I wonder what will happen when those window machines go out of updates. The majority of people don’t need window programs.
Should have went with L I U X
Every one of the last 25 years has been the year of Linux, the Steam Deck is definitely moving the needle but not enough to actually overtake anything, at least at the moment.
For gaming, sure - proton has gone a really long way toward making most Windows games playable on Linux without too much effort.
For non technical users? Not so much, ChromeOS is putting in more work there.
Linux implies an IT burden that I don’t see most non technical users carrying without someone there to provide IT support. My mom, for example, won’t ever touch Linux because I’m damned well not going to provide on call support for that. ChromeOS though? That’s set and forget enough for the non technical crowd.
/2¢
I put my mom on Ubuntu with KDE 10 years ago. I had far less problems with her on Linux than I ever did with Vista and 7. It got to the point she was calling me multiple times a week.
I didn’t have to but I did one Ubuntu reinstall in that entire time only because I made /boot the default partition size at installation and years later it filled up constantly. I got sick of going over there to clean it up and it coincided with her getting a new computer.
My mom installed printer drivers, and Cisco VPN software from run packages instead of apt and set up multi- monitors on her own after I taught her how to use the terminal, so it’s possible for the elderly.
Unfortunately that’s a level of technical aptitude that a lot of non technical people don’t have. I’d love it if my mom could manage installing software but she’s the sort of person who gets nervous when things like UI button locations change, she’s not someone who’s going to install their own printer drivers or packages or manage a dist upgrade herself. It would be nice if she would spend the time to learn enough to take care of her own devices but anything more complicated than managing phone updates isn’t likely.
I 100% salute your mom but raw capability isn’t even really the point. Realistically, your average person, let alone older person has absolutely zero interest in needing to touch a terminal. They want to live as close to auto-magic as they possibly can. I hate Apple but the idea that it “just works” is one of their primary selling points, right along side the whole status symbol thing. It’s not a right or wrong, just people being people.
Linux is amazing. It’s hitting peak productivity with support for every driver, and highly optimized systems like Systems, Dbus, Wayland,and Pipewire. It’s actually world class rn, both windows and Mac are jealous of what the core Linux is now. Linux now runs every server, most of the world’s phones, most of the IoT devices, and some gaming stuff
But it’s still a tiny percentage of desktop/laptop, so yeah idk it’s all good
Yes! I’m an example of this. I’ve decided to give Linux a try on my old 2012 Macbook last year, because I’ve heard so much about it on Lemmy. I played with it for a few days and realized it was the OS I’ve been dreaming of. Ended up installing Nobara on a partition of my gaming PC (with NVDIA) and cant remeber last time I’ve booted Windows. I still have to work on macOS on my M1, but I’ve install Asahi and alternate between the two. I am now convince 80,% pc user would be way more happy on Linux. I really think FOSS are now better then licence software in most case.
Noice. Hadn’t heard of Asahi. Gonna try it out on my old Mac!
Asahi is for M1 to M3 macs only, it works well. If your old mac is an Intel, you can basically install any distro!
I think that happened a few years after Ubuntu came out
The Steam Deck has been a gamechanger, pun intended :)
lemmy has more of a chance at replacing Reddit than this
No, I think the success comes from Linux becoming normalized in devices like Android and the Steam Deck. We’ll see how it shakes out.
With every update Windows becomes more annoying.
With every update Linux Mint (and every distro) becomes more refined.
There are still gaps; HDR isn’t really there yet, never mind Dolby Vision… but if all you want is a PC that acts right and doesn’t piss you off with ads and upsells… honestly, a default Linux Mint install is at least as good as Windows at this point.
I think it’s still a migration of a rather knowledgeable part of the windows users. I did migrate a year ago because of frustrations from windows pop ups showing up like they own the computer.
I a still reluctant to recommend it to my partner who is comfortable with windows but not really techy. As long as Linux works, it works. But when you need something a bit more involved or something breaks, the terminal will be harder for those users who might not have ever opened CMD in windows.
When a problem arises in windows, the same people that never opened a cmd would be equally puzzled about how to solve the issue when something breaks.
I’m my opinion and experience, great majority of users don’t have the skills to solve common issues on windows either. Cue all the jokes and memes from the tech savvy family members that have to fix uncle Lou infested pc.
Maybe we are talking about tradition. People are used to windows, the hardware companies works with them. The pc stores had been selling pre installed windows on pcs for decades. Software and games are being made for windows. People know it’s
not a goodgarbage OS, but you have to fight so many walls that the common user is never going to make the jump by himself.
