Linux hard to use

Why linux is hard to use?

Linux is sometimes considered harder to use than Unix. Unix has more company supported versions, so they cost a little money but you get customer support. Free versions of Linux are harder to use because there is little support for it.

As the saying goes by, “Not everything you hear is always true,” I had some enthusiasm for the subject, and I’m glad I dug in and explored this amazing gem of a software. Linux is often overlooked as a “hard to use” operating system ; hence people avoid it without even trying it.

Linux is often overlooked as a “hard to use” operating system ; hence people avoid it without even trying it. Windows is a great OS for people who want an operating system to work and work very well. But, I bet many people currently on the edge of their seats, trying to find one more reason to ignore Linux.

What are the pros and cons of Linux?

Your data is always safe on Linux and will not be sent to anyone, anywhere. Lightweight distros like Linux Lite don’t consume more than 1GB of RAM. Other ‘heavy’ distros don’t need more than 2GB of RAM. As the OS is less power hungry, you can add new life to old computers that you thought were nothing less than junk.

You don’t need to, but if you don’t learn it you really miss something. Learning Linux and terminal takes time, you will not be fluent in a few days. At first you may think everything is over-complicated. But you will become much more productive. On Linux there is a command line for everything.

Why doesn’t windows have more drivers than Linux?

Windows has always had the largest market share, and as a result, if a hardware maker wants their device to succeed, it has to ship with a windows driver. This means that Microsoft has come to rely on hardware makers to provide the drivers and has had less reason or motivation to ship their own. Linux, on the other hand, had no choice.

Does linux need drivers?

Linux and other operating systems also need hardware drivers before hardware will work — but hardware drivers are handled differently on Linux. The good news is that, if a device will work on Linux, it’ll probably “just work” out of the box. You may sometimes need to install drivers, but some hardware may just not work at all.

That’s the vision of Linux — the drivers are open-source and integrated into the kernel and other pieces of software. You don’t have to install them or tweak them — the system automatically detects your hardware and uses the appropriate drivers. If you’ve installed Linux, your hardware should just work —.

Do I need hardware drivers for Windows?

Windows needs manufacturer-provided hardware drivers before your hardware will work. Linux and other operating systems also need hardware drivers before hardware will work — but hardware drivers are handled differently on Linux.

How do linux drivers work?

Linux drivers are built with the kernel, compiled in or as a module. Alternatively, drivers can be built against the kernel headers in a source tree. You can see a list of currently installed kernel modules by typing lsmod and, if installed, take a look at most devices connected through the bus by using lspci.

These drivers are sometimes developed by hobbyists. But they’re sometimes developed by the hardware manufacturer themselves, who contributes their code directly to the Linux kernel and other projects. In other words, most hardware drivers are included out-of-the-box.

What is the role of Linux device drivers?

Linux (which is a kernel) manages the machine’s hardware in a simple and efficient manner, offering the user a simple and uniform programming interface. In the same way, the kernel, and in particular its device drivers, form a bridge or interface between the end-user/programmer and the hardware.

Nevertheless, one of the purposes of this short Linux kernel driver tutorial is to show how to work with logging into the kernel and how to interact with device files. These tools may be simple, but they come in handy for any driver, and to some extent, they make the kernel-mode development process richer.

How do I program a Linux device driver?

There are two ways of programming a Linux device driver: 1 Compile the driver along with the kernel, which is monolithic in Linux. 2 Implement the driver as a kernel module, in which case you won’t need to recompile the kernel.

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Is Linux Really Harder to Use?

Not surprisingly, the misperception that Linux is harder to use than other operating systems is also one that competing vendors routinely use to scare potential new users away from Linux.

Case in point: On a page (cached) recently put up on Dell’s U.K. site–and removed soon afterward–the PC vendor suggested that Ubuntu is suitable primarily for users who are “interested in open source programming,” and who don’t mind “learning new programs for e-mail, word processing etc.”

For most everyone else, Dell recommended Windows. How’s that for injecting a whopping dose of unease in all but the most determined visitors?

Now, it’s become clear in recent weeks that Dell is suffering from some sort of internal conflict when it comes to Windows. This page, after all, is still up on the site. Nonetheless, it’s time to dispel once and for all this notion that Linux is too hard.

“It’s Not Windows”

When North Americans learn to drive a car, they learn to drive on the right side of the road. Those in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, of course, learn to drive on the left. Neither option is “more difficult,” per se, they’re just different. Once you’re used to one approach, however, it can feel awkward at first to do the other.

So it is with computer operating systems. Desktop Linux is simple, elegant and logical, but it works differently from Mac and Windows.

In Linux, the graphical user interface (GUI) is optional, for instance. The desktop environment can be completely customized, and package managers let you install software in just a few clicks, no surfing the Web or searching for serial keys required.

Then, of course, there’s the fact that so many software programs for Linux are free, and that you don’t even need antivirus software.

For those whose understanding of computers was formed based on Macs or Windows, Linux can feel a little strange at first. After all, the majority of the world still does use those two platforms, as recent Net Applications data confirms. Once you begin to see the benefits of Linux, however, that feeling will quickly pass.

“A Huge Learning Curve”

Linux lets you do everything you want to do on your computer without requiring enormous resources, expensive software, or perpetual vigilance against malware. Rather than getting in the way with an interface that restricts what you can do and how you can do it, Linux simply stays out of the way.

Much of the software for Linux will also feel extremely familiar to most users, particularly those for basic office productivity. The OpenOffice productivity suite, for instance, works just as it does on Windows, and it’s very similar to Microsoft Office. Even better, it’s compatible with Office, and it can open Office files.

For browsing the Web, Firefox requires basically zero getting used to if you’ve ever used a browser before.

With Linux and the apps that go with it, you can do pretty much everything you’ve been doing in a Windows or Mac OS–definitely more cheaply, and sometimes even more easily.

“Complicated Commands”

“But don’t you have to know all kinds of complicated commands to use Linux?” is a concern I’ll sometimes hear.

The answer: definitely not. For typical everyday Linux use, there’s absolutely nothing tricky or technical you need to learn.

As you get more familiar with the Linux distribution you choose, you may want to begin learning how to use the Unix/Linux shell, but it’s by no means necessary, particularly for standard business productivity purposes.

Running a Linux server, of course, is another matter–just as running a Windows server is. But for typical use on the desktop, if you’ve already learned one operating system, Linux should not be difficult.

“Compatibility Issues”

Finally, hardware and software compatibility is another oft-cited issue that can cause potential users to fear that Linux will be too difficult to make productive.

It’s true that there are a few remaining instances of software packages and hardware equipment that Linux can’t yet support because the developers of those tools have chosen to keep the necessary codecs, software or drivers closed and proprietary.

That, however, is becoming less and less common–and generally there’s an alternative that will work just fine. There are also packages like Wine and Crossover Linux for running Windows-specific software.

Countless volunteer developers are out there right now, too, working hard to make Linux even easier in the future.

The Reality: A Winning ROI

Bottom Line? Linux is not hard–it’s just not what you’re used to, if you’ve been using a Mac or Windows.

Change, of course, can be hard, particularly when you’ve invested time in learning one way of doing things–and any Windows user, whether they realize it or not, has definitely invested a lot of time. But all that time and more will be repaid to you if you take the time to get used to Linux.

For small businesses, of course, the cost savings that result from using Linux and other free software can be particularly compelling. The lack of software license fees, first and foremost, can save a considerable amount of much-needed cash, as can reduced hardware costs, since PCs don’t need to be upgraded as often.

Also considerable is the effect of Linux’s reliability, which minimizes both maintenance and unplanned downtime. All told, using Linux generally saves some $400 to $500 per desktop.

My advice? Try to break out of the Windows or Mac box and keep an open mind–don’t expect Linux to be Windows. Remember too that you’re investing in a lifetime of free software with the flexibility to do whatever you want, however you want, free from the dictates of any huge software company.

How often do you get a return on investment like that?

In short, Linux is free, flexible, and powerful, but it definitely isn’t hard.

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Thread: Why do some Linux users want to make Linux harder to use?

Dipped in Ubuntu

Why do some Linux users want to make Linux harder to use?

Some years ago, I’ve been criticized by some Linux users for using the Ubuntu family of distros, in my case, Xubuntu, they told me Ubuntu is not true Linux and I’ve been spoiled by it. But doesn’t this mentality contradict Linus Torvalds’ philosophy on distros? Here’s what he said:

And when it comes to distributions, ease of installation has actually been one of my main issues � I�m a technical person, but I have a very specific area of interest, and I don�t want to fight the rest. So the only distributions I have actively avoided are the ones that are known to be �overly technical� � like the ones that encourage you to compile your own programs etc.

Yeah, I can do it, but it kind of defeats the whole point of a distribution for me. So I like the ones that have a name of being easy to use. I�ve never used plain Debian, for example, but I like Ubuntu. And before Debian people attack me � yeah, I know, I know, it�s supposedly much simpler and easier to install these days. But it certainly didn�t use to be, so I never had any reason to go for it.

Yes, Xubuntu is easy to use, that’s what drew me to it, I just wanted an OS that worked out of the box and was easy to use and install, I didn’t to experience the nightmares of partitioning, compiling and I didn’t want to rely on the Terminal 24/7, I was born during the GUI age, I never experienced DOS. These Linux users that I had spoken to seems to be similar to the Illuminati in the Angels and Demons films, here’s a quote about them:

He would liked minds to find the church of the Illumination. But he could not actually advertise its location, so he created coded path. At the end of the path was church of the Illumination. If you could find that then you were one of them.

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