Why is Linux so frustrating for some people?
Why is Linux so frustrating for some people?
Don't get me wrong. I love Linux and FOSS. I have been using and installing distros on my own since I was 12. Now that I'm working in tech-related positions, after the Reddit migration happened, etc. I recovered my interest in all the Linux environment. I use Ubuntu as my main operating system in my Desktop, but I always end up feeling very limited. There's always software I can't use properly (and not just Windows stuff), some stuff badly configured with weird error messages... last time I was not able to even use the apt command. Sometimes I lack time and energy for troubleshooting and sometimes I just fail at it.
I usually end up in need of redoing a fresh install until it breaks up again. Maybe Linux is not good for beginners working full time? Maybe we should do something like that Cisco course that teaches you the basic commands?
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I simply know where the settings are on Windows. I can find almost all stuff in the settings, I can fiddle with the registry and I can do narrow searches if I do need to look something up. I also understand how and where programs on Windows save their files. On Linux I have only very little experience.
You may be accustomed to the process, but fixing issues in the registry is not intuitive. It is simple enough if you find a guide that tells you exactly which item you need to work on and exactly what the default is and what you need to change it to, but what if the guide isn't exactly what you want?
In the GNU/Linux ecosystem, nearly every program has a config file. Sometimes each line has detailed comments in plain text around it you what the option does with examples of what it could be. If the documentation doesn't exist, you can dig deeper and see what that option does in the source which is usually documented as well. Programming experience is not required to search for text and read comments. Such documentation is not equivalent in Windows.
There are Youtube videos, books, magazines, forums, chats... Not knowing how to use settings once, in a pinch? Sure. But forever staying that way towards it? That's on you, not Linux or any other OS.