I love the Linux desktop, but that doesn't mean I don't see its problems all too well

The Register ^ | 8 June 2022 | Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

[ShadowAce]

Recently, The Register's Liam Proven wrote tongue in cheek about the most annoying desktop Linux distros. He inspired me to do another take.

Proven pointed out that Distrowatch currently lists 270 – count 'em – Linux distros. Of course, no one can look at all of those. But, having covered the Linux desktop since the big interface debate was between Bash and zsh rather than GNOME vs KDE, and being the editor-in-chief of a now-departed publication called Linux Desktop, I think I've used more of them than anyone else who also has a life beyond the PC. In short, I love the Linux desktop.

Many Linux desktop distros are great. I've been a big Linux Mint fan for years now. I'm also fond, in no particular order, of Fedora, openSUSE, Ubuntu, and MX Linux. But you know what? That's a problem right there.

We have many excellent Linux desktop distros, which means none of them can gain enough market share to make any real dent in the overall market.

It's been like that since people first started talking about Linux stomping on Windows on the desktop. But dream as we might of a true year of the Linux desktop, it won't happen. As Forrester senior analyst Andrew Hewitt recently pointed out: "Overall, just 1 percent of employees report usage of Linux on their primary laptop used for work. That's compared to 60 percent that still use Windows... It is very unlikely that Linux will overtake Windows as the main operating system."

He's not wrong.

That's not to say that Linux can't be a successful end-user environment. It is. Indeed, you can argue that Linux, not Windows, is the most successful end-user operating system. That's because there are over 3 billion Android phones out there and Android is just a smartphone-specialized Linux distro.

It's not the only Linux hiding in plain sight. Chromebooks, which you'll find in every school in the land, and in my travel bag, are everywhere. Chrome OS is simply Chrome reworked as a web browser and interface on top of Linux.

Add it all up and you can say with a straight face that Linux has actually long been the most popular end-user OS of all.

But that's not what Linux desktop fans want. They want Windows crushed and bleeding underneath the Linux juggernaut.

Sorry. That's not happening. Linus Torvalds already told us why we'll never see a classic Linux desktop on every PC: fragmentation.

Think about it. Besides over 200 distros, there are 21 different desktop interfaces and over half-a-dozen different major ways to install software such as the Debian Package Management System (DPKG), Red Hat Package Manager (RPM), Pacman, Zypper, and all too many others. Then there are all the newer containerized ways to install programs including Flatpak, Snap, and AppImage.

I can barely keep them all straight and that's part of my job! How can you expect ordinary users to make sense of it all? You can't.

None of the major Linux distributors – Canonical, Red Hat, and SUSE – really care about the Linux desktop. Sure, they have them. They're also major desktop influencers. But their cash comes from servers, containers, the cloud, and the Internet of Things (IoT). The desktop? Please. We should just be glad they spend as many resources as they do on them.

Now, all this said, I don't want you to get the impression that I don't think the conventional Linux desktop is important. I do. In fact, I think it's critical.

Microsoft, you see, is abandoning the traditional PC-based desktop. Oh, Windows isn't going away, but it is moving. In its crystal ball, Microsoft sees Azure-based Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) as its future. Sure, Windows users will still see what looks like a PC on their desk, but really it will just be a smart terminal hooked into a Windows 365 Cloud PC. The real computing smarts will be in the cloud.

That means that the future of a true desktop operating system will lie in the hands of Apple with macOS and us with Linux. As someone who remembers the transition from centrally controlled mainframes and minicomputers to individually empowered PCs, I do not want to return to a world where all power belongs to Microsoft or any other company.

The Linux desktop will never be as big as Windows once was. Between DaaS's rise and the fall of the desktop to smartphones, it can't be. But it may yet, by default, become the most popular true conventional desktop.

So will 2028 be the year of the Linux desktop? What do you think? ®

[ShadowAce]

I wrote a short script that I put on my /home directory.

Since /home is a separate partition/disk on my laptop, I can reinstall the OS at any point, and when I run this script, it automatically installs and configures the software I want.

Every time I install a new package, I'll add it into the script. Makes a vanilla install to be my preferred install.

For instance:

#!/bin/bash

if [ "$EUID" -ne 0 ]
  then echo "Please run as root"
  exit
fi

cp /home/Shadow/Shadow-user /etc/sudoers.d/.
cat /home/Shadow/fstab >> /etc/fstab
hostnamectl set-hostname laptop-name
apt-add-repository ppa:lucioc/sayonara
apt -y install /home/Shadow/Downloads/nordvpn-release_1.0.0_all.deb
apt -y install xfsprogs xfsdump attr quota
apt update
apt -y full-upgrade --allow-downgrades
apt -y install nordvpn
apt -y install kde-standard
apt -y install tuned terminator vim transmission xfreerdp flameshot
.
.
.

I (obviously) replaced my username with "Shadow" in the above snippet.

So--I perform a vanilla install, run this script (Usually another 20-30 minutes due to the update/upgrade process and the kde-install), and everything is back to the way I want it.

[daniel1212]

" The underlying hardware is Apple (MacBook Pro/MacOS) with VMware Fusion to host the Linux desktop as a VM. At home the hardware is Apple (MacMini/MacOS) with VMware Fusion to host both a Linux Desktop VM and Win7 and Win10 VMs. "

Which must mean you have capable hardware, as VM can be slow (Virtual machines access hardware indirectly=less efficient), among other possible drawbacks.

"But I admit it was some initial config work to get it all cooperating. " For me just to achieve similar speed and efficiency with a Linux OS (and I have tried all major and many minor distros) comparable to Windows (now 11, not because it is better than 10, as it is not) on a rig with Ryzen 3200G w/ 64GB RAM. + M.2 main drive and SSD's) then among other things, I would want to:

(due to much typing and operations with stiff arthritic fingers) remapp Caps Lock to ctrl+c, Esc to ctrl+v; NumLock to Esc and the middle mouse button to (easily done with a AutoHotKey script (NumLock::Esc
CapsLock::^c
Esc::^v
mbutton::^x

Install and get WINE to run correctly (too often does not in my experience) to run certain programs (esp. Bible ones for which there are no full Linux equivalents).

Install multiple portable Firefox installations (each having its own general purpose, with many tabs open on each). Without finding and running scripts.

Be able to find program executables (usually easily done in Windows via right click versus Linux, and in which there can be two files in the same directory with the same name) and create how shortcuts to them, as well as for Send to/Open with options).

Create custom right click menus with user-chosen locations, programs, etc.

Find a true equivalent to Windows device manager and HWiNFO64.exe.

In addition to which is finding out how to get Firefox (with multiple tab rows) and LibreOffice as customized to work the same in Linux.

And also find and configure an AutoHotKey equivalent.

There is also the legal multimedia code issue, if a decreasing one.

Plus, having one land line for 3 phones, I would like to have my Phone Try free software or equivalent to work.

More can be added, but I presently find the time it would take to be unwarranted. I can and have turned off Windows telemetry that I do not want, and unless MS decides to become too restrictive then I do not think I will be switching, although I like to experiment sometimes.

Thanks for keeping us informed though.

[Bob434]

Thanks. I didn’t do a separate home directory the last few times I installed. I got lazy.

Does your script install the programs and then set the preferences or settings and set it up how you like? For instance, I have a mouse gesture program that takes a lot of personal settings for instance d rawing a “c” will “close window” or “pull up the calculator “, andmthere are like 20 or so custom settings that I have to redo everytime I reinstall.

[ShadowAce]

And also find and configure an AutoHotKey equivalent.

I know we've been over this before, but I cannot remember if I pointed you to xbindkeys or not. That seems to be a tool that will allow you to remap ctrl-c to your CapsLock, and the other ones you need.

It's not GUI, but it does have some guidance included in the config file.

[ShadowAce]

It can. Probably the easiest way to do it would be to set it up manually the first time, them copy the configuration file to /home/Bob434/configs/ or something like that, then you can just copy it into the correct location when you run the script.

[Bob434]

Ok,thanks. Looks,a bit complicated but maybe I can find a video,of how to do it. Sure would be better to get it all back automatically.

[ShadowAce]

I didn’t do a separate home directory the last few times I installed. I got lazy.

Laziness is exactly why I set it up this way. If I don't have to re-configure everything in /home/Shadow/.config then I won't.

[Bob434]

Yeah that makes sense. An ounce of “prevention” is better than a lb of cure as they say

[libh8er]

Which desktop are you using?

Still using Gnome. I initially installed Cinnamon (a fork of Gnome) but it caused problems and I ended up reinstalling Ubuntu. In my current setup I have Ubuntu with Gnome plus third party themes and icons that give it a Mac like look.

[Openurmind]

“My favorite is Linux Mint Cinnamon.
I can do everything I need with the Linux applications found in the Software Manager.
I’m never going back to Windows.”

Yep... Best thing since sliced bread. Linux techies don’t like it because they don’t need to fiddle with it all the time and play. It is compulsive... lol

[Openurmind]

“The lack of centralization is part of the charm of Linux. Everybody likes having their own flavor. So that means no one distro will be dominant like Windows is.”

And with a little practice and knowledge you can even build your own personal custom distro.

[tahoeblue]

As far as I know, the information the Windows VM sends back to the mothership is the same as for a bare metal install - and somewhat configurable by the user.

I used both VirtualBox and VMware Workstation. You have to pay for the later, but not the former. VMware Workstation allows you to create new VM’s, whereas VMware Player (free) only allows you to use an existing VM. If you are just setting it up - I’d go with VirtualBox. With VMware Workstation, you have to pay to update it every few years as you update your base Linux system.

It is a much better solution then a dual boot machine. It’s pretty simple to create a new VM with VirtualBox.

[tanstaafl.72555]

There is an advantage to Linux being a minority on the Desktop. The bad guys write their viruses for the big market and usually leave Linux alone.

worth repeating... so I did.

[tanstaafl.72555]

I used to be such a fanboi and really believed Linux would be a competitor to Windoze. It was superior in every way. What I failed to realize is that MOST computer users don’t really care about superior vs inferior products. You can’t even stop them from picking up viruses/malware by doing stupid stuff. They want to be able to chat with their buddies while playing some FPS game or share recipes or pix of the grandkids. They view security, control, and adaptability as liabilities, rather than strengths.

If Linux were to go after THAT market, it would require making it vulnerable, frankly. I use the KDE Plasma version of Mint, as well as MX. I have a windoze 11 machine that I don’t trust to put anything on but ThinkorSwim and Schwab’s trading software. I am playing around with the web version of thinkorswim and so MAY be abandoning windows altogether. I don’t game. I don’t use photoshop (gimp works for my needs) and I had to google filepro to find out what it was.

I have abandoned the idea that Linux will be a serious competitor for the pc/desktop market (which is shrinking, btw), and don’t even care anymore. People are stupid. All there is to it.

[dfwgator]

Yep, Grandpa just wants to press the “On” button and it works.

[tanstaafl.72555]

Try the snapshot function of MX Linux. Get it set up, make a snapshot (in the menu, duck soup stupid easy), load it up on the next boot.

[Bob434]

Thanks, i do a Timeshift Snapshot (I use linux mint cinnamon)- and can use those, but I’ve had them fail on me too- so i was hoping for a way to get it onto a burnable disk- also it woudl be a way to get it onto other machines-

I’ll check out the MX sapshot system tho0ugh, thanks for the suggestion

[tanstaafl.72555]

Good luck. Please let me know how it turns out for you.