Biggest Gripes with Linux?

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

For a lot of people, biggest gripes with Linux will pretty much boil down to that it's not Windows. That's not a troll, it's just how it is.

Quoted for truth. A lot of users are confused enough as it is when they (have to) upgrade from one Windows version to the next.

[Darth Laidher]

Installing programs is confusing

True, to a noob Linux can be a daunting task going through the repositories to find and install programs can be a little confusing.Although When I first used Linux I figured it out within a few minutes of installing Linux with no prior knowledge of the OS.

[bnajbert]

I think there is a market for linux that is way under utilized and could be easily tapped into and made extremely lucrative. Linux's greatest asset is it's ability to run on practically anything with extremely low resource utilization( which always makes me laugh when people complain about Fonts, Colour schemes, Clunky UI's etc.). This is what Linux was designed to be and it does it well(not including some of the newer bloat distros). So what category of computer users like a computer that has low resource utilization and runs on a variety of hardware types? The answer is obvious to me, GAMERS. If linux could break out as the go to OS for PC gamers I think they would make a lot of headway.

[Udedenkz]

No Flash 10.1 HW VA.

[soonerproud]

My biggest problem with Linux is the zealots who bash every other operating systems faults but refuse to admit their favorite distro has faults also. These same people tell new users to RTFM and act like pompous asses.

The reason I never made a complete transition is there is always something small not working quite as I need it like flash player for example. It seems I always am spending too much time trying to make little things work as expected when I can just use something else like OSX or Windows and those same things work flawlessly.

[soldier1st]

My only complaint is Adobe Flash is not as good on Linux as it it performs better on Windows but thats Adobes Fault. Adobe you need to dump Flash and Encourage HTML5 instead as it is way better.

[Firethorne]

Oh and it doesn't feel like a professional operating system.

You know, thinking about this now, I can tell there was always something hidden away in my subconscious that has bothered me about professionalism in the GNU and Linux naming conventions. Say I want a photo editing program. Which sounds more reliable, Photoshop or something called GIMP? The same could be said for the frontend for an operating system. Do you want Windows Explorer or GNOME? I like tiny guys with conical hats as much as the next guy, but something deep inside me says these mythical men don't belong in my computer.

Even the whole recursive naming scheme of GNU is a bit unusual. We all know "GNU's Not Unix!" but I've never gotten a clear explanation as to why was G picked? Why not ANU? Why not ZNU? It seems a bit random. And Tux may be cute, but where is the link between computer science and penguins?

Now, I know Linux and the whole GNU scene aren't the only ones guilty of this. Microsoft of course has a few forays into trying to be cute. But, where Tux is held up, Clippy and MS Bob were generally despised.

[zeta_immersion]

Biggest gripe is some of the updates that totally **** up my install ... other than that nothing really, works as good/bad as any other OS ....

I really like the freedom it gives though it does give you some of the worst head ake ever when not working properly

[pezzonovante]

1. Incredibly pathetic UI. It looks so old-fashioned. Where are the glass effects and transparency? I know you can customize to bring in transparency, but doing so severely affects UI consistency. Plus all the customizations make the UI look like it has undergone plastic surgery. On the other hand the Windows 7 default UI is so elegant and beautiful.

2. Lack of an office suite which implements the ribbon UI. Menus and toolbars are too old-fashioned and counter-intuitive. There's no way you can go back to using menus once you've discovered how much more productive the ribbon is.

[Darth Laidher]

1. Incredibly pathetic UI. It looks so old-fashioned. Where are the glass effects and transparency? I know you can customize to bring in transparency, but doing so severely affects UI consistency. Plus all the customizations make the UI look like it has undergone plastic surgery. On the other hand the Windows 7 default UI is so elegant and beautiful.

2. Lack of an office suite which implements the ribbon UI. Menus and toolbars are too old-fashioned and counter-intuitive. There's no way you can go back to using menus once you've discovered how much more productive the ribbon is.

Its not Windows or OSX so thats why theres no glass effects lol.

[Tomoko]

I think my biggest gripe is how amateurish it is, especially most of the free software made for it. Much of it looks like the early 90s shareware stuff you used to get on those free CDs in magazines. It's also far more difficult to use than any modern software should be and not even close to as stable and functional as it's users brag about it being. Driver support is still horrible too, especially for graphics cards.

[etempest]

Linux elitism with *some* (think Apple Fanboys except with Linux).

You want the average Joe to use Linux, it has to work at the average Joe level.

However distro's like Ubuntu demonstrate there groups of people that want to bring Linux to the masses.

I think other barriers of mass adoption are competing duplicate projects. That being said, I also think this drive's innovation and preventing them from resting on there laurels.

Example

Software Packages - Rpm vs Dev

Desktop - Gnome vs KDE

[Solid Knight]

1. Poor hibernate and suspend support.

2. Poor 3D acceleration support.

3. Flash loves to crash (all variants).

4. Poor hardware support (all-in-one printers, video cards, wireless adapters, multi-media card readers, sound cards, some mice, obscure peripherals).

5. Repositories are usually out-dated.

6. Native video editors suck.

7. Native image editors suck.

8. Releases tend to be extremely buggy.

9. Hardware management tools suck.

10. Shared library system makes you create extremely bloated and complex solutions to run legacy applications.

11. Terminal passes output as strings rather than objects.

12. Upgrading never seems to work.

13. Setting permissions sucks balls when dealing with multiple users.

14. F o n t s l o o k l i k e a s s.

15. Native software usually looks like ass.

16. Super_friggin_long_object_or_function_name_here(omfg_a_parameter_with_a_really_long_name, damn_another_parameter_with_a_super_long_name, how_many_underscores_can_we_have_in_this_name)

[Darth Laidher]

1. Poor hibernate and suspend support.

2. Poor 3D acceleration support.

3. Flash loves to crash (all variants).

4. Poor hardware support (all-in-one printers, video cards, wireless adapters, multi-media card readers, sound cards, some mice, obscure peripherals).

5. Repositories are usually out-dated.

6. Native video editors suck.

7. Native image editors suck.

8. Releases tend to be extremely buggy.

9. Hardware management tools suck.

10. Shared library system makes you create extremely bloated and complex solutions to run legacy applications.

11. Terminal passes output as strings rather than objects.

12. Upgrading never seems to work.

13. Setting permissions sucks balls when dealing with multiple users.

14. F o n t s l o o k l i k e a s s.

15. Native software usually looks like ass.

16. Super_friggin_long_object_or_function_name_here(omfg_a_parameter_with_a_really_long_name, damn_another_parameter_with_a_super_long_name, how_many_underscores_can_we_have_in_this_name)

lol I couldnt agree more on just about all of those you just mentioned.

[McCordRm]

Yea, Yea... I know: Linux isn't meant for Windows applications.

Well, if gaming companies would make better Linux games I wouldn't

have that trouble.

So THAT is my one and only real fault with Linux: Gaming.

I found open source software to do EVERYTHING else I would want

to do with my machine. But gaming is right the hell out on the same

level as my Win7 machine.

[Bengal34]

[smip]

14. F o n t s l o o k l i k e a s s.

[smip]

I've never done this in my entire life but...

+1 to you sir

[Prince Charming]

I think there is a market for linux that is way under utilized and could be easily tapped into and made extremely lucrative. Linux's greatest asset is it's ability to run on practically anything with extremely low resource utilization( which always makes me laugh when people complain about Fonts, Colour schemes, Clunky UI's etc.). This is what Linux was designed to be and it does it well(not including some of the newer bloat distros). So what category of computer users like a computer that has low resource utilization and runs on a variety of hardware types? The answer is obvious to me, GAMERS. If linux could break out as the go to OS for PC gamers I think they would make a lot of headway.

It's an interesting idea, but clearly Windows does just fine running games. It's easy to make a cut-down operating system that just plays games, but then you have something with the utility of a console, only, consoles offer more (360 and PS3 are both extremely capable media machines, PS3 features web browsing, Blu Ray playing etc), so you'll end up with something less than a console, so you add the stuff back in and...you're back at square one. It's not really very practical.

[08993]

The gaming situation. It's bizarre that 10 years ago I was playing Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament (the two biggest games about at the time) on Linux with no trouble what-so-ever. It's worse now that it was a decade ago.

Oh, and I can't even play browser games because there no hardware acceleration with Flash, hell if you use a 64 bit distro, there is no official flash plugin.

Pretty annoying because I'm a gamer, tried a PS3 but PC gaming is just more intuitive - it's one of the biggest injustices in my life :)

[JustGeorge]

Some major things are going to have to happen before I'd give linux a serious look:

1. Applications being completely untangled from the Linux Kernel. No one will ever convince me that weaving applications so tightly with the OS kernel is a good idea.

2. A single, unified, standardized installer package thats used by all distros as a means of installing applications. No more dicking with package managers!

3. The end of stupid bugs like say booting into a black screen from the latest, stable Ubuntu Live CD (This is a comical point but its what happens too me nevertheless).

4. Better QA. Stuff that works great in one release gets broken in the next......Ubuntu! :angry:

5. Lets start change the mindset that the OS will be designed with the GUI as the priority and not as an afterthought.

6. Sound support is more fragmented than application installation. Fix it!

Am I smart enough to use Linux as it is right now, yes. Do I want to bother, no. None of this will ever come to be because the #1 reason Linux will never see widespread popularity is the fact that core Linux developers/end users don't want change. Most companies aren't going to put serious development behind an OS that wants to have a gazillion ways to accomplish the same task and deal with the fragmentation nightmare of trying to make their application compatible with dozens of different distros. Hell, you can't even guarantee a program will work with two different distros running the same Kernel!

[argonite]

None of the window managers/themes have caught my eye. All the UIs I've come across look hacked-together compared to Aero, and the fonts look either super-bolded or aliased.

I use Linux because the terminal gives me tools to do my work fast. I almost never have deal with the UI (except for the gnome bars at the top and bottom of the screen). But often when I do, I feel like tearing my eyes out.

[MBarvian]

It seems that the UI is definitely something that needs to be looked at. I agree 100%. Using Linux makes me literally bored and eager to look at something better looking.

[eilegz]

hardware support....

everything its so complicated, have to compile and look for a hard way to install programs... sure sinaptic and apt get make it easier but not everything its there... i rather have a common executable file something like .run instead of whole deb and rpm.

[.Neo]

Linux is by far the most frustrating OS I've ever used. That includes Windows ME. I always end up stuck somewhere because of an issue no one knows a fix for. I never ever experienced something quite like it with either Mac OS or Windows. God knows I tried and had an open mind towards Linux, but at this point they can stuff the desktop version of the OS somewhere where the Sun doesn't shine.

Oh, and before I forget, Mac OS X has had anti-aliassed window corners for like what...? Almost 10 years or so? Anno 2010 Ubuntu's window corners still look like they escaped from the 90s.

That said, I'm loving Android on my phone right now.

[Dashel]

Its like the ocean, shallow for a few feet then there is either a gaping drop-off or a wicked undertow. Either way you end up praying for the Coast Guard or even a yuppie filled yacht.

[azure.sapphire]

1. Poor hibernate and suspend support.

2. Poor 3D acceleration support.

3. Flash loves to crash (all variants).

4. Poor hardware support (all-in-one printers, video cards, wireless adapters, multi-media card readers, sound cards, some mice, obscure peripherals).

5. Repositories are usually out-dated.

6. Native video editors suck.

7. Native image editors suck. *I kind of like GIMP, though it is not Photoshop... not even close

8. Releases tend to be extremely buggy.

9. Hardware management tools suck.

10. Shared library system makes you create extremely bloated and complex solutions to run legacy applications.

11. Terminal passes output as strings rather than objects.

12. Upgrading never seems to work. *this seems +/-... it depends

13. Setting permissions sucks balls when dealing with multiple users.

14. F o n t s l o o k l i k e a s s.

15. Native software usually looks like ass.

16. Super_friggin_long_object_or_function_name_here(omfg_a_parameter_with_a_really_long_name, damn_another_parameter_with_a_super_long_name, how_many_underscores_can_we_have_in_this_name)

I like this. You really put some thought into this. I would add that it seems more bloated than in the past, and that lock ups are pretty common. It is still tolerable, but a lot worse than it used to be.