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List of Major Linux Desktop Problems Updated For 2016 (narod.ru)
An anonymous reader writes: Phoronix reports that Artem S. Tashkinov's Major Linux Problems on the Desktop has been updated for 2016. It is a comprehensive list of various papercut issues and other inconveniences of Linux on the PC desktop. Among the issues cited for Linux not being ready for the desktop include graphics driver issues, audio problems, hardware compatibility problems, X11 troubles, a few issues with Wayland, and font problems. At the project management side, there is also cited a lack of cooperation among open source developers and fragmentation of desktops. Let's discuss.
SystemD will fix all of this.
...back in 2001, the year of Linux on the Desktop. Seriously, getting a desktop "right" is hard... Apple certainly hasn't figured it out yet, none of the Linux camps have figured it out... it's hard. The only one that may have come close to perfecting it was Microsoft with Windows 7, and then they went and screwed it all up after they had it.
editorial authority: guise linux its...its just not ready for the desktop. its got graphics driver issues...
community: the ones preventing nearly 200 steam games from running on it?
editorial authority nonono guys its worse than that see theres audio problems too, the audio has problems
community: you mean with the countless instructibles articles on home theater via the pi?
editorial authority: guys i wish it were that simple but you see X has the issues too, its wayland isnt ready.
community: you...you know those two things are completely different right? xorgs been stable for a decade....
editorial authority: the font is ugly.
community:...pick...another one?
editorial authority: its fragmented...the desktops....theyre all fragmented.
community:....what?
editorial authority: and i heard linux torval yelling at people too.
Good people go to bed earlier.
Even if we solve all of those the Linux Desktop still wouldn't have a meaningfull market share.
And as one of the users, why should it? It already does what users want. Why would doing what non-users want make it better? As open source, how would it benefit existing users to have additional non-technical users? It wouldn't even predict better forum questions or answers.
The Year of the Linux Desktop happened in the 90s. It was, we were, many of us still are.
... to other OSes.
For example:
It should be possible to configure pretty much everything via GUI (in the end Windows and Mac OS allow this) which is still not a case for some situations and operations.
If "Configurable via GUI" in Windows means you "add some arcane registry key via the registry editor", then *maybe*.
Look before you click! If you see .ru and you're interested in English language content, you're usually in the wrong place. ;)
And as one of the users, why should it? It already does what users want. Why would doing what non-users want make it better?
There are non-users who became or remained non-users because Linux didn't do what they wanted, specifically interoperate with a particular application or piece of hardware.
As open source, how would it benefit existing users to have additional non-technical users?
A larger user base means developers and publishers of applications and hardware are more likely to consider making their products compatible in order to reach that user base.
I can't help but imagine how things could be if we just got real cooperation from hardware manufacturers. So much bullshit to wade through just to make their shit work. I just installed SolydK on an old Dell E6500 with an NVidia graphics accelerator. I installed scorched3d from the repository and played it with the open source Nvidia driver then installed the proprietary one. It was like night and day. Barely playable without the proprietary ones. Why? How does crippled hardware benefit Nvidia?
It's the chicken and the egg thing. The more users the more support from hardware makers. If linux was even 5 percent of the market it would make a big difference in the level of support. We're too few to matter.
For one thing, that's a hole GRUB, not Linux. For another, it requires already having physical access to a machine during its boot process. And if you have physical access to a booting machine, its owner may already be f#cked.
My absolute #1 complaint about Linux on the desktop has always been the lack of Common Dialogs. This is a standard DLL that ships with all versions of Windows dating back to at least 3.1. This DLL handles basic dialogs like File Open, File Save, and Printing. Having this DLL available and with a very simple interface solves multiple problems at once.
First, it is extremely easy for developers to use the API.
Secondly, due to the ease of use, developers can focus on their core application instead of writing their own UI for browsing the file system just to open a file or their own printing dialog to enumerate and list printers.
Third, this ensures a clean and consistent UI across all applications that use the Common Dialogs making the OS and applications as a whole easier to use for the end users.
Lastly, the Common Dialogs DLL is upgraded with every version of Windows. Take an application written in 1995 and run it on Windows 10. It still works. It uses the Windows 10 UI for opening/saving files, instead of the old clunky Common Dialog UI for 1995.
This upgrading of the DLL has been another huge advantage too. It has seen several major iterations. The ability to resize the window. The ability to have multiple navigation methods. The ability to drag-n-drop. The ability to copy-paste. Can't remember where you saved that last document? Just open the save dialog again and it'll default to that folder, and you can just copy-paste that folder path into other applications as needed.
Between this, and Microsoft's ongoing "UWP" debacle, is there any OS out there now that doesn't suck ass?
There never has been. One sysadmin maxim is that all OSes suck, and your job is to pick wisely and reduce suckiness.
Incidentally, I've spent some of the spare time during the holidays to convert some of my servers from Enterprise Linux 6 to Gentoo. The suckiness factor for EL7 is simply too high.
I installed Linux recently for my mother in law, and initially she was very happy with it. A week later the touchpad stopped responding after logging in. Of course she doesn't want linux any more. As systems age, linux would have a lot more market share if these stupid littlle things could be fixed.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
My complaint with my Ubuntu desktop is that it doesn't go into sleep mode. My complaint about my Windows laptop is it doesn't come OUT of sleep mode.
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
Wooahhh... on my GS5 and when i went to the first link, it loaded A LOT nasty looking popup pages... never had that happen from a \. article. FYI... its not that easy to see the real link url when using chrome for mobile.
Suffice it to say that Windows 7 is the most well-polished turd that Microsoft has released. It's a garbage can with a lot of expensive rockets taped on it. However, at the end of the day, it does the job. Best PC operating system.
install a retail copy of windows instead of manufacturer supplied OEM one and your hardware will work even less. that's what you're seeing with linux.
on the one hand you have a heavily manufacturer customised version of windows (on which the manufacturer spent months), on the other you have a generic distribution of gnu/linux about which the laptop manufacturer doesn't give a sh*t. blame the manufacturer not the linux distro. but it's a chicken/egg problem. why would they consider a minor OS that doesn't require hardware upgrade every year or two?
buy a dell xps laptop with preinstalled ubuntu and you'll get the same hardware support experience you get from a windows laptop. a laptop built FOR a particular OS.
The article makes a big deal about the fact that getting nVidia and AMD cards to work under Linux isn't easy, and he's right. However, he's blaming the wrong person. Neither company is willing to provide either proper OSS drivers or the technical specifications needed for somebody else to write them. All they give us are binary blobs. And, in the case of nVidia, the install process is insane. First you have to boot into a CLI only environment to install them and second you have to do it again every single time there's a kernel update. Fedora, at least, has developed a way around this by using an akmod that checks at boot if there's a proper driver (kmod-nvidia) for the running kernel, and if there isn't, it builds one. Ubuntu still uses the insane version, but at least it automates it so that when there's a kernel update, it prompts you at boot to install the new drivers, doing all of the messy stuff on it's own after getting permission.
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Naw, no trolling... not much anyway. When I say "close to perfect," I mean something closer to "the best desktop OS UI that's been created yet, by anyone, where most things 'just work.'" And I say that writing this from a Mac that I've been using as my primary daily laptop for two years - and I STILL hate the UI. The multi-monitor/projector support is TERRIBLE, Finder has one of the worst file explorer layouts I've seen, it's about a 10-step process to switch from normal headphones to USB or back, my task bar or whatever it's called in MacLand shrinks to where I can hardly see what I'm clicking if I open too many things at once, the network settings are disjointed, and it's not even possible to use a shortcut key to lock the desktop when I'm walking away from my desk! (And no, a "hot corner" is NOT THE SAME, even though that's the dirty cheap hack I have in place as a substitute).
So, compared to that hot steaming mess in the road, Windows 7 is pretty close to perfect.
I pick my hardware to run my LInux apps properly, including printer/scanner. All that whining the author does about specific hardware types. If you really are hard core gamer pick the right OS for your games, Linux may not be it.
Sound issues: yes there are some for specific use cases, valid point
Printer/scanner blah blah - pick the right hardware for your OS and quit whining.
X11 issues - yes X is dated, insecure, single threaded for important things,
Wayland - not done yet so who cares
Kernel - yes it can crash on driver failure, so can Windows or Mac OSX. Done it on all three myself, do I get a prize?
Distribution non-standards for settings, etc. - no this is a strength, and there are only a handful of really popular distros anyway. I want the choice
Wine whining - use a VM you putz and run windows for windows apps
No equivalent for hardcore CADD/Photo - use a VM you putz and run windows for windows apps
grub update problems - no honestly haven't run into them
no security update lists - wrong, you can cron a query to the package manager and email it. even list required, security, etc.
major recent security problems - shell shock, openssl - actually openssl a problem where private interests led to rubber-stamping crap. shellshock - yes bash is a very complicated bloated shell, smarter people (like *BSD) run services under much simpler shell.
look at all the security vulns found in package x, more eyes doesn't mean less vulns - no the eyes are one means for finding them. another might be fuzzers. hey at least your 134 gtk+thingy were fixed
windows more secure because updates mandatory - wrong, some of those auto updates break things and so serious places have to vet each one and withhold...dang same as linux or any other OS! sysadmin is hard and painful to do correctly!
systemd woes with freezing, crashes, undefined state - yes, it's badly designed bloated trash. don't use it for serious servers. Poettering is a disease.
samba is hard - yes sysadmin is hard
GNOME and KDE woes and no enough manpower - some of us use better desktops
steep learning curve, have to use CLI sometimes - yeah just like windows registry editing and powershell
no antiviruses or similar - yes there are, and they're free and even will spot other things like .jars with vulnerable java in them. clamav bitch
forward and backward compatible kernel problems - yes, kernel version change means specific drivers. again pick your hardware for linux, use standard things, you want bleeding edge hardware maybe you should change OS, Linux isn't for you. reality bites
GNOME/KDE change things move things - yes, the major desktops suck, use one that listens to user needs and isn't trying to be star trek command and control
oh noes linux devs don't care because they broke Loki installer - more game related whines. seriously kid, if you want a game machine buy windows unless you're into minecraft or steam linux or similar
character limits in linux - yup 255 for filename and 4096 for path. be nice if it was longer
case sensitivity in file names, no rational basis - wrong, very rational basis for POSIX system to require that. that will never be changed
file creation times - indeed many issues with the other timestamps in linux depending on filesystem type, that should be fixed
Linux security a mess because this or that vuln just found - no, they were fixed so quit your whining, and any other general purpose OS on planet earth has similar, windows included
whining about binary api/abi between distros and binaries for specific distros needed - yes, each distro is a different OS. get that into your head. there is no problem.
No CIFS/AD level replacement/equivalent because samba doesn't count? yes samba 4 plus nis++ does count. oh you have to think and administer things differently than a microsoft cert wank? yes, yes you do. Remember kiddies, if you're a microso
Well unless your computer is inside a secure cabinet preventing access to its internal components and any firewire ports, you DO need to have an armed guard at your computer 24/7 if you don't trust everyone who could have physical access to it. A bootloader password is of no use on a physically unsecured computer.
A person standing in front of a computer without proper credentials could also access the boot selection menu (immediately before the bootloader menu), boot from a USB drive/CD/floppy/network device, and mount your hard drive for the purpose of stealing files and/or planting malware.
A bootloader password could only be useful on a computer inside a secure cabinet with a BIOS password that also protects boot device selection - and even then, full-disk encryption seems like a safer bet if you want to keep unauthorized users from booting your computer.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
the Registry is a database. This means it's more likely to be resilient to data entry errors.
...no it doesn't. ID10T errors are no different no matter where the keystrokes go. It also doesn't prevent the registry itself from corrupting, which Windows is rather legendary at doing.
With text files, a syntax error usually invalidates the entire file...
...assuming you mean 'a bad configuration entry breaks the application', yes. It means you only have the application/service that relies on it going south. Just like borking a registry entry will bork the application/service that relies on the now-broken registry entry. Not seeing much difference there, unless you're referring to the registry's backup copy (which amazingly enough, you yourself can do before you edit a config file in *nix.)
Now if you meant that the file is completely useless from that point onwards, then you'd be wrong; the typoed/mistyped portion of said file can be edited back to normal and everything is hunky-dory again. By comparison, sometimes you cannot do that with a broken registry (that is, if you broke it badly enough and was dumb enough to reboot in-between... a not too outlandish scenario).
Finally, a config file can do something that a registry entry cannot: properly carry its own documentation within the file itself.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
As open source, how would it benefit existing users to have additional non-technical users?
This quote is the reason Linux has few games, the reason why you have piss poor slow graphics drivers, the reason why vendors aren't interested in supporting Linux drivers, and the reason why many developers consider it a second class system.
With critical mass comes interest from other parties that can help have a real positive affect on your experience. Your Linux text console server runs as great as it did in the 90s? Good stuff, more power to you. But in the mean time desktop users are being royally screwed from all directions. The choice currently consists of:
1. A incoherent buggy system which may or may not work, and when it does work will likely be littered with bugs and lack software you use.
2. A system with such a locked in eco-system from a vendor who only provides it on select expensive high end hardware.
3. A system which is actively hostile towards your privacy and will send everything you say, do, type, view, etc to the mothership for "analysis".
I am but one person and I know this. The presence of games, or lack thereof, is of no importance to me when selecting an operating system. Linux is not, nor will it ever be, the best choice for everyone. I don't really think that's actually the goal any more.
I don't think anyone really cares if there's Linux on every desktop. I know I don't. If you can't play the games you want to play with Linux then you have other choices in either games or operating systems.
Not every car is made for me. Not every flavor of ice cream is meant for me. Not every article of clothing is meant for me. I'm okay with that.
I use Linux on the desktop because I like it and it works for me. To me, it matters not one iota what you prefer but I do hope you made the choice to use what works best for you and what best helps you accomplish your goals. If you're expecting the perfect solution then you're probably going to be disappointed. Compromises will probably need to be made - if you have high expectations.
If the developers aren't going to port the games to Linux then use whatever they do develop for. Alternatively, don't play the games.
That said:
1. I don't actually have any bugs that I know of - nothing that effects me, at any rate. There are probably some in there but buggered if I can find 'em.
2. It's good that they have that choice, I guess. It's not for me but I'm not offended that some people choose that. Choice is good.
3. Sure, don't use it. It may mean you don't get games. Again, you have a choice. I'd stop playing, but that's me.
I dunno... It works for me and I'm content with it. Sometimes stuff breaks but that's not the fault of the system - that's squarely on my shoulders. I usually know what I did to break it and I'm fairly adept at fixing it. That has been my choice. I'm pretty happy with that choice.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
I know it's a troll, and a pretty dated one at that, but...
If you're a VB developer, you have no business being a sysadmin.
I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.