Normal People Don't Use Linux For a Reason

Today, I talk about why normal people don't use Linux, even if we think they should. And also, why we should stop assuming we're all capable or willing to use Linux.
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[PopsSinging]

The simple truth after decades of IT work is that some people are into tech and some people are not. Some people only want a computer for its function period, they don't care about looking under the hood or learning how it works, they have little to no interest in a learning curve. I am the same way with things like vehicles, I don't give a rat's nest about the motor specs or even looks as long and I can get from point A to B. My brother knows vehicles and machinery like I know computers, we have diametrical interests. I still get frustrated with Linux because of the 'ghost in the machine' issues that come up. I used my admin password to do an update the other day in Manjaro, after the update was done I couldn't get my password to work any more during the session, I kept getting a wrong password try again error. I typed it in a plaintext editor just to make sure that I wasn't having a stroke and typing it wrong. I rebooted the computer and it worked perfectly again. I have no clue what happened and despite searching I couldn't find the answer. (I suspect something in the update caused the issue)

[sylvaindubois]

There's so much preventing Linux for non tech people. First is Microsoft office. When I show Libreoffice and thunderbird, people looks at me like I'm 20 years late to modern ui. Second is hardware issue. The webcam embedded in my laptop is so tied to windows that I it will take years before it'll be supported in Linux. Last issue is that unless you're into tech you don't see added values into Linux. Your computer was shipped with a working os so why bother changing?

[floppa]

I think the Statement "Win32 is the most stable Platform for Games on Linux" says it all. I think the problem with Linux is that they always want to improve everything from a developer perspective or the get some fringe features to work. Like the whole X11 Wayland Transition. Yes Wayland is better in many ways and one day might be for the end user, but these things are gonna appreciated by 1% of the users while 99% of the users would are gonna loose their marbles if their Distro moving to Wayland causes 1 Feature in one of their Programms they use to not work anymore.

Just the other day I read a post about someone wanting to basically write a new BlueZ - the Linux Bluetooth Stack because there are some use cases where BlueZ is doing weird stuff and its hard to maintain, ... the usual stuff. But this again will mean that so much stuff that relies on BlueZ will need to be ported and tested and you know for a fact that this will break a bunch of peoples workflow who then will say "Fuck it, Back to Window!"

[Woolong-qljh]

It's the same reason why not everyone is into cars. People just want a tool that works.

[CowCow-om]

I'm a developer and every time I tried Linux it caused me so much frustration I just went back to my "noob" Windows environment because it just works. Supposedly Linux Dev environment is meant to be much better but the Desktop Environment setup/configuration nearly killed me lol. Windows 11 is becoming increasingly annoying though, so I think it's eventually going to push me back into Linux. To me it seems like Linux suffers from the issue where you need to spend so much time learning/configuring the tool instead of just using the tool. I just wanna login, do some coding, do some gaming, and never have to touch the OS

[sandradorr]

You are spot on Matt. I was an IT educator for 15 years teaching “normal” people to use their computers in a healthcare environment. Many people use computers because they have to, but they just want it to work and do not know, or want to know how to troubleshoot.

I wasn’t able to go completely to Linux until I retired because I had to work within the Windows ecosystem. I am enjoying learning Linux now that I have a choice.

I enjoy your YouTube channel and your podcast. I watch/listen to all of them!.

[petergibson]

When I drive my car I don’t need to be a car mechanic to use it.
Lots of people want to use their computers without needing to be a Linux mechanic to use it.
The command-line is for mechanics.

[valseedian]

in 2013 I was running Ubuntu 12lts and one day my volume was reduced to 50% and that was the new cap. spent 14 hours figuring out how to get my volume to go over 50%. that wasn't the only time I spent a long time learning to do something I shouldn't have to learn, just the most insane and ridiculous

[Denis-Maldonado]

Thank you for this video, i jumped into Linux last year and i've been loving it.
But what i don't love is how toxic the big linux communities and subreddits seem to be against windows users / casuals / normal people.
Sometimes they even bully others for using easy distros instead of hardcore ones like Arch or Gentoo.
I constantly told myself that those are a loud minority and not the broader Linux community, but they don't make it easy.

So i really appreaciate this video showing empathy for the hardships others can have during the jump into Linux and not just demonizing Windows users.

[TheLinuxCast]

I didn't mean to offend anyone by using the word Normal. I just meant non-Linux Nerds.

[catwhisperer]

I gave up on GUI Linux on the desktop in 2009. No matter what distro I tried, it felt like I was dealing with a jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing. I also had my system break numerous times on updates. As a full time developer I didn't have time to deal with that. I subsequently moved to Mac and the only thing I regret is not having done that a lot sooner. I still use Linux but on the server.and there it shines.

[xXxRaVeNcRoFt_LuVrr]

Part of the issue is that Linux lacks "killer apps" that would appeal to a wider user base. Personally, I only came back to Linux for the window managers which I would say is the one killer feature that Linux has better than Windows or MacOS. Plus, it doesn't help that there is no Industry Standard desktop applications. Film, CGI, Games, Music, Business - for all of them it is hard to opt for something other than either Windows or MacOS. That said, I think the Linux desktop has a bright future, but it will keep progressing slowly. Windows & MacOS aren't what they used to be and MS & Apple are making things more difficult all the time for both users and developers. Linux is the only potential alternative for those looking to escape like Valve or System76.

[miljantrajkovic]

For me it's application installation. Packages are just weird concept coming from Windows. I want app installations to be abstructed as much as possible. Flatpak fixes that problem, but not all software is available in that format.

[rishi]

Exactly put! Not everyone is a Linux nerd.. at most some are wannabe Linux nerds..

Unfortunately, if one uses the machine for work, it's difficult to solve all the problems one faces while using Linux distros. Ppl simply don't have the time for it, even though they may be interested to learn..

[spineshivers]

Linux is frustrating even for someone who knows computers. I build them for a living, service them, I install operating systems and other software. I don't have the time or patience to use Linux, Windows just works. I tried one time a couple of years back with Mint, a beginner distro. Could not get my printer to work, even though it had Linux drivers on their website. After a few hours of hassle, reading Reddit and watching some YouTube video, could finally get it to print, but not scan. The scanner part just refused to work. I gave up, I don't have time for that. So there's another niche here. Even people who know computers don't always have the motivation to learn Linux. Intalling a distro is a piece of cake (did it for a couple of clients on request), using it daily is another matter.

[EdmondDantes]

It would probably help if there were more people willing to help answer Linux questions. I've had several times I had no idea how something works or how to do something and when I ask, I get Linux Elitism "he doesn't know how to do this, what a noob!" type junk.

Then there's the Distro Rivalries. It's really annoying when someone tells you "oh this feature would be super easy if only you were using My Preferred Distro" or "oh this problem only happens on Distro X but not Distro Y." Like, I'm not gonna reinstall my OS or have four separate OSes running on thumb drives just for niche purposes.

At least with Windows, 99% of things work right out of the gate. I use Linux mainly for internet browsing as it is genuinely the safer option for that. On Windows I intentionally avoid any site I've never heard of.

[xybersurfer]

i like the point you made about the Linux community becoming fixated on a specific issue and thinking that will bring more users. i think that a lot of issues like anti cheat not working are just symptoms of the actual problems. i would be happy to play with Linux if the only problem were these external factors. but the usability issues are almost never external factors. i write software but that doesn't mean i want to waste time fighting with my OS to get work done

[evrypixelcounts]

Audio production is the one use case that has kept me bound to windows for years. I intend to switch to using a windows virtual machine on linux for audio production, but It'll take a lot of work to get running well. . .waaaay more work than just installing the software on windows. My brain is so used to windows, a lot of linux stuff is much more complex it takes me days to do things that would have taken me hours, and hours to do things that would have taken a few minutes.

[NotSeggsySage]

My tech virgin friend (he didn't use windows, mac or anything) learned linux as his first os and now he is the linux tech support of his class.

[BuggersOnMahShoes]

My main concern with Linux in general, no matter what distro, is the stability. Ubuntu and it's simblings already have some stability issues regarding graphic rendering, desktop environment and the system overall, let alone other distros. I always had this big problem where I would do something as simple as trying to mount a hard drive, and I would break something on the system, or something would simply stop working like the hard drive itself or a program that were meant to use it, and that's just to mention one of the many problems I personally had with Linux.

I prefeer 10 times to just stick to Windows 10 and actually get work/tasks done instead of constantly fighting with my OS whenever I want to do something slightly complex. Windows is not perfect too (specially performance wise), but at least it's more stable than Linux when it comes to using it as a daily desktop OS.