These are the problems you're facing on Linux, and I'm baffled!

urska@lemmy.ca to Linux@lemmy.ml – 71 points –
These are the problems you're facing on Linux, and I'm baffled!
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The only problem(s) I have on linux are either my own fault or because Tim Sweeney decides he wants to make it a problem.

Also, NVidia.

On my laptop with nvidia (msi, debian 12), if I unplug the charger the screen orientation goes from landscape to portrait, everything is tilted 90 degrees. I hate this laptop, so I rarely use it.

Wait, I read a description of this exact issue (or an eerily similar one) a few weeks ago here on Lemmy. Wasn't that you ?

Hm, not that I remember. My memory isn't the best though.

I'll try to find that post again, just in case

Driver 555 Fixes most of the problems, making the nvidia experience almost flawless. 560 dropping soon too

They fixed one specific issue afaik, not by actually fixing it but working around it, and they didn't address the real, main issue: The driver being closed source. Until then, there are and will always be issues that aren't present for AMD, because the latter has thousands of experts working, fixing and adapting other programs for it for free, around the clock.

Doubly your fault for deciding to give that twat any time of your day

As much as I hate him, a large majority of the games that are given away on that platform are fully DRM-free, and that's pretty damn cool

Can you download the installers for these games?

What's the fuss over an "installer"? You just need a folder with the game's files. If you really insist, that folder can be rolled up into a zip file dot exe.

What I really mean is: can I keep a backup of the game that I can play later without having to use their launcher?

The creator here buys hardware designed to run Linux ( from Tuxedo ) and uses the distro designed to run on that hardware. So no big surprise he thought all hardware problems were solved.

Probably a similar issue with office apps. He is not trying to share an Outlook calendars with coworkers or deal with complex spreadsheets sent from colleagues. He is probably not sending many PowerPoints to his boss.

Good on him for reaching out to his community to ensure his opinions are backed by evidence.

Definitely, he should try using Linux in a typical Microsoft-driven corporate environment with a regular laptop for a month and see how it is.

What do you mean I can't install Windows on my new MacBook??? I thought it was only Linux that you had to think about what hardware you were purchasing before whining about incompatibilities.

at first i was baffled by the people reporting that they couldn't get gpu and wifi to work; but them i remembered that my experience with those 2 made switch to buying from linux-only companies so long ago that i forgot that most people buy windows-only hardware to try linux on.

i have linux privilege. lol

I mean, a lot if people will have Nvidia hardware - which will limit your distro choices right from the start and if said green hardware is recent, well you're fucked (for just a little while longer it seems).

that's why i started buying from linux only companies only; it removes that headache automatically.

As someone who wants to switch to Linux, what are some decent Linux-only companies you would recommend?

Framework makes laptops that are well supported and System76 desktops.

Is Framework another company like System76?

Not really. Most recommend Framework because their laptops are open to the point where third parties can make random peripherals that fit the expansion ports. They have a page to help with choosing a distro for their hardware as well. It's great to see this level of open-ness and repairability in a laptop. Naturally, Linux users gravitate to such a brand.

System76 leverage their own distro, Pop!_OS as a selling point for their laptops, as they have some degree of control over the hardware and software.

The other maker I'd recommend is Tuxedo Computers who also maintain their own distro for hardware they sell.

I recently purchased a laptop from System76. I’ve been very happy with it. You can get many of their models with coreboot used as the system firmware which is unique. I have been disappointed that they usually recommend installing open source, but not in-tree modules for getting things like keyboard backlight working. It feels a bit like they’re not a Linux laptop company but instead that they’re a Pop!_ OS laptop company.

my most recent purchase came from kfocus. i cared mostly about price, screen brightness, speaker quality and future proofing, so the macbook air was the price & spec combo benchmark to meet (future proofing is automatic with linux companies) and kfocus's 14-inch blew them out of the water (they don't anymore). the other companies wouldn't share information on brightness and speakers at the time i was shopping for a new laptop almost a year ago; but all are built on top of either tongfang or clevo base systems (for now) so future proofing is roughly the same everywhere with linux companies.

in the past i used system76 and tuxedo (tuxedo sponsored that video); i will buy from them again when it's time for a high end system. their low end systems are REALLY low, but the price tags for them are closer to midrange somehow; their low end laptops costed the same as the kfocus but with much weaker & missing specs. (i assumed that they didn't share the missing specs because they were too weak).

I got a laptop from Tuxedo 1.5 years ago when I made the switch to Linux. I have been happy with it, despite some minor issues. In my experience, they have provided great technical support when something goes wrong as well that I am unable to troubleshoot myself. I am running Tuxedo OS, and have not tried to use any other distros on this machine yet (but have done so on other).

More so I am very happy with the switch to Linux (coming from about a decade on macOS, with Windows before that).

Summary from Gemini

According to the video, the creator,をしている人 (をしているひと - hito oshiteiru hito, a person who does [something]), The Linux Experiment, conducted a survey to identify the problems people are facing on Linux. Most of the respondents (39%) consider themselves knowledgeable about Linux (39% said they knew their way around Linux and 10% said that Linux had no secrets for them), while only 10% described themselves as beginners.

Here are the top 3 problems people face on Linux according to the survey:

  • Integrating Linux systems with other devices (36% of people picked this as a paino)
  • Using existing Hardware (28% of people picked this as a problem)
  • Installing software and apps (20% of beginners said it was a problem when the average for the survey is 10%)

The creator expressed surprise about some of the findings, including:

  • People having trouble with GPUs (34% of people said they had trouble with their GPU)
  • People having trouble with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (17% each)
  • People having trouble with application crashes (25% picked application crashes as a big enough issue that they had to select it)

The creator also mentioned that people seem to have a positive experience using Linux overall. 56% said they have a few issues but that they don't impact their trust in their OS and 71% of people who answered also said their experience with Linux was very good better than other operating systems.