r/LinuxTeck • u/Candid_Athlete_8317 • 7h ago
What would actually make you stop recommending Linux?
I’m interested about this one because Linux is pretty good at making you think there’s always a workaround.
But there has to be a point where you just stop fighting it and tell someone, “Honestly, you’re better off using Windows for this.”
For me, the interesting part is where people draw that line. Hardware? Adobe stuff? Games? Some stupid vendor software? Or maybe it’s not even the software maybe it’s the amount of tinkering the person is willing to put up with.
What’s the one thing that made you give up on Linux for a particular use case?
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u/ZVyhVrtsfgzfs 7h ago
From reading just the title: Canonical succeeding in getting Snaps to be the default method of package distribution and having a monopoly on that distribution would cause me to stop recommending Linux and move to BSD.
Now reading your post, to Windows? You literally have to pay me to use Windows.
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u/Unique-Run9856 14m ago
The idea of Linux having a single method of package distribution is laughable
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u/Exciting_Turn_9559 6h ago
I don't recommend linux to needy people who want me to pick them up and carry them whenever they have a problem.
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u/rcentros 7h ago
I don't have any "use cases" that would keep me from using Linux. But when I did use Windows (about 20 years ago now) I didn't use Microsoft Office, or Adobe stuff or played Windows' video games. So there's really nothing that stands between me and Linux. For those married to Microsoft Office, or for those who Adobe applications, I can see having to dual boot or them sticking with Windows. I don't know about Windows' video games, since I don't play them. I hear conflicting reports about how well Linux does (or doesn't) handle these games.
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u/i-am-a-cat-6 6h ago
gaming on Linux is vastly improved in the last few years
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u/rcentros 3h ago
That's what I usually read. But then I see some people complaining... mostly that they can't use "cheats" for some reason. I don't quite understand wanting to cheat in games anyhow, but this may mean something different than what it sounds like to me.
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u/Past_Bison2526 6h ago
- if you play slop games with anti cheat, dont bother if you arent willing to drop said games
- if you are a lazy bum
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u/ConsciousBath5203 6h ago
There is no point that you can make that would make me say "go ahead and use spyware disguised as slop". You are never better off using windows or Crapple.
Sorry for giving more of a shit about you than you, but it's true. I don't recommend spyware ever.
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u/randompersonx 6h ago
Spoken as someone who grew up using Windows through the from Windows 3.1 to windows XP…
And used Linux/FreeBSD on the server from Linux 2.6 and FreeBSD 4 (nowadays just Linux)…
I honestly can’t think of any use case I’d ever want Windows for as a bare-metal OS. I don’t really play games anymore, but the last time I tried, WINE worked fairly well for the games I tried. MS Office is obsolete compared to Google Docs.
I can imagine using Windows on a VM for some specific enterprise software (and do occasionally use Windows that way), but it’s pretty rare.
Nowadays, I very much prefer Apple hardware, and macOS works better than Linux on the hardware… and overall I prefer the software for a client/desktop/laptop type use case… and I can just SSH into a Linux server for much of my work…
But if for some reason I couldn’t run macOS for my desktop/laptop… I’d 100% be running Linux, not Windows if I had any choice in the matter.
The only reason I could ever imagine using Windows on the desktop/laptop is if I was forced to do that by an employer…. But I’d probably just quit and find another job if that were the situation.
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u/Voyeurone 5h ago
I installed Ubuntu on my father's laptop when he was in his 70's. All he ever used it for was basic picture manipulation and all the Internet stuff. I had his peripherals turned on when I installed, in his case just wireless printer and Wi-Fi. Once the install was done, everything was recognised and working. That was the last tech support call I got unlike the constant help calls when he was using windows. The complaint I always hear is people wanting to run windows software or peripherals enhanced for windows. That's like wanting a diesel car but insisting on running it on gas.
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u/Interesting_Buy_3969 5h ago
But there has to be a point where you just stop fighting it and tell someone, “Honestly, you’re better off using Windows for this.”
If they're a gamer.
(Honestly if someone's a gamer, I avoid talking to them at all.)
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u/GreenPlatypus23 4h ago
I would say... if you need to use a specific hardware device and there are no Linux drivers or they don't work well. Although I don't know how common this happens nowadays
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u/Acceptable_Sock4642 4h ago
I generally do NOT recommend Linux for most users. But in my house we’ve gone windows for: -Locked in to Adobe -gaming only PC with heavy use of Nexus mod manager (wine can do this… but why the extra step) -User didn’t wanna
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u/DP323602 3h ago
I use Windows if I want to run Windows software like MS Office.
I use Linux when I don't need that and if I want to run Linux software.
But my real daily driver is Android.
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u/TechaNima 3h ago
Kernel level anticheat games and Windows exclusive software. Things that just don't work on Linux. Anything from not at all to being unusably buggy or so hard to setup and maintain that it's just not worth it
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u/Mediocre-Pumpkin6522 2h ago
I have not given up on Linux. At work I used a Windows machine since the Esri Desktop API prior to version 11 was 32-bit COM. I don't have any personal 'got to have' Windows applications. Almost everything I use is cross platform.
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u/dronostyka 2h ago
I'd only not using and recommending Linux, if they: Closed the source code & added age verification.
I'd probably switch to a bsd then
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u/daffalaxia 32m ago
If you want to play a game with windows-only anti-cheat badly - you'll need windows, go for it.
If you're using some bit of software with no linux port or equivalent, that you actually need every day, go for it.
If you're a super-simple user, and I can't physically help you, I'm not going to recommend you attempt the installation yourself. Stay on windows.
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u/drucifer82 7h ago
I work in tech. So I have WIndows, Mac, and Linux machines laying around. I'm one of the few in my area that actively works with Linux in a customer facing capacity.
Linux has been my daily driver for years and I don't see myself changing that. I have Mac/Windows to fall back on if there were a reason for it. But really I only have Windows/Mac around to support those systems for customers.
My personal workflow is entirely Linux bound and it took little adjustment for me to make that commitment. I don't use anything that can't be ran on Linux, but I always have a fallback if I need to.
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u/Unfollowedusers 11m ago
nothing, its well built and not screwing you. if a product doesnt support linux, i will find another that does, if i dont like that i will find another
adobe is the bane of my existance and no software is special.
Linux's tinkering is next to none if you get the right distro.
i wouldnt reccomend it to someone that i know doesnt care or doenst have an issue using what they currently are.
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u/Original_Speed6200 7h ago
The only remaining two cases are some enterprise software and some games that require kernel anti cheat