When my dad died he left behind a handful of laptops and computers around the house, all running Linux.
My mother has to call me for help with setting up her TV, she wasn’t about to learn Linux. I managed to get any critical files off and we installed Windows. For all of it’s faults, it’s certainly a hell of a lot easier to use.
When I had a computer dual booting Windows and Linux, I maybe booted up Linux three or four times over the years I had it. It honestly just created a headache when that machine crapped out because half the files I wanted were damn near impossible to recover. Those on the Linux side. Now you could say if I had installed Linux and tried to recover them it would have been no problem and you would have been right, but running Linux is a headache in and of itself. I can acknowledge that it’s a better operating system, but not from a usability or access to software standpoint. Even if both of those areas are improving, windows still wins in both.
I am not doubting your experience and respect your judgement. However, I’m having trouble trying to understand how Windows files were easier to get than Linux. To me, it seems like they would be equally as easy, except that using a Linux live boot USB is much easier to make, which you can use for both. Perhaps, the Linux drive was encrypted? Anyone have ideas how Linux files would be more difficult to access? I’m really just trying to understand.
Maybe it was Gentoo installed 15 years ago… recent Linux is cake easy compared to way back when. I remember having to create a driver and compile a custom kernel just to get a USB lan adapter to work… these days it’s so effortless
The thing that’s really devious here is that I can even see how someone might think that replacing the boot loader is easier. When I think of someone like my mom who could still do fine with punch cards but struggled by vista a boot loader would be unnecessarily complex. And the great irony is that google showed that linux could have options perfect for users like her. Chromeos is exactly what her use case was.
Yeah, Linux is pretty easy and user friendly for day to day use for the vast majority of users, since most people spend all their time in a browser anyway. It’s just that hurdle of getting it installed. The people who use it without issue are usually those that know nothing about Linux, and the very experienced. It’s the people in the middle that have trouble, they know enough to get themselves in trouble, but not enough to solve the problems they run into.
That’s pretty much where ChromeOS comes in. Linux out of the box, and the same tinkerers will still get into trouble and blame Linux, but when they reset the machine, it’s back to Linux. Same story as Windows. If it comes preloaded, the end user will be happy with it, but the tinkerers always overestimate their skills/understanding.
Counterpoint. I used to get constant tech support calls from both of my parents until i switched them both to Linux. Now if i get a call from either of them more than twice a year it’s an oddity, and that is usually to install new hardware like a printer which they couldn’t install on windows either.
Their systems update regularly, they both use opensuse. I’ve never remoted in. I could probably figure out how to if i needed to, but that isn’t even in my current skill set. No matter what people think Linux is stable and trouble free if you leave it alone, and just use your computer, unless you have nvidia. Fuck nvidia.
I feel like every time I’ve had to fix someone’s Linux install, it was caused by someone trying to add software that they don’t need, but are used to using in Windows.
Most recently a friend needed to update Linux Mint, and a TeamViewer ppa was preventing the upgrade from completing. Not a difficult fix, but something that comes up often in my experience.
That’s fair though I’m on my second attempt to switch. The first was several years ago and I did the dual boot and never actually use linux thing. This time I only boot up windows for things I wouldn’t have a problem with if I was running a Debian instead of arch based distro
Windows is still easier but it’s not just that linux is catching up. Windows is getting worse and harder to use. I still use it at work and every update I dislike it more.
The really Insidious part of Windows getting worse is that since they are the defacto desktop operating system, people get used to the terrible way things are done, and get confused when another OS does it differently. It’s so frustrating, because your end up with threads like this as a result… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
When my dad died he left behind a handful of laptops and computers around the house, all running Linux.
My mother has to call me for help with setting up her TV, she wasn’t about to learn Linux. I managed to get any critical files off and we installed Windows. For all of it’s faults, it’s certainly a hell of a lot easier to use.
When I had a computer dual booting Windows and Linux, I maybe booted up Linux three or four times over the years I had it. It honestly just created a headache when that machine crapped out because half the files I wanted were damn near impossible to recover. Those on the Linux side. Now you could say if I had installed Linux and tried to recover them it would have been no problem and you would have been right, but running Linux is a headache in and of itself. I can acknowledge that it’s a better operating system, but not from a usability or access to software standpoint. Even if both of those areas are improving, windows still wins in both.
I am not doubting your experience and respect your judgement. However, I’m having trouble trying to understand how Windows files were easier to get than Linux. To me, it seems like they would be equally as easy, except that using a Linux live boot USB is much easier to make, which you can use for both. Perhaps, the Linux drive was encrypted? Anyone have ideas how Linux files would be more difficult to access? I’m really just trying to understand.
Maybe it was Gentoo installed 15 years ago… recent Linux is cake easy compared to way back when. I remember having to create a driver and compile a custom kernel just to get a USB lan adapter to work… these days it’s so effortless
Windows requires extra software to read Linux filesystems. I guess that was too hard for OP. Like you said though, a live USB is the way to go.
deleted by creator
The thing that’s really devious here is that I can even see how someone might think that replacing the boot loader is easier. When I think of someone like my mom who could still do fine with punch cards but struggled by vista a boot loader would be unnecessarily complex. And the great irony is that google showed that linux could have options perfect for users like her. Chromeos is exactly what her use case was.
Yeah, Linux is pretty easy and user friendly for day to day use for the vast majority of users, since most people spend all their time in a browser anyway. It’s just that hurdle of getting it installed. The people who use it without issue are usually those that know nothing about Linux, and the very experienced. It’s the people in the middle that have trouble, they know enough to get themselves in trouble, but not enough to solve the problems they run into.
That’s pretty much where ChromeOS comes in. Linux out of the box, and the same tinkerers will still get into trouble and blame Linux, but when they reset the machine, it’s back to Linux. Same story as Windows. If it comes preloaded, the end user will be happy with it, but the tinkerers always overestimate their skills/understanding.
“I don’t want to learn something new, therefore Windows is better.”
Wouldn’t that have been easier to type than all that filler?
Counterpoint. I used to get constant tech support calls from both of my parents until i switched them both to Linux. Now if i get a call from either of them more than twice a year it’s an oddity, and that is usually to install new hardware like a printer which they couldn’t install on windows either.
How often are their systems updated? How often are you remoting in and solving a problem before it arises?
Their systems update regularly, they both use opensuse. I’ve never remoted in. I could probably figure out how to if i needed to, but that isn’t even in my current skill set. No matter what people think Linux is stable and trouble free if you leave it alone, and just use your computer, unless you have nvidia. Fuck nvidia.
I feel like every time I’ve had to fix someone’s Linux install, it was caused by someone trying to add software that they don’t need, but are used to using in Windows.
Most recently a friend needed to update Linux Mint, and a TeamViewer ppa was preventing the upgrade from completing. Not a difficult fix, but something that comes up often in my experience.
flips off in Torvalds
That’s fair though I’m on my second attempt to switch. The first was several years ago and I did the dual boot and never actually use linux thing. This time I only boot up windows for things I wouldn’t have a problem with if I was running a Debian instead of arch based distro
Windows is still easier but it’s not just that linux is catching up. Windows is getting worse and harder to use. I still use it at work and every update I dislike it more.
The really Insidious part of Windows getting worse is that since they are the defacto desktop operating system, people get used to the terrible way things are done, and get confused when another OS does it differently. It’s so frustrating, because your end up with threads like this as a result… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯