Why No One Uses Linux ...

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► Chapters:

00:00 - What is Linux?
01:10 - Most don't even know it ... but!
02:53 - Familiarity
03:34 - Usability and the Command Line
04:39 - Software support (Microsoft, Adobe, etc.)
05:18 - Gaming on Linux
05:40 - Accessibility and niche developments
05:55 - Linux is about choice
06:20 - Conclusion

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► Description Tags:

why is linux so hard to use, why is linux used for servers, why is linux not more popular, why linux is not successful on desktop, why linux is not popular as windows, why no one uses linux, is linux hard to learn, linux command line, linux command line for beginners, linux vs windows, gaming on linux, michael horn

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#linux #opensource #explained

[artvram]

A big part of it is that they just don't sell Linux computers in stores. Most people are not buying an operating system, they're just buying a computer that they saw in the store. Vast majority of people never install an operating system themselves.

[jimschaffner]

Retired programmer here. I run both Windows and Linux on my computers at home and am comfortable with both. I had a friend who wanted to move from Windows to Linux last year and was talking about it. She was all set to make the move except for one thing. She has Excel spreadsheets that have VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) macros. Those don't run under Libre Office in Linux. And she's not so tech savvy that I could suggest Wine or some other solution to her, she just wanted it to work. There are other software solutions people use that simply don't port over to Linux cleanly without jumping through a bunch of hoops, if they migrate at all.

[haydenlee]

As someone from South Korea. Even Mac OS is barely usable there, because everything is designed around Windows only. Especially government websites, bank websites, and online shops. It was the country that kept Internet Explorer on life support after all.

Sometimes the OS exclusivity is intentional, and I hate it. I wish for more cross-compatibility between the OS. (so that I can freely move to Linux forever)

[chorba]

I think many of the problems for early adopters are software compatibility and the mess that we call software stores in Linux. Each major distro has its own store and each DE as well, making the UX a real pain. Most users look for familiar interfaces and don't want to bother to learn what a flatpak or a snap is. Once Linux devs understand this, the whole ecosystem will change for the better.

[Lestibournes]

1. No retail presence on pre-built devices
2. No commercial app store
3. Lack of familiarity
4. No advertising

[pedreis]

for most people, there is no compelling reason to move to Linux. If they are used to working on Windows/MacOS and know that ALL their software is compatible on that eccosystem, why change to Linux? Most people dont care about privacy and security anyway...

[MrAlanCristhian]

The familiarity argument is huge, and you don't know how important it is until it happen to you. I'm a heavy user of Inkscape's filters. They changed the filter menu arrangement in version 1.3, and I wasn't able to adapt to it, so I still stuck on Inkscape 1.2

[godtable]

Support from companies is a major factor in why the masses do not widely use Linux. Many applications I need for work claim to support Linux, but their implementations are often incomplete or poorly optimized, making them practically unusable. Even OpenAI, with its release of the ChatGPT app, hasn't included Linux support. This lack of comprehensive and reliable support for Linux is a recurring issue across various software and services, ultimately pushing users towards more mainstream operating systems where these problems don't exist.

Additionally, most people today don't even know what an operating system is—they just want to open TikTok and have it work seamlessly. This level of simplicity and compatibility is where Linux regularly falls short in appealing to the general population.

[Kunorrii]

Main reason I've seen my friends not try Linux is its reputation to "break itself". A lot of people still think that Linux is unstable, unreliable, or just generally frustrating to use because of all the errors they see, even though most of those errors were caused by them.

[OroZetticci]

The #1 reason is that Windows comes installed on every PC for sale. If Linux was the standard on PC's sold in stores, the common user wouldn't even realize lol.

[jimcabezola]

I find it a lot of fun being the only senior citizen in my group who goes around converting Intel Macs and Windows machines to Linux. It's fun to teach folks that Linux is cheaper than the competition and just as easy to use for normal, senior citizen-oriented tasks.
My favourite bit is to run Wireshark on systems to show folks how much surveillance is directed at Windows and....to a lesser extent...Apple operating systems. It's almost as bad as mobile phone surveillance.
I feel Linux gives us older folks more of a sense that we can still change our own lives to suit us better.

[Akahigep]

Recently i moved to Linux Mint and I'm so happy about it. There is a learning curve but totally bearable for an long time PC user.

[hibikiholmes]

At the end of the day, it all comes down to software support and convenience. Most people just want their applications to work straight outta the box, not having to open the terminal, type in several lines to install the right compatibility layer and then pray to God that it works. That, and open source alternatives for video editing software is still inferior to what the industry standard offers. Even with DaVinci Resolve, on Linux, it only supports certain distros like CentOS and Rocky Linux which then loops back to the the initial problem of people not wanting to go through the extra steps just to get it to run.

[Mithferion]

As an IT Consultant, when we work on a project, we deliver documentation in the native MS Office fomats because said documentation might need updates made by our clients or by any vendors. So, yeah, that's an scenario when that happens

[mchess]

I have a very positive example of a Linux user at my workplace. My colleague, who generally had poor computer skills (which might seem strange these days), switched from Windows to Linux at my suggestion. And to my great surprise, it worked. The guy is thrilled. He says he finds it much more enjoyable to work now. And he hasn’t become a Linux expert or a tech-savvy user. He’s just a regular user. I think the low market share of Linux on desktops and laptops is largely due to people being accustomed to systems that have monopolized the market. Someone like my colleague, who isn’t "tainted" by these habits and doesn’t have any preconceptions, can use Linux without any issues.

[centy]

It's because devices don't come preinstalled with it. That's it. Normal people don't talk or know about operating systems, they don't care.

[Erianthor]

Most people tend to prefer plug&play solutions. _Linux_ is not as much of a struggle as people (that are aware of it's existence) seem to believe, yet it is still lacking in a couple regards.
In *Proton* some (older) games run better than on Windows, while other titles don't run at all (unlike in Windows)...that is just the entertainment side of things. Further there is the side of OS provisions that have their own shortcomings!

People won't ditch _Windows_ just because - they won't leave their preffered software behind due to somebody else's prefference of a "rival" OS.

[RealWaffles]

my mom really fell in love with chromeos. it's not an advanced linux distro, but it works fine for what she does which is basic tasks in a web browser.

[bryantwalley]

A daily user of a Windows or Apple computer never opens a terminal/cmd/powershell, etc. No matter what desktop district of Linux someone tries to show a daily user, they have to open the terminal and at that second the user is back to Windows and the person showing the Linux has a meltdown. of users never want to see a terminal for any reason.

[MaisistkeinGemuese]

My Laptop Camera (Lenovo Thinkbook 13x Gen4 and a Intel ipu6 Camera) causes some Distros to crash during boot. I recently tried Fedora with 6.12.5 but still no luck. There are some Drivers on Github but my Knowledge isn't enough to be able to install them for my System.

On Windows, this would be just a simple exe, on Linux it's extremely complicated for new users. I think those things play a huge role because on well supported Hardware, you never need to ooen the Terminal once.