i-expected-9f2dcac3f8fb#.l1weiou14
======
unsignedint
I ended up in Linux -- mostly for my preference couple years ago. But looking
at the landscape today, simply there aren't any alternatives anymore.

I share the author's sentiment about Google, but for the other reason -- it's
the fact their service often works better than their competitors, not only
they have Chrome available for Linux, Google's Music, and movie service works
better than many competitors out there. (I guess they have incentive to make
it work on Linux, as Chromebooks are pretty much Linux-based -- which may not
necessarily the QA objective other companies would look into.)

I really hope Linux will be able to break the 10% mark, if not becoming hugely
popular. If 1/10 of people are not being access to certain content, it becomes
harder for content providers to ignore Linux users.

------
nickpsecurity
Counterpoint:

[http://linuxfonts.narod.ru/why.linux.is.not.ready.for.the.de...](http://linuxfonts.narod.ru/why.linux.is.not.ready.for.the.desktop.current.html)

Note: I use Mint. I'm just pointing out there's still so many issues that
anecdotal articles have no weight due to variance in user's experience largely
determined by hardware and apps used. I will also note that it disturbs me
that some of these problems were in UNIX Hater's Handbook a long, long time
ago. Still there.

~~~
digi_owl
I keep reading and i keep finding that his references either do not back his
point, or are basically a problem because of intransigent proprietary
suppliers (see Torvalds "fuck you Nvidia").

Then again there are no singular "desktop". There is the media consumption
desktop, the media production desktop, the gaming desktop, the office
production desktop, etc etc etc.

In the end though, the basic problem is that unless some company pulls an
Apple and start selling Linux preinstalled out of physical stores with
knowledgeable staff for walk in support, the market will be stuck with
Windows.

This simply because that is what everyone tests against, because that is the
largest market, and you got your catch 22 going. Never mind that MS have a
history of playing lip service to standard definitions (embrace, extend,
extinguish anyone?).

~~~
nickpsecurity
I recognized many personally and clicked on some but not most or all. Now that
you mentioned it, I click on more to find that your right: some references
straight up contradict the claim being made. Wth... Might have to make a
revised version of it.

Many of them are hardware-related but you can't solely blame it on proprietary
hardware. The times where work was put in got things done. Tons of work has
been put into Linux with all kinds of features and fixes. There's even
enterprise distro's aimed at business desktops bringing in revenue. Yet, core
functionality for desktops has problems it's had for a long time that can only
be explained by lack of effort.

So, author's (and my) point still stands even after knocking out bad
references or ignoring truly hardware-specific problems. If you doubt it, just
check out autotools to see the state of software maintenance that sometimes
shows up in FOSS UNIX's. ;)

------
chadzawistowski
Sorry to pick nits, and maybe this is a tired chord, but Purism does not make
"laptops built entirely with non-proprietary hardware and software, or as much
as can be done at this point".

The only big difference between a Purism laptop and other laptops (Acer, Asus,
Dell, etc.) is that the CPU has been fused to allow running unsigned firmware.
Unfortunately, since we still don't have free firmware to run in place of
Intel's, Purism has no present advantage over buying most any laptop and
installing Linux yourself.

There do exist true FSF-approved laptops, but the current best of these
(Libreboot X60 and X200) are essentially refurbished ~2008 Thinkpads. They are
so old because Intel was only beginning to sign firmware -- those are the most
recent CPUs for which signing firmware has been cracked.

Purism loudly trumpets their roadmaps[0] and plans[1] so as to suggest a
trajectory towards totally free software, but until they achieve it their
product is not worth a premium compared to installing Linux on an ultrabook of
your choice.

[0] [https://puri.sm/posts/roadmap-to-a-completely-free-
bios/](https://puri.sm/posts/roadmap-to-a-completely-free-bios/) Here they
outline many things that need to be done. But note the language- "Purism’s
goal is to publish a Free Software implementation ... as soon as an
implementation is available." But who is responsible for implementing it?

[1] [https://puri.sm/road-to-fsf-ryf-endorsement-and-
beyond/](https://puri.sm/road-to-fsf-ryf-endorsement-and-beyond/) Note that
the FSF hasn't actually endorsed them yet, although this page is supposed to
convince you that they're awful close. Why not wait until they're actually
endorsed?

In the meantime, you can buy Libreboot X200s here
[http://minifree.org/product/libreboot-x200/](http://minifree.org/product/libreboot-x200/)

Or you can replace a Thinkpad X200's firmware yourself by following these
steps (hardware required)
[http://libreboot.org/docs/install/x200_external.html](http://libreboot.org/docs/install/x200_external.html)

------
otterpro
I currently use Debian for all the servers, and I cannot imagine using any
other OS beside Linux for servers. I've also played with everything from
ancient VAX mainframe, SUN OS, all kinds of BSD flavors, and my first
experience using Linux was with Slackware distro on a PC with first gen
Pentium.

The desktop is another story. Ever since Ubuntu came out, I was a fan, and I
still remember being excited when I received each new release of Ubuntu on
CD/DVD with stickers in the mail, all free from Canonical... Good old days...

Eventually, I went all-in to make Ubuntu my only desktop OS. However, I ran
into few obstacles, which could be overcome with research and asking
questions, but eventually I just didn't have enough energy or time to fix
things. I really wanted it to work. I'd still like to start using Linux as a
desktop for running just browsers/emails/shell/vim, but anything else, it is
difficult. (Still looking for Camtasia/screenflow, Adobe Premiere alternative
on Linux)

A non-technical friend decided to try Ubuntu because he was so tired of
running Windows and couldn't justify spending money on Mac. But he ran into
issues like audio not working. I'm sure he could've found solution to getting
the audio working, or perhaps bought a compatible USB audio to make it work,
but these "annoyances" were definitely not pleasant experience. I really
wanted him to succeed, but eventually he bit the bullet and just got a
Macbook.

Perhaps desktop for a common user is no longer relevant, as mobile OS
(android/ios) have taken over some of this space. However, I agree that Linux
as a desktop is important since it provides an alternative, but I still wish
that things could be better.

~~~
anonbanker
PulseAudio is pretty stable nowadays. 6 or 7 years after it was released and
made the default audio manager for most distros. I still have issues with HDMI
audio not switching when plugging in HDMI, that completely disappear when I
set JACK as the audio manager, and make PA it's slave. but nobody uses JACK
except for the Pro Audio guys.

NetworkManager had a similar trajectory: Started off buggy as hell, and
eventually got to a point where you didn't think about it.

Both of these apps were written by the same person, and were later fixed by a
team of other people.

Both of these apps have cost me linux conversions, to the point that I would
have a list of supported laptops (and caveats) maintained in order to deal
with the quirks I found.

I heavily recommend Calculate Linux Scratch KDE[0] as a base distribution for
Desktops. Try it and see if I'm wrong.

Also, Silentcast[1] solves your Camtasia issue, and I'd be surprised if
Kdenlive[2] didn't solve your Premiere needs.

0\. [http://www.calculate-linux.org/main/en/download](http://www.calculate-
linux.org/main/en/download)

1\.
[https://github.com/colinkeenan/silentcast](https://github.com/colinkeenan/silentcast)

2\. [https://kdenlive.org/](https://kdenlive.org/)

------
anta40
For me, completely abandoning Windows at the moment is impossible. Obvious
reason: PC game :p Linux itself makes a excellent tinkering platform, though.
And for daily use I think it's relatively "user-friendlier" than a decade ago.
Of course I mean user-friendlier for the average PC users, not just hardcore
geeks.

