AAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnddd Here’s ANOTHER 12 (TWELVE!!) reasons why Linux will never beat windows.
Send this to Gramma and ask her which ‘distro’ she wants to use to email pictures of the grandkids and cookie recipes. (I’ve tried it- the answer was “Huhhhhh...?”)
AAAAaannnnnnd another 12 excuses will be given why I am wrong...with complex explanation of the supreme benefits of Linux over Windows or how one Linux ‘distro’ is better than another, and how you are not a real man if you are using ‘Mint’ instead of the command line. (Hey- it was good enough for granpa!)
NOTE: I am a 30 year software engineer, under both Windows and Unix/Linux embedded. I 100% agree that Linux is a superior operating system- in ALL the ways that the average user will not know about, care about, or be able to comprehend.
Sorry to say but for 90% of users Linux doesn’t cut it.
I had been using Mint for the last couple of years, the hardware support simply isn’t up to speed with windows.
One of the most irritating thing was that I constantly had to reload the Samsung printer and scanner driver. For some unfathomable reason the “old” driver would stop detecting the printer or scanner.
Lst week I switched back to window - a much smoother and predictable user experience. I really, really wanted to like Mint, but it just isn’t at the same level as windows - and no, I’m not a newbie.
Trying to convince someone to use Linux over Windows is like trying to convince someone to use a BMW diesel over a Chevy diesel.
Sure, the BMW is going to last twice as long and run twice as good, but it’s harder to maintain, harder to get spare parts, and doesn’t look as pretty.
Now, if you know a thing or two about diesel engines, you would pick the BMW everyday, but if you are just trying to get by with the easiest option, you will take what is readily available...the Chevy.
Linux is better than Windows simply for the update factor. Windows takes forever to do an update and has to restart almost every time and sometimes restart more than once. Windows gets slower and slower with the more updates the gets. Linux has none of those issues.
My preferred distro is best because ----- I like it best.
Send this to Gramma and ask her which ‘distro’ she wants to use to email pictures of the grandkids and cookie recipes. (I’ve tried it- the answer was “Huhhhhh...?”)
Now why would you do something like that? Just bring a computer with whatever distro you think would work best for her and let her test drive it a while. Spend half a day setting it up for how she'll use it. Most of that would be trimming the bloat by removing any programs she won't use and customizing the menu to make it minimal and put most used right up front. Same with desktop icons if used. Removing unwanted programs and optimizing the menu could be done ahead of time. Most every distro will come with development tools. That entire menu section could be removed for most people. Likewise with disk management/partitioning tool. Danger, danger.
Most people want to surf, check email, manage photos including offloading from a camera. That's like four programs including an email client.
Some people might want to edit office documents, draw things, edit/enhance photos, listen to CDs/MP3s, watch videos. Half a dozen programs?
Choose programs for ease of use. Many text editors for Linux have way more features than MS notepad. Who needs line numbers or code syntax highlighting?
Oh and make sure the Windows Meta key opens the menu like it does in Windows.
Easy updates with a few clicks is a must. No typing in commands and any update/software program needs to work well. That hasn't always been the case with Linux. I've had a lot of distros where I'd use the terminal because the software package program or update program was buggy or sluggish or would freeze. I think most have gotten better but some still have an issue with looking like an app store with just too much stuff going on with the home screen. Looks like a bloated smart TV home screen.
KDE's Discover is pretty good and does both software packages and updates in one program.
AND with that, Kubuntu is the best ---- for me. Also as KDE slowly goes through and revamps their programs, those are getting better. Their PIM(personal information management) program suite still sucks last I checked. Evolution is way better. Mail, Contacts, Tasks, Calendar, Memos. (Most KDE kProgams kAlso kHave kStupid kNames)
Thinkpad W530 16GiB RAM Core i7 @ 2.70GHz with Kubuntu 20.04 - fast and fancy