Thread: Why Linux, for the average user?

I definitely understand why it's preferred over linux (the average person shouldn't have to fiddle with xorg.conf to get a damn visual interface among other things), but once I learned how to use linux, I find I rarely run into issues.
On a side note--what distro were you running hunter?

@Valis: That's probably why I'm still using Linux... but there are still outstanding issues with the setup. I suppose a large part of the problem is that I'm running it on a laptop; otherwise, I wouldn't be bothering about CPU scaling at all, or half a dozen other things that currently don't work quite right. I'm running Slackware 10.2, though at this point I don't think it's very recognizable anymore as Slackware. I've tried Mandriva before (advertised as one of the most user-friendly ever, at the time), but just the thought of it gives me heebie-jeebies. *shiver*

>>2 months? What... Please tell me you were busy at work.
No. Been figuring out crazy X.org problems, hardware problems, software problems, everything.

And of course, trying to make it do cool stuff Gee, that might explain it...

So if the computer comes with a completed and working Linux installation from the store, there's no reason why the average user shouldn't use it.
Until they're surprised they can't install that little app they just downloaded, anyway ...

That's true enough, I suppose; it's the second sentence in that line that gets me though. About 40-50% of anything I download needs tweaking before it'll build/work.

Come to think of it, there *are* quite a few nice features to Linux. I can't say I've ever run into the problems in Windows previously described, but then generally I have it only run with 1 user (superuser), without even a password or login screen. I've never needed symlinks in Windows (mostly those seem to be cheap workarounds for incompatibilities between slightly different library versions, or distribution-specific filesystem architectures), or a shell. In fact, symlinks are often quite annoying (problem is greater for new installs of unfamiliar distros), when you're browsing the filesystem and suddenly realize that you've been going in symbolic circles. Guess there's a plus and minus everywhere.

@MarioF: While I recognize that GIMP and Blender are hugely popular, I really can't deny that the UI is butt-ugly. Maybe that's because I'm using Fluxbox though.

EDIT:

Of course, it refused to work on windows - but worked (with no addition drivers) in Linux. (They're all mass storage devices... why must I get a driver for each camera, disk, etc... >.>)

Windows 98?.. But seriously, I've found that the vast majority of the time, it's the other way around. Take for example, my laptop's 5-in-1 card reader. It's been at least 1-2 years now, and *nobody* has been able to get it to work with Linux. And I can't get my touchpad to work either (except as a PS/2 mouse with no scrolling). Or my hotkeys. Or my printer/scanner, or PDA. Jeez.

Originally Posted by Hunter2

That's true enough, I suppose; it's the second sentence in that line that gets me though. About 40-50% of anything I download needs tweaking before it'll build/work.

I'm talking about pre-built Windows executables. You know, those that need WINE to run - or not run

If you love messing with your system, I would recommend Gentoo over all other distros.