Why linux sucks for desktop users
Linux kernel is awesome. So why linux has struggled to replace Microsoft’s Windows?
In this article I will give multiple reasons why I think linux, in it’s current form, won’t replace Windows in the near future.
I will also give examples and features I want to see in an ideal linux distro. I have given deep though and learned from tutorials how to create my own custom
linux distro. This article will form the basis of my research and experience and maybe in the future I will implement my own linux distro.
Major applications users interact with are:
- File explorer
- Taskbar (toolbar / dock)
- Start / Search (Windows key)
- Settings
- Desktop customization (too much, too little)
- Printers
- Third-party applications (screen recorder, torrenting, email…)
- System Monitor (resources, cpu, ram, gpu…)
- Grub2 (splash screen, dual boot…)
- Word processor (Word, Excel…)
- Partitioning Tools, disk utilities
- Package manager (apt, flatpack, snap, app store…)
I will also touch:
- Driver installation
- Shortcuts
- Standardization on linux (packages, design, compatibility …)
- Design issues
- Gaming
- Too many useless applications, too little critical/useful applications
- Stability
The community opinion
“… the various package formats and the shear choice anxiety of desktop environments can give the impression that the desktop linux ecosystem is fragmented… There is nobody at the top making decision that directly impact user choice…”
Quote is from this guy. Sure. Linux is linux because of choice. But I say that linux should be more standardized in the desktop space. Linux’s current ecosystem is fragmented. This causes a lot of bugs and instability. Fragmented also means easier access to code and debugging and modified code is easier. But the fragments should be stitched into a single, customizable desktop.
Heck, even Linus Torvalds, the founder of linux, says he had a complicated experience installing Debian so he installed Fedora instead.
Microsoft’s Shackles
In the blue team, the ecosystem is so well developed that linux users (including me) switch back to windows. As an example, I use Outlook for emails. No other email client came even close to the intuitive, productive nature of this product.
Linux is not productive
Why Microsoft was so successful? The answer: it was designed for productive environment, mainly business and work.
Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, all of the major distributions have GUI. But they lack intuitive feedback from the user and their productive nature is lacking at best. Major changes need to happen for “it just works” and not search online for help on how to navigate the operation system.
gnome-nautilus - worst file explorer ever created on this earth
Ubuntu’s chosen File Explorer
Ubuntu’s File Explorer (gnome-nautilius) is basic file explorer and it sucks.
The start / search in Windows
When you click on Windows key it opens the start menu. In many, many linux distros it opens the search menu and completly cover the screen. In Windows, it opens a simple menu, allowing room for other applications in the background to render / see.
