from Hacker News

Major Linux Problems on the Desktop, 2023 edition

by mxschumacher on 4/23/23, 10:21 AM with 5 comments

• by ofalkaed on 4/23/23, 11:20 AM

  Years ago I got laughed at for saying Haiku would beat linux to the FOSS desktop and I still think that will happen. Have been enjoying watching them pick up steam recently as they near their first release.

  Edit: I am referring to widespread adoption and industry support, if that was not obvious. The biggest problem with the linux desktop is if you sell a linux computer a large number of people expect that to mean it will work perfectly with their favorite distro, not just what the manufacturer packages on it and that makes it a support nightmare. Haiku is a single entity and that will work in their favor, once they prove themselves viable I suspect the industry will start getting behind them in a way they never have with linux.

• by rvz on 4/23/23, 11:29 AM

  I think we have given Linux on the Desktop more than enough time to solve their chronic infighting issues and it appears that decades later, they still haven't solve them.

  Even Chromebooks aren't being supported well [0] despite having a slither of a chance at challenging Apple Macs and I would expect ChromeOS to move to using Fuchsia.

  Other than Chromebooks which are closed and controlled by Google, the Linux on the Desktop and it's FOSS distros is a commercial failure.

  [0] https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/21/23691840/us-pirg-educatio...

• by pacifika on 4/23/23, 12:18 PM

  Open sourcing is a gift, perhaps it’s a commercial failure of business to return in kind, if anything.

• by thanatos519 on 4/23/23, 10:55 AM

  Can someone point me to the equivalent documents for MacOS and Windows?