11 Reasons Linux Sucks - Down To Earth Linux 18-01-18 07'39

11 Reasons Linux Sucks

Last Updated Feb 4, 2017 by John Morris & filed under Concepts.

A few days ago I talked about why

you should try Linux. Today, to the
chagrin of Linux fanboys
everywhere, I will explore the other
side of the issue with 11 reasons the
average desktop user would want to
avoid Linux.

So here we go! In no particular

order, here are 11 reasons Linux
sucks.

Reason #1: It’s Complicated

Linux is more complex than Windows or OS X. Sure, once you are familiar
with Linux and its idiosyncrasies, it’s not hard to use. But the initial
learning curve is steep.

As with several of the upcoming entries, this problem isn’t as severe as it

was a few years ago. There are now a handful of distributions that work
straight out of the box for most people, and setting them up is only slightly
more difficult than a recent copy of Windows.

But even with those improvements, new users must, at least, sift through
all the available distributions to find the easy ones, learn how to download
the right install image, learn to burn the image to a disc or create a
bootable USB thumb drive, get to the install portion, and decipher what
each prompt is asking.

This is not an insignificant hurdle for many people. Good Linux users are

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good because they experiment and seek more information. If you are
unable, or unwilling, to learn and work through Linux’s complexities, you
may want to avoid Linux.

Reason #2: You’re Alone… Almost

How many Linux users are there? It’s difficult to pinpoint this exactly, but
relatively speaking, it is safe to say not many.

Problems you encounter are your responsibility to fix. You can’t pop into
any computer repair shop with your Debian rig and get help. The only help
you’re going to get is through Linux forums, IRC channels, mailing lists,
and occasionally fantastic Linux blogs such as Down To Earth Linux. !

Not everyone has a problem with this. I fix my own computers, and vastly
prefer talking via typed messages over the Internet, than in person or over
the telephone. It’s my mindset. But for many, this is horrible and a valid
reason to avoid Linux.

Reason #3: It Changes Constantly

At it’s popularity peak, the Ubuntu distribution looked something like this:

It was sleek, lightweight, polished, and easy to use. Since the first versions
of Ubuntu, the layout and workflow hadn’t changed much. Each update

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included small tweaks and improvements, there were a few color scheme
changes, but everything was largely consistent and familiar.

Less than one year later, Ubuntu releases looked like this:

Ubuntu opted for a radically different user interface, called Unity, that was
buggy as hell (it’s much more stable now).

This isn’t a purely Ubuntu problem, and it isn’t restricted to user

interfaces. Linux distributions often make radical changes that break or
change things you used to do with your computer. Again, this is not as bad
as it was a few years ago, but it is still a problem.

Reason #4: Pointless Competition

Wayland or Mir? Gnome Shell, KDE, Cinnamon, Unity, XFCE, MATE, or

LXDE? OpenOffice or LibreOffice? Banshee, Amarok, or Rythmbox?

This is one of the few entries in the list that is getting worse, not better. A
short while ago, there were two major desktop environments, Gnome and
KDE. Each had its own strengths and weaknesses, and were distinct from
the other. Now, Gnome Shell, KDE, Cinnamon, Unity, XFCE, MATE, and
LXDE are all major desktop environments… and most do damn near the
same thing.

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Why start Cinnamon from the ground up when some configuration tweaks
to Gnome Shell could have accomplished the same thing? Why did they
reinvent the wheel?

How about the much-lauded Wayland and Mir display server? What major
feature does Mir have that Wayland does not? They do the same thing!
Why are we making two products?

Don’t get me wrong, I believe competition is great. But only when a

competitor improves upon the other’s limitations. Gnome was fast and
simple, but it was plain and offered limited customization. KDE offered all
the shiny widgets and customization that Gnome lacked, but it was more
complex and resource intensive because of it. Each served a distinct
purpose and catered to a specific audience.

What purpose and audience does Cinnamon have that Gnome Shell can’t
fulfill? All these pointless competing products make it difficult for Linux
promoters to make clear recommendations, and make it difficult for
newcomers to figure out what the hell is going on.

Reason #5: Mediocre Hardware & Peripheral Support

While you can run Linux on a wider variety of exotic systems than its
competitors, it often chokes on common hardware. It’s not Linux’s fault.
Many hardware manufacturers don’t provide support for Linux,
so developers are left to reverse engineer support.

But, that doesn’t mitigate the annoyance. You can’t simply

purchase any video card that plugs into your computer. That wireless card
in your laptop? There’s a good chance that will give you some trouble. Oh,
you bought a digital camera? I hope it doesn’t require any special drivers
or software to get the pictures off.

Reason #6: It’s Slow

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Okay, it’s not slow. It’s just not fast anymore. The current version of
Ubuntu runs slower on my powerful gaming desktop than 8.04 (Hardy
Heron) did on my then old Pentium 4 laptop. It’s kind of sad that I no
longer notice any performance difference between the most recent version
of Fedora and Windows.

In order to get that lightweight, snappy feeling back in my computer, I

need to use a distro built on simplicity and speed, such as CrunchBang, or
use a barebones distro such as Arch and add in everything myself.

Again, it’s not exactly slow. But it’s no longer a given that it will rocket past
Windows and OS X like it used to. This was a huge selling point to Linux!

“Tired of the bloated feeling of Windows Vista? Throw on the easy to

use Ubuntu and your computer will kick ass again!”

Now that’s gone.

“Well, it’s still kind of fast, but on a computer that old, it will struggle. If
you really want speed, you can try a different distro that’s not as
resource intensive, or upgrade your computer.”

FFS! I feel like an iPhone salesman apologizing for an iOS update that
crippled everyone’s old iPhone.

Reason #7: Programs Suck

Okay, they don’t exactly suck, particularly since most of them are free. But
in many areas the competition is so much better.

Let me give you an example. I am an engineering student, and I absolutely

need Windows. Linux programs for computer aided engineering are
garbage compared to the competition like AutoCAD, SolidWorks, and
Catia. And there is no sign this will change any time soon.

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And it’s not just engineering. How about video editing? You can not do
serious, professional video editing on a Linux rig. You need Windows or
OS X.

Office work? Everyone keeps saying how great LibreOffice is, but for many
tasks, Microsoft Office is the only way to go. Complex Excel operations do
not transfer over to Calc. Heavily formatted Word documents break
completely. And outside LibreOffice, Evolution and Zimbra are not
suitable replacements for Microsoft Outlook in even the smallest enterprise
setting.

Linux can not replace Windows or OS X for many people because the
software is so lacking. Once you start getting out of servers,
supercomputers, or strictly generic web surfing desktops, the software
choices are poor at best.

Reason #8: Gaming

A couple of years ago, gaming on Linux was a joke. There were a few open
source games that, while fun, were nothing compared to the Call of Dutys,
Battlefields, Skyrims, and Grand Theft Autos of the day. Yes, there were a
handful of people that they got their game working on Wine by spending 3
days configuring it and accepting defeat on certain features. But serious
gamers never bothered to go through all that work.

Today, things are definitely better. Ubuntu, Steam, and others are working
hard on making gaming not only possible, but decent on Linux.
Unfortunately though, it still has a long way to go before contending with
Windows. A serious gamer could not live on Linux.

Reason #9: It’s Free

This is one of Linux’s greatest strengths… and greatest weaknesses. Let’s

put aside the moral, ethical, and philosophical aspect (I’ll get to that in a

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minute), and deal strictly in reality.

Developers need money to eat, and with a few notable exceptions, Linux
and Linux software doesn’t provide it. With their money and will,
Microsoft had about 1000 highly skilled developers working full-time on
Windows 7. These developers worked as a cohesive, managed unit all
working towards the same goal, and produced a great product in a short
period.

Linux, on the other hand, is a mixture of code, some of it 20+ years old,
from millions of developers of varying talent, working on whatever the hell
they feel like. Now don’t get me wrong. That a powerful and functional
operating system is the result of this chaos is fantastic and awe-inspiring.

But, it kind of sucks. It means Linux is always on shaky ground. There are
never enough talented developers working together on enough of the
operating system. And when something does gain significant progress and
momentum, it often fragments into multiple projects all doing exactly the
same thing (see reason #4) because there is no unifying vision or
management.

Probably the most professional, well-organized, and best part of Linux, it’s
kernel, is heavily invested in by companies like Red Hat, Intel, and IBM.
And subsequently, most of the kernel is written by developers paid to do it.

Reason #10: Philosophy Versus Practicality

Now on to the ethical, moral, and philosophical aspects I dismissed in

reason #9. A large portion of the Linux community like Linux for
philosophical reasons. They fundamentally disagree with the principal of
closed source and/or for-profit software.

And there is an equally large part of the Linux community that doesn’t care
at all. They like Linux because it works best for what they want to do. They

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don’t care if they use proprietary drivers from evil corporations. They
don’t care if the software is closed source. They will pay for software if it is
worth paying for. Linux just happens to fit their current needs.

Whichever camp you fall into, you find the other side supremely
frustrating. If you’re a practical user like me, it’s annoying that MP3 files
don’t play out-of-the-box in some distros because of some philosophical
licensing debate. If you’re a philosophical user, you hate that some distros
throw your beliefs under the bus in favor of saving users 2 minutes of time.

This schism in the community only reinforces the other divisions and
rivalries discussed above, frustrates newcomers to the operating system,
and provides yet another reason to avoid Linux.

Reason #11: The Community

When members of the community aren’t being reasonable, polite, and

helpful, they are complete jerks. Forums are filled with infighting,
unhelpful responses, and downright nastiness. And by filled, I mean you
occasionally stumble across these posts.

Okay, enough with the jokes. Yes, the majority of the Linux community is
helpful and civil. Maybe a bit abrupt, but not mean-spirited.

But it is not uncommon for miniature wars to erupt for dumb reasons. If
you are outspoken about flaws or problems with Linux, or open source in
general, you can expect severe verbal attacks, and possibly much worse. If
you begin contributing to open source projects, your contributions will
likely be ridiculed at one point or another. Hell, one of the towering figures
in the open source community, the creator of Linux himself, Linus
Torvalds, is a well-known asshole who viciously berates people on regular
occasions.

Just peruse the comments on this article personally attacking me. Here are

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a few of my favorite gems:

Why don’t Debian and Debian derivative users need hands?

This is the End

I can hear the Linux fanboy fingers pounding on the keyboard right now.
They plan on telling me about an obscure software package that I didn’t
mention. They intend on regaling me with all the flaws in Windows or OS
X. Or they will get really defensive… almost as if I mentioned politics or
religion.

So let me say this before your fingers fly. I LOVE LINUX! I’m not trying
to create an impenetrable picket line to stop people from using Linux. If
you want to feel all warm and fuzzy by hearing how great Linux is, read my
last post. Windows and OS X have plenty of faults as well, and if this were
a Windows or OS X website, I would write about those.

I am aware that many of these “problems” also have positive effects that
have helped shape Linux into the awesomeness it is today. I am also aware
that Linux has made phenomenal strides in recent years. Hardware

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support, usability, compatibility, and much more are the best they’ve ever
been, and are only getting better.

This post’s intention is to, as honestly and unbiased as I am capable, give

constructive criticism on Linux’s weaknesses to inform the curious, and,
hopefully, inspire more positive changes.

All right, now you can use the comments below to yell at me. I also highly
recommend you share this post on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ with as
many rude and crude hashtags as possible. Oh, and make sure to sign-up
for our newsletter so we can deliver more anger inducing material to your
inbox!

Written By John Morris

John is a sailing instructor and mechanical engineering student who

happens to be a computer geek. To find more information about John, visit
his website or find him on social media by clicking on the icons below.

Tags: Tips, Understanding Linux

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