Fair point, but I really wouldn't say that Linux is as a rule unstable - some versions are and you can always fuck something up, but the same can be said for self-installing Windows as well.
The problem is more with the lack of good GUIs for configuring Linux. I can't even disable mouse acceleration in Linux while I can in Windows. Windows also has GUIs for things like managing device drivers and so on. Everything on Linux is still configured through a massive web of config files (which are hard for GUI programs to modify). Windows has the registry which allows programmatic control over settings (of course the Windows registry being public is also a mistake and is garbage). You can configure almost any aspect of Windows via a GUI that you don't need to be an expert to use. You can install programs from anywhere on the internet easily. It helps that Windows has a lot of actual money behind its development for desktop use (or at least did at some point). And most Linux desktop environments are also really low quality compared to Windows. I could go on and on about weird little things that make using Linux feel really weird.
Man, you do you, I don't like to proselytize and I get that Linux just doesn't feel right to a lot of people. But some of the things you're claiming here are straight up wrong or misleading. By order of appearance:
I can’t even disable mouse acceleration in Linux
Depending on your desktop environment the name of the menu might change, but at least in Xfce (I'm running XUbuntu 18.04 VM) you can find this under Settings - Mouse and Touchpad in the Start Menu (called Whisker). It's literally 3 clicks away.
Everything on Linux is still configured through a massive web of config files (which are hard for GUI programs to modify) ...
Everything in the Linux filesystem is a file, including disk drives, console terminals, screens, and yes system configuration. However, direct text editing is not the preferred method to manage the system , unless you want the kind of low level control that no regular user would need. And the idea that GUI managers have a hard time editing cleartext is just laughable. System services and configuration (systemd) can be managed graphically with SystemGenie in KDE, and cockpit through the browser (highly recommended package) in any other desktop environment. Graphical package managers are nothing new, and I can really recommend Synaptic and Muon, both of which allow you to install, remove, reconfigure packages AND drivers. Desktop themes are also managed graphically in pretty much any modern distro. Ditto for Language and localization, Timezone, network settings.
You can configure almost any aspect of Windows via a GUI that you don’t need to be an expert to use.
I'm guessing you've never had to explain to a boomer how to switch off a windows service over the phone. Or to revert to a previous driver version. Mind you, I'm not saying Linux is better, just pointing out that in any OS doing anything beyond browsing, entertainment, and text editing requires familiarity and a level of expertise with the system. I get not wanting to spend your precious free time and energy learning a new one, but that does not tell you much about how accessible said system actually is.
And most Linux desktop environments are also really low quality compared to Windows.
Taste is personal, whatever rocks your socks, but I'd be curious to know what environments you're comparing here. I'm assuming you're thinking of Windows 10 or 7, which do feel fairly polished, but like the new MATE desktop is entirely comparable and definitely more customizable.
Yeah the need to edit text files is a chore, but for me it's not to big of a thing - I rarely do it - though you're right that some desktops kinda suck, but I do like the variety.
The problem is that web servers are not desktop computers.
Fair point, but I really wouldn't say that Linux is as a rule unstable - some versions are and you can always fuck something up, but the same can be said for self-installing Windows as well.
The problem is more with the lack of good GUIs for configuring Linux. I can't even disable mouse acceleration in Linux while I can in Windows. Windows also has GUIs for things like managing device drivers and so on. Everything on Linux is still configured through a massive web of config files (which are hard for GUI programs to modify). Windows has the registry which allows programmatic control over settings (of course the Windows registry being public is also a mistake and is garbage). You can configure almost any aspect of Windows via a GUI that you don't need to be an expert to use. You can install programs from anywhere on the internet easily. It helps that Windows has a lot of actual money behind its development for desktop use (or at least did at some point). And most Linux desktop environments are also really low quality compared to Windows. I could go on and on about weird little things that make using Linux feel really weird.
Man, you do you, I don't like to proselytize and I get that Linux just doesn't feel right to a lot of people. But some of the things you're claiming here are straight up wrong or misleading. By order of appearance:
Depending on your desktop environment the name of the menu might change, but at least in Xfce (I'm running XUbuntu 18.04 VM) you can find this under Settings - Mouse and Touchpad in the Start Menu (called Whisker). It's literally 3 clicks away.
Everything in the Linux filesystem is a file, including disk drives, console terminals, screens, and yes system configuration. However, direct text editing is not the preferred method to manage the system , unless you want the kind of low level control that no regular user would need. And the idea that GUI managers have a hard time editing cleartext is just laughable. System services and configuration (
systemd) can be managed graphically with SystemGenie in KDE, andcockpitthrough the browser (highly recommended package) in any other desktop environment. Graphical package managers are nothing new, and I can really recommend Synaptic and Muon, both of which allow you to install, remove, reconfigure packages AND drivers. Desktop themes are also managed graphically in pretty much any modern distro. Ditto for Language and localization, Timezone, network settings.I'm guessing you've never had to explain to a boomer how to switch off a windows service over the phone. Or to revert to a previous driver version. Mind you, I'm not saying Linux is better, just pointing out that in any OS doing anything beyond browsing, entertainment, and text editing requires familiarity and a level of expertise with the system. I get not wanting to spend your precious free time and energy learning a new one, but that does not tell you much about how accessible said system actually is.
Taste is personal, whatever rocks your socks, but I'd be curious to know what environments you're comparing here. I'm assuming you're thinking of Windows 10 or 7, which do feel fairly polished, but like the new MATE desktop is entirely comparable and definitely more customizable.
Yeah the need to edit text files is a chore, but for me it's not to big of a thing - I rarely do it - though you're right that some desktops kinda suck, but I do like the variety.