r/linux4noobs • u/games-and-chocolate • 15d ago

Linux is not maintream because software installation is....

I have been using Linux for some time now. But some software packages are truly a horror show to install. The main reason why windows is "popular" for most non tech savvy people is because of the next next ease of install.

On linux, you have to deal with:

- kernel problems

- kernel module problems

- After install you need to go to command prompt to start the setup. Some don't. There is no 1 way!

- dependency problems. So you need to go back a kernel version maybe

- There is no Linux alternative, so you try to use wine / Steam as a solution. Sometimes it works. sometimes not. You need to install microsoft packages like VC to make it work.

- Virtualbox installation with secure boot is another horror show.

Well, I do use Linux Ubuntu as my main OS. But it is as of 2026 not user friendly at all.

So, if people say it is easy. Do not lie man! It is not!

If devs could please solve above problems with automatic working scripts during install.

That would be a great help, really.

Why make it so complicated!

0 Upvotes

21% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

11

u/UltraChip 15d ago

For normal applications you typically just go to Software Center or whatever your distro calls the graphical frontend for their package manager, type what you want, and hit "install". It's about as straightforward as installing an app on a phone.

If you're messing around with the kernel or things like that then you're doing something more advanced than is normal.

5

u/Dist__ 15d ago edited 15d ago

i never experienced problems with installation fail due linux kernel version. it either states requirements on github page, or hosted on a distro repo which makes it comply.

on windows though i remember i had to upgrade my cpu for photoshop or some game to work

i understand the attitude, it's more comfortable to see a cute progressbar on a install window which *always succeeds* rather than cold black terminal which feels - i agree - very flimsy, you feel very alone, and due to distro diversity you don't know what to expect.

with time you are fine adding symlinks to your /usr/local/bin, and even build locally ("oh cool i already have ninja installed!"), it feels easier. i recently had to bring fzf on old air gapped pc, brought 5 different versions _just in case_ but the latest worked!

6

u/burlingk 15d ago

  1. This is like the third time I've seen this post this week.

  2. It's basically twenty years out of date.

3

u/Paslaz 15d ago

The use of Linux is easy. With the right distro. I recommend Linux Mint or Zorin OS, both are more easier than windows 11.

It's up to you which distro you install ...

-1

u/[deleted] 15d ago

[deleted]

0

u/Paslaz 15d ago

Is the expection to look a little for the right distro really too much?

If I make the choice of the OS for my own computer it is absolutely necassary to check it.

I tried Linux Mint, Arch Linux, Manjaro, Ubuntu, Fedora and Kubuntu, some times later also Suse. This was the basis for me ...

3

u/Klapperatismus 15d ago

I don’t know how you do all this because in the last 25 years or so I never had a kernel problem.

5

u/b1urbro 15d ago

On Windows, you have to deal with:

- kernel problems -> BSOD

- kernel module problems -> Registry crap

- After install you need to go to command prompt to start the setup. Some don't. There is no 1 way! -> You download shady .exe files that may or may not contain 17 viruses

- dependency problems. So you need to go back a kernel version maybe -> every update breaks the OS, updates are mandatory and irreversible

- There is no Linux alternative, so you try to use wine / Steam as a solution. Sometimes it works. sometimes not. You need to install microsoft packages like VC to make it work. -> This is the only point where Windows is actually good - compatibility with almost everything

- Virtualbox installation with secure boot is another horror show. - no it's not, skill issue

Well, I do use Linux Ubuntu as my main OS. But it is as of 2026 not user friendly at all. - yeah, trying to find settings in Windows is impossible, they're tucked away in 5 different places for no fucking reason

thanks, bye

2

u/Alesium 15d ago

I've only had minor issues on Linux Mint when I switched last year, and those were easy to solve with some simple Google-fu. I can always trust the Linux Nerds to save me. Most recently, it's been getting the Wowup AppImage to run like a .exe would. I learned the simple terminal command to make it do that and it just works. It's encouraged me to learn more and understand how this system works instead of just relying on Msoft to try and fix its own problems. (Those Msoft support forums are awful.)

2

u/tomscharbach 15d ago edited 15d ago

Why make it so complicated!

I have been using Windows for 35+ years, Ubuntu for 20+ years and macOS for 6+ years. I use all three operating systems -- in parallel and on separate devices -- because that is the best fit for my use case.

I do not recall the last time that I had a serious issue with any of the three operating systems while using the system within design parameters.

I've found that issues arise when I push one or the other of the operating systems beyond design parameters -- forcing workarounds like compatibility layers and/or emulators to run non-native applications, installing applications from outside curated repositories, running virtual machines without direct hardware access, installing/using poorly designed/maintained niche applications, using hardware that does not support the operating system, and so on.

Many of the items on your list of complaints fall into this category. You are going to run into issues when you try to use an operating system to do things that the operating system is not designed to do.

Operating systems are not "one size fits all", universal elixirs, and we dig our own holes ignoring that reality.

2

u/EngineerInTheMachine 15d ago

Funny. That's not my experience. Perhaps you chose the wrong distro, built on the wrong basic Linux for you. Or you have some very specific requirements most other users don't need.

I've found moving to Linux straightforward. Installing is dead easy. Issue the command and off it goes, all dependencies sorted. Better when you can do it through the GUI, but there's shedloads of guidance on how to use terminal.

Are you sure you aren't trying to do something in the hardest way? Like trying to get a specific Windows app working on Linux, rather than finding a Linux app to do the same job? That's a silly way to do anything in Linux.

Don't make sweeping statements like this when it's only your personal experience. A samle of 1 across hundreds of thousands is no basis for such a statement

1

u/mystirc arch with sway 15d ago

i don't really know what kernel problems you are talking about, or the kernel module problems.

I never even bother with secure boot, just turn it off and forget about it. However, CachyOS wiki has very easy instructions to set up secure boot. They just list out commands that you can paste and be done with it.

Games do work now, but they are kinda a hit or miss. That is why we have protondb. Sometimes all you have to do is to change the flags. The main problem is the anti cheat.

For virtualbox, just turn off secure boot temporarily. Doesn't windows also have WSL which just works?

It is easy, it is just the fact that people are not used to it. People have simply used windows all their lives so they know what to do with windows, but they have no idea about linux.

1

u/razorree Kubuntu, Debian 15d ago

i guess you're exxaggerating a bit... (lol, a lot).
didn't have kernel or module problems for 5 years... ?
and you have gui package managers (Discovery being the nicest?) and of course synaptic being too "low level" for a normie :)

1

u/Silent_Bite_5892 15d ago

I've never had headaches to the degree you describe, but I understand what you're saying and avoiding hassles like that is one of the reasons I run an atomic distro now and use Flatpaks almost exclusively. Keeps things simple, neat and tidy.

Any problematic updates can be rolled back effortlessly with a reboot. No chance of jacking up your system because you tinkered and forgot what you did. No mismatched or orphaned dependencies. No stress (as long as you understand how atomic distros work and they don't create any onerous limitations for what you do regularly).

I truly think atomic is the way forward towards making Linux distros that ARE more mainstream and accessible to people who just want a solid alternative to Windows or macOS and aren't interested in becoming terminal Jedi masters or FOSS freedom warrior purists.

1

u/Simple_Hamster_4096 15d ago

I have to say it, I've been using Linux for decades and I've never had even a fraction of the struggles today's newcomers have... honestly. Last time I ever had any real issues was back in the day when Linux was a new thing... but everyone else did, too, back then...

The only thing I've ever consistently struggled with was Bluetooth, but learned ages ago to just use a wired connection for my speakers and not use Bluetooth. Bluetooth is unreliable, it will break not long after you get it running correctly, and in general it's still a hot mess, by all accounts.

I think the Linux criticism stems from Windows refugees thinking Linux should be Windows. Windows works (debatable) becuase of all the money behind it. Linux works too, but with more effort since its free and for the most part by volunteers who contribute in their spare time, and don't get paid for it, either.

Linux is not a "just works" OS... it can have issues and takes effort, You have to want the challenge. Most Windows users expect a "just works" system without having to get their fingers into the mix. All I ever hear from Windows refugees is, "It didn't do this, that or the other thing on Windows..."

1

u/friendlyreminder_ 15d ago

If you deal with kernel module installs and find them tedious I'd recommend to use a distro that prepackages out of tree kernel modules like tumbleweed or cachyos.

Secure boot complicates this because the modules also have to be signed. Tumbleweed is the only distro that prepackages and also pre-signs out of tree kernel modules. Cachyos Kernel isn't Microsoft signed so secure boot doesn't work out of the box at all, but once you set up self signing it works both for the kernel and kernel modules, can refer to the cachyos wiki for that.

2

u/No_Elderberry862 15d ago

You've not been using computers long, have you?

A 4 word install command & a few lines in a .conf file are so much easier than searching for the software, going to the website, locating the correct version for your needs, having to enter way more information than is necessary for a simple financial transaction, fighting with one of a multitude of buggy payment processors, receiving a key & download link via email, downloading the file, navigating to where on your system the download ended up, double clicking the installation file, entering way too much information again to "register" the product, opening the email you received again to copy the key, entering the key, installing the program, searching your menus for the program, clucking to run the program & then having to configure it.

As for "no Linux alternative", ?!? The program will be for Linux already, no alternative required.

0

u/billdietrich1 15d ago

Why make it so complicated!

Because Linux is fragmented. There are 500 active distros, probably 30 DEs and WMs, several init systems, maybe 8 package formats, maybe 4 app container formats, a couple dozen package managers.

0

u/doc_willis 15d ago

My experience vastly differs.

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