Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Is Linux As Good As We Think It Is? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 2 weeks ago by wuphysics87@lemmy.ml to c/linux@lemmy.ml

162 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Obviously, a bit of clickbait. Sorry.

I just got to work and plugged my surface pro into my external monitor. It didn't switch inputs immediately, and I thought "Linux would have done that". But would it?

I find myself far more patient using Linux and De-googled Android than I do with windows or anything else. After all, Linux is mine. I care for it. Grow it like a garden.

And that's a good thing; I get less frustrated with my tech, and I have something that is important to me outside its technical utility. Unlike windows, which I'm perpetually pissed at. (Very often with good reason)

But that aside, do we give Linux too much benefit of the doubt relative to the "things that just work". Often they do "just work", and well, with a broad feature set by default.

Most of us are willing to forgo that for the privacy and shear customizability of Linux, but do we assume too much of the tech we use and the tech we don't?

Thoughts?

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[–] Telorand@reddthat.com 48 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

But that aside, do we give Linux too much benefit of the doubt relative to the "things that just work".

No, I don't think so. There should be an expected difference between Windows (for example) and Linux as far as "it just works" goes, simply by virtue of the fact that one is actively developed by a company with eleventy-bajillion dollars and the other is developed by lots of hobbyists and a handful of profitable companies.

If Windows doesn't work, it's not unreasonable to expect that it should. If Linux doesn't work, it is unreasonable to expect that it always will.

[–] narc0tic_bird@lemm.ee 25 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

To be fair, a big portion of the work that goes into Linux (at least the kernel) is done by paid developers working for big corporations.

[–] Telorand@reddthat.com 19 points 2 weeks ago

That's true, it's not just hobbyists. I meant that the paid effort is relatively small potatoes compared to giant companies like MS.

[–] arandomthought@sh.itjust.works 20 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Additionally much software (and hardware even more) primarely targets windows as a platform. The way printers mostly "just work"™ on Linux still amazes me, because printer vendors have all the incentives to make their stuff work for the most used platform, which sadly isn't Linux right now.

[–] Telorand@reddthat.com 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

And let's not forget that printer vendors historically bungle even that much. That they work at all on Linux is a testament to the various Linux devs.

[–] Hawke@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

Also a testament to how much of a benefit it is when the vendors just get out of the way and don’t feel the need to add their own Special Sauce^TM^ to the drivers.

[–] BennyCHill@hexbear.net 8 points 2 weeks ago

Pls stop giving billion dollar corporations so much credit.

The difference comes from windows dominant (home pc) market position meaning that almost all software and hardware is specifically made to work with it, with even things that officially support linux being afterthoughts.