Heyho, recently someone asked for the silliest reasons, but as someone who has suggested linux to many people, I often encounter people having valid reasons for staying with Windows or switching back.
The most boring but valid one is “I have to use Windows for work. It is a requirement (of some software I have to use)”. But there are also other answers that fit. My sister for example tried Linux, but while installing software constantly encountered issues that I helped her solve and eventually switched back because she felt like she had less control than over windows. While I am aware that this is fundamentally wrong, it is valid that some amateur users do not want to invest enough time to get over the initial hurdles of relearning how to install software.
What are the best reasons people have given you for not wanting to try Linux?
I can give you my own reason: I don’t have enough energy left besides work and general life to clean up my mess of hoarded data and make the switch. I am reasonably sure that all my hardware would work, about all games I play should work (nothing with crazy anticheats, next to all steam) too. I have two Linux nerds I could contact if needed and I have some prior experience, even though it is about half a life ago.
Edit: Oh and having something that does what I want and not some guessed approximation at home would make me even more intolerant of the shitshow we have at work.
“It’s not compatible with all games”
“VR on Linux is trash”
“I can’t play XYZ game because Linux isn’t compatible with anticheat”
“Program XYZ doesn’t have a Linux version, I don’t want to learn a new program”
“Windows bloat never bothered me, I just ignore the AI/advertisements”
“I’m forced to use Windows because of my job”
“Linux is to complicated/troublesome. I just want something that works”
Adobe software, autoCAD, and anticheat are the top 3 reasons I usually hear. While there are alternatives for the first two, people who need these specific tools professionally don’t really have the choice.
Anticheat for gaming is a big one too. Personally I didn’t even consider switching until I finally quit Destiny 2 for good. If the main game someone plays just doesn’t work, they’re not gonna switch.
Do you work with CAD programs and if so, do you know a full feature alternative? I grew up with Linux because my father had unix at work before CAD program makers moved to windows and nowadays he has windows because that is where his CAD programs work. He is in retirement already, but very much a creature of habit. So while he has time to learn something new, radically different controls or such wouldn’t work out.
I use commercial CAD. CATIA for car bodies. There is no FOSS alternative that comes close for my work. But the light at the end of the tunnel is, many CAD systems, including CATIA, are going web based. So users just need a browser on any OS. And the back end can be what it wants.
My father worked in machine development, I believe AutoCAD was actually one of the programs they used. I am sceptical when it comes to browser based versions utilising the full power of the system, interesting development for sure though.
Yes I have no interest in having a browser in the way. But 2 things. Firstly CATIA in a browser is just the same CATIA running on a remote PC somewhere. It’s the same program. And secondly, as longvas the UI looks and works the same, with no delays, then it’ll be fine. Sure you can’t use it when your wifi or Internet is down or slow, or the provider has power or Internet issues. And your customer is not a military or super secrecy case. But its clearly expecting to find a market.
Unfortunately not, just something I hear a lot from folks.
Thank you for taking time to reply anyhow!
@VoxAliorum accessibility is not as good as others OS. This is really the most legitimate reason I was given.
They use nothing but an iPhone. Not even a tablet. Just the phone.
The best reason is the simplest one. People have job where they rely on a piece of software. If you took years to master something like Adobe Photoshop and later switched to linux only for all that to go away and you being forced to use something different like Gimp, you would 100% be pissed off
They are not ready. They took several years to master Windows to just a minimum of use. They don’t have the money to pay for help if problems occur. They don’t have someone in their network that can help them. They need a specific app to work flawlessly for either job or hobby. There’s a lot of good reasons. But there are getting less of them, while Linux is evolving.
“I really only use the PC for gaming. Mostly, I play Valorant.”
There ya go, you’re not getting that working under Linux even if you are a master tinker. 🤷♂️ He did eventually switch, but not until long after he stopped playing Valorant regularly.
Some reasons are silly, some are incredibly valid. Sometimes it’s just “I don’t want to” and that’s OK too, lol.
I am very pro Linux but “I like Windows” is valid enough for me. I might ask why but I am not going to act like that reason is invalid.
If they like Windows 11 I’d distance myself and watch my back while I’m doing it. Windows 10 was OK, 7 was great, 8 was at least not completely shit but the vibe coded mess of 11 can only appeal to serial killers or Hellraisers.
The people that say this probably never upgraded from Windows 10. Nobody who uses Windows 11 likes Windows (except my friend who works in software development, I don’t know what’s going on in his head).
miracast doesn’t work on linux.
GNOME network monitors exists.
“Nobody uses it so nobody can help me”
Bitch I’m standing right in front of you, also you can pay people or get free support on the internet. Linux users are way more helpful than the average Windows user…
Average Windows advice for basically every “Please help!” posts: “Just run DISM/SFC” marked as “solved”
I work on Windows computers for people, and do run both commands as just general flow. But I was so fucking excited recently to finally run into an issue that those commands actually fixed something (or at least a couple of the noticeable issues). Was so shocked that I had to tell all my direct co-workers.
But basically all other times I have ran them for real problems, I can’t remember any instance where they worked. For all the videos or guides with titles like “How to fix all Windows PCs”, you would think that they are the only solution.
The only frustrating thing with Linux communities/guides I tend to run into (especially when I had zero experience), are steps that get left out. Not out of malice, but because users that are much more experienced leave out things that are assumed to be already understood. Of course I don’t have a specific example off-hand since I already have some understanding at this point. Which kind of shows how easy it is to take certain things as “obvious.” Outside of that, the answers/guides do normally be good and friendly.
Which kind of shows how easy it is to take certain things as “obvious.”
I’m a new convert to Linux. I played around with it a bit probably about 15 years ago, but never did much seriously with it. Finally bit the bullet about a week ago between the windows 10 EOL and deciding that Linux gaming is finally in a place I can live with.
I’m a reasonable tech-literate person, I’m no sys admin but I’m the family “guy who’s good with computers” I did a few semesters as a computer science student and was reasonably good at it before deciding to go in a different direction.
And while things are working just fine for most of my general computing needs, I feel like I’m in a bit of a weird place right now, kind of like I’m back to being a kid with my family’s first Compaq in the 90s. I can play games and do my homework and make my computer do some cool things, but I know there’s more cool stuff I can make it do but I don’t know how yet.
I have about 30 years of know-how and tips and tricks built up on how to make windows bend to my will, but I don’t have that for Linux yet, and it’s not exactly a great feeling.
And I feel like there’s sort of a gap in the Linux community to help the slightly-above-average-computer-person Linux-convert like me to build up to where they were as a windows user.
Like there’s a wealth of knowledge on choosing a distro and installing it, alternatives to common windows programs, etc.
And then a big gap
And then people who have a whole home computer lab, self-hosting everything, doing serious programming as a hobby, etc.
And in the middle are a bunch of forum posts where someone asks a question, and some kind of computer sage emerges from the ether, tells you to transcribe a magic spell into your terminal, and all your problems will be solved, then vanishes in a puff of smoke.
And don’t get me wrong, I’m glad those magical Linux wizards exist to fix my problems. But I have almost no idea what the hell what the magical commands they told me to run are actually doing.
And I’m slowly piecing some of it together, googling things as I go, and that’s a fine way to learn things, but it is slow and I wish there was a better way to power through learning some of this stuff without needing to go take a whole actual course on it. I think my ideal would be sort of a Duolingo-type app for terminal commands.
Also at the lower end of the spectrum, I feel like maybe there’s a need for sort of a basic tutorial program for the kind of people who are not computer people to learn the absolute basics. I feel like back in the 90s I encountered a few introduction-to-windows sort of programs that would walk you through “this is your start menu,” “here’s what click/double-check/right click/etc” means," “here’s how you turn your computer off” kind of stuff.
And while that kind of thing is almost insultingly basic for anyone who’s going to install Linux for themselves, I think that kind of hand-holding might be needed for some other people we might try to convert.
Also don’t get me wrong, I like doing stuff in the terminal and don’t want it to go anywhere, when I know what I’m doing it is really efficient, but that shit is straight-up intimidating for a lot of average and below-average computer people, not to mention how truly abysmal a lot of their typing skills are. I feel like a little less emphasis on the terminal and building out some more control panel -like GUI menus would go a long way to getting people to switch.
Maybe these sorts of resources exist and I haven’t found them yet. If they do please point me towards them. If they actually don’t exist, maybe one of those wise Linux sages will see this and take up the task of building it.
He’s a Windows security researcher. I felt dumb.
Couldn’t he still use Linux for his personal system?
He could, but he documents a lot of stuff including artifacts, so it just makes more sense to do all on a single machine. Also plays LoL.
They didn’t want to constantly rely on me to fix every little thing they break instead of learning how to do it themselves.
No wait, that was my reason for not switching them. 😆
This except I convinced my parents they didn’t actually need a computer in their lives anymore. It is win-win.
… Do you not have to deal with that already?
Thats why I switched them. And didnt give admin rights.
(I manage updates remotely)
I feel like we shouldn’t call them “admin rights”, it implies you should automatically get them.
My mum used to say “it’s a privilege, not a right” when I was young and I reflect on that when she calls me up because she can’t install some virus on her laptop without my password and I explain that the system is performing as expected.
I’m referring to certain people. I’ve transitioned people over and help them out with it, like my dad for instance who I have no expectations that he’d learn what a dotfile even is much less troubleshoot a problem.
My silly reason is when it comes down to business the ms office suite works the best out of any office suite.
Sure that is because Microsoft spends more time making it incompatible with any other editors than actually developing decent software but that doesn’t change the fact that I can’t trust people on the other end of the email to perform even one step of troubleshooting if the document doesn’t open for them on the first try.
ODF support is in MS Office as well, but if you want to be extra sure you can export as .doc from any office suite (Libreoffice should also tell you if a feature you are using can’t be exported).
Oh man, Teams +Outlook + Office 365 + onedrive +Copilot?
So good for office shit. So bad for hood practices.
“Hey copilot I’m pretty sure I got an email asking if I had an SOP on X. Can you find that email and the SOP?”
“Copilot, using the recording of the teams meeting ‘Training from Vendor X’ and my notes on ‘Tool Y’ can you compile that into a FAQ sheet for us?”
Sure it misses stuff and is only so good because none of the data is private, but man that’s 90% of my work load for SOP making. Worth the $400 a year corporate pays for it.
Come back after a vacation. Asked for all emails that I had actions in. Handled those. Later started going though my emails manually and discovered an important email with “ACTION NEEDED” and work someone directly mentioned me and the action I needed to do and a deadline. Don’t trust it that much now.
For one of my friends its just cause she has a shitload going on and enough problems to deal with without trying to figure out a new way for her computer to work and whatnot
Plus I think art stuff she uses doesn’t support linux and she found krita unsuitable for how she likes to work
