Until they need to do anything off the beaten track, which can be something as simple as changing the mouse speed (I'm not making this up) and you google it and it's telling you to run terminal commands and update your Xorg.conf file.
And this was on Linux Mint, which is meant to be a beginner's Linux distro.
https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=294777
The thread's mental. Why does OP need to figure out the device ID of their mouse and run terminal commands to change the speed of their mouse?
Considering this is from GNOME I don't believe the procedure is different in most popular linux distros.
And here is the TOP google result I search "linux how to set mouse speed": https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubuntu-help/mouse-sensitivity...
"The latest version of the friendly operating system is here. Install it on your computer today!"
"It is designed to work 'out of the box'"
"Most of our users come from Windows and they never look back."
"It's very easy to use. It features an intuitive desktop and adopts KISS principles. Anyone can rapidly feel at home and use Linux Mint. User experience, workflow and comfort is key."
Sounds like a beginner's distro to me. I always thought they were trying to go after a more beginner audience also as they pre-install all the proprietary codecs and a large collection of software that you'd most likely want to use out of the box as a beginner (not stripped down like you say).
Good luck if you want to use Google with autocomplete as your default search engine on the preinstalled Firefox though.
A more mainstream distro is what you're looking for if you want a consistent, modern experience.
If Mint isn't mainstream, what is? Probably just Ubuntu, and maybe PopOS?
Top distros actually being used are Ubuntu, Fedora, and Suse on the desktop, Debian and CentOS (or RHEL if you pay for it) on the server.
Fedora is close but in the end is really just a staging platform for RHEL. If you want to use any proprietary software /drivers you're likely going to need to enable RPMFusion etc.
OpenSUSE I haven't used in a long time so can't really make a comment but I know it's well established in the Linux space.
Debian is really more suited to the server environment & CentOS/RHEL actually are server distros. If the average user tried to install Debian if they managed to install it they'd likely end up with a system with lots of 'stable' (synonym: outdated) software & struggle to get anything proprietary installed (or OSS - does it even have a software store by default now?)
We were talking about two things. What you just outlined, _and_ since you listed distrowatch's ranking I pulled out metrics from a job supporting a very, very large number of Linux systems.
And I'd argue that if you're looking for a consistent, modern, GUI based experience, then that correlates with the distros with an actually decently sized userbase with large corporate installations. They're the ones that are supporting Linux with people who wouldn't try to run Linux on a dead badger.
> then the only one there you mentioned really is Ubuntu.
> Fedora is close but in the end is really just a staging platform for RHEL. If you want to use any proprietary software /drivers you're likely going to need to enable RPMFusion etc.
What users end up doing instead of installing RPMFusion or somesuch is just downloading .rpms and installing them. If that's out of bounds for an average user than so is Windows with essentially the same model of downloading an exe or msi.
> OpenSUSE I haven't used in a long time so can't really make a comment but I know it's well established in the Linux space.
It's big in the European scene, particularly corporate and .gov envs. There's a language barrier at play hence why it doesn't make as much noise. There are millions of people using it as their daily driver though.
> Debian is really more suited to the server environment & CentOS/RHEL actually are server distros. If the average user tried to install Debian if they managed to install it they'd likely end up with a system with lots of 'stable' (synonym: outdated) software & struggle to get anything proprietary installed (or OSS - does it even have a software store by default now?)
I literally said "Debian and CentOS (or RHEL if you pay for it) on the server". I was digging into internal metrics so that you could have a better idea of what distros are actually being used by my than 1k people, and which ones have nothing better to do than botnet distrowatch.
You make it seem more complicated than it really is.
You're parroting outdated false comments.
It was just one example though.
I tried to install a NVIDIA driver for example on Linux Mint and it wouldn't work until I edited some file to use a different kernel module that would start earlier. Spent ages trying to debug it. On Windows the driver gets installed automatically and if I want to update it I just launch the Geforce Experience and hit one button.
On Linux I simply type pacman -S nvidia to install the drivers on my system. Reboot and it's done.
There is even a GUI to install packages, since that seems like it's important for you.
I'm very competent at using the terminal myself and have installed Arch Linux from the base image before but it's not exactly user friendly.
As I mentioned before though, Windows does install some quite recent NVIDIA drivers automatically via Windows Update. And if you don't want to use GFE, you can just go to the NVIDIA website and install the latest drivers that way.
Having to navigate through Nvidia's website, create an account, and download a bunch of bloatware that takes forever to install is barbaric. Calling Windows user friendly is a meme at this point.
Windows is a joke in comparison.
One bad example. The problem with examples like this is that some people will believe and repeat them. Some problems are fixed and people don't even check before spreading the word. You can even find in this thread people talking about how Ubuntu included amazon ads.
> I tried to install a NVIDIA driver for example on Linux Mint and it wouldn't work until I edited some file to use a different kernel module that would start earlier. Spent ages trying to debug it. On Windows the driver gets installed automatically and if I want to update it I just launch the Geforce Experience and hit one button.
Good luck trying to use mint. But AFAIK, Ubuntu comes with NVIDIA drivers by default. There's no need to "launch the Geforce Experience and hit one button" to update it.
It feels like you searching for a complicated way to do things and then complain about it.
It comes with the open-source 'Nouveau' drivers which are, in the nicest words possible, unsatisfactory.
It's definitely easier to install them on Ubuntu though through the drivers GUI.
That was just one example though. I'd argue like 90% of searches for Linux help have an answer which contains 'run this in a terminal'.
Same here on XFCE, it will give you the link to mouse configuration.
Why is this even bad if 'run this in a terminal' actually fixes the problem?
I work in development teams (.NET mainly so most are GUI-centric) where full-blown developers get uneasy with PowerShell/CMD.
That was just one example though. I'd argue like 90% of searches for Linux help have an answer which are easier to apply and fix the problem better than when the same happens on windows.
Yes you are. Here is THE top google result I search "linux how to set mouse speed": https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubuntu-help/mouse-sensitivity...
Linux has become ridiculous in this regard, and that's the reason Linux will never be more than a geek operating system. A place where the tech savvy can praise it's features and crap all over Windows, which is only for the unwashed masses who aren't smart enough to see the obvious inferiority of Windows and the great evil empire that is Microsoft.
Yes, the desktop revolution is here! Finally we are free of Windows. Please... Windows is easier and more user friendly than Linux. Full stop.
It is the screen that shows when you click the top left corner. It is very obvious: there's 'Activities' written right there.
> So I click on 'Activities' and it takes me to a Gnome page. What if I'm not using Gnome?
Most popular linux distros nowadays default to GNOME. If you're not using it, you're probably tech savvy enough to search for yourself and not need this kind of help.
> What if I'm not using Ubuntu?
Read above.
> Is it the same in KDE or Cinnamon? How about different Linux distributions?
Read Above.
> Linux has become ridiculous in this regard, and that's the reason Linux will never be more than a geek operating system.
Linux is no longer a geek operating system.
> A place where the tech savvy can praise it's features and crap all over Windows, which is only for the unwashed masses who aren't smart enough to see the obvious inferiority of Windows and the great evil empire that is Microsoft.
Yes... I think I have to admit that I bashed windows and (indirectly) microsoft in this thread... That was uncalled for and is more emotion and feelings than reason. Sorry for that.
Thinking a little better... I don't regret it. They deserve!
> Yes, the desktop revolution is here! Finally we are free of Windows. Please... Windows is easier and more user friendly than Linux. Full stop.
This one I can't disagree. Haven't been using much windows for a long time.
I guess you could make a configuration GUI that purports to let people click to set every option in the system, because they must never type for some reason, but how easy do you think that is to go actually use? There's always something off "the beaten track".
Why do you think products like the iPad and iPhone are so successful? They work with no configuration and pretty much anyone can use them without too many issues.
When you make the whole of the world a GUI suddenly only features for which convenient GUIs can be made cheaply and pretty enough are worth supporting.
When it comes down to it, computers are a means to an end, so why make the means harder than it has to be, especially for someone who doesn't work in an IT related space?