Why I’ll Never Use Linux: the Rantings of an Arrogant Windows User
I have a problem: I am a Microsoft Windows user. But it’s not my fault, I was born that way. The first computer I remember using seriously (for more than a game of Menace on my AmigaOS) had Windows 3.1 installed. I have Windows XP on my laptop, Windows Vista on my PC, and Windows Mobile on my phone. Heck, my next refrigerator will probably have “Diet Windows” installed. But at least I recognize that I have a problem.
You see, I tried breaking the mold. That’s right, I cheated on Windows. I installed Ubuntu Linux. Although I had guilty feelings just thinking about it, I was determined to break the bond of corporate tyranny and join the open-source freedom fighters.
After downloading my new OS for free, I carefully installed it on a new partition. No, I didn’t force Windows out of my life completely, just in case my affair with Ubuntu turned into a one-night stand. The install was actually remarkably simple. Not a single error. After a few reboots it was official, I was using a Linux desktop. I had finally joined the ranks of the technology elite.
And that’s about where it ended. I consider myself slightly more computer literate then the masses: I maintain my own blog, am a PHP/WordPress freelancer, and know the difference between FTP, HTML, PHP, XHTML, and FBI. But I’ll be darned if it didn’t take me nearly an hour to figure out how to install software. I mean, it was so complicated that I found entire articles about how to install software in Ubuntu.
This is what it’s come to? I have to find tutorials on how to install software?
I’m sure many of you are thinking “you’re an idiot, you could have just done XYZ”, or “it’s so obvious!”. That may be true. But the fact is that it wasn’t obvious to me. If Linux distributions are ever going to be more then a tech nerds hobby operating system, they need to be easy to use, fast to install, and simple enough that my mom and dad could do it (ok, maybe not that simple, but you know what I mean).
Needless to say, I promptly removed Ubuntu. It was a quick and dirty affair that made me realize I don’t need to be searching for another operating system…as long as Windows XP is still available. But that’s another issue all on its own.
Useful Articles
This article was written by John Kolbert on July 3, 2008 and filed as General. Get the latest articles by subscribing to the RSS feed. This article, including images and attachments, is property of John Kolbert and is not to be republished or translated without prior written permission.
Wow. I agree completely that windows is still better than linux. But you can be the flame war starts below.
My biggest issue is still hardware. I have two laptops that I’ve tried to install Ubuntu on, and still have problems each time. Make that as good as the moderately effective Windows plug & pray, and I’ll consider switching.
Installing software is just “different” not harder, in many ways it’s significantly easier than Windows.
You can’t switch OS and then expect it to be identical. You have to take some time to learn how to use it. If you’d used it for more than a few minutes you’d probably grow to like it.
BeBizzy
That was another of my problems. I had a USB Wireless card that people got to work with Linux only after hours tinkering. Of course, you can’t expect hardware that was designed for Windows to just work out of the box for Linux. The problem is that Linux won’t get mainstream popular unless there is good hardware support. But there won’t be good hardware support (out of the box) until it becomes more popular. This sounds like the chicken and the egg…
Dave
That is true, I didn’t spend hours getting familiar with it. People get comforable with what they are used to. It’s the reason a lot of people don’t switch to Macs. But Linux is radically different from either of the other two and didn’t seem intuitive or user friendly, at least from my short testing. I found myself frustrated enough that I didn’t feel the need to spend hours with it.
Be very careful about using Linux. There is some scary stuff out there like The Truth about Linux. I really don’t want all my work to be owned by the Microsoft Corporation because of infinging software.
Why yes… clicking Applications > Add/Remove Software can be such a pain… :))
Needless to say that it was a real one hight stand! I think that the more frustrating part in your story is that you find out how stupid you are and that you can’t sue ubuntu because is free :))
For a more computer literate I say that you’re an illiterate!
If you can’t see the power of Linux, and are not willing to learn, then yes Linux is not for you.
I’m on a Windows machine but I am an adept Linux sysadmin. I hate it when you have to install a program just to batch rename something, and learn how that works, while you can write a few lines of code to do exactly the same thing, in any Linux system.
That’s just one example.
For desktop user, I agree. Windows still beats Linux, especially after Windows released XP, which is quite stable.
StupidWindowsUser
I’m sorry you couldn’t find anything meaningful to contribute.
Hendry L
The purpose of the article was my thoughts on why Linux would never be an OS that would catch on with the average household. I’ve been told that those who learn Linux find it much more powerful then Windows and I don’t doubt that it’s true, but for a common person who wants to type up their class notes or send an email, I just don’t see Linux catching on anytime soon. Thanks for the comment!
yeah, because clicking applications->”add/remove software” is really hard to figure out.
just switch to leopard and you will have fewer problems
Yeah, Linux has a steep learning curve, but to break free of the chains that hold Windows users down is amazing. Plus I am got so tired of having to reboot!
Thanks for the comment on my MacBook review. I’ve used all three OS’s (XP, Leopard, and Ubuntu), and I find Leopard to be the best, but Ubuntu to be the most “powerful.” I only use Windows for gaming, but when it comes to everything else, Leopard has it all. Let me know if I can suggest programs or anything else after you purchase the notebook. :-)