If you recognized yourself in a few of these points, that doesn’t mean Linux isn’t for you. In fact, you can count it as an invitation. It just means you’ve spent a long time in an ecosystem that treats you more like a product than a participant.
  1. You love giving your data away
  2. You enjoy being tracked by your operating system
  3. You’re happy when your computer tells you “no”
  4. You prefer someone else deciding what you can run
  5. You feel uncomfortable if you get to have options
  6. You’d rather battle corporate tech support
  7. You’d rather rent your software than own it
  8. You think ads belong on your desktop
  9. You love being lied to about what’s “industry standard”
  10. You like rebooting for every little update
  • MasterBlaster@lemmy.world
    0·
    4 hours ago

    I enjoy the snark, but also agree it’s condescending. Folks, take it as cynical humor, and don’t be so harsh.

    Anyway I commented to say that #10 is creeping into at least some distributions.

    My Ubuntu sends security updates that frequently impact system libraries and thus demands (politely) a reboot.

    Gnome software does it all the time, but a regular “check for updates” will often install without demanding reboot. I suspect the update won’t be in effect until reboot, though.

  • njm1314@lemmy.world
    0·
    10 hours ago

    This is exactly the kind of shit that keeps people from switching the Linux y’all know that right?

    • Helix 🧬@feddit.orgEnglish
      0·
      10 hours ago

      Why should I care? Linux has enough users as it is, development is sustainable. I don’t want all users to switch at once because that would flood forums with noobs asking silly questions.

      It’s their loss if they don’t use Linux. Why should I encourage them to do so? Just to have some shitty Electron apps more which I don’t use?

      It’s much more painful for me that the places I work at don’t use Linux. They won’t be swayed by such an article anyway.

      • MasterBlaster@lemmy.world
        0·
        4 hours ago

        I’m a bit less nihilistic about it, though. I acknowledge the benefit if being a small enough “market” that the enshittification doesn’t hit Linux like a tsunami as you alluded.

        More users means more bullshit money grubbers, more dishonesty, more incentive for greedy hackers to attack.

      • pineapple@lemmy.mlEnglish
        0·
        9 hours ago

        Are you serious? Do you really believe linux can’t get any better or that linux is perfect for you?

        The more people that use linux the more donations it gets from people and the more people use it.

        Also if you think linux is so awesome isn’t it nice to other people to share that awesomeness with them?

        As well the more people that use linux the more apps will be supported on it. Can you say with full confidence that there isn’t a single windows or macos app that doesn’t work perfectly on linux that you don’t want? Even if linux is perfect for you, you rely on the kindness of open source maintainers to maintain linux, can you really not reserve any kindness for other people?

    • vandsjov@feddit.dk
      0·
      10 hours ago

      Yeah, I read this as: YOU ARE FUCKING STUPID, I AM MUCH BETTER THAN YOU

      That is really a good way to communicate.

  • tuff_wizard@aussie.zone
    0·
    11 hours ago

    If you have a job or are student you’ll know that using Linux usually results in a direct increase in corporate tech support battles.

  • onlooker@lemmy.ml
    0·
    12 hours ago

    And here I was, thinking this was a well thought out article with actual, legitimate reasons why someone wouldn’t want to use Linux. Instead, it’s this smug, autofellating, condescending bullshit. Roland Taylor has some issues.

  • muzzle@lemmy.zip
    0·
    13 hours ago

    Back on the 90s (I know, I know) the joke was that of your VCR was still blinking 12:00 Linux was probably not for you.

  • SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.ml
    0·
    14 hours ago

    “Well if you don’t buy this car you are a moron who can’t see how much better this car is. So keep driving that piece of shit car you dumbass. So, have I sold you on this car?”

  • Cris@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    16 hours ago

    As a long time linux user, antagonizing people who are unsure if the switch is right for them is very clearly a poor interpersonal choice that will not result in the change we wanna see in the world, or more people adopting linux

    Fuckin seriously, we can do better than this circle jerk. As someone who cares deeply about software being kinder to people it pains me enormously how much of a dump stat interpersonal skills are for so much of the Foss community

    If the authors wanna pat themselves for linux they can do it without creating a unempathetic, condescending, preachy culture that alienates people.

    Just call the article “things we love about having switched to linux” so it finds the right audience and its fine, but this shit sucks and its exactly the kind of crap that has made so many of my friends resistant to hearing what I think is good and special about Foss software. They hear me out anyway, but I’d love for it to not be a fucking uphill battle because Foss people routinely emulate the same preachy, condescending, unempathetic interpersonal apprach that everyone bemoans about the worst vegan spaces online

    • MasterBlaster@lemmy.world
      0·
      4 hours ago

      Your points are valid, and if I saw this on a site like pcmag, medium or whatever, i would totally be on the same page. Still, how many “on the fence” people are likely to be here, on Lemmy, subscribed to a linux forum?

      I chose to take it as snarky humor for the “in crowd”. Benefit: keeps my blood pressure manageable.

      • Cris@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        11 hours ago

        I’m really glad it seems like my thoughts have been appreciated, I was kinda mentally preparing myself for people to be unhappy with me

        I find this kind of stuff frustrating enough I needed to edit my first version of the comment cause it was angrier, but I want people to actually hear me out and think about the culture we cultivate in the foss space. It really matters.

        There are so many issues people care about (eg. Software freedom) specifically because we want a world that is kinder to people, and then we act on that value or interest in a way that isn’t kind to people. A little empathy goes a looong way

        Thank you for the kind words, I hope you have a lovely day :)

  • boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net
    0·
    18 hours ago

    Cool and all but stop the rebooting hate

    1. I just installed some random drivers, I guess without rebooting. Window is intransparent af, but I think so.
    2. Reboots are very important and should be done with updates. Atomic systems make sense!
  • FoundFootFootage78@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    18 hours ago
    1. You can’t be trusted with keeping your desktop secure (because Linux sure as hell won’t do that for you).
    2. You need software that can’t run on Linux even via compatibility tools (Multiplayer AAA games don’t count).
    3. You have access to extended security updates for Windows 10.
  • Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org
    0·
    20 hours ago

    Here’s a few more.

    1. You want to use multiple monitors without messing around.

    2. You don’t want to run an emulator for your games.

    3. You like being able to share software with people.

    4. You need corporate software for work or your own business.

    5. You’re looking for a computer that ‘just works’.

    • Daniel Quinn@lemmy.caEnglish
      0·
      1 hour ago

      16: I’ve had more headaches getting multiple monitors to work in Windows than I ever have in Linux. Try connecting 2 monitors of wildly different resolutions in Windows and witness the abject failure of windows to handle that elegantly. Your mouse can slip off into a “void” where no monitor exists, and yet your content can just disappear to, dragging the mouse between monitors slips the cursor way off and to the right, screenshots are a mess, etc. etc.

      17: I only play games in Linux and I never use emulators… unless it’s for things like SNES.

      18: I don’t know what you’re getting at with this one. Software is way more shareable in Linux. You just say “it’s in your package manager” or “install this Flatpak”. Windows and Mac on the other hand have half-assed app stores and a culture of "just go to ${URL} and click “download, ok, ok, ok” which inevitably leads to stuff breaking and no discernible way to determine what failed 'cause your machine is full of rando installations.

      19: This is fair, though most high-profile stuff like CrowdStrike works for Linux now.

      20: I cannot begin to tell you how much Windows and Mac don’t work. Like, at all. Just today I spent an hour on a call with another developer stuck in Windows trying to get a JDBC driver to work. The constant ambiguous error messages, useless documentation directing you to "just go to ${RANDOM_SITE} and install some-cryptically-named-executable.msi that craps out with error messages about missing runtimes… the whole operating system is hot garbage and that’s before you factor in the missing keyboard shortcuts, flaky monitor support, creeping AI, and ads shooting into your eyeballs. The only way Windows “Just Works™” is if you redefine “works” entirely.

      • Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org
        0·
        51 minutes ago

        For #18, here’s how my sneakernet software sharing goes: Windows: I copy the installer exe, or a zipped version of the software as installed to a flash drive. The person can then run the software from the drive, or copy it to their own PC. No Internet required, no outside connection called for.

        Linux: after determining that they have the right distro type for the software, I have to walk them through either getting it from a GUI repository client, apt, pacman, flatpak, snap, or whatever other cockamamie thing it’s on. They have to install it from the central authority - which is not sharing the software. It’s suggesting that someone else connect to the Internet and download a thing.

        If it requires the Internet to for a typical user to share software on media, your operating system is hostile to freedom.

    • Goretantath@lemmy.world
      0·
      17 hours ago

      A computer that “just works” nowadays is an android phone, windows has so much broken due to them replacing devs with AI that you can’t justify that as a reason nowadays.

    • candyman337@lemmy.world
      0·
      18 hours ago

      The monitor thing is very dependent on distro, I didn’t really have any issues at all with Linux mint or nobara

      As others have said wine/proton is not an emulator and some games run even better on Linux, that being said a lot of AAA games have DRM that prevent you from running them on Linux, that would be your real argument there

      Don’t like being able to share software? A ton of software on Linux is FOSS and available on windows, not all of it of course, but you could say the same about Mac

      Depending on the corporation and software, you can use Linux, but yes, most places are windows shops, so that is difficult

      But yeah,a computer that just “works” I concede most distros will not get you there. Nobara is definitely a bit unstable but I can deal with it because I was in IT for 6 years. Although immutable distros are close, but they definitely still take some knowhow to use, and have their limitations

      Edit: misread part of the comment

      • altkey (he\him)@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        0·
        10 hours ago

        A ton of software on Linux is FOSS and available on windows, not all of it of course, but you could say the same about Mac

        Wine question 2.0: Does WSL count as Windows?

      • Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org
        0·
        18 hours ago

        The first one is because at least on Mint, on the machine I have, multiple monitors just don’t work, and I’ve been told it’s not just me, it’s X11. The second is the need for Wine or Bottles (or whatever Valve has done).

        • Melmi@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          0·
          18 hours ago

          Wine literally stands for “WINE Is Not an Emulator”.

          That said, Proton is pretty transparent, you can just install any game off Steam right now and it’ll work 9 times out of 10 without you noticing that you’re using wine. I often can’t tell if I’m using proton or not and get surprised when I go into the game files for one reason or another expecting proton and am surprised to find a native Linux build. There has even been at least one time I’ve switched from a native Linux build to Proton because it ran better, and it was just one toggle.

          Why the resistance to wine? Did you have an issue while using it, or is it the principle of using a compatibility layer?