My answer to 'Top 7 reasons people quit Linux'

One of my favorite technology blog sites is zdnet.com. Today Andrew Nuska posted an article entitled Top 7 reasons people quit Linux? How about 7 reasons to try it. While I agree with Andrews statements, he did not answer the original reasons for quiting Linux. I also have to agree with Andrew, Keir Thomas of PC World did get a bit arrogant in his article. I would like to attempt to respond in a more respectful fashion to Keir's reasons.

1. Linux doesn't run a program I use

That may be true. The most notable is Yahoo! Messenger. Wine is working on it, but Yahoo keeps breaking it. If yahoo would just cooperate we could make it work. (Edit: Just tested Yahoo against latest wine, it now logs in but is still really unstable.) No Pidgin does not have exactly the same functionality. There are others, but again, we are working on it. I do tend to not worry about whether or not the software is for Windows or Linux, I just install it and see if it works. Often times, when the Linux version requires too much work, I will just grab the Windows version and see. So far, only Messenger has failed.

2. I installed Linux, but some element of my hardware didn?t work

This one is not really different from Windows. A lot of hardware doesn't work right out of the box under Windows. You have to find the drivers for it. The best part about Linux is, it's very likely you won't have to look much farther than your distro's repository (appstore). Some printers still don't work, but support is getting better. Many devices actually work better under Linux that Windows. Others are still in development. Pick a modern Distro and keep it updated. What doesn't work today, might work next week. You can also do the Linux thing and go complain to the people working in that area. They will coach you through getting information about your hardware and sending it to them. This may not be an instant fix, but it will help everyone using Linux. Once I began using Linux full time, it just became habit to look up hardware I want to purchase and check for Linux compatibility. I tend to find the Linux capable hardware to be cheaper and better made.

3. I tried Linux, but I had to type commands

The command line is the most powerful tool in Linux. But I don't like it either. Fortunately, we are not alone. More and more tools are being developed that stand between us the command line. Now I will only use the command line when I want to. Not because I have to. That said, refer to #3. Should you have hardware that doesn't work and some developer is trying to help you make it work. You will find it far easier to cut and past commands into the command line, than to follow a bunch of screen shots on which buttons to push.

4. I did *this*, and *this* happened. That doesn't happen with Windows

Your right. Linux is not Windows. It's not better, it's not worse. It is different and under constant development. For the average user, Linux will meet their needs. Flash works, so does Java. Acrobat reader does install and run. Wine is available from most repositories, tho it might require some manual package installation to get a fully functioning Windows replacement. Much of that is point and click tho. All Windows multimedia codecs work, but some of the encryption stuff doesn't yet. You can use it right out of the box or you can make a few changes to make it more Windows like. But never think that Linux is like Windows. It's just not.

5. I posted a message on a forum, but Linux people were mean to me

True dat. Linux forums are no different than any other forums. There are mean people every where. But there are enough nice people that you should be able to get along. Historically, people don't like answering the same question a dozen times each day. So they do expect you to at least try to find the answer on your own. I will typically start with a Google search with either Linux or my distro (VectorLinux) as the first word of my search. Then, if you can't find your answer within ten minutes, post. I like Linuxforums.org. Thats a very nice group of people. They have the forums broken up into distro. That way your not looking through posts about Slackware trying to find the answer to your Ubuntu problem.

6. I just don't like it

Linux is not for everyone. Thats okay. We offer freedom of choice. The competition we provide to Windows and OSX helps everyone. It's okay if you don't like Linux, just the fact that we are here means your next Windows experience will be just a little bit better. Do you remember Windows 95-ME. That was the days before Linux became noticed by Microsoft. WinXP was a lot better. Then Vista offered much better security. Now Win7 will combine stability, speed and security. Linux means free choice. That means MS has to continue to earn your business. That's good for everyone.

7. I installed Linux and things went honey-nut-loops crazy

That is possible. Not sure how. But possible. I installed Ubuntu 9.04 yesterday on an older HP Vectra. After installation the Graphical Interface (xserver) wouldn't start. That happens sometimes. But there are a lot of different distro's. Ubuntu went haywire on that machine so I switched to a lighter distro. A variant of Slackware called VectorLinux worked great on that old PentiumII. I'm not going to tie you down and make you try Linux. I just ask that you not stop with the first distro you try. They are all different and each has it's strengths and weaknesses. Set up an old machine out of the closet. One that just barely runs WinXP or maybe it doesn't run it anymore. Use that one as your Linux testbed. Don't be afraid to say 'This distro just doesn't work for me.' Not everyone has a great broadband connection. But everyone can buy preburned copies of various Linux cds or dvds. Just Google cheap Linux cds. Most folks offer them for around $5+shipping.

I hope this offered at least some information.