I must say, that I have started to use Linux maybe about 5 years ago and in that time I have had some great fun and frustrations with Linux and still use it. I like the freedom it gives but also sometimes get extremely frustrated with it. Here are some of my biggest frustrations as well as what I like most about it. I am by no means an expert, and do not claim to know it all,but this is my experiences.
My frustrations
Most of these is the things almost every major Linux distros have or opinions in the Linux world I find absurd.
1. The regular release cycle of most big distros.
Most distros have a release cycle of a new version every few months. 6 months for Fedora and Ubuntu. You install the OS on your computer, get everything going and working, install what you need and there you go. Once you got used to it, a new release comes out and you have to wipe the whole hard drive, and get a brand spanking new installation. It may have less bugs, be more secure or even have performance improvements. Problem is, you have to set up everything again. Only to run it for the next few months to be re-installing everything from scratch again. Thankfully distros like Ubuntu realise this problem and have long term support versions that are supported for longer. Release cycles for these are 18 months and last time I checked support for updates for these go longer. This is a problem for software developers as well as they have to test their software to new OS consistently. And Linux has many distros. To crown it all off, some of the default programs can change from release to release, causing you more time to install what you are used to, or get used to new software. Email clients and default media players are the main culprits here.
2. The believe in the Linux world that it is unnecessary and dangerous to browse graphically as root on my home computer.
I install some software. Need to get into certain folders and guess what. I cannot save or change files in it unless I am root. Let alone access certain folders. To get my computer in the graphical interface as root, is an almost impossible task in most distros. So the next alternative you are told, change the folder access permission, and do it in the command line or terminal. When in there, enter a nonsensical path to the folder and type some nonsensical command such as chmod. Add to this some hyphens, spaces and slashes. Man, how frustrating. Using the terminal to type such a lot of bollocks just to change a folder access permission is unnecessary. It is my computer, and if I want to browse as root, let me, because I want to change things easily, instead of learning a thesis of "terminal commands". Linux distros need to learn that desktop users need to do tasks as root easily, and a graphic root interface is way more easier and convenient than using the terminal commands.
3. The many applications found, without dependencies.
Most Linux advocates will tell you that you have thousands of free software apps to choose from that can easily replace the windows software. This is very true, there are thousands of apps out there for especially the main distros, doing the same thing. however, not all of them is found in the standard distro repositories. So you have to download it. Most of those application developers do not add the dependencies needed to install and run, and leave it up to the user to resolve. Leaving you alone out there to struggle. Why not just add everything to have a nice installable package? Most people are not tech savvy, and do not need to be. I must admit, the Debian and Debian based distros like Ubuntu, Mint are much better at at helping the user resolve dependencies for software. My experience with the main RPM distros like Fedora and Opensuse where different. What a nightmare. Someone need to teach linux software writers to make good installable packages, which might be difficult for them in some instances, which bring me to my next point.
4. The many different distros and package types, and the selfishness of Linux Gurus.
One of Linux's biggest touted strengths, is also one of its biggest weaknesses. The freedom to have what you want. Yes, Linux offers the opportunity for people to have things the way you want them to be. If you are tech savvy enough, you can make your own flavour of Linux on you computer if you do not like what your last distro where doing. This "you can have what you want" in Linux has attracted some incredibly selfish people. Don't get me wrong, there are great people in the Linux community, and newbies are welcomed and helped on the forums by many people in their own free time. Check the Ubuntu and Fedora forums s proof of this. However, among those who are the Gurus, there is this "I want" and "I dont want" attitude. So guess what happens next when their distro do not go the way they want. They start a new distro. Great, Linux offers them the freedom to do that. The problem is, software and hardware drivers developers become confused as to how to support Linux, as their are too many distros. And they are the people who make things easy for computer users out there. So they ignore developing for Linux. Linux has as many different distros, desktop environments and software dependencies as trees in the rainforest. My question is, why not have everyone tech savvy work together and produce one good base distro, and release it with different desktop environments, and an with different software as users would specialise, sone for the workers, or sone for the common guy that need to use an office suit, e-mails and surf the net. The software package types would all be the same, the software and hardware makers have no excuse, and software will be compatible to a range of distros over type and platform. Such a distro would really challenge Windows, because it will have to be good if everyone works together. However, the truth is too many gurus just ""want" and fragment everything. And are too selfish to admit it. Linux should have had one platform distro, with different release types that specialises.
Now what I like about Linux
1. Learning Linux has helped me to understand better how my computer works. If you are the type of person that likes to tweak things, learn continuously and be challenged, then Linux might be for you.
2. The way new people are welcomed and helped by volunteers. There are some great people who in their own time provide help and answer questions to people new to Linux. These guys do a great job and without them Linux would be very poor. To all those guys helping others on the forums, GREAT JOB AND THANK YOU. These guys do not get paid or compensated but voluntarily, in their own time, help people and sometimes has to put up with abuse as well. If you do go to the forums for help, be patient, ask what you need and remember that most people are their voluntarily. Be nice and remember to thank them.
3. Linux is free. What more can I say. Many people complain a lot, but forget that Linux is a great product for something that is free. If you use a PC for music and movies, emails, internet and office documents, then Linux might be for you. You will be able to do all those things without effort and without forking out hundreds of dollars.There are many distros that will do these things very well out of the box.
3. Linux is fast. really fast. It will run on a computer without consuming much resources and do a lot of things faster. If you like Firefox on windows,try using it on Linux. You will be surprised. It starts up much much quicker and gets through he web faster on Linux.
4. No worries about viruses and malware. Really. I have heard of viruses on Linux, but have never encountered one myself, in all this years. And I cannot count the times I struggled with viruses and malware on my windows machines. Even with an updated antivirus and Firewall installed, some stuff occasionally slip through.
5. Clean desktops. I hate the clutter a windows machine by nature develops on the desktop. Linux desktops like Gnome, arrange software nicely into categories, without creating annoying shortcuts on the desktop. The windows desktop is way, way behind to Gnome and KDE.
All in all. I love Linux and with all the developments, I think I will continue using it for some time to come. I started with Ubuntu but ended up with Fedora as I am more comfortable in that environment doing work. If you want to try out Linux, I suggest you start with Ubuntu or Mint and you can try the live CD's, getting the feel for it, without first installing it. Many distros have live CD's these days. Happy learning.
