Linux / UNIX is a waste of time for 99% of the population: Windows is extremely easy in comparison. Red Hat is very popular as a server platform for server hosting however. As are other UNIX flavor of course (AIX, Solaris, HP-UX to name a few). 😀 IMO of course.

Most of the population is pretty reliant on Linux and don't even know it. It's likely on their phone, maybe a tablet, possibly running in their home internet hardware, runs a large percentage of the internet, etc. It is most definitely a highly useful OS for many situations.

The Linux desktop is not terrible anymore but you still need to be a computer enthusiast to get by with it. So many aspects are flaky yet and fixing problems or even just installing software gets incredibly complex very fast. It's trying to be a jack of all trades and there are so many conflicting agendas in the community.

swaaye wrote:

Most of the population is pretty reliant on Linux and don't even know it. It's likely on their phone, maybe a tablet, possibly running in their home internet hardware, runs a large percentage of the internet, etc. It is most definitely a highly useful OS for many situations.

The Linux desktop is not terrible anymore but you still need to be a computer enthusiast to get by with it. So many aspects are flaky yet and fixing problems or even just installing software gets incredibly complex very fast. It's trying to be a jack of all trades and there are so many conflicting agendas in the community.

After so many ignorant posts in this thread, finally someone stated the obvious. Linux is very important. Much like laxdragon said, it is just the desktop Linux that is just too fragmented to be taken as a truly serious competitor.

I think that Debian and its derivatives are a de-facto standard. At least in terms of gaming on Linux. Valve develops Debian-based SteamOS, supports Ubuntu and GOG is going to suppport Ubuntu and Mint. Other distros (not all of them, hard to play games on Clonezilla Live 🤣 ) aren't supported but they should run those Steam/GOG games, anyway.

F2bnp wrote:

swaaye wrote:

Most of the population is pretty reliant on Linux and don't even know it. It's likely on their phone, maybe a tablet, possibly running in their home internet hardware, runs a large percentage of the internet, etc. It is most definitely a highly useful OS for many situations.

The Linux desktop is not terrible anymore but you still need to be a computer enthusiast to get by with it. So many aspects are flaky yet and fixing problems or even just installing software gets incredibly complex very fast. It's trying to be a jack of all trades and there are so many conflicting agendas in the community.

After so many ignorant posts in this thread, finally someone stated the obvious. Linux is very important. Much like laxdragon said, it is just the desktop Linux that is just too fragmented to be taken as a truly serious competitor.

I like Linux a lot, myself. I use it on two of my backup machines, both of which get used for general tasks (daily drivers if you will). I've created documents, streamed TV shows, listened to music, IM'd and done skype-type chats, and also do light gaming. I've even run Torchlight and some indie games on it. In my mind, there is a lot you can do with Ubuntu or Mint or something like that.

What I can't do is switch to it for doing my artwork, I can't use my 3d software with it unless I run it in a virtual desktop. And I don't want to switch to Blender. And while Linux is getting better on the gaming front, and may someday be a powerhouse, AAA releases are solely on the Windows machine, unless it has a Linux port.

But yes, lots of people probably have some sort of Linux system and don't even realize it. I think Ubuntu or Mint would honestly do 90-95 percent of what people want to do, as long as they don't want shrink-wrapped calendar or greeting card software or AAA game titles.

I agree with the usefulness of Linux / UNIX but I just find that it is very far from becoming a desktop OS contender for the masses. 😀

Linux used to be an absolute nightmare to use for anything other than messing around, but it is getting better. At this point, I would honestly use it as my main OS if it were easier to run Windows programs, and if the graphics drivers were as fast as their Windows equivalents.

It's a decent OS, but it has quite a learning curve, and there's a lot of unneeded elitism among Linux users (hence ass-backwards programs like vi and emacs).

Nobody uses vi. Had a lab at my uni where we used it in last semester and that's about it. There are much much better alternatives.

The thing about Linux is, it is open source, modular. You can customize it the way you like it. That's why it powers a crap ton of stuff nowadays. It is not about being your main desktop OS (which it can do, pretty well too if you know what you're doing). It is all about specialization. My router uses Linux. My cellphone uses Linux. Heck, my set-top-box uses Linux! Also, a lot of fields in IT pretty much require it, like system administration. Windows usually doesn't cut it.

Also, I love Windows. It does everything I want it to 😀.

F2bnp wrote:

Also, I love Windows. It does everything I want it to :).

For as much as I hate when Microsoft screws old things up with new releases, this is essentially the reason why I don't primarily use any other OS. :B

F2bnp wrote:

Nobody uses vi.

I still use VIM when I ssh into a server and need to edit files. I find it very handy for quick editing. It is about as non-intuitive as you can get for an editor, save for EDLIN in DOS. But, master it and regular expressions, and you can whip through text files. For all my larger coding needs I use Sublime, which is not open source, but nothing has beat it yet. (FYI, Sublime has a plugin that allows it to accept VIM commands).

Linux does hit just about every area of my life. Like I said above, it is my primary desktop OS. I still keep a Windows 7 rig around to do my PC gaming on. But, I do play some games on Linux and they are getting better. I also run my DOSBox collection on Linux. I built an Arcade Cabinet, and it... you guessed it... runs Linux. My home firewall/server is Linux (it also hosts my Plex server). Finally, I have a MythTV box for my DVR on Linux.

After all that, I still don't recommend Linux to the masses. I've come to peace with that. I'm quite happy with the all the niches that Linux fills. For the masses, I just tell them to get a tablet or Chomebook/box. Less admin hassle for me anyway.

Yeah I was going to say, a lot of linux distro's are pretty easy to use these days. Personally I use Fedora 20 with the MATE desktop environment, it's extremely nice.
That is not to say I haven't run into a few pot holes along the way but for some reason I really prefer it to windows (which these days is relegated to running drafting software and other windows software I can't seem to run on wine.). The nice thing about linux though is the fact that there really is nothing that is unfixable, it's really just a question of patience.

Infact when windows XP was finally hung out to dry I switched all my older computers (including my parents PC for browsing the web and such) to linux fedora 20 with MATE. They have had minor complaints but I think now that they have been forced to use it for a while it's growing on them, now I'm not saying they will be linux super users anytime soon but they at least know how to navigate it and keep it updated.

One annoyance I do have though is the fact that the terminal is case sensitive in linux. As you all know in DOS the command Dir,DIR,DIr,DiR, and dIR will all produce the same results. However try typing the command yum in linux as YUM or Yum and it tells you invalid command. 😜

I use Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS 64-bit on a N54L microserver. No bad luck - very manageable and very little maintenance, loving it.

King_Corduroy wrote:

The nice thing about linux though is the fact that there really is nothing that is unfixable, it's really just a question of patience.

That's the same of any OS though, Windows included.

You probably shouldn't expect to find many Linux fans on a gaming forum.

Every so often I try out the latest and greatest Linux builds to see if there's been any improvement in useabilty. Linux is definitely much better than it used to be, but it's nowhere near ready for primetime, and may never be. I admire the concept of free open-source software, but I'm just too accustomed to using Photoshop, Premiere, and Sketchup, to run Linux on one of my main machines. Each time I try to use Linux I inevitably get frustrated then promptly reformat and go back to Windows. That being said I'm typing this out using Ubuntu 14.04 on an old Optiplex and seems to be working good so far.

2fort5r wrote:

You probably shouldn't expect to find many Linux fans on a gaming forum.

Actually I like SteamOS.
Its pretty quick on the socket 939 machine I assembled for it.
Really impresses me.

I remember when I first installed a Linux (Ubuntu) on my computer just to see how it works some years ago, I was pretty impressed (at first). The drivers were sorted out for me and a lot of good, useful software came out of the box with the OS. It seemed to me that if I just tweak a few things and adjust a few settings, it will be ready to go. And then I entered the nightmare.

Graphical configurators? pshh, please, that's too Windows. No, you want to have to google for everything you want to change because everything is hidden away somewhere in come config file buried in the depths of the system itself. Of course, many times you won't find it so you ask people online and they will tell you to look for a file that doesn't exist or change a line in the config that isn't there. AARGH!

And it seems like the main philosophy for developing certain parts of the Linux operating systems is: "If it works, it'll do". The prime example of that is the sound. In windows you get an extensive configurator which lets you decide on your speaker configuration, volume of every input and output on your soundcard, and most importantly, the bit depth and sample rate. Also, the volume slider actually shows the percentage so if you find a volume that's just right, you can remember it and easily come back to that exact setting later.

What do you get in Linux? A volume slider that doesn't show percentage and a few basic settings. Want to change anything else? Dig right into the config files. I asked people online how to adjust the bit depth and sample rate. Some of them were actually baffled by why I would want to do such a thing if the sound works... Well yeah, why would I want to utilize the full potential of my hardware? The sound works, so it's all jolly good, right? Such thinking fills me with rage.

I remember having a problem with Ubuntu once when the sound master slider would reset on each start up of my netbook and bombard my ears with full volume. Lovely... And then there was a time when I wasn't able to change important settings in the Nvidia control panel. And there was a time in which the software updater wouldn't work. And there was a time when the mouse cursor would "glitch through" while playing Minecraft. And there was a time when network discovery gave me the middle finger and decided to no longer work. There was a time... meh, you get the idea.

I think that Linux definitely has the potential to be really awesome. The problem is, hardware companies either don't bother to develop Linux drivers for their stuff or they release crappy, buggy, limited versions of such drivers. Software developers would often rather spend their time, effort, and resources on Windows-specific software rather than go multi-platform, because that's where most of the userbase is. As for games, you know how it is. BUT it is slowly changing. More and more stuff is being made for Linux but it still needs a milestone event to really turn the eyes of the world to it, someone would have to do something revolutionary to show that Linux can be great... I'm looking at you, Valve.

Not Linux-related but this reminds me of a jinxed joystick I got on eBay some years ago. The previous owner died and his wife was selling off all his old stuff. I went over to collect it. She didn't say what he died of, and I didn't ask. A few weeks later I got a desperate email from her (or someone with access to her email account) saying she was being held hostage in some Asian country, and demanding money for her release. I assumed this was some sort of joke or scam, but still... I got rid of the joystick ASAP.

^^ I resold it on eBay as Lethal Death-curse Joystick: Bid and Die