this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2024
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It’s sad that this is still the perspective people have on Linux in a lot of places. This describes a small handful of distros that are often the choice for those that know what they’re getting into.
It's generally repeated by people who are aware that Linux exists but haven't actually used it since kernel 2.6 and in turn makes errant assumptions like the terminal is anymore necessary in Linux than it is in Windows in 2024. These people annoy the shit out of me.
The command line isn't necessary, but it is the common thing between most linux OSes, and so it still gets recommended. I bet if you look up "how to unzip zip file linux" the first answer will use the command line, and not any distro-specific right-click options, because it's more applicable.
(I tried it, there was one prominent "try the context menu" answer, and the rest were command line. Granted that answer was at the top... under Google's AI summary of several command line options)
seriously. Linux is user friendly for office drones now, windows is getting worse for everyone by the day
Generally yes, but: if you happen to have certain hardware (like nvidia gpus or certain wireless cards), getting those drivers can be quite a hassle, depending on your distro.
Also, the terminal might not be necessary for day to day use but if you want to install a program that isn’t in your distro’s repos or do something a little more out if the ordinary, most tutorials and guides will still prioritize the terminal.
Like, I‘d be confident setting up linux for my grandma because all she uses are browser and file explorer anyways. But for my dad, who‘d do more involved things and needs certain programs but doesn’t want to deal with commands, Linux just isn’t quite it yet. (Besides his dependency on MS Office).
While reading, I was thinking about the time it took me the last time I installed Linux, and I agreed with the author: it took me several hours.
Then I remembered why it took me so long: I wanted to install the most minimal Void Linux configuration possible with graphical session on a 16 years old laptop that was already too underpowered to run Windows XP when it got out, so I pondered every package installation (do I really need this to make it work? It's 10 MB, that's a bit heavy...) and had to tinker a bit with the drivers to get it to work just right.
Installing Fedora on my main laptop however took 15 minutes, from booting to having a functional system, 20 if you count the iso download and the copy on a USB stick.
Hardware issues have been fading more and more. Just recently saw a small survey in a Linux channel with about 1000 responses. And about 50% retired no issues with hardware plus a lot more that only had 1 issue (there are still some vendors who don't offer compatibility like AMD or Intel). So most people don't actually need to download drivers, it's all in the kernel.
It's called a reputation. It's not fixed overnight. It's not "sad", it's transitory.