Linux a Retrospective
Debian Desktop image from Wikipedia.
As of drafting this blog posts, I've been a full time Linux user, more specifically Pop!_OS for four+ years. Currently, I run several Ubuntu servers, and also have a Steam Deck for gaming. I would say for the most part the experience has been pretty good.
I am not for or against Windows or Apple. In fact, I like them both and I do service Windows users. I am only trying to further emphasize the alternative. If making the switch, the transition is not as overwhelming as perceived. My retrospective goes into the generic encounters when switching operating systems.
It goes without saying, I am enthusiastic about Linux (and open source for that matter) and want to share that enthusiasm with others. I encourage everyone to explore because it is fun, the process is not as intimidating as it seems, and Linux is far more approachable than it has ever been.
This blog post is for a nontechnical, non-exhaustive retrospective with my experience using Linux...
For house keeping purposes, I am going to limit the scope of talking about my experience with the hardware and focus on Pop!_OS, relative to being a Windows user for a long time.
The main purpose of getting into Linux was to expand my knowledge base, by familiarizing myself with the Unix based systems, preparing when Windows ended official support for Windows 101, and long-term support over time without the pressures of vendor lock in. This required a great amount of tinkering in order to feel comfortable with a completely different operating system. For the most part, if not getting into the heavy technical side of Linux for daily use, it is more or less not that different from using another operating system.
I started using Linux in a virtual machine before making a commitment on which Linux I should I go with. I didn't want to go cold turkey right into Linux without developing some muscle memory first, considering most people get lost navigating the desktop either because the naming conventions and locations for applications are different. After trying a several different Linux versions, I decided to stay with Ubuntu (Debian) based Linux and eventually went with Pop!_OS.
More often than not, the main pain points when switching over to Linux is familiarizing oneself with the different naming conventions and where everything is located. This process involved nothing technical and where occasionally, I would need to Google something every now and then because I didn't know the name of, say, the task manager (System Monitor).
When I used Windows full time, my go to applications were VSCode for code editing, a browser, and office suites (Libreoffice). Most people probably won't stray too far from the applications that I use, of an office suite and a browser, unless you are a power user. The main purposes of using any computer with any operating system is both for entertainment and productivity. Linux satisfies these purposes since there are many alternatives or ways to make applications compatible.
There are a few edge cases where developers build software around an operating system and they may not run as smoothly on Linux. Sometimes using Linux may add friction to both of those situations (like playing games), however, for the most part, those have been mostly resolved2. And many applications run well and sometimes better than they do on Windows.
WHO IS LINUX REALLY FOR?
Linux is for everyone and no one at the same time. It's for everyone because you have options and these options were created by the creators/users who either had a particular philosophy and a particular reason for creating an OS for themselves and share them with the world. Linux is also for no one because there are just too many options to choose from. It's like going to a restaurant that has an infinite sized menu. However, Linux (and BSD) is the ultimate form of self-expression because it provides the user options to cater to his/her exact experience. Linux fulfills the ability to choose albeit with the caveat of having to many.
WINDOWS AND TROUBLESHOOTING
One of the dislikes I have with Windows is troubleshooting issues. If the system fails, you can't just go into the terminal and navigate your way to an issue. It goes through the Windows GUI loop and if the issue can't get out of that, you are basically dead in the water. If you have a system breaking issue, Windows goes into the "blue screen of death" where it is stuck there or goes into an infinite loop, with no ability to go to safe mode. This is one of the core advantages that Linux has where in many occasions under these scenarios repaired issues by mounting hard drives to a Linux computer!
Linux has issues too. For example, one incident, on my main machine, with Pop!_OS, the screen froze (occasionally this happens with Gnome desktop that at the time of this writing is what Pop OS/Ubuntu desktop environment is based on) but the keyboard and mouse were still functioning. I was able to remote into my machine via ssh on the local area network (lan), and troubleshoot the issue.
CONCLUSION
Linux is a constantly evolving operating system and there are many available to choose from. Because I have been using Linux full-time for several years, I've tailored my experience in ways that help me learn but most importantly makes using the operating system more enjoyable. Obviously this post was written in the Terminal on Pop!_OS 😄...
Linux is for everyone and no one. Not everyone is going to be enthusiastic about Linux. The majority of people don't care. Most people will lean towards what their preferences are and/or what they feel most comfortable with. Learning Linux is just a huge ask and barrier for entry for most people. That is completely understandable. The good thing is that, if someone wants to get into Linux, it's there, at no cost other than time commitment.
Explore Linux related topics and checkout the A VR STORY Blog categories3!
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