Why Aren't People Abandoning Windows For Linux? (slashgear.com)

This weekend SlashGear published "Reasons to Abandon Windows For Linux," making their case to "Windows users who are curious about the state of Linux for mainstream computing." It tries to enumerate specific reasons why Linux might be the better choice, arguing among other things that:

• Updates on Linux are fast and "rarely call for a restart" -- and are also more complete. "Updates are typically downloaded through a 'Software Updater' application that not only checks for operating system patches, but also includes updates for the programs that you've installed from the repository."

• Windows "tries to serve a variety of markets...cramming in a scattered array of features" -- and along those lines, that Microsoft "has gradually implemented monetization schemes and methods for extracting user data." And yet you're still paying for that operating system, while Linux is less bloated and "free forever."

• "Because less people use Linux, the platform is less targeted by malware and tends to be more secure than Windows"

The article also touches on a few other points (including battery life), and predicts that problems with Windows are "bound to get worse over time and will only present more of a case for making the switch to Linux."

Long-time Slashdot reader shanen shared the article, along with some new thoughts on why people really stay with Windows:

I think the main "excuse" is the perception of reliability, which is really laughable if you've actually read the EULA. Microsoft certainly doesn't have to help anyone at all. I would argue that Windows support is neither a bug nor a feature, but just a marketing ploy.

Their original submission suggests that maybe Linux needs to buttress the perception of its reliability with a better financial model -- possibly through a new kind of crowd funding which could also be extended to all open source software, or even to journalism).

Comments

Re:OS means nothing

[apoc.famine]

On paper Linux looks like, but in the real world, it just consistently falls short for desktop usage...Linux is built for tech savvy people by tech savvy people.

What a load of fucking bullshit. Have you ever even used any version of Linux? If so, when?

Kubuntu is easier and faster to install than Windows. It's far more friendly to what is on the disk already, and will happily configure a dual boot for you. That's not a feature that tech savvy people need. We can set up our own partitions and configure grub, thank you very much. And that's not something windows will do for you. It will look at the linux FS, not recognize it, and probably just tell you the whole disk needs to be formatted. And it won't offer to set up a dual boot.

When my mom got a virus and got pissed at windows, she asked what else she could use. I set her up with Kubuntu and walked away. Almost never helped her with that machine after. She is not tech savvy. Plugging shit into linux almost always just works, and has for a good half decade to a decade now.

I ran linux for my desktop for years, had a 6-7 year affair with MBPs, and now I'm back running linux as a desktop. Because it gets the hell out of the way and does what I need it to do. I'm tech savvy but I almost never need to use any of that for linux. I might SCP something because it's a quick way to transfer files, but any non-technical person could use dropbox, google drive, OneDrive, box, or a flash drive.

Most non-tech-savvy people want to surf, instagram, youtube, netflix, etc. Linux generally does that better than windows, because it doesn't get in the way. It doesn't try to reboot while you're doing shit.

The reason linux isn't taking over is largely because microsoft has got a lock-in with businesses. Because businesses use Windows schools teach Windows, because they think kids will need that for their jobs. And because businesses and schools are largely using Windows, the companies that make laptops and desktops pre-load them with Windows. It's really hard to get traction in that environment.

If you really want to see how stunningly not-difficult linux is, download Kubuntu, run the installer to make it bootable on a USB flash drive, reboot, and try it out. You don't even need to install it - you can run the limited version right off the USB stick without touching your windows install. It's honestly a lot harder to use a Mac than Kubuntu.

Now yes, there are hard versions of linux out there. If you need to learn linux, install Gentoo or LFS a few times. But there are also stupid-easy linux versions out there. My understanding is the Linux Mint falls into the same category, although I'm not familiar with it.