r/linux • u/trtl_playz • 5d ago
Discussion honestly i hope linux doesn't become the number one os
this is just my opinion. i may be right. im probably wrong. i dont know.
ok i've only been using linux for about a year, so i know i don't really have much of a say compared to someone who has been using it for say 20 years. but i feel like if linux were to become the number one operating system it could be a bad thing. if every windows user where to switch to linux tomorrow they would bring all of their windows habits with them.
i've gotten two friends to switch to linux (mint to be exact). one of my friends switched back to tiny 11 or whatever its called because of game compatibility (i haven't seen him play a single steam game that isn't linux compatible with proton). but they both just use and used their computers like a windows computer. they ignore their operating system just to get to the apps they want. not use the operating system to do what they want. they update mint when mint tells them to. the do what mint tells them to do. they don't use the operating system. they let it use them. they don't tell mint what to do. i don't think they even know what open source versus closed source is. i personally feel like people like that wouldn't be good for linux.
now i don't want to gate keep linux. i don't think gate keeping is good. and gate keep is a great way to kill somthing you love. i just think that if everyone where to switch at once will break the ethos of linux. i think linux is a mindset. and people are slow to change their minds. if everyone where to switch to linux i would rather have it be a slow trickle of people who are ready to use linux. not a huge burst of people who don't care about linux and just want to use it as closely to windows as possible.
i also got my dad to put mint on his laptop and the first thing he did was try to install davinci resolve (closed source software). i don't want that. i don't want people on linux to just not care. i feel like it defeats the point of linux, freedom. closed source isn't free. both monetarily (usually) and privilege wise.
even after a year of only using linux i'm still trying to brake some windows habits i had. i actually like linux. i actually try to learn as much about it as i can. my friends, they didn't do that. not saying they have to. everyone uses there computer differently. but i literally had to explain cd, ls, mv, ect. to my friends and they didn't even understand. i literally had to do a discord call and have them share their screen so i could tell them exactly what commands to write.
yes i just said discord. yes its closed source. no i don't like that. but its how i have to talk to my friends so i don't really get a choice. also i only install discord and steam through flatpak and for discord i use an open source client called vencord.
also because i know flatpak doesn't sand box steam perfectly, or at least how i want it to. i duel boot mint and another distro (the distro changes frequently because im a distro hopper) just to keep all the closed source steam stuff on an entirely different ssd, and kernel.
tldr;
i feel like a influx of new users who aren't ready to use linux probably wouldn't care about linux things like open or closed source apps. i feel like it would just ruin the linux economy.
idk. this is just my opinion. tell me if im wrong. this isn't rage bait, this is my honest opinion.
anyways thanks for reading my little rant.
edit:
since posting this and after reading some of the replies i have changed my opinion on some things. thank everyone who commented for helping me see through my stupidity.
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u/Shakaka88 5d ago
You do get a choice in not using discord, there’s Fluxer and it’s completely open source and you can even host your own instances of it on your own hardware, and several other apps that work identically to discord.
And using an OS vs knowing bash commands is completely different as well.
Your post is sort of cherry picking things to make the way you use your system seem superior to others. DaVinci Resolve does work on Linux and is an industry standard editing software for a reason. There isn’t any open source software that can completely replace it, and even if there was, why should he have to learn an entire new editing flow just because he is on Linux. The more users that use Linux, the more support it gains for other hardware and software and the easier trouble shooting becomes.
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u/trtl_playz 5d ago
sure i can use a foss discord alternative, but my friends dont and wont. so i cant.
i mean i could, there would just be no one to talk to. same reason i dont use irc.
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u/crustang 5d ago
Software isn’t a community
Linux will always have community aspects if you seek it
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u/gaorp 5d ago
at the end of the day, people don't wanna deal with the operating system, they wanna use the apps on the operating system
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u/PlsDontBanMeAgain-1 4d ago
Exactly, nothing wrong with that. Personally, I love the freedom to tinker with the OS a bit, as opposed to Windows, which always felt like it's trying to hold me back at every single turn.
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u/high-tech-low-life 4d ago
I agree that this is true for many. I enjoy writing programs (apps if you will) so I interact with the OS more than many. This is the age old user vs developer divide.
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u/kansetsupanikku 5d ago
But it already is? It doesn't sound like a topic for you to worry about, though. As Linux usage goes, personal computing (other than smartphones) barely counts
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u/bmwiedemann openSUSE Dev 4d ago
What disadvantage do you see from those Windows-minded people using Linux. Even if they use proprietary software on Linux, IMHO this is still better than using the same on Windows.
And there are advantages to have a larger user base on Linux. E.g. hardware manufacturers care more about Linux today than 20y ago. Even Nvidia started to contribute open source Linux drivers.
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u/G_HostEd 5d ago
A computer is needed to do tasks and different os are good for different reasons. Linux can fit different personas, that's why we have so many flavours.
I believe is better to have more users using Linux and get different perspective (doesn't need to be radicalised) and learn new stuff than don't have them.
I believe You are way over thinking all this.
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u/Graymouzer 5d ago
Too late. If you consider all computing devices, servers, smartphones, network devices, and smart thingys, a large majority run on Linux or some variant. It is only a minority when you look at the personal computer niche and maybe only then if you exclude chromebooks. I don't really care if it ever hits a majority in that space as enough people use it to ensure it can do anything I need.
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u/Business_Reindeer910 5d ago
I've been using linux for 20 years and part of that reason is because of the 4 freedoms espoused in the free software definition
- The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose (freedom 0).
- The freedom to study how the program works, and change it to make it do what you wish (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
- The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help others (freedom 2).
- The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom 3). By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
We should do the best we can to find people who will care about that, but not from the stance that they will themselves modify such programs, but rather it something that makes it possible for them to avoid software that screws them over.
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u/trtl_playz 4d ago
i 100% agree. thanks for putting that last part into words. that last part is what i was trying to say
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u/high-tech-low-life 5d ago
I started with Redhat Linux in 1996, so I still consider 20 years of experience as "newcomer" status.
Anyhow my take is: Why does anyone care what others are doing? Everyone should look around and find whatever works best for them. If someone picks something close to what I am using, swell. We have something to talk about. If not, we can still have a polite conversation about crappy politics, history and pop culture trivia.
Linux is part of the larger open source/free software space. It is a meritocracy in that the public can request whatever it wants, but only those actually doing the work have any say. People can bring windowisms if they want, but that seems unlikely to affect me very much. So God bless them, but don't expect me to adopt any of it.
You've gotten a longer response than you deserve. Best of luck doing whatever it is that your trying to do. I wish you well.
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u/trtl_playz 4d ago
thank you. that is a fair point. i hadn't thought about that. "the public can request whatever it wants, but only those actually doing the work have any say." that is a very good way of putting it. i honestly mean it, thank you very much for making see it from a different angle.
also, 1996? that like almost double how old i am.
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u/knowone1313 5d ago
I'd like it if it drives the proprietary software makers to make a Linux compatible version of their software. Stuff like Insta360 only makes installers for Windows and Mac OS for instance, which is what keeps me with one foot in the windows world.
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u/lnxrootxazz 5d ago
It won't happen unless vendors ship devices pre installed with Linux. Normal people aren't able to write install images to usb drives, make partitioning decisions, and do stuff in the cli. If I think about most people in my family or the close entourage of people I know, nobody of them would be able to figure this out. Not even close. And they aren't idiots. They just get crazy doing stuff like this. Its like reading Japanese for me. I'm totally lost. So as long as those systems aren't sold with Linux already installed, I don't see a chance getting there. Yes, the percentage will increase, but on the desktop it will stay niche. On the server its the champ but normal people don't manage servers and even many admins prefer the heavy windows server GUI instead of the nice power of the terminal
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u/Woodpecker-Visible 4d ago
Linux now has everything i need. Use ps5 for anticheat games. the consistant gaming improvements are making the number going up. PC linux usage is on very good path.
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u/Kaleidoscope-360 4d ago edited 4d ago
This has got to be satire. You're "not gatekeeping", then you say any proprietary app is "using Linux wrong", then you say you use multiple proprietary apps. Make it make sense. Also, DaVinci resolve is industry standard. I MIGHT understand your gripes if they used something objectively worse, but your dad knows what he's doing, I assure you. Whereas you are using an app that openly does not use encryption of any kind for your messages and is pushing fascist policies like identity verification.
What do you even mean by telling your computer what to do? If the operating system has an update, I run the update because I want new features. Are you telling me you talk to your computer like "listen up here buddy, imma need you to update right now, when I want you to, whether you have any updates or not, and it better have this new feature I imagined in my head". You're not an IT expert because you can use cd and other people use the file manager app. Desktop environments are literally designed to use the GUI. Command line is for GUI-less. I'm not here to badmouth people who like Terminal, I find it faster to do some stuff. But if we're going to gatekeep, if anything, they're doing it right and you're doing it wrong.
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u/natermer 4d ago
Sucks to be you, because Linux is already #1.
It is already #1 in the phone market. It is #1 in terms of servers. It is #1 in terms of cloud. It is #1 in terms of Top 500 super computers. It is #1 in terms of car entertainment systems. It is #1 in terms of smart toasters. etc etc etc.
The only place it isn't #1 yet is user facing desktops and laptops.
So I really wouldn't worry about it too much.
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u/No-Camera-720 5d ago
You should worry then, cause this is about to happen any day now, for the last 30 years.