Vouching for this, because while the topic is controversial and we could have done without the tone of the edit (true or not, it derails the discussion further), there is definitely some truth to what's said!
> "Typically" is not good enough. Windows and MacOS don't make people do that, and neither should Linux distros.
> A ton of people say "it works for me on my hardware" or "I didn't need to compile any drivers" or "the games that I want to play work fine". In fact, this comment thread has good examples of this type of reaction. So what? Until it works for everyone it's just not good enough.
The difference is probably that on Windows installing drivers is as easy as running an .exe or an .msi file, whereas on Linux the process can be more involved due to how different distros can be from one another, how the kernel versions might require different headers and how compilation of drivers might involve dropping down to the terminal which people sometimes forget isn't comfortable for people who don't necessarily use Linux in that capacity.
Wouldn't it be incredibly nice to have something like AppImage or Flatpak, but for drivers? Not the controversial distribution/update practices (though those criticisms are more about snap), but something that's as conceptually simple as clicking on an icon in a GUI somewhere to launch the installation and handle everything behind the scenes?
As for games, look at a recent video by Linus Tech Tips, "Gaming on Linux is NOT Ready... - Daily Driver Challenge Finale ": https://youtu.be/Rlg4K16ujFw
(Linus also demonstrated accidentally bricking his distro by not reading a terminal warning about problems with installing certain packages in the 1st video of the series, which is a really good example of some of the other problems in regards to usability)
There is a lot of progress, but also a lot of problems to solve.
> "Typically" is not good enough. Windows and MacOS don't make people do that, and neither should Linux distros.
> A ton of people say "it works for me on my hardware" or "I didn't need to compile any drivers" or "the games that I want to play work fine". In fact, this comment thread has good examples of this type of reaction. So what? Until it works for everyone it's just not good enough.
I'm also someone who has run into problems with Linux, albeit with some slightly obscure hardware, as described in my comment here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29816615
The difference is probably that on Windows installing drivers is as easy as running an .exe or an .msi file, whereas on Linux the process can be more involved due to how different distros can be from one another, how the kernel versions might require different headers and how compilation of drivers might involve dropping down to the terminal which people sometimes forget isn't comfortable for people who don't necessarily use Linux in that capacity.
Wouldn't it be incredibly nice to have something like AppImage or Flatpak, but for drivers? Not the controversial distribution/update practices (though those criticisms are more about snap), but something that's as conceptually simple as clicking on an icon in a GUI somewhere to launch the installation and handle everything behind the scenes?
As for games, look at a recent video by Linus Tech Tips, "Gaming on Linux is NOT Ready... - Daily Driver Challenge Finale ": https://youtu.be/Rlg4K16ujFw
(Linus also demonstrated accidentally bricking his distro by not reading a terminal warning about problems with installing certain packages in the 1st video of the series, which is a really good example of some of the other problems in regards to usability)
There is a lot of progress, but also a lot of problems to solve.