Linux.

So I've been using Microsoft operating systems since Dos 6.22 and Windows 3.1, all the way up through Windows 11, and every now and then I've dipped my toes into Linux thinking it might be wise to switch, especially since Microsoft ruins windows every other version. 

There are so many choices out there too, everything from the beginner friendly Mint and Pop OS, to the ridiculously complicated yet extraordinarily powerful like Arch, as opposed to choosing between home and pro on the Windows side, or just... Mac OS I guess on the Mac side. You can choose what you want, and hell if you fall down the rabbit hole deep enough, build your own distro.

There are many downsides though. Most commonly used software is developed with Windows or Mac OS in mind, so there are many compatibility issues. This is a lot better than it used to be with the improvements we've seen in WINE (a windows emulator that is totally not an emulator, thus the recursive acronym lol lol are they buying it?) and Proton, but still. Also there are lots of programs that should work, that simply don't and will require troubleshooting and extensive google searching for solutions, and that leads to what in my eyes is an even larger downside.

Linux's greatest advantage is also it's greatest disadvantage: The user base. Linux is maintained by millions across the world, you're not beholden to the whims of a corporate overlord because the people making Linux are regular jackoffs just like you, but they are frequently also impatient, elitist, smug and utterly garbage tier people. They'll shout "RTFM" or "Google it!" if you ask any questions instead of either providing a simple answer, or just ignoring it. That loud minority, and it is a significant chunk of the user base, make Linux an extremely hostile environment for newcomers unless they have a very patient mentor. The result of this is when you try to google an error, you find yourself at forum threads started by people who had the same issue, where you have to scroll through 17 pages of "This has been answered, learn how to search" and "RTFM" and "lol go back to windows, noob"

Honestly I think more people should use Linux, and that Linux should be more accessible to everyone. If more people make the move it will force Microsoft and Mac to innovate and at the very least people will have less of their info scraped and sold by Microsoft. I dunno there's my rant, f**k you if you don't like it.

Linux is already the dominating OS in the world. Most people use linux every day.  

It's just that it's not on your desktop computer, it's every other device, including your phone (unless you are of the iphone minority, then you are using unix).

But I agree that everyone should use it on the desktop too, I couldn't use anything else.

And I don't think what you are saying is true about the linux community anymore, most of them (us) are just regular nice nerds :)

At least not more true than any other online community having it's share of idiots.

Yeah but when people mean android they say android. Generally when we say linux we're talking about desktop or laptop distros. I've never heard anyone refer to android as linux except when presenting this factoid, even though we all know android is Linux wearing a goofy robot hat.

I agree! Linux is great and I think more people should use it. The biggest downside is the learning curve and the lack of community support for newbies.

I got my first real taste of Linux in 2013 when I ordered a Raspberry Pi from a catalog that a mattress salesman gave me (which is an admittedly crazy series of actions). It was through this Pi that I grew attached to Linux and it honestly started a long lasting interest in my life about computers, networking, software, and more. Since getting this Pi, I believe I have interacted with or used Linux systems at least once a week till the present.

After 11 years, I still am learning more and more about the OS and am baffled by its depth. Unfortunately most user's don't care about depth or power of their OS, they just want what is easy and familiar. Windows has had over three decades to train the world to its interface and infrastructure. Because of this, you'll be hard pressed to find someone in the developed world that doesn't know how to use it. Linux is scary and new to the average user, while Windows is cozy and comfortable.

I am hopeful that more users will make the switch to Linux, but it is going to be a uphill battle that is made easier by Microsoft's poor decision making, Linux's increasing software support, and the continued improvement of the Linux community.

TLDR: I like Linux too, and I also think more people should use it.

I mean, linux is "just" a kernel, so on the desktop most of the stuff you use are not linux. Android phones are just as much linux as a debian desktop. 

But you are right, in normal talk people don't refer to it like that. It's like when people say PC when they mean windows.

I think the main thing that makes linux on the desktop possible today is that everything is in a browser now. You can still use the office suite for work if you have to on a linux desktop, or any mail system or whatever. But desktops at home are not really a thing anymore except for gaming.

It's still mostly developers that run linux on the desktop at work.

#endofrandomsentences

Linux is most definitely the trusted source for internal networks.  Secure LAN's with self made programs are what they are perfect for. Most all Linux programs can be used to test circuitry, data analytics and functional diagnostics when building and calibrating arrays for manufacturing and development purposes. The programs are easily re-compiled to run MAC or Windows. 

I'm not too sure about mobile popularity with this LAN secure tactic, but I don't see why it would be any different. 

I am using Mint w/ XFCE desktop. I run Arch on my Home Theater PC. Also, if you look at my last name you may know what that is. In case you don't, Proxmox (Linux Based) basically destroys Virtualbox and every other virtualization management platform. 

At this point i'm kind of convinced that almost all the iterations of Linux are going to disappear and be succeeded by NixOS. 

the problem with NixOS is its insane complexity, but I feel in time enough ease of use tools will turn setting it up into a 1 click solution and it'll be comparable to windows. 

most people who don't want to switch to Linux are the ones who are scared that they'll make some mistake and it'll destroy their system. Thats why immutable filesystems and Flatpaks and the have risen in popularity and I think we are going to keep trending in that general direction, taking large amounts of complexity out of installations and debugging. 

Until then you have Linux Mint and a few others which are very easy to use. Couple that with a next-gen filesystem like BTRFS + time shift and you can set up instant rollbacks should you ever mess anything up. Most of the time people are just afraid to play with it and break it, and for good reason. Nobody wants to do a full reinstall and spend hours fixing things. Thats why these solutions are going to be the future I think. 

Wanna hear something hilarious? I've never heard of NixOS lol. Not that unexpected I'm only just now getting into the world of Linux.

I used to think computer education needed to be more comprehensive in primary school as well as secondary, but nowadays people are gravitating towards phones more than anything.

its not surprising, understanding the differences between all the different operating systems is hard and sometimes very small. 

the thing about NixOS is that its infrastructure as code - its package manager has versions of everything and its the largest package manager going. so whilst it takes a long time to install 1 thing and its very difficult, it can be packaged into something which is very easy and can be repeated because all the dependencies are known and can be satisfied. 

it becomes very simple then, to run multiple environments side by side and can switch between them with a few commands (imagine you could have a gaming setup and a workstation setup and rotate between them with a single click / command) 

CachyOS is worth a try...tried many distros over the years but that is my current favorite...fast and easy, just the way i like it

edit: mint is great too,debian is always solid....nix is perfect for large scale deployments, config file rebuilds the whole software suite which is fancy, but hard for single machine home use imho

ohh and you can run the nix package manager on android devices if you really want to nerd out..off course rooted and stuff

I prefer Windows as my daily driver (and for gaming, Linux support is still poor for most titles).

But for any sort of headless server hardware, Linux is the clear winner.

Its all about the best tool for the job imo.

[image: upload.wikimedia.org]

Most people use linux every day.  

Not true. Most developers - yes. Most people - certainly not. And developers are not people xD

Linux is already the dominating OS in the world.

You probably meant all those Internet servers, AWS etc. But make no mistake - most home users, plus majority of public computers (like schools, hospitals, civil service...) run on Windows.

I was an MXLinux user for years but i always ended up needing either a dual boot or a second computer for certain tasks so eventually ended up back on windows again, if you can fully transition to a Linux OS though it's 100% worth doing

In earlier years, MS ruined alternate versions of Windows because one set was evolved from MS-DOS, written for the IBM PC. The other was evolved from OS/2 after IBM went their own way and MS demanded their share of the code. I used both MS-DOS and IBM PC-DOS, the latter was better. I also used OS/2, which was better than Windows, but MS marketed Windows better. 

MS took their OS/2 code and created Win-NT. MS deliberately developed two code streams, so that by the time one Windows release was ready, the second was halfway through. But I really don't think they understood the code IBM gave them, because what they created and what we created were miles apart in quality.

At IBM we went with Windows on our PCs because it's what customers used, but after deployment of the Code Red virus in 2001, we started to look elsewhere.

By the time we finally lost our rag with Windows and Essential Users (like me: I built a product you all use every day when you make a bank transaction) were made to move off Windows (if an app required Windows, we ran it in a emulator). To Linux, which incorporated much of the design of OS/2 (properly implemented), and other sources. Hence, there was a lot of IBM code in Linux.

You may like to read up on SCO Caldera.

You are assuming I meant desktop usage, which I did not. I mean all other devices in the world that everyone uses every day. Anything from android phones to home alarms to "smart" fridges etc. Most of those run linux if they have an OS.

Just android alone is enough to make linux the dominating OS (technically kernel) that people use on a daily basis.

Kali Linux for the win 😂 😂 😂 

Yes it is True that most Phones supposedly use the Android software system.

Excecpt the IPhones.

Which uses a Version of the Linux Kernal.

But that may not be the case for Google Phones and Hardware items though.

Because I read another Post or thread on here.

That Goggle is getting Ready to go from the Android Operating System.

To a New Operating System that they are currently calling Fushia. What is also a Name of a Flower.

So you could probably say. That the Android System may not be around much Longer. As it primarily relies on the Linux Kernal which really dosen't Pair well with the Newer Technology's