Why don't more people use desktop Linux? I have a theory you might not like

Linux@lemmy.ml – 86 points – 11 months ago

Why don't more people use desktop Linux? I have a theory you might not like

I'm curious to hear thoughts on this. I agree for the most part, I just wish people would see the benefit of choice and be brave enough to try it out.

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Lazy theory. Think about cars. If the diversity of alternatives was putting off people, I guess we would still all be driving black Ford cars.

I have been using Linux since 1996 and what is putting off people is:

First and foremost: habits and lack of will to learn new ways.
Proprietary apps that have no exact equivalent. See 1.
A closed proprietary system that limits interoperability. Even if it has improved, certain fenced software perimeters remain an occasional issue.

Also, MS pays computer makers to preinstall Windows.

This. Exactly this.

If the diversity of alternatives was putting off people, I guess we would still all be driving black Ford cars.

It's very different considering your car only needs to run the software it comes with from the factory (for now).

If we had a thousand different types of fuel, and 95% of people used fuel 1 or 2, and then 5% used one of a thousand other lesser-know fuels, you'd probably just buy a car that uses 1 or 2, because they're the easiest and most popular.