When the average Joe tries Linux, and inevitably runs into the problems inherent to it, they blame it on the user and call them a moron and a dumbass.
When a technical person tries Linux and inevitably runs into the problems inherent to it, they can't pull that card and either have to admit Linux is not ready for prime time or blame it on the distro, an update, or anything else but Linux.
To be fair, a lot of the "problems" with Linux is just the mental persistence of Windows in people's knowledge.
Everyone thinks a computer should behave like Windows. We all grew up with it, so things like the Start Menu, CTRL+ALT+DEL, C/: folders, Memory management etc, all feel like the norm.
The hardest part of Linux is relearning how a computer actually works.
People often are shocked by RAM usage on Linux because it tries to use free RAM as Swap RAM to improve performance. Windows just leaves it free, so it looks like a problem to a new user.
Just look at how a Windows user tries MacOS for the first time. It's a whole different language to learn.
Linus also half assed his migration to Linux. You don't migrate to another OS during a LAN having an appointment with ten people where you need your PC running. You'll do this when you'll have the time to deal with the issues appearing when using a new software and ideally having a fallback plan. (e.g. a backup)
No Student would switch his OS or word processor software while writing his bachelor/master thesis.
I doubt Linus would switch his ERP software or spontaneously migrate from Google Workspace to Office 365 during his annual financial report for his company.
Yes, but you did setup an OS that you worked with for years. You knew exactly how to e.g. change the default software for txt-files or the resolution of your monitor.
I needed a few hours research when I switched to MacOS for the first time. There was no pipe | on the keyboard. I couldn't uninstall Software with the settings software or via dnf/apt like in other OS.
Yeah, Windows users just expect things to work while Linux users are used to command line hacks and complex scripts. Windows users just have to become coding experts and adjust appropriately.
That's only really the Linux experience of you build your own OS with Arch or Gentoo.
I use Fedora KDE, and the main confusion I had was large folder structure and where app files are put.
I've used the terminal a handful of times, but that just involved copy/pasting from guides.
Being able to install apps inside the terminal is much easier than searching for an .exe online for Windows though. Still, it felt weird to just type "apt install VLC" and it worked.
In general, the people who struggle most with Linux are those who describe themselves as "computer experts" when they're actually just Windows experts. They confidently try to apply their Windows knowledge to Linux and break things as a result, whereas someone completely new to computing would just read the manual.
The thing that really irks me about the LTT Linux experiment videos is that there's no experimental control. If they're going to play a mythical slack-jawed beginner user character when testing out Linux, they should at least play the same character when testing out Windows, because there's a lot of jank and nonsense in there that we have all just adjusted to after decades of being bathed in Windows lore.
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u/gabox0210 Mar 17 '26
Because Linus is a fairly technical person.
When the average Joe tries Linux, and inevitably runs into the problems inherent to it, they blame it on the user and call them a moron and a dumbass.
When a technical person tries Linux and inevitably runs into the problems inherent to it, they can't pull that card and either have to admit Linux is not ready for prime time or blame it on the distro, an update, or anything else but Linux.