It will take some serious, I hate to say it, YouTube campaigning and such to make Linux a more mainstream thought in the public’s brain.
Linux Distros Designed for Former Windows Users Are Picking Up Steam | Linux Journal
Submitted 13 hours ago by network_switch@lemmy.ml to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/linux-distros-designed-former-windows-users-are-picking-steam
Comments
Zephorah@discuss.online 12 hours ago
Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
What it takes is people being able to buy a Linux machine at the local electronics store. Installing your OS yourself is still a major hurdle for most people.
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
That is an important step, yes.
However another important step is that the default distro needs to basically not even highlight that terminal exists.
If you’re trying to learn how to use linux, and step 1 of the tutorial is “open terminal”, you will lose 97% of your new install base. Then headlines will flood that linux machines are being returned in high numbers.
As much as you guys hate to hear this, the first experience for a new linux user needs to be intuitive. Before they even turn the machine on, they have to know how to use this software. Not because they are experts, but because the space and experience guides itself.
Then as you learn, you can customize a bit more, and from there linux can become a rabbit hole. But the point is, let the individual user control the depths which they dive. Because I suspect 90%+ won’t even change the desktop background. And thats ok.
Make it easy for the dummies, but then you individually can tinker if you want to. And it’s linux, so…ya know. Go nuts. But some people don’t want to do all that tinkering. That vanilla experience is what gets remembered to represent that OS. Even if you customized it and experienced it very differently.
Zephorah@discuss.online 6 hours ago
More than system76 and Lenovo think pads without graphics cards.
CosmoNova@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
Problem is Youtube is known to censor these kind of campaigns. I think they literally got caught delisting Tiny11 tutorials recently. Imagine what they‘ll do if Linux Tutorials pick up steam. Big tech is one giant illegal syndicate and politicians have invested in all of them.
Zephorah@discuss.online 3 hours ago
Is there another venue? Nebula doesn’t seem keen on DIY and anything not free is going to have an incredibly reduced audience. The people who need the info most are the least likely to be able to afford another sub.
b_tr3e@feddit.org 12 hours ago
It might. I just don’t see any use in it. Says a former Linux advocate. Don’t get me wrong, I’m writing this on a Debian stable machine, I’d never even think of using anything else for a daily driver and have been doing so for 25 years, but Windows users will be Windows users and I don’t see any reason to adapt Linux to their needs. Or to that bundle of vague illusions that they believe to be what they need. The evolution of Windows has produced such a horrible, parasitic product that its’ users don’t see
nil@piefed.ca 12 hours ago
And soon there would be a corpo that will make a closed source commercial OS based on Linux and people will somehow use their crap.
floofloof@lemmy.ca 11 hours ago
Like Android? It’s getting more closed every day.
adespoton@lemmy.ca 9 hours ago
I like the headline… former Windows users are picking up Steam on Linux, because it’s pretty much indistinguishable from Steam on Windows.
pokexpert30@jlai.lu 5 hours ago
I don’t mind DE to have a windows-mimicking workflow (cinnamon, KDE kinda) but modding Gnome to mimick windows is not great because it causes weird bug and maintenance issues. Aka it breaks easily and gives bad impressions to the user
BassTurd@lemmy.world 11 hours ago
I don’t truly understand things like this. Most DE’s are similar enough to Windows that anyone who’s spent a minute on a computer should be able to intuitively get to a web browser to surf the web. That’s what most people do. Word processing and the likes is tough since most are ingrained in Office, but something like (pukes in mouth) Google sheets is decently popular and good enough for most people.
If you give most someone a computer with a browser and auto updates, they’ll be able to do almost everything they are already doing on Windows with minimal thought.
There are exceptions, but those people suck at Windows already, so it’s a moot point. If you can’t find the start menu in Windows, it doesn’t matter what OS you’re using.
Peffse@lemmy.world 7 hours ago
funny you should say it like that. I just recently I tried using Debian’s default GNOME desktop and thought I had corrupted the install somehow. I reinstalled the OS two more times because it kept dumping me into a nearly blank screen with no obvious buttons to click aside network/sound/power.
I’m used to LXDE, KDE, and Cinnamon, so this was completely foreign to me… and trying to find the web browser had me at a caveman level of confusion.
GrapheneOSRuinedMyPixel@sh.itjust.works 2 hours ago
That’s strange - vanilla gnome should start in overview mode and dash is populated with gnome apps by default. Aside from that, there’s a button in the upper left corner that goes into overview if you press it.
Maybe your install did get corrupted, because literally my grandma could figure it out. On the other hand, most mainstream distros ship with dash to dock and discoverability must be the reason.
myplacedk@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
Debian was not a great choise, it is not for beginners. I wonder why you chose that one.
If you want to try again, I recommend using a distribution that is recommended for beginners. For example Ubuntu.
ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 4 hours ago
It’s not about ease of use. Remember Windows RT? It worked exactly like normal Windows and it still died because people didn’t understand what it is and were confused but the limitations. Making Linux as similar to Windows as possible is not a solution for the masses. It works for people that understand what they are doing or have someone who does at hand. Normal Windows user will just try to install Word and download exe files and be confused that they don’t work. If you want normal users to use Linux you need to make it clear that it’s something different, like OS X or Chrome OS does. You basically need a major OEM to create immutable Linux distro with clear branding and offer commercial support for it. Android for Desktop basically which will be very similar to Chrome OS.
floofloof@lemmy.ca 11 hours ago
Only Office has a UI very similar to Word. I generally prefer LibreOffice for everything else, but Only Office has an easy layout to learn.
GriffinClaw@lemmy.zip 2 hours ago
Seconding Only Office. I had a few docs I needed to print in a hurry, and Libreoffice kept corrupting the fonts/text format. OnlyOffice worked clean.
Serinus@lemmy.world 11 hours ago
The latest Libreoffice update has ribbon menus (optionally).
theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
So… just like… KDE?
orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 hours ago
Microsoft’s ecosystem has been slowly pushing some users toward the exit. Hardware requirements for Windows 11 left millions of perfectly functional PCs behind. Ads on the Start menu and in system notifications have frustrated many. And for gamers, launcher problems, forced reboots and background processes that siphon resources have driven a search for alternatives.
No shit? That’s crazy.
4shtonButcher@discuss.tchncs.de 4 hours ago
Installed Mint on two aging family laptops. One is smoothly running 00s era games already and i barely needed to help the family member with that.
jj4211@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
Well yeah, I would assume Steam would be a big priority for this scenario…