I think that marketing Linux towards gamers isn’t the best take…
Most regular computer use works perfectly fine on just about any distro. And with how easy some have made preparing a usb stick for installation and then just guiding you through (I’m looking at you, Fedora Media Writer! ), it would be a lot easier to get people to switch.
But the majority of those users go to a store to buy a laptop with a ready to go OS on it. Which is going to be Windows or MacOS.
Offices could do maybe 80% of all their work through Linux desktops. More if you look at how many previously purely Windows based programs are now web applications.
But those companies rely on what people are used to, which is mostly Windows… It is a bit of a chicken & egg story. One will not switch until the other does.
But if you’re looking for “converts” with the least dependence on closed source products, then look at “regular” desktop users.
Wait… You can run software where the latest release is older than 6 months?
In all seriousness though, I totally get it. My wife still runs Windows for League of Legends, though she is envious of how easy I can manage my python environment (yes I married a tech girl ). Linux is a lot easier and more convenient for light use (office, web browsing) and is awesome for development, servers and power usage (once learning curve is through).
Linux is now decent at games*, and still worthless if you need to daily drive a few legacy apps like Photoshop. I wonder if Photoshop and a few other apps could be virtualized through Windows these days though?
*Linux gaming was F when I made the jump in 2006; then it got to D- once humble bundle started pushing; then C+ once SteamOS came; then B- once Proton joined and now it is B+. Still a ways to go for A rating (Windows) and AA-AAA (Switch is AA, PS5 is AAA).
Hey… even Slackware still gets updated, so who knows!
But yeah… I agree that support for games has come a long way from what it was. It’ll never reach console levels (I wish!), but that’s fine.
If When Linux and Windows reach parity on that regard, I don’t see any reason not to jump ship for my home desktop. But till that time I’ll just keep on running Windows.
I’m still running Windows for now as Linux just does not support the software and features I want. I’ve been using Linux on servers for years but it is still not ready as a desktop replacement for many.
Made a short GNU video, if the younger peeps can get on Linux it’s IMPERATIVE that they go GNU first. Otherwise they won’t build up an immunity for outside influences of modern ‘open source’ or from any other source. If they go GNU first they are more likely to know and want to know whats going on in and with their computers.
i remember around 2007 when Walmart started carrying a couple prebuilt Ubuntu computers. Those things were very capable and came with (too much) documentation. The box even state not compatible with MS Office, and the count of people that grabbed el cheapo PC and an MS Office box.
So much has been DONE, but there is SOOOO much to go.
BTW, speaking of Proton issues, here is a list of the games that are a) In the top 100 games and b) Silver or worse in Protondb, and the reason they do not work. While Protondb should always be taken with a grain of salt, this should give a nice indication of where we are.
Rank
Game
Status
Reason
3
New World
Borked
DRM - Easy Anti Cheat
4
PUBG: Battlegrounds
Borked
DRM - Battleye
5
Apex Legends
Borked
DRM - Easy Anti Cheat
6
Halo Infinite
Borked
Crashes 100%, noone knows why yet
7
Naraka: Bladepoint
Borked
DRM - Unknown anticheat software
10
Rust
Silver
DRM - Easy Anti Cheat on some servers
12
Dead by Daylight
Borked
DRM - Easy Anti Cheat
13
Destiny 2
Borked
DRM - Battleye
15
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Bronze
DRM - Battleye
16
Age of Empires IV
Silver
Hit or miss, mostly miss
29
Back 4 Blood
Bronze
DRM - Easy Anti Cheat, needs workarounds
37
DayZ
Borked
DRM - Battleye
53
Hunt: Showdown
Borked
DRM - Easy Anti Cheat
69
Black Desert
Borked
DRM - Easy Anti Cheat
71
SMITE
Silver
DRM - Easy Anti Cheat
76
Jurassic World Evolution 2
Silver
Runs a bit unstable, but works
79
SCUM
Silver
DRM - Easy Anti Cheat, a few other bugs
85
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Borked
DRM - Easy Anti Cheat
86
The Riftbreaker
Silver
Works, but with crashes and glitches
88
Eternal Return
Borked
IL2CPP not loading properly
92
F1 2021
Bronze
Severe glitches but works
97
Paladins
Bronze
DRM - Easy Anti Cheat
So, if we remove EAC and BattlEye games, only 6 games refuse to work under Linux. If we include those, 22 of the top 100 games refuse to work.
Still a ways to go, ESPECIALLY on the multiplayer front, but ~80% compatibility of the game library is no small feat.
man, I remember having some crap broken down xp laptop, running Linux before Netflix moved from Silverlight. And saying, once Netflix works on Linux, there’s no reason to use Windows.
But there’s always something it seems. Some excuse.
You don’t need to push. Microsoft are pissing people off with forcing obsolescence even more than normal, and Steam are pushing Linux in a handheld gaming PC. The better Linux gets over time and the more Windows doesn’t change, the more people will naturally migrate. Whether there will ever be a “year of the Linux desktop” is irrelevant, it only has to be a compelling and usable alternative to attract people.
I know this pretty well. Thankfully none of the people I dealt with IRL were hard to deal with. They either switched or did not. But online, man… people always seem to complain about stuff. First is that “app x doesn’t work.” Then app x works and then “app y doesn’t work.” This gets fixed and then “I want feature ab from my desktop.” This gets added and then “I’m not going to change, because it’s a pain to move all my files, or to reboot my machine whenever I need to work on something if I dual boot. And while people were working on programs x and y, I discovered and need program z, which doesn’t work yet.”
There is always something. That’s one reason I don’t even bother to try to evangelize (convince people) to convert. Either someone is sick of Windows and genuinely wants to move, in which case I would gladly help them get their setups up and running, or they don’t and I don’t waste my time trying to Jehova-witness them into even trying another OS.
I have pretty bad fomo when it comes to HW optimization. I’m pretty excited about DirectStorage and not sacrificing a few frames for the sake of gaming on linux. I’m happy to daily drive Linux, Mac, or Windows, but It depends on where I am.
Most of what I do needs to be mobile and efficient. I use Mac, there I said it. I have to for some work stuff and I’ve gotten past learning to live with it to realizing it’s value as a package product (Hardware & Software).
The biggest issue I’ve had with switching to Linux lately has been it’s remote desktop performance when compared to Windows. I use Apache Guacamole for a few things and a side-by-side comparison Windows vs Ubuntu, Windows performs way better, especially compared to video playback remotely.
It sux but as my instructor said, don’t use a screwdriver when you need a hammer for the sake of it being your favorite tool. And I think Wendell gets that hice his push for mulit-os support from a single gpu.
Exactly!
It would be great if there was better overall support for hardware and software to work on all platforms. That would make it a lot easier for people to choose what they want to use.
But as long as that isn’t the case, then using the “best tool for the job” dictates which the majority of people will use.
Why should they change if their stuff doesn’t work?
You may want to change for reason X, but for most people a computer is an appliance that should run their stuff and process their data without hassle.
if it doesn’t do that, then it has failed. Most people are willing to pay a windows license or macOS license (typically as part of their system purchase) to have that work.
Most people aren’t religious about this and couldn’t give a shit about free vs. proprietary, and unfortunately the vast majority don’t care about security either.
Representing the typical end user:
Why are you saying I should take less software compatibility after going through the effort and risk of backing up, reinstalling, restoring data and learning a new platform? Where’s the benefit outside of some ideology I don’t care about?
Unless you can provide a compelling user-relevant answer to that question, most people won’t change. Or you’ll change them and they’ll end up resenting it.
I guess this is a round-about way of saying “just make linux better” (in terms of software compatibility, speed, ease of use, maintenance, etc.). If it is better people will switch of their own accord, eventually, when its ready for them.
Think of all the things normal people HATE about computers and make those things go away.
Apple (as an example) is good about this (but even they’re not getting all the users - due to expense):
a few predefined reasonable specs to choose from (hardware purchase wise). Looking for Linux hardware? It’s a stab in the dark. Its more likely supported than not in 2021, but its still a guess and you can definitely be caught out.
security by default - you need to go out of your way to do dumb stuff (e.g., code signature checks, etc.) rather than leaving that responsibility to the end user
biometric auth that works seamlessly
encryption that works seamlessly
backups/sync that are set and forget - e.g., plug in an external drive and macOS prompts you if you want to use it to back up. During install/first run, it asks you if you want to restore a backup. Why doesn’t any linux distort make it easy to restore your data from a backup during setup?? Why isn’t there a standard backup app included and promoted, by default? It doesn’t matter what it is, pick something to promote to the end user so they have something rather than nothing.
make it easy to migrate from one machine to another. Both Windows and Mac have profile transfer apps to bring your data over via the network, cable, etc. Ideally support data ingest from Windows and Mac.
self-contained apps that are easily removed/moved/installed/etc.
Fix some of those things, make them better than windows and people will switch.
), it would be a lot easier to get people to switch.
). Linux is a lot easier and more convenient for light use (office, web browsing) and is awesome for development, servers and power usage (once learning curve is through).
