There might be a very simple explanation for why the masses have yet to adopt Linux as their desktop operating system and it's one the open-source community won't like.
I'm curious to hear thoughts on this. I agree for the most part, I just wish people would see the benefit of choice and be brave enough to try it out.
Nope. Not true. Windows has an intuitive and easy to use GUI for everything. Linux depends on CLI for basic functions with commands that aren't even the same across the various distros. It's as simple as that.
Look, I just ran into another example. SimpleX just released a desktop version. Only they only offer a .deb file. Go to search for how to install this on Fedora. I have to install a whole other program just to install this program. How do I install that program? Straight to the CLI with you.
The Windows version is a .exe so all I had to do is download it and click it and it literally just installs itself.
Are you sure? I thought the "desktop version" of simplex was currently just a cli program for windows too. Have you tried it? I just checked their site and don't see anything about a non-cli desktop client still.
@blkpws for me i have to download binaries from website or their git repo. Ubuntu store either dont have them or is stuck in an ond version. Recently installed a snap on my colleagues pc which was released in 2018. Thats 5 years old.
@HughJanus windows is not user friendly. You are confusing familiarity with ease of use.
Most are familiar with it since its widely used as the first OS since school. Give it to a lifelong mac user and see how much they struggle. Even ones who are using windows for nearly a decade struggle as soon as they need to use anything more than office, chrome or the file explorer. They fear the control panel nearly as much as they would a terminal and i have to give detailed instruction on what to click
You people keep saying this but it's simply not true. I used Windows for 20 years and never went into the CLI, which is basically a daily occurrence to complete basic tasks in Linux.
For example, today I went to download the new Simplex app. On Windows, download and run the .exe and it installs itself. Done.
On Linux, they only have a .deb version. So to install that on Fedora I have to install some other program, and the only way to install the program is from the CLI. Tried to do that. The first command I copied and pasted the first command into the CLI and...nothing happened. Not even an error message. Give up.
@HughJanus whos 'you people' here? My point was that just as terminal for linux is scary, many people find even the control panel in windows scary and hard to use. Your personal experience may vary but many issues you point to isnt linux specific.
Assuming you refer to simleX chat, I just grabbed the appimage from their github release page, marked it executable and ran it without a hitch. Took me 5-10 clicks and nearly the same as for Windows. Don't have fedora RN but assume its the same.
"You people" who are delusional and incessantly lie about how "easy" things are.
My point was that just as terminal for linux is scary, many people find even the control panel in windows scary and hard to use.
This is not even remotely comparable. You don't need the control panel to install software (a basic task), and even if you do need it for something, it's fairly intuitive. You just click around until you find what you need. Using the CLI requires you to have a working knowledge of a fucking encyclopedia of gibberish commands.
Your personal experience may vary but many issues you point to isnt linux specific.
@HughJanus
Legitimately don't remember the last time I *had* to use a terminal to install a program in linux, I pretty much just click to install everything using KDE's Discover store, except for things I download off github which often come as appimages which are practically the same as windows executables in terms of ease of use @vaidooryam
@HughJanus completey glances over the solution for your precise problem and yet making strawman arguments of how tough linux is and calling others liars without providing any valid proof. End of our conversation. Stay classy.