Not everything actually requires a GUI, obviously. But anything that requires configuration, especially for controlling a hardware device, should have a fully functional GUI. I know Linux is all about being in control, and users should not be afraid to use the command line, but if you have to learn another bespoke command syntax and the location and structure of the related configuration files just to get something basic to work then the developer has frankly half arsed it. Developers need to provide GUI's so that their software can be used by as many people as possible. GUI's use a common language that everyone understands (is something on or off, what numeric values are allowed, what do the options mean).
Every 12 to 18 months I make an effort to switch to Linux. Right now I'm using Archlinux, and it has been a successful trip so far, except my audio is screwed, I can't use my capture card at all, I had issues with my dual displays at the start, and the is no easy way to configure my AMD graphics card for over clocking or well anything basic at all.
I'm not looking for a windows clone, I love that I can choose different desktop environments and theme many of them to death. I even like the fact there are so many distros. Choice is a big part of linux, but there is clearly a desire to get more people moving away from Windows and until that path is 95% seamless most people just won't. Right now I think Linux is 75% to 85% seamless depending on the use case and distro but adding more GUI front ends would, imho, push that well into the 90% zone.
GUI is not a dirty word, it is what makes using a new OS possible for more people.
EDIT: Good conversation all. This is genuinely not intended to be a troll post, I just feel it is good to share experiences especially on the frustations that arise from move between OSes.
I know, but I've run Mint, ubuntu, and Fedora in my exploration this year. Honestly I don't think there is much difference in terms of how many command line actions between them.
Try OpenSuse. Tumbleweed is a rolling release that is fairly stable and it has Yaast, which allows you to control everything with a GUI, even if it looks quite dated
thanks. I actuially have Pamac installed, and it works really well. I haven't tried using Yay though and pacman has done the job so far. Is there a good reason to deploy yay as well?
what command line options are you needing for audio? i use kubuntu, and the only reason i hit the CLI is to provide a special output so i can implement multiroom audio, with Snapcast.
Otherwise, i think i could install most stuff without it. OO, maybe spotify needed to add an apt repo, however i think there maybe a seperate installer (snap?) which would negate that.
i feel like you were not going for a vanilla instance if the latest kubuntu/ubuntu needed work.
I have a post about it here: https://lemmy.ml/post/3624730