Six outdated myths about Linux

Six outdated myths about Linux

Linux has gotten a lot of attention over the last ten years, but certain outdated myths still persist about it. TechRepublic has a list of these myths and explains why they simply aren’t true.

Jack Wallen reports for TechRepublic:

Consider what Linux was in the late ’90s or early 2000s. New users migrating from Windows to Linux had a serious task ahead of them. Even the process of upgrading from release to release could be a nightmare. You wanted to upgrade the kernel? Good luck learning how to compile!

But the times have changed, and Linux today isn’t the Linux of yesterday.

There will always people that doubt the true simplicity and power of Linux (just like there are those that deny the usability of Windows and Mac). To those that continue to deny the viability of Linux, let me address the following points.

1. Linux doesn’t have the apps I need

2. The Linux upgrade process is too challenging

3. The interface isn’t what I’m used to

4. Solving Linux issues isn’t intuitive

5. 90% of users haven’t installed an operating system

6. New users aren’t smart enough for Linux

More at TechRepublic

TechRepublic readers shared their thoughts:

Humphries74: “Installing Ubuntu is a breeze and I have tried the Live CD’s of Debian, Mint, LXLE, Elementary OS, DSL, and Puppy, all are different but easy enough to install. I do like the fact that there are different flavors to choose from. I believe that Elementary in time will be an awesome distribution of Linux. I am not a computer nerd or a real tech when it comes to computers, but I will say that I have really enjoyed using a Linux OS and the learning is not bad, even for an average Joe. I would like to buy a laptop from System 76 one day but right now, I have more laptops than I can shake a stick at.”

Ben: “The biggie is the use of extremely juvenile names for a lot of the software applications. This obfuscates what Linux can do and it puts off people who are expecting application names to tell something about what the software does. Second is simply that there are far too many distros to choose from. Not only are there too many distros, a great many distros offer a selection from a number of desktops like Gnome, Cinnamon, Mate, Unity, LXDE, and my most unfavorite of all, KDE. Why do I dislike KDE? Because of all the incredibly stupid K-names for various KDE applications.”

Robert: “The number 1 issue mentioned is a big deal breaker all by itself. Whether you blame the OS or developers is irrelevant. If you don’t have the apps or software needed it does no good.”

Barton: “Grandma/Grandpa & SOHOs can’t walk down the street and find a Linux person to help support them. They are there, but much further in-between than a Windows or Apple tech. This even gets worse when you move to a rural area. Do you really think they want to do it themselves; yeah, right. They just want it to work.

I use Linux, Apple, and Windows (right tool for the job). Others in a business don’t have the knowledge I do. But, we are subject to the same politics (sometime whims) as other areas of business. If a CFO says “no open source” and gives her reasons, then it is no open source. You can try to change her mind, but in the end, it is their decision. The negative stereotype, support issues, and a unified enterprise platform for administration needs to be conquered prior to changing their minds (and don’t pretend it isn’t there).”

Charlie: “I abhor the use of the word ‘intuitive’ when referring to software. Most of the time what people really mean is, ‘behaves like I’ve learned to expect’. On the other hand, the average user isn’t going to wade through a slew of log files.”

Aportman: “90-95,99% of Linux users want FREE apps. Sort of hard to build a business case for investing the time and money in building a Linux version of my app if I can’t charge for it. I haven’t tested Adobe’s cloud suite on Linux, but that would be the only way their products are going to be on a penguin box anytime soon.”

CharlieS: “It’s not that installing a Linux distro is difficult, it’s the fear that the user won’t get all his data copied off first. This is especially a problem with Windows ‘Libraries’ consolidating the entire drive into a couple of collections; the user may not know where everything actually resides. Add in multiple users, some of whom may have their data locked. Add in the data that may be stored on the cloud in proprietary silos.”

Juan: “I’m glad I don’t need that Windows-only software. I do not use Photoshop, neither video editing software, and Netflix and Spotify both are available for linux, and I have more software than I need in the repos. If you don’t that specific software, the only reason stopping you from switching is your own fears.”

Brian: “I’ve said it before and it still prevents me from completely switching to Linux. INSTALLING SOFTWARE. The last piece of software I fought with on Linux still has the same instructions that do not work and are a complete mystery to me as a Windows user.”

Rice: “…modern Linux operating systems such as Ubuntu, Mint, and Android make installing applications a pleasure!

In Ubuntu, for example, simply (1) click the “Software Center” icon on the launcher, and (2) double-click the application you want to install.”

More at TechRepublic

Canonical won’t support DEB-based Ubuntu Software Center

The future of the Ubuntu Software Center is up in the air right now, with many users being quite confused as to what will happen to it. But one thing apparently is for sure: Canonical will not support a DEB-based Ubuntu Software Center.

Silviu Stahie reports for Softpedia:

Canonical is not exactly forthcoming with its plans regarding the Ubuntu Software Center. They either don’t know yet what they are going to do or they don’t want to share that information. Either way, the community is getting the wrong idea of what’s happening.

Projects like Ubuntu MATE have already dropped the Ubuntu Software Center, but the main Ubuntu flavor has no such plans for the moment. What they do know is that they don’t want to support a DEB-based solution and they are pushing forward with their new Snappy packages (former Click).

From what it’s been said until now, it looks like Canonical is no longer willing to put any kind of effort and resources in a DEB-powered software center and that it’s betting everything on Snappy. Given that Canonical plans to keep the regular DEB-based Ubuntu alive, it remains a mystery what they are going to do with the third-party software that can’t be updated in the official store.

More at Softpedia

The Purism laptop controversy

Purism’s Librem laptops seem to be causing quite a bit of controversy among some Linux users. The company’s efforts to use totally free and open source software in its products have resulted in some Linux users raking Purism over the coals for not adhering to its ideological promises.

Chris Hoffman reports for PC World:

This controversy may be littered with technical details, but it’s easy to wrap your head around. Purism made some big promises and has some big goals, but many of the people working in the trenches—Coreboot and Libreboot developers—don’t think those goals are realistic or achievable.

Purism has certainly been overly optimistic. Many of the people crowdfunding Purism laptops probably didn’t believe Purism’s promise that its laptops “will be free” meant that they will be free at some point in the future, if possible, but the initial models wouldn’t.

Purism is alone among these free software laptop projects in using the latest Intel CPU’s and other hardware. That means a lot of Purism’s stated goals haven’t actually been met, and there’s no realistic timeline for if they ever will be met. It also means Purism Librem laptops stand out next to Libreboot laptops, and people don’t necessarily appreciate that Purism is chasing a future goal of freedom while Libreboot is delivering it today.

…understand what you’re getting. If you really do want a completely free software experience, avoid Purism for the foreseeable future and stick with Gluglug’s laptops.

More at PC World

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