0
submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by ContrarianTrail@lemm.ee to c/unpopularopinion@lemmy.world

I'm a life-long Windows user who nowdays has a MacBook as a daily driver and a gaming PC running Linux. I consider myself somewhat tech savvy but holy fuck Linux just makes me want to tear my head off. I just spent 45 minutes trying to install Standard Notes "the right way" and in the end I just gave up and downloaded it from the Ubuntu store instead. Error, you need to add this repository. Error, you need to enable this feature. Error, you need to install this tool first which you can use to install another tool and that tool helps you fix the issue preventing you to solve the first issue etc. I honestly can't even imagine how you could make this any more difficult.

I guess Linux is like welding; it's great when someone sets the welder up for you and you just press the trigger and start welding but you're up for some absolute misery trying to figure that out on your own.

Also, a huge credit to chatGPT. I can just take picture of my terminal window and it gives me step-by-step instructions on how to troubleshoot most issues I've had. I'd be at complete loss without it.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] boaratio@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

You haven't been using Linux for long enough.

I remember when you literally couldn't install it on a laptop. I remember having to download wireless driver binary blobs in order to get only a select few WiFi adapters to work. I remember printing being a roll of the dice. I remember hardware graphics acceleration being non existent. I remember when gaming on Linux was Doom, Quake, any of the various Tux games, and Battle of Wesnoth. I remember when webcams just straight up weren't supported. Installing Linux? Prepare to download "disk sets" that were lettered and numbered based on what software you wanted, and each one would go on individual floppy disks.

I used to have to look up hardware that Linux supported and make purchases based on that.

I know things are far from perfect nowadays, but I just wanted to point out that we stand on the shoulders of giants. I bought my kids some Lenovo Ryzen based laptops for Christmas, was able to boot Linux from a USB drive, install it, install steam, put their favorite games on there and it all just worked. Not a single hiccup.

Just wanted to lend some perspective.

[-] deafboy@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Remember when only one application at a time could play sound? And then Ubuntu shipped an early build of pulseaudio, and all of a suden no application could play a sound? :P

Makes me appreciate PipeWire so much more.

[-] boaratio@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Finding driver's and IRQ settings for my Creative Labs Soundblaster. I fought with OSS, ALSA, and Jack to enable real-time audio. I heard my audio get garbled, unfixable without a reboot. All those moments will be lost in time, like using Subversion for source control. Time to reinstall.

this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2024
0 points (NaN% liked)

Unpopular Opinion

6216 readers
1 users here now

Welcome to the Unpopular Opinion community!


How voting works:

Vote the opposite of the norm.


If you agree that the opinion is unpopular give it an arrow up. If it's something that's widely accepted, give it an arrow down.



Guidelines:

Tag your post, if possible (not required)


  • If your post is a "General" unpopular opinion, start the subject with [GENERAL].
  • If it is a Lemmy-specific unpopular opinion, start it with [LEMMY].


Rules:

1. NO POLITICS


Politics is everywhere. Let's make this about [general] and [lemmy] - specific topics, and keep politics out of it.


2. Be civil.


Disagreements happen, but that doesn’t provide the right to personally attack others. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Please also refrain from gatekeeping others' opinions.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Shitposts and memes are allowed but...


Only until they prove to be a problem. They can and will be removed at moderator discretion.


5. No trolling.


This shouldn't need an explanation. If your post or comment is made just to get a rise with no real value, it will be removed. You do this too often, you will get a vacation to touch grass, away from this community for 1 or more days. Repeat offenses will result in a perma-ban.



Instance-wide rules always apply. https://legal.lemmy.world/tos/

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS