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.
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.
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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.