this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2024
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Linux runs people's cars, phones, routers, sometimes even fridges. And don't even get me started on servers. Linux is the most useful OS on the planet. The desktop is just another thing for it to conquer.
You're wrong though. Linux kernel might be running on all of these things, but Linux desktop OSes do not because they're shit.
And why are they so shit in your opinion?
Lack of standards, compatibility and totalitarian control of a single person. Pretty much everything that's important for a Linux kernel is lacking in userland.
We have standards like pipewire, xdg portals and wayland in active development that try to cover anything a desktop OS might need. Lately there has been a huge push towards them, as the standards they replaced weren't future proof at all.
But I take it that you are more concerned about fragmentation of these standards. I can almost guarantee that a lot if it will just whither away with time. Noone wants to maintain ancient protocols like X11 anymore. We might have another turbulent few years in this transition, but the end result will be worth it.
And I don't get what you mean with compatibility exactly. There are lots of ways to define that, and the Linux desktop is excellent in many of them. We have xwayland for legacy applications, loads of translation layers to bring together older graphics APIs under the main vulkan drivers, WINE to run windows software, etc. You're gonna have to be more specific there.
Yeah, some things are getting standardized, that's great. But many are not even on a roadmap. People still argue which init system is the best, lol. And don't get me started on package managers...
As for compatibility, even if we forget about the apps, let's just focus on some modern features. Multi monitor DPI settings work in some distros, but don't work in others. HDR works in some, but not the others. DRM, proprietary tech, etc. Why the fuck things just don't work everywhere?
Yeah people are gonna argue about everything, and the only way you can get them to stop is to take the choice away from them. Doesn't sound like it fits into the principles of open source software, right?
Multionitor scaling and HDR are luxuries. Some distros are working to fix them, others aren't. The good thing is though that once the code is upstream, everyone benefits from it. Even small distros that choose to run Gnome or KDE can just change a few config files to enable all the fancy things these projects provide.
Of course that doesn't mean smaller distros are necessarily going to do that, they have the right to be different.
And this brings up back to the initial point: Linux kernel is good, Linux distros are shit.
I don't get how you go from "Desktop distros aren't mature enough to have every feature under the sun" to "Linux distros are shit"
Who is this single person controlling all the desktop environments and window managers? Oo
No one yet. That's the issue.
Imagine being this passionate about being wrong.
Yeah, tell us more about it.