Posted on 03/16/2017 2:54:56 AM PDT by markomalley
While users of proprietary operating systems suffer with new, slower, buggier, more spy-filled systems, Linux users are enjoying better performance and more support.
I can be a pretty pessimistic guy. I’m fairly convinced that the Internet of Things spells certain doom for mankind, and I’ve made a habit of standing in front of large rooms full of people simply to tell them how much I think “Linux sucks.”
If you were to call me a Negative Nancy, you wouldn’t be far off.
To make matters worse, I’m about to publish three new articles—each of them extremely pessimistic and gloomy—over the next week. otal “sky is falling, we’re all gonna die” sort of stuff.
In the interest of not becoming the internet’s crotchety old grandpa, eternally spouting off about “those kids” and their proximity to “my lawn,” I figured now would be a good time to talk about something happy that I’ve been thinking about. Something optimistic and wonderful. Something I could point people to whenever asked if I ever have anything nice to say.
And that is this: Desktop Linux, right now, is better than it’s ever been.
By a long shot. A feat that is truly amazing.
You know how some operating system companies (not mentioning names or pointing fingers here) tend to release new versions of their systems with the promise of amazing new features, but in reality, each release almost seems to be worse than the one before? Massive performance degradation. Huge jumps in memory usage. Decreases in stability. Increases in annoying adware or spyware built into the system.
As I listed off those problems, every one of us immediately thought of a specific OS and a specific feature. And when that thought crossed our minds, we were either amused (because we don’t use that system) or annoyed (because we do). Regardless, we’ve all got examples of those problems added in with new releases of big-name, proprietary operating systems.
But not Linux. Linux has actually gotten—better. At least for the most part.
Wi-Fi driver issues are (mostly) a thing of the past. Sound problems are, if nothing else, at least quite a lot less prevalent than they used to be. As a general rule, hardware support has dramatically improved across the board.
The availability and variety of quality software has absolutely skyrocketed. Video editing under Linux, while not perfect, is actually in a usable state now. All of my videos can be produced entirely under Linux using nothing but free software. That is, putting it simply, absolutely amazing.
And gaming? Holy guacamole! We have games coming out of our ears now! Almost everyone I know uses Steam and has a small (or large) stockpile of professional games purchased with in it—all running natively on Linux. Gonna say it. I don’t care how much flak I get for it. 2017—Year of the Linux Desktop.
There is never a point during my day where I need to reboot into Microsoft Windows. Or even fire up a virtual machine. Heck, I don’t even need Wine anymore.
Don’t need Windows. Don’t want Windows. Don’t have Windows.
That, to me, is a huge statement. Not only is Linux powerful (it’s always been that), but now, at the start of 2017, it is viable and enjoyable to use for just about every purpose conceivable.
When I think about new releases of various Linux distributions, I actually get excited. I’ve applied more than one update recently (on two different distros) that led to modest speed bumps and improvements in stability. The fact that I’m applauding that as something unique and amazing might be a sign that just maybe there is a problem outside of the free software world in this area.
Regardless of the sadness faced on a regular basis by users of those proprietary systems as they “upgrade” to their new, slower, buggier, more-spy-y systems, I’m damned happy here in free software land. No advertisements in my desktop environments. No spyware built into the system. Speed and stability improvements rolling out here and there.
Just downright lovely.
The hell with it. Gonna say it. I don’t care how much flak I get for it.
2017—Year of the Linux Desktop.
I've run various flavors of Mint (pun intended), Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS, and a couple other distros from thumb drives.
Tech ping
There, just had to say it. ;-)
Full disclosure, I'm a borderline Linux fanboy. I've been using Linux as my primary OS at home for over a decade. I've used it at work for twice that.
In reality I think "the" year for desktop Linux was probably 6 or 8 years ago. Since that time it has become very easy to use. The dirty little secret is Linux is now easier to install, upgrade, and configure common devices for than Windows. Of course, Windows comes pre-installed so virtually no-one realizes this.
What makes it fun to say, or keep saying this is "the" year of the Linux desktop is that it really depends on what your definition of "the" year is. If it is Linux gobbling up desktop market share from Windows boxes and Macs - sorry, never going to happen. If it is getting to the point where it is entirely usable by a non-techie - that happened years ago.
Is it for everyone? No, but then neither is Windows or Mac. I'd recommend everyone try it as an alternative to feeding the beasts in Redmond and Cupertino. Yes, I'll stipulate the dozen or so people reading this and just itching to reply with their story of how Linux failed miserably for them. Yes, that still happens, less now than before.
Does linux have an android emulator?
“Does linux have an android emulator?”
I also use Ubuntu.
What I’d like to find is how to install a virtual Windows so I can run the expressPCB board layout, and MPLabIDE & Microcode IC programmer programs; those 3 are the only Windows programs I use.
Presently they’re on a non internet connected laptop.
I bought a Linux laptop (Mint/Cinnamon) last year.
I have yet to find any Windows program that will run through Wine. Most I tried would not run at all or would only load a portion of the GUI.
I also have tried EVERY browser that will work in Linux to try to run FoxSports, ESPN, cable TV, etc. Some will partially load the graphics, but none will actually play events. My cable company provides TV viewing for subscribers through browsers, but the feature does not work with Linux/Mint.
Since the web is becoming more, not less, visual with graphics and videos, Linux needs to step up its capabilities. Just saying ‘Linux does not support Adobe Flash’ is not a great selling point, since many websites still use Adobe Flash.
In several areas, Linux still is not ready to be a viable competitor to Windows [7, even].
As long as my Win 7 laptop and desktop hold up, they are still my preferred. I do remember with Win XP that it could not handle the intense graphics/videos on the web. That was the only reason I changed to Win 7.
Since ‘mobile friendly’ has taken over much of the web, that has ruined a lot of websites with over-sized print and graphics and irregular/jumpy scrolling, etc. Newer is not always better.
Kinda like saying that “the Yugo, right now, is better than it’s ever been.”
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Yep. I’ll believe these Linux articles when they don’t come from a disciple.
I’m running a virtualized linux on top of a linux server. I have only one windows 7 virtual machine and some old windows laptops and tablets that I no longer use.
I use a raspberry pi ‘head’ to virtual machines right now.
And for those who don’t believe in linux desktops, I’ve been running linux since its experimental days in 1995. Back when there was only one distro to download and two other even-more experimental ones. In the rare cases when I can, I ran x-windows with a mouse with three buttons.
Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu. Every one of the FAQs and all of the support that applies to Ubuntu also applies to Linux Mint. So, you have all the benefits of Ubuntu with some 3rd party software pre-installed and some Mint-only features that many people find desirable. You lose nothing but (IMHO) an inferior desktop environment called Unity by going with Mint over Ubuntu. And even then, if you really want to punish yourself with Unity, you can install it on Mint.
That is the beauty of Linux. You don’t have to be a rabid fanboy warning people away from things you aren’t even familiar with, because in many cases, whatever you like about any particular distro can be duplicated in another.
Now, if one wanted to debate using a Debian based distro like Ubuntu/Mint over one based on Arch or Gentoo or Fedora, that is a debate that has more merit than one over whether to use Ubuntu or a distro based on it.
Since I have a “spare” desktop computer, I ought to give this a try. Only problem is that there are only 24 hours in a day and I’m already doing too many unproductive things. But learning the potential future operating system would, perhaps, be a good use of some time.
Linux actually does support Flash (which the web in general is finally starting to move away from) and it works fine. The issue with the cable providers is their antiquated digital rights management systems that they only make to work on Mac and Windows. I feel your pain though. You want to watch your cable subscription and can’t, regardless of why.
I keep a Roku around for my cable subscription viewing. YMMV, but IMHO, Linux is so superior in so many ways to running Windows on my PCs that I’m willing to shell out the extra small amount of money for things like that. I feel that my sanity is worth it, as is the time that I can spend on better things than waiting for slow-as-molasses Windows to find some way to get itself infected with more viruses and spyware.
With the exception of Photoshop and 3ds Max, I don’t ever boot into Windows for anything anymore. Even then, my desktop is beefy enough to run Photoshop in Virtualbox and have a good enough experience with it for most of the work I have to do.
Linux actually does support Flash (which the web in general is finally starting to move away from) and it works fine. The issue with the cable providers is their antiquated digital rights management systems that they only make to work on Mac and Windows. I feel your pain though. You want to watch your cable subscription and can’t, regardless of why.
I keep a Roku around for my cable subscription viewing. YMMV, but IMHO, Linux is so superior in so many ways to running Windows on my PCs that I’m willing to shell out the extra small amount of money for things like that. I feel that my sanity is worth it, as is the time that I can spend on better things than waiting for slow-as-molasses Windows to find some way to get itself infected with more viruses and spyware.
With the exception of Photoshop and 3ds Max, I don’t ever boot into Windows for anything anymore. Even then, my desktop is beefy enough to run Photoshop in Virtualbox and have a good enough experience with it for most of the work I have to do.
Windows is moving away from Adobe Flash so it’s a rather moot point.
You kind of have to hit ‘rock bottom’ for it to really make sense to get used to a whole new environment. It’s a big change and when everything is foreign, it’s easy to go back to what you’re used to.
Windows Vista was rock bottom for me. I figured that if they were going to change a bunch of the stupid nonsense I had memorized on Win2k/XP for no reason, I may as well learn it all again in Linux instead of learning their crap so they could just change it all again for no earthly good reason.
Of course Linux isn’t without it’s issues in that regard. The quest to try and make every desktop perform like a phone or a tablet infuriates me and it runs across both Windows and Linux. With Linux, however, there are some alternatives that I find more viable than the Windows ones that I’ve tried.
You’ll have to pry the dying business models of the cable companies from their cold dead hands!!
I have not run windoze on my home machine for over 10 years now. My wife, who hardly knows how to cut on a computer, is perfectly comfortable with all the stuff your average user needs to do, which is surf the web, listen to music, send and save pix, email, compose and print letters, bulletins, etc. I cannot think of a use that linux will not do, or does not have a native app for, except quickbooks, and there are workarounds for that.
Your average linux basher blabs about how hard it is, and most of the time knows nothing, frankly.
The great thing is that your average malware is completely ineffective. I still have to worry about scriptware running on browser apps, but even that is easier to fix in a nix box.
I am not a professional geek. I am rather an ex insurance guy who is now doing construction/remodeling/repair and doing a small farming op.
It takes a LITTLE time to get on the curve, but the author is right. Linux is the best os out there.
For the record, pull up the covers on Apple’s OS and what do you find? Bash Unix. It is very good and very elegant, and I don’t deny that. It is also proprietary and expensive.
I made the right decision 10 years ago.
So far, I haven’t quite hit bottom. My primary desktop is still Win 7, which I like. I have 10 on my laptop and the “backup” desktop, which is marginally useful.
The MacBook Pro has whatever the latest Mac OS is, but it’s in the shop for a rather expensive repair (which is unfortunate given the premium price of Mac products). I almost said no to the fix, but since they’ve already got it, and since I do like the machine, I let them do it. It’s got a relatively large 512 gig SSD so it’s no slouch.
Anyway, I’ve got enough hardware to experiment, as long as it’s free.
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