Why the Linux desktop is the best desktop | Hacker News Reader

Why the Linux desktop is the best desktop

theregister.com

43 pointsCrankyBear21 comments

Agree. The article writes nothing new but it is ok to remind people anyway! I have been using Linux exclusively since 2005 and IMO there is nothing that makes it a lesser desktop in comparison with other OS:es. On the contrary, having become used to bare-bones and pragmatic look and feel of XFCE I find the Windows desktop bloated and forbidding. Linux and the Linux desktop have been mature enough for production use by non-technical people since many (>15) years. I know of several people who are not at all interested in computers that use Linux without any trouble. In my limited experience, the problem seems to come from the outside. For example, when one collaborator/coworker/friend wants this person to use a particular application or feature in application that is not easily found or replicated in Linux. Then that person may feel compelled to change.

I've been using various GNU/Linux distros and BSD flavors on my desktop for more than 20 years now, and I like it ("it" in my case being MATE) much better than either Windows or macOS.

But to be fair, some parts of what I like about it are due to the tiny share Linux/BSD has on the desktop. Malware, in particular, is a non-issue mainly because people writing malware don't bother targeting it. Also, the amount of techies/nerds among Linux desktop users is much higher (I assume, at least) than on Windows, so the current state with a variety of desktop environments and window managers is viable.

What impresses me, though, is how much smoother the experience has become since 2001. Hardware support was a real issue back then, but in the past 10 years, I had no issues getting my hardware to work. Installers have become easier to use (except OpenBSD's, but loyal OpenBSD users will argue that their installer was easy to use to begin with, and they've got a point there), update management on Free- and OpenBSD is a breeze these days, and the gaming situation is pretty good (as far as my preferences go, anyway).

I've never been one to try and proselytize and convert people to GNU/Linux, but it works very well for me, and I'm happy about that. Others are happy with Windows or macOS, and that is okay with me, too.

> Malware, in particular, is a non-issue mainly because people writing malware don't bother targeting it.

This always struck me as a weird argument in a world where the vast majority of web servers - particularly high-profile ones - run Linux. It's gotten even weirder in a world where smartphones, routers, smart speakers, and smart TVs all have largely converged on Linux or something derived from it.

Oh, to my knowledge web servers (and mail servers, etc.) get attacked all the time. So do routers, IoT devices and so forth.

But those attacks work differently from a user innocently clicking a link they received via email or opening an attachment. And your desktop machine typically doesn't have any services exposed to the Internet.

I think Android malware is a thing, but I don't know enough about this to be less vague.

The Linux desktop has been pretty good for over ten years now. The real trend is that the Windows desktop has declined rapidly since Win 7.

I switched over from vanilla Ubuntu to Xubuntu recently. Wished I had done so earlier. XFCE is probably as good as it gets for a desktop, at least for myself. It can be configured to get out of my way and let me do my work in peace. I even have tooltips shut off globally.

The strength of a desktop isn't how "pretty" it looks in screenshots. That has nothing to do with real-world productivity. The strength is in its configurability.

I can only imagine how many people will jump ship to something else after having a taste of Win 11. Once they realize their tool doesn't work for them anymore, they will have no choice but to find a different tool that does work. Most will probably switch to OSX, but there will probably be a few that will give Ubuntu/Fedora/Mint a try and never look back. With virtualization, it's almost a no brainer to drop Windows as a host OS and to just use it for windows-only apps. Even gaming is getting better on Linux.

Linux desktop is like democracy, it kind of sucks but is way better than the alternatives.

Like democracy, it's the least worst compared to the alternatives. :)

The best OS is the one that runs the software you want (or need) to run.

If you want the desktop versions of Office, Photoshop, etc., you're going to want to run Windows, macOS, or a compatibility layer like WINE.

If you want to run commercial PC games, then you'll want Windows or a compatibility layer like Proton.

If you want Logic Pro or Final Cut Pro, you're probably going to want to run macOS.

If you want Procreate, you're probably going to want iPadOS.

etc.

I prefer KDE neon, openSUSE or Fedora (all with Plasma).

it's what fits me better.

But GNOME,Xfce, LXQt all have their good sides :)

(and let's all just not forget about the Genode project. While not Linux, its very interesting as well)

Linux is great for a ton of use cases - like programming - because its common and theirs social support but not the case for so many other general purpose uses. Not being able to have a 15 year old on youtube explain how to fix a problem really holds me back from switching.

There are a multitude of such YouTube videos on Linux support for anything you can think of, as well as innumerable support vectors like forums, discord channels, irc, and so forth.

Overload with all the available distributions and desktop options and communities is a difficult hurdle, but really, it's just a matter of time availability for most people. It's going to be disruptive to switch your OS regardless of the particular flavor. You'll need to carve out chunks of time to learn and adapt, or you'll need a sacrificial week when you're setting up and troubleshooting and watching YouTube help videos. Most people don't want yet another "project" in their lives.

I'd say it's better than Windows for a regular user that does some internet browsing, media and some spreadsheets.

The problem comes with niche software like Photoshop, video editing, music production, gaming to some degree, etc.

I agree and I think Chrome OS on chromebooks proves this is true for a huge number of people.

For me there's one main reason it's better: consent.

Linux is one of those love/hate things. You either love it or you hate it. Everyone should give it a try though, to see which they are.

meh. the OP lost me when they said they favoured Dell XPS 13s. those things are complete crap.

but i've been using leenucks and BSD as daily desktop drivers for at least 25 years. before that i had a sun workstation and a vaxstation.

x/windows works, bash is tolerable and sed, awk and grep are my lovers.

Dell XPSs are so so. I would take that over HP or Lenovo.

I might give frame.work a try when it's time to upgrade my laptop.

Watch out for the resolution, you'll need functional fractional scaling to be a happy user.

There's a reason System76 builds their devices with 1080p screens still, sadly.

I noticed with my Win 10 4k machines is that if I set the scaling to something like 125%, the mouse tracking feels off.

I'd probably be better off with a 1080p screen. The only time 4k is ever useful is on my larger monitor.

Integer scaling always works well, so 4k to 1080p, but that the mouse is affected is really weird!

The "Linux desktop" is bash.

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