Let’s get this out of the way—Linux doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone. Any discussion about Linux’s lack of success is strictly about the desktop operating system market. By every other metric, Linux is king of the hill. When it comes to servers, scientific supercomputers, billions of phones and other embedded systems, Linux is the OS of choice.
This is all about the mission of becoming a true alternative to Microsoft Windows and macOS. It only matters if you think that goal is important. I think it’s important because we desperately need an option that isn’t closed off like macOS or haphazardly slapped together and infected with AI slop like Windows. I’ve written before that if Linux is going to thrive, some distros have to die. This was not a popular opinion to say the least, but I think it was also misunderstood. The variety of choice Linux brings to the table is its greatest technical strength, but it’s also a big part of its failure to penetrate the mainstream.
Linux’s greatest selling point is also its biggest problem
The more the merrier?
You have to look at this from the perspective of the people we need to adopt or switch to Linux for it to have a meaningful stake in desktop computing. That means taking off our computer geek hats and looking at a computer the way the average person does. The sort of person who isn’t interested in a computer for its own sake, but only cares about it as a means to accomplish something else. Like buying a vintage record player off Facebook Marketplace.
The operating system only matters insofar as it facilitates or prevents them from doing the thing they want to do. If they want to play video games, then a Mac or Linux installation probably isn’t a choice. Yes, you can game on both of those operating systems (my Mac runs Baldur’s Gate 3 like a champ) but they present far more friction than Windows.
As far as tolerance for fiddling to get a game running goes, Windows users rank only slightly above console gamers. Who can blame them? The goal is to play a game, not spend the whole day tweaking text files and downloading patches for a compatibility layer.
Think about your own relationship with Linux. Is Linux a useful piece of software that lets you do the things you need, or is your hobby playing with Linux itself?
Most computer users don’t want to make operating system decisions
I just want to send emails!
Credit:
Lucas Gouveia/How-To Geek
I think it’s easy to underestimate how little friction it takes to make the average person switch off, move on, or lose interest. For someone to overcome friction, they need motivation. People who design computer interfaces (or surveys) are very aware of this. It’s part of the science behind dark patterns. Something as simple as framing something as opt-in or opt-out can influence compliance.
An opt-out framing removes just a tiny bit of friction, which makes it more likely that someone will simply stick with the choice you made for them, even when it’s a serious decision like becoming an organ donor! If the box is already ticked for you, you might not feel enough motivation to untick it.
This might not have a huge impact on an individual basis, but when we’re talking about population-level numbers (like millions and millions of computer users), then just a tiny bit of friction goes a long, long way.
Fragmentation creates real friction
So how much friction does the average person face if they want to switch to Linux? Well, you have the first example right there—they have to want to switch to Linux. Microsoft has been doing a great job of creating this desire by messing up its own OS, but the impact is still minimal among “normies.”
Assuming our average user wants to use Linux, the next friction comes from being tech-savvy enough to install a new operating system on a computer, which most computer users are not or have no experience of. If they get past this hurdle, they have to go through the nightmare of choosing a distro.
If you think choice paralysis is bad when trying to pick what to watch on Netflix, that’s nothing compared to picking a Linux distro. Even if you only look at popular or “beginner” distros (which I don’t think is a real thing), there are dozens.
Related
The “Windows vs. Linux” debate is a waste of time: Here’s a better approach
It’s not Windows vs. Linux, it’s Windows and Linux.
Remember this person just wants a computer that works. They do not want to try six different distros, but they’re probably also terrified of picking the “wrong” one.
Going to the internet and the community of Linux geeks is less than helpful. I’ve read your comments on my articles, you guys can’t even decide things among yourselves, much less give cogent advice to someone who just wants to stop their Windows 10 PC from becoming e-waste before its time.
No, you can trumpet user choice and that “git gud” attitude to Linux all you want, that’s not going to move the needle ever. Again, if you don’t think Linux is the OS for everyone, and you just want to be left alone with your Terminal, that’s fine.
If you do want Linux to become a mainstream OS for everyday computer users, then we need one distro (like Zorin, Ubuntu, Mint, etc.) to step up and become dominant. We need computer OEMs to offer those distros as an option on their computers, supported and working flawlessly. The only choice someone should have is clicking “Windows” or “Linux” and if one option shaves $100 off the price tag of the computer, even better.
8/10
Operating System
Kubuntu 24.04 LTS
CPU
Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (2.7GHz up to 5.4GHz)
