Biggest Gripes with Linux?

[kead]

a fairly unbiased page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Windows_and_Linux

read at ur leisure

[cork1958]

I know this is a messed up reason to not like Linux, but I DESPISE the command line!!

I know it's a pwerful tool, but if I wanted to be a typist, I'd get a job in the clerical field.

If I can't click stuff to fix it, it was broken to begin with, IMO.

I don't like distros like Ubuntu that include almost every software package there is in the default install either.

Otherwise,

Linux is awesome!!

[JonathanVP]

If they made more Linux games, I would use it more. I don't see DS2 or Crysis 2 for Linux anytime soon. On the other hand, Steam on the Mac OSX is a good start.

[Frylock86]

I love messing with my machines, but quite frankly, Linux is too much work to set up.

Not to mention support for it is deplorable. Most of the active developers are set up in their basement with no commercial backing. Take a look at the Windows eco-system, and then take a look at the Linux/GNU eco-system. You'll see what I mean.

[BumbleBritches57]

actually, my HDD broke back in december, and i didn't have any money to buy a new one, so i had to run a LiveCD to be able to access the internet. for like 6 weeks

all i had lying around was Sabayon (it looked cool, but it was total ****.)

and don't call me a moron.

i don't remember the program, but i was trying to flash the bios on my new computer, as i had ****ed up the bios, becuase i forgot to Unblock the Bios. so it didn't flash correctly.

[Olemus]

I don't really have one except my universities wireless network can't support linux so I'm unable to use it. If they did then I'd be happy using ubuntu on my laptop.

[Teebor]

HOLY Undead threads Batman! - what gives with raising all these from the dead recently :D lol

Anyway my single biggest gripe with Linux is that its not Windows.

That having been said I'm planning on putting together a nice linux based server at home to do things like file sharing, torrenting, etc

I'm hoping this will finally turn me as I keep trying and every time I try to use it for something it fails and I revert back to windows. But I will keep trying, it can't be as bad as my experiences make it look if so many people use it and like it

[LeviS LoVEr]

My biggest gripe with linux ( Ubuntu in particular ) is that everytime i update it, something breaks up. It's been thrice that after update my wi-fi doesnot work. It stops showing wi-fi option in the panel and there is no way you can find the settings of wi-fi anywhere else. You cannot search wi-fi networks independently. There's only that option in the panel and if that breaks up you are disconnected forever.

[Anooxy]

1: Nor does Mac OS or any other operating system.

2: No it doesn't. Windows 7 is the first good looking OS they have ever made, it it looks good because it looks like it's based on KDE

3: Funny, almost every linux distro out there is free too.

Quit being a troll

as for the topic: I just want better hardware vendor support. Once that comes around, all the bitching about installation issues will stop.

Aren't you a troll either? http://www.dasmirnov.net/blog/microsoft-copied-the-windows-7-taskbar-f

Yeah sure, it was copied from KDE LOL. I've been using KDE for a long time and it looks terrible. Windows 7's UI is nothing but a great example on how to properly have good looks in an OS.

Windows being free >>>>>>> Linux being free

You can only argue in the situation when Windows is pricey but if it's free then there is no competition at all.

[bjoswald]

1. Audio:

Rather than fixing (and unifying) the underlying sound system across all distributions, someone had the brilliant idea of stacking more crap on top of it.

2. Canonical Dependency:

Canonical put Linux back on the map with Ubuntu, but people are starting to assume Ubuntu *is* Linux. They depend on Canonical to fix all of Linux's problems.

When they can't, it's all their fault. On the other hand, sometimes it seems like their achievements overshadow everyone else's.

3. UI:

GNOME, KDE, XFCE... Regardless of your WM of choice, they're ALL ugly. Windows 7 isn't a shining star either (glass got old after Vista to me), but it's still a visually

appealing desktop environment. Even Apple's tried-and-true brushed aluminum look appeals more to the eye than Ubuntu's drab mix of purple, orange and black. It's

not a true "theme", it's just a few different colors painted over an existing one.*

*(A theme, to me, should change the way your desktop looks and feels, not just the colors.)

4. WINE

"How do I get <X> to work in Linux?" "Install WINE." "I tried that. The performance is terrible!" "Then fix it yourself or deal with it."

Stretch that out over decades and thousands of programs and you get the idea. 'Nuff said.

There's more, but that's all I can think of right now.

[Soulsiphon]

To be honest, after running one of the latest Ubuntu builds (natty narwhal) and getting it all working pretty decently on both my desktop and laptop (both using WiFi/wired), I don't have any gripes anymore. As a matter of fact it's hard to admit, being the rabid Windows fan I am, that I've spent more time in Linux in the last month than Windows.

so, biggest gripes...hmm, let me think about that and maybe post an edit at some later point LOL

[soldier1st]

my gripes include, Printing support is terrible, Flash is the pits on Linux but that is Adobe's problem and not Linux's fault. Wine is a hit and miss but that is not the problem of wine, but of MS for not giving official documentation on it. On the whole once you get used to it, it is pretty good.

[fusi0n]

Like others have already said,

Printing Support

The way fonts display

[iamawesomewicked]

Slapping on a different theme and icon set doesn't change everything you know... Many Linux enthusiasts also don't seem to get that most users want their OS to look good out of the box, instead of having to redesign it themselves. Imagine having to pay for something like that...

You mean like... WindowBlinds?

[HSoft]

Lots of gripes about Linux but I suppose my biggest would be lack of good programs.

A secondary one would be a lack of .Net (which is a large part of my job) but that's really platform specific and a reason why I can't move to linux (not that I'd want to anyway).

[Syanide]

^ Ever heard of mono? I won't pretend like I know what I'm talking about, but Linux zealots hate it, so there must be something about it...

EDIT:

From Wikipedia:

Mono, pronounced /moʊˈnoʊ/ moh-noh, is a free and open source project led by Novell (formerly by Ximian) to create an Ecma standard compliant .NET-compatible set of tools including, among others, a C# compiler and a Common Language Runtime. The stated purpose of Mono is not only to be able to run Microsoft .NET applications cross-platform, but also to bring better development tools to Linux developers.[3] Mono can be run on Android, BSD, iOS, Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, Solaris, and Unix operating systems as well as some game console operating systems such as the ones for the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360.

Anywho, new Flash seems to work really, really well, (not that I had problems before, but it's smoother now imo) so there's one thing that can be scratched off the list for majority people posting in this thread.

[OuchOfDeath]

Lots of gripes about Linux but I suppose my biggest would be lack of good programs.

A secondary one would be a lack of .Net (which is a large part of my job) but that's really platform specific and a reason why I can't move to linux (not that I'd want to anyway).

Lack of good programs is definitely a huge issue. Do keep a close look on Wine as it has in the past 3 years hugely moved forward in terms of application compatibility, now being able to run a large amount of even the newest Windows programs flawlessly out of the box. Photoshop CS2 as an example currently runs almost flawlessly apparently, while CS3 not so much at the moment.

.Net support on the other hand is very good under Linux. The Microsoft .net Framework 2.0 at the very least currently runs under Wine, and there is also the Mono project which is an open-source implementation of the .Net Framework, which is developed and paid for by Novell. Mono apparently has much of 4.0 already implemented. Here's a link to its compatibility graph/list with Microsoft's .Net implementation: http://mono-project.com/Compatibility

[ncc50446]

Dual monitors...At work, I'm working at converting one of the machines to Linux, and I'm having a hard time getting the display to extend to 2 monitors...I had it cloned, but now I can't even get that back...lol

I just have to play with it a little more..Got everything else to work pretty much though :)

[Emon]

My biggest gripe is Ubuntu someway became the mainstream Linux distro instead of GoboLinux. GoboLinux solves all these app installation issues that people complaining over here.

[Syanide]

I'm pretty sure Ubuntu will be forced sooner or later to adapt a similar model, and only then will be the moment when they'll get sh*t from everyone (once again). Current model of PPAs is okay, but I always end up having a mile long sources list. They really need to figure out a way of keeping the applications fresh on older systems. Unfortunately, they'd be going against the "linux way" with that one (just like with Unity and all the other changes), so I don't think everyone would be happy with that.

[Growled Member]

My biggest gripe with linux ( Ubuntu in particular ) is that everytime i update it, something breaks up. It's been thrice that after update my wi-fi doesnot work. It stops showing wi-fi option in the panel and there is no way you can find the settings of wi-fi anywhere else. You cannot search wi-fi networks independently. There's only that option in the panel and if that breaks up you are disconnected forever.

I use to have that problem. But I learned that you can go into your software sources and uncheck everything except security updates. It doesn't pull in those updates that will break something.

[smokn]

The biggest gripe for me is , that most of the good applications (Photoshop , Office ,... ) are not available natively on Linux.

Of course it's not Linux fault , but still it's the only thing that holding me back from merging to Linux.

[Gallifrey2]

Try PCLinuxOS out.....it is a live CD with an install option on the live desktop once you login. Very easy to use, I have set it up on several different PC's and nary a problem with it. Want an application? Then just open the synaptic button on the task bar across the bottom of the screen and use the search function.

To the command line haters....I have literally used the command line more on Windows 7 in the past year then i have on PCLinuxOS. This distro has a nice command center where you can do everything with a gui based system.

Wine works well as I play World of Warcraft just fine with it. Newer games are hit and miss and not something I try much as my gaming desires are waning as I get older.

My gripes would be the lack of standards across all Linux flavours. Pick one audio method, one package manager, etc.....while I have my preferences I would be more happy if the distro makers all got together and just standardized on one method for each of the various components.

[threetonesun]

I installed Ubuntu 10.10 recently, and it decided to change my NTFS partition to a RAW partition which couldn't be read by Windows. Never had that issue before. Luckily I could recover it, but I have to add that issue to the long list of problems I've had trying to get a dual boot system up and running.

Granted, a lot of it is Windows' fault, as post-XP the boot loader hates GRUB. I would not hesitate to install Linux on a basic PC, but there are still too many UI/software issues to make it the OS for the masses. Just setting up a GMail account in Evolution takes way too many steps, and the interface once it's setup is a disaster. Enabling something like Compiz is in exercise in figuring out which keybindings it hasn't taken over (although it's certainly a nice bit of eye candy once it's up and running). Hardware support has been great, although I'm not running anything cutting edge.

[DJD]

I installed Ubuntu 10.10 recently, and it decided to change my NTFS partition to a RAW partition which couldn't be read by Windows. Never had that issue before. Luckily I could recover it, but I have to add that issue to the long list of problems I've had trying to get a dual boot system up and running.

Granted, a lot of it is Windows' fault, as post-XP the boot loader hates GRUB. I would not hesitate to install Linux on a basic PC, but there are still too many UI/software issues to make it the OS for the masses. Just setting up a GMail account in Evolution takes way too many steps, and the interface once it's setup is a disaster. Enabling something like Compiz is in exercise in figuring out which keybindings it hasn't taken over (although it's certainly a nice bit of eye candy once it's up and running). Hardware support has been great, although I'm not running anything cutting edge.

Actually i think i read somewhere that the folks over at Canonical are going to ditch evolution for Mozilla Firebird. Either in Ubuntu 11.04 or 11.10.