Heyho, recently someone asked for the silliest reasons, but as someone who has suggested linux to many people, I often encounter people having valid reasons for staying with Windows or switching back.
The most boring but valid one is “I have to use Windows for work. It is a requirement (of some software I have to use)”. But there are also other answers that fit. My sister for example tried Linux, but while installing software constantly encountered issues that I helped her solve and eventually switched back because she felt like she had less control than over windows. While I am aware that this is fundamentally wrong, it is valid that some amateur users do not want to invest enough time to get over the initial hurdles of relearning how to install software.
What are the best reasons people have given you for not wanting to try Linux?
This is sort of a compilation of things I have heard:
Too many distros to choose from and I tried a couple of the ones that were supposed to be good for new users, but had issues that I found too annoying to ignore. And when I tried to get help online, I got rude responses from Linux users who just seemed to assume that I was a young guy that ought to learn how to code and fix my own problems (I am not young and I will never be a coder) or accused me of wanting to be “spoon fed” the answer (yes I do, and exactly what is wrong with that? When I ask a question in an Apple-related forum people there have no problem just giving me an answer if they have one!). So I turned to AI for answers so that I didn’t get all that attitude, and AI is great when it gives you correct answers but very often it just made shit up, and it’s hard to tell if it’s giving you a correct answer or hallucinating. And even an AI doesn’t know everything, not yet anyway.
I live in a rural area and there are no local sources of help that I’m aware of, and definitely no Linux user groups if those are even still a thing now, but even if there are, if they were using a different distribution than whatever I am trying to run they probably couldn’t help much.
Oh, and I absolutely hate typing stuff at a command prompt, I may do it occasionally to fix some weird issue (assuming someone else tells me what to type) but all the normal stuff should be doable using a GUI app. My Macintosh hardly ever asks me to type anything at the command line and that is how I like it! I am a computer USER, not a programmer, not a coder, not someone who wants to spend a great deal of time “learning” a new operating system. I want to be able to turn the computer on, read my email, browse the web, watch YouTube videos, type and print the occasional letter, save and view/play my photos and music, etc and not have the operating system get in my way, or force me to try to learn how it works internally.
And the final reason is that only Linux users still seem to think that reading a bunch of documentation is a prerequisite to using a computer, I have yet to see one good video that explains to someone that has never used Linux before how to use it (an “explain like I’m 5 - or 10 - and this is my first ever experience with a desktop computer that happens to be running Linux” type video). It is wonderful that so much random documentation exist but hardly anyone is going to just start reading it as if it were an instruction manual on how to build a garden shed, and even if they tried, anyone that doesn’t have a photographic memory will quickly forget everything they’ve read because so much of it makes no sense at all to anyone who is not already very experienced with Linux. Nor will they remember all the options associated with various Linux commands that are typically shown in such documentation.
Like I said, kind of a compilation of things I have read or heard, and I didn’t even get into the gaming stuff because I’m not personally into that and therefore don’t really understand the issues there.
“The file system layout is dumb. What the fuck is /etc? Also I hate using terminal”
But… what actually is etc, opt, var, dev, bin, usr, local?
especially coming from windows…
there is no “Getting started” guide from the OS, you got to read a book or something to learn this…
during my early day i thought:
- etc = etcetra? I put random my own stuff here?
- opt = options? Do i put my configuration here?
- dev = develop? Is this where debugging symbol or devtool live?
- local = this must be where my local profile is located?
- usr = user? Or is this where my local profile is located?
- var = huh?
- lib = library? huh why?
- media = my media folder where i put my images and video?
lol
I’ve been using Linux for a long time and I don’t know any of this really.
Basically, home directory is for everything, unless some instructions say some other path.
Counterpoint
Does your average windows user know what any of Windows top level folders mean?
Some might think they do. But then very few programs respect the Windows standards, so…
The people who gave me their reasons for not using Linux do indeed know, and since this is a thread about best reasons not to use Linux, there isn’t much need to argue the point of “no, it’s the users that are wrong”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filesystem_Hierarchy_Standard
Also:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_filesystem
Has a breakdown of what each has referred to, historically
I “tried” Linux but never got it usable. I initially decided to run a vm on virtualbox to experiment. I tried Debian, arch, kali, Ubuntu and all ended up having an input lag of 1-2 seconds. Windows the system was fine. But I found my self unable to do basic tasks it was no bad. I don’t mean I didn’t know a command or unwilling to find a foss software equivalent, I mean it took several tries to get the mouse over the X to close a program due to input lag.
OK I then decided to try a docker container with Linux. It got so messed up if I open docker desktop it displays an error that the container was unable to start, if you close the error to edit settings or create a new container it closes docker desktop, no way to fix it.
I was able to get a wsl command line working but all I found it able to do is add 5 steps to everything due to having to start the command, start wsl, log on, elevate permissions etc.
Okay, but have you tried actually installing it? VMs just have worse performance
That may be my only choice. Was trying to avoid it as I don’t want to lose everything on my computer and dual booting would be difficult as I don’t have a huge hard drive.
You don’t need to install it to try it. Many distros will let you try the os while it is booted off of the usb. Ofc this doesn’t give you all the functionality and you won’t be able to save data. But you will at least see the performance is better.
So, am I the only one with terrible performance when booting from USB? Really long input lag, loading times, all that. I figured it wasn’t a big deal for installing once and occasional troubleshooting, but it’s not really representative of the normal experience booting from my ssd.
I’m gonna second the reccomendation to just boot it from a flash drive and try it out. Virtualization takes a ton of performance and on lots of hardware isn’t going to be a nice experience compared to actually running it without virtualization
You don’t have to make the switch, but it’ll give you a much better sense of what you might like, without dealing with lag and input delay :)
My recommendation generally (although the current price of memory makes this more difficult) is to buy a second NVMe drive and install Linux on that. No fussing with a second install on one drive, virtually no risk of Windows thrashing your Linux install or accidentally deleting your Windows data while partitioning, etc. And you can just wipe the drive and install something else if you don’t like it, or use it as storage if you ultimately don’t like Linux.
What you should have done if you’re unwilling to nuke Windows, which you clearly are, was to swap out your boot drive and install Linux directly. Any drive will do for that purpose. You didn’t try Linux, not really. You used some apps that run it.
Adobe software, autoCAD, and anticheat are the top 3 reasons I usually hear. While there are alternatives for the first two, people who need these specific tools professionally don’t really have the choice.
Anticheat for gaming is a big one too. Personally I didn’t even consider switching until I finally quit Destiny 2 for good. If the main game someone plays just doesn’t work, they’re not gonna switch.
Do you work with CAD programs and if so, do you know a full feature alternative? I grew up with Linux because my father had unix at work before CAD program makers moved to windows and nowadays he has windows because that is where his CAD programs work. He is in retirement already, but very much a creature of habit. So while he has time to learn something new, radically different controls or such wouldn’t work out.
Unfortunately not, just something I hear a lot from folks.
Thank you for taking time to reply anyhow!
Depends what he’s looking for. I think Onshape (browser based CAD) has a free version. Your data is public though unless you go with a paid version.
If he wants a free Linux CAD there is FreeCAD and a few others.
If he is attending a university, as some retirees do to audit courses or enrich life, then Siemens NX (what GM, Stellantis, SpaceX, etc use) have an academic license for around $100 a year. It is now Windows only based, unless you run Linux headless version, but if you use any version NX12 or below there is a GUI LInux version that runs on REL or SUSE (or openSUSE since it shares SUSE binaries)
Are any of those comparable in power to things like AutoCAD?
FreeCAD is a step below the AutoCAD suite. On shape is comparable for mechanical design. Siemens NX is top tier only matched in high end functions by CATIA. NX and CATIA dominate in Automotive, and Aerospace.
Thank you for the detailed answer. Maybe there is a way to find NX like you said, will certainly let him know.
It is very expensive, so ideally join a uni or school program that has acedemic licenses.
I use commercial CAD. CATIA for car bodies. There is no FOSS alternative that comes close for my work. But the light at the end of the tunnel is, many CAD systems, including CATIA, are going web based. So users just need a browser on any OS. And the back end can be what it wants.
My father worked in machine development, I believe AutoCAD was actually one of the programs they used. I am sceptical when it comes to browser based versions utilising the full power of the system, interesting development for sure though.
Yes I have no interest in having a browser in the way. But 2 things. Firstly CATIA in a browser is just the same CATIA running on a remote PC somewhere. It’s the same program. And secondly, as longvas the UI looks and works the same, with no delays, then it’ll be fine. Sure you can’t use it when your wifi or Internet is down or slow, or the provider has power or Internet issues. And your customer is not a military or super secrecy case. But its clearly expecting to find a market.
I mean the bigwigs often have some kind of licensing that needs internet access if some kind anyway. So no internet is often an issue, even with the program on the pc itself.
Personally I didn’t even consider switching until I finally quit Destiny 2 for good. If the main game someone plays just doesn’t work, they’re not gonna switch.
I’ve been running Linux as my main system for about 30 yers. During that time I’ve had a Windows partition or disk, on and off purely to run steam. Having to wait an extra thirty seconds to run a game was never an issue. And I could still do my stuff in a comfortable environment (once you’ve gotten used to a Unix desktop, you’ll suffer so much in Windows).
@VoxAliorum accessibility is not as good as others OS. This is really the most legitimate reason I was given.
"I can’t install it on my phone. I only got a phone.
Hey, uh, you got any crystal?"
TFT and office, mostly. Libreoffice isn’t valid, mostly because Microsoft intentionally breaks their own formats, but yeah.
Just lazy
“I really only use the PC for gaming. Mostly, I play Valorant.”
There ya go, you’re not getting that working under Linux even if you are a master tinker. 🤷♂️ He did eventually switch, but not until long after he stopped playing Valorant regularly.
Some reasons are silly, some are incredibly valid. Sometimes it’s just “I don’t want to” and that’s OK too, lol.
My silly reason is when it comes down to business the ms office suite works the best out of any office suite.
Sure that is because Microsoft spends more time making it incompatible with any other editors than actually developing decent software but that doesn’t change the fact that I can’t trust people on the other end of the email to perform even one step of troubleshooting if the document doesn’t open for them on the first try.
ODF support is in MS Office as well, but if you want to be extra sure you can export as .doc from any office suite (Libreoffice should also tell you if a feature you are using can’t be exported).
That’s the thing, Microsoft intentionally breaks formatting of files exported from libreoffice.
Hmmm, don’t Libreoffice devs test it with actual MS Office instead of guesstimating the format?
Another thing that helps is baking in the fonts or using metric compatibles to MS ones.
Oh man, Teams +Outlook + Office 365 + onedrive +Copilot?
So good for office shit. So bad for hood practices.
“Hey copilot I’m pretty sure I got an email asking if I had an SOP on X. Can you find that email and the SOP?”
“Copilot, using the recording of the teams meeting ‘Training from Vendor X’ and my notes on ‘Tool Y’ can you compile that into a FAQ sheet for us?”
Sure it misses stuff and is only so good because none of the data is private, but man that’s 90% of my work load for SOP making. Worth the $400 a year corporate pays for it.
Come back after a vacation. Asked for all emails that I had actions in. Handled those. Later started going though my emails manually and discovered an important email with “ACTION NEEDED” and work someone directly mentioned me and the action I needed to do and a deadline. Don’t trust it that much now.
They are not ready. They took several years to master Windows to just a minimum of use. They don’t have the money to pay for help if problems occur. They don’t have someone in their network that can help them. They need a specific app to work flawlessly for either job or hobby. There’s a lot of good reasons. But there are getting less of them, while Linux is evolving.
Hello. I’m baby.
I don’t ask. I just point at Microsofts shit and ask why they haven’t switched already.
You don’t ask, you ask?
The last Windows machine in my house is because of one program: Embrilliance. It’s embroidery software that lets you make designs and send them directly to the embroidery machine. It technically works in WINE, but for some reason one of the cursors is missing, so when you try to draw freehand, you have no idea where the mouse is. Was thinking about trying Winboat for this eventually, but I haven’t gotten around to it.
They have to work with Adobe. Or any of the big musical instrument sample libraries.
