Comment by Marco Alka on "Why is Not Linux More Popular on the Desktop?"

Not an Ubuntu user here. In fact, I go down the rabbit hole and use Gentoo on my desktop, which means compiling and configuring everything.

Imho, one of the major problems of Linux is its legacy. Whenever I talk to people about Linux on the desktop, people usually shoo away, but they always use the same argument: Linux? Isn't that a lot of complicated command line action, bad UX, ugly UIs and most programs I need don't work?

Today's Linux situation is great! There are very beautiful, user friendly DEs, like KDE, and distributions built around them, like KaOS and Antergos. Installing and using them works entirely without touching the command line. For most programs, there is a native Linux version, an alternative program doing the same thing, or Wine. Even gaming isn't an argument anymore. Especially Valve with their Project Proton is doing a great job, and actually increased the Linux gamer share by 0.2-0.3% "overnight" (which is a big deal for a sub-1% number).

However, people usually don't want to hear that. They use Windows and things just work. Why put work into installing Linux, re-learning how to use the computer and re-installing and re-configuring everything? No one wants to put work into no obvious benefits. The situation is even worse for macOS users, because Apple has created a kingdom of simplicity. Anything outside Apple is complex, and usually Apple is also based on the brand name and fandom. So getting an Apple use to switch to Linux is something I'd probably never succeed in - except they go bankrupt and need a cheap computer asap.

The situation with the endless version 10 does not improve the overall situation. People don't have to upgrade their OS anymore, or even re-install their system from scratch. As such, I don't actually see the popularity of Linux on desktop rise significantly in the near future. It's more likely that, with developers starting to target more platforms, people might gradually switch over. Also, things like Chrome book definitely are a boost to Linux on desktop, however it still takes time until they are used by many people (and until people understand, that they are in fact using a Linux, not "Fuchsia").

Developers don’t support more platforms. Instead they write their app “in Electron, so it’s cross-platform now!”

Gergely Polonkai what about C++ applications then? They have to be compiled and might not be open source. If the devs don't support the platforms and compile the code, the programs are not available.

Marco Alka my point exactly. Most devs, though, don’t do that. Most multi-platform apps today run in Electron (which itself is compiled for a lot of targets), not natively for each different OSes. There are exemptions, of course, but they are either old software (as in they are with us for a long time, not as in abandoned) or in a small minority.

Gergely Polonkai the same thing goes for java doesn't it? or any system that provides a vm+runtime.

Marco Alka

Imho, one of the major problems of Linux is its legacy. Whenever I talk to people about Linux on the desktop, people usually shoo away, but they always use the same argument: Linux? Isn't that a lot of complicated command line action, bad UX, ugly UIs and most programs I need don't work?

Have you already learned how to customise UI theme and icons?
C++, Docker, Java, nodejs, PHP and Python (Django) require you to learn the command lines. If you do not want to learn command lines, then you can not be a programmer or a computer scientist or IT engineer because these professions do not fit well with whom does not want to learn to use terminal.

Gustavo Benedito Costa

Have you already learned how to customise UI theme and icons?

Yes, and most of the time it is simply downloading a theme from a market place, just like you'd do on a smartphone. If you want more control, different DEs offer different ways, depending on the toolkit used. Often, though, it's as simple as changing a menu entry, or creating a CSS style-sheet.

C++, Docker, Java, nodejs, PHP and Python (Django) require you to learn the command lines.

I disagree with you. You can write at least write C++, Java and PHP without ever touching the command line, depending on what you develop, thanks to modern IDEs. I don't know about Python, since I never really used it before, except for some image manipulation during University. I didn't need to learn the command line for that either, though. NodeJS is very command line centric, as is Docker. However, during my 10 years as a software developer, I never once needed Docker.

If you do not want to learn command lines, then you can not be a programmer or a computer scientist or IT engineer

Yes, you can. As explained above, you do not need the command line in order to learn, develop or execute programs.

these professions do not fit well with whom does not want to learn to use terminal.

They actually do. I doubt that before NodeJS many front-end guys would know any terminal command at all, if they didn't need it for other stuff. Especially on Windows, who would ever need a command line. That thing was so crippled before PowerShell anyway, that you couldn't use it effectively. I learned programming on Windows, with Delphi in the Borland Delphi 5 IDE (later on in the Embarcadero IDE). I didn't need the command line, and had I not started to work on my own servers, I would not have had to learn the command line for University for some other 5 years. Even now, I am good without it most of the time for my day job.

The terminal is another tool, which was made for administration, and it has many merits. However, it's just that: One possible tool to get a job done. And heck, are there many tools out there which try to get the same thing done in a different way.

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