zlacker

>>tonyst+(OP)
I have a feeling that the overall reality is far more hit-or-miss than the author implies. If you happen to be lucky to have all hardware that Linux supports well, then everything does work nicely (which is infact a nice improvement over the early days). If you get unlucky on your hardware, well buckle up, it's gonna be a ride. You are of course more likely to have good hardware support on very old devices.

Windows has its faults for sure, but it's much better in my experience as far as just working on any type of hardware and accessories. If it doesn't just work already, drivers are generally easy to find and install.

>>ufmace+f4
The rallying cry of the Linux desktop enthusiast: “well, it works for me!”

>>Hellio+Q5
Yeah, well, it's been that way for me for many years now through many machines of varying brands. These Dell machines are just the most recent, and I was shocked at how effortless the whole install process went this time around compared to way back when I first started using Linux. It really was a huge hassle back in the "olden days" of early Linux… Nowadays it's proven pretty "plug and play" all the way around every single time I've installed a new Linux rig.

>>blooal+d7
This comment is exactly what I mean.

>>Hellio+k8
Whatever… I'm glad to no longer have to fight my operating system to work with my hardware like I always had to on Windows - "Plug and Pray" was a joke for a valid reason. Installing drivers is for rubes. I'd rather plug stuff in and just get to work without going on a freakin' scavenger hunt for drivers… If you hate Linux so much, then just don't use it. Simple, yeah?

>>blooal+Ga
I greatly prefer Linux and use Windows when some software forces me to, but I don't feel that your comment is constructive in this conversation.

Windows is generally a smoother experience. Linux is generally not ready for the average user with a randomly picked computer, as much as we'd wish it is.

>>Negati+dg
Yeah, well, I don't really feel that Linux gettin' shit on every single time it's mentioned anywhere is entirely constructive, either. I been using Linux for many years, and over that time it's quite simply continued to improve in areas where Windows was always a huge pain for me (and most all of my family and friends with few exceptions). Most notably, that whole "Plug and Play" hardware thing. In this most recent decade or so of my Linux use, that got to be a total non-issue with hardware I've bought ranging from cheap random Chinese garbage to high-priced high-quality hardware devices. I plug them in, and they work. On rare occasion (like with printers or NVIDIA cards) I'll have to install drivers (direct from my package manager), but even then, it's light-years ahead of any experience I've ever had with drivers on Windows. Is Linux perfect? Hell no! No operating system is. Is it the best operating system for me? Absolutely. It Just Works™ in my personal experience, and that's all I care about. I'll keep using it, and I will keep defending it to those who keep spreading decades old no longer even remotely true FUD. Don't like Linux? Don't use it. Period. Don't gotta keep telling those of us who do like and use Linux (for the billionth time) how much better Windows is. It isn't better - just different, and in some ways decidedly worse than all of it's competitors. But if it's what you need or want to use, then use it FFS. Just don't come to evangelize Windows to people who used it for years and learned to prefer something else because it straight up worked better/more reliably for them than Windows did. It gets beyond old to keep hearing that bullshit after a while.