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Great take on "Why don't more people use Linux?"

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Why don't more people use Linux?

Stumbled across this quick post recently and thought it was a really good tale and worth sharing.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a tweet asking: "If Linux is so good, why aren't more people using it?" And it's a fair question! It intuitively rings true until you give it a moment's consideration. Linux is even free, so what's stopping mass adoption, if it's actually better? My response:

  • If exercising is so healthy, why don't more people do it?
  • If reading is so educational, why don't more people do it?
  • If junk food is so bad for you, why do so many people eat it?

The world is full of free invitations to self-improvement that are ignored by most people most of the time. Putting it crudely, it's easier to be fat and ignorant in a world of cheap, empty calories than it is to be fit and informed. It's hard to resist the temptation of minimal effort.

And Linux isn't minimal effort. It's an operating system that demands more of you than does the commercial offerings from Microsoft and Apple. Thus, it serves as a dojo for understanding computers better. With a sensei who keeps demanding you figure problems out on your own in order to learn and level up.

Now I totally understand why most computer users aren't interested in an intellectual workout when all they want to do is browse the web or use an app. They're not looking to become a black belt in computing fundamentals.

But programmers are different. Or ought to be different. They're like firefighters. Fitness isn't the purpose of firefighting, but a prerequisite. You're a better firefighter when you have the stamina and strength to carry people out of a burning building on your shoulders than if you do not. So most firefighters work to be fit in order to serve that mission.

That's why I'd love to see more developers take another look at Linux. Such that they may develop better proficiency in the basic katas of the internet. Such that they aren't scared to connect a computer to the internet without the cover of a cloud.

Besides, if you're able to figure out how to setup a modern build pipeline for JavaScript or even correctly configure IAM for AWS, you already have all the stamina you need for the Linux journey. Think about giving it another try. Not because it is easy, but because it is worth it.

170 comments

  • Man, I wish the Windows-only shop I support as a sysadmin "just worked." I spend the majority of my time troubleshooting random Windows issues.

    Driver issues, firmware issues, Teams breaking, Outlook breaking, SharePoint and OneDrive sync issues, Edge freezing/crashing, UI scaling issues, routine updates failing, random connectivity issues, random audio issues, printer issues...

    I won't lie, my Linux computers have random issues too, but way less often than the Windows machines I have to support every day. And when I encounter the Linux issues, I actually can fix them in a way that is permanent almost always.

    Windows on the other hand, I typically fix and then the same problem starts happening again a few months later after an update, or the only "fix" that works is restarting the computer several times in a row.

    To be fair to the Windows defenders, Windows 11 has easily been the worst for this in my experience. Windows 10 was more stable, and Windows 7 was even better. XP had lots of random issues, but back then you could still get under the hood pretty easily and make Windows do what you wanted.

    Every personal device I have runs Linux and has for several years. I removed Windows completely from my life thank God, and I can't imagine going back. I honestly would be more likely to stop using computers altogether before I went back to the horror show that is Windows/Microsoft.

  • I think one of the biggest hurdles for Linux is that Windows comes preinstalled. People are lazy, and want things to just work.

    If companies could sell systems at a reasonable, competitive price, with Linux preinstalled; I do believe we could see folks use it.

    The average user does not see a computer the same way a tech-savvy individual does. They want to push the buttons and the computer do the thing.

    Sure steam has helped make it more viable for game enjoying folks to hop on board, even if it isn't just click and play for every game; it has made strides.

    We also need support from big entities, but that is likely an uphill battle. For as much as I love open source software, and the entire ecosystem surrounding open software standards; we have players like Microsoft, adobe, and I am sure more that will push back. Including DRM and Anti-Cheat from other companies as well.

    The average user isn't going to know, let alone fight things like kernel level anti-cheat, DRM, and closed standards.

    Unfortunately not everyone has the will, the time, or the intelligence to learn something new.

    And add in many folks inability to deal with change well.

    This is just some of my thoughts on the subject...

  • dhh isn't advocating for linux for everybody per se; instead it's addressed at programmers and similar folk who regard linux as way too complex for everyday use. the background story being that he was an Apple fanboy for the longest time and recently made the switch and now can't shut up about it. as a result they (basecamp) developed some insane rice setup that has to be seen to be believed, it's beyond ridiculous.

    as an aside, I've met those people he's talking at and they regularly blow my mind. like, how can you utilize a modern toolchain for practically every possible development scenario using an OS that actively fights you every step of the way, the abomination called WSL notwithstanding...

    so the idea is the brogrammers will become the early adopters and by way of trickle-down-tech linux will make its way to normies, same way e.g. Android did.

    I don't think that's gonna happen in the foreseeable future. the options, distros, DEs, whatevers are way too fragmented and fragile and are infested with the most deluded, rabid "fans" there are, each and everyone of them mired in truckloads of "no true scottsman" fallacies.

    Apple has a vertically integrated tech stack - there is one DE, one WM, one codebase for every product they sell and they are free to focus their sinister efforts elsewhere, backed by the deepest coffers there are.

    contrast this with the myriad of distros, package managers, DEs, WMs, etc. each pulling in a different direction, abandoned paths and duplicated efforts galore, done predominantly with no funds to speak of; and if there are any, they are squandered on... what was it, shamans?

    no math in this universe is gonna make team #2 catch up to team #1, let alone surpass it.

  • good take while I love Linux I must admit it has been quite the struggle sometimes. But everything worthwhile in life takes effort. It's not everybody's cup of tea and I like it that way actually.

170 comments