I mostly agree with the sentiment of this video, but it’s highly biased I feel. On a utilitarian level, everything Muta is criticizing about Windows is absolutely valid. But even as a very experienced desktop computer user, as someone who does not have coding experience or any formal education in the technical side of computing, there are parts of Linux that just cause me to get hung up. If you’re someone who likes to customize deeply and change a lot of really small stuff, you run into rocky patches very fast. Now, I agree that almost anything is possible on Linux, but it’s about the amount of effort it sometimes takes.
For the average user, when they want to change some seemingly basic features, things that aren’t in the settings, eventually, one way or another, you have to use commands. You have to use the terminal for something or other. Some dependency, some change that needs a command to activate. And even if all of that is wrong, and you technically CAN change or acquire everything you need without ever opening the terminal, the problem is that a new user is not going to be able to find a simple answer in a few minutes.
Even with the help of AI, it can still take a long time to troubleshoot what may seem like a basic issue. And like it or not, that matters if you’re trying to get people to switch. People, realistically, can’t be expected to always just “shut up and do the research”. Anyone who’s not a techie, or someone with a lot of patience, is going to run out of gas for this troubleshooting very quickly. I wish I had more suggestions about how to actually fix these problems, but I know that for me they are the main reason I can’t permanently switch from Windows at this point. We’re getting closer, but there is a long road still ahead.
It’s not even about which OS is easier to troubleshoot. The case I’m making is that there is progress that is needed to be made on Linux’s part to help people understand it as easily as they do on Windows. Let’s not even pretend that it’s easier to troubleshoot Linux than it is to troubleshoot Windows (I know you’re not specifically saying this but comparing which is easier is something a new user absolutely takes into account). It definitely would be easier if you’ve used Linux for longer, obviously. But for those who haven’t ever tried it, but want to, then do so, have problems and begin troubleshooting, it can feel like a labyrinth and be extremely overwhelming. I’m only trying to convey that despite the progress Linux has made over the years, it is still out of the reach of many people. As I keep saying, people SHOULD take the time to learn. It would be great and beneficial, but a lot people just can’t invest the time.
I don’t know if this argument holds, considering people already consider and frequently do move over between macOS and Windows. If they can stomach the transition from Windows to MacOS, they can absolutely stomach Linux.
A big problem, I think, is that people may not always choose the best DE for them. I’ve yet to end up on the terminal for amything on KDE, while I had a multi-week troubleshooting session on my Mac mini to get a wireguard tunnel to be connected by default, something that’s like, an extremely easy task on Linux.
To be completely, entirely honest, I’m pretty sure I’ve ended up on the terminal for linux-specific issues FAR less than on Windows. There’s so much less tinkering to do on Linux if all you want is an experience not too alien from what you’re used to, which KDE offers to Windows users.
The real issue, I think, is that Linux is just a different ideology. There’s people making sure everything works together, but for the most part each component of your desktop experience might be owned by a different team with different responsibilities, and you’re able to change a lot of those things as you please. I had never considered using anything other than windows explorer as a file browser in my 3 decades using Windows, but on Linux it might as well be one of your first 5 decisions. I never liked the Mac UI so I never even considered MacOS, and that was waaaay before I started considering the corporate/closed-garden issues around it. On Linux, Mac Users can go for their look, Windows users cans go for their look, and people looking for a new experience can have the time of their lives going down obscure rabbit holes with tons of very different and functional DEs. These can be the biggest positives, but often look like the biggest negatives of Linux because we’re trained to think computers work only the way Microsoft and Apple want them to work. We’ve been trained to accept a chewed, pre-digested version of the digital world, and sometimes have to be inconvenienced a bit to remember how much more power we have on our hands if we decide to care even a little bit.
Well maybe it’s a hot take on my end, but i feel like if you can’t invest some time in learning a new OS then maybe it’s just not a good idea to switch, and that’s ok. Having said that, i’m obviously not opposed to trying to make linux easier to get into.