I'm not joking, but will 2025 finally be the year of Desktop Linux?
Given the advances in Steam/Proton along with PopOS and Linux UI support in general and that most people have moved on from being tethered to most applications outside the browser... It seems like it could be a good time for many to make such a switch.
After 20 years I'm convinced it's never going to be the year of the Linux desktop.
Simple things still don't work, at least the last time I tried about 6 months ago. For example, display scaling is terrible compared to Windows and the remote desktop solutions haven't improved in 2 decades.
It's not even possible to install VNC on a stock Ubuntu 22.04 install without a bunch of screwing around because it doesn't work with Wayland. In Windows it takes 5s to enable RDP. In Linux it's frustrating to set up and, no matter what solution you choose, the experience is sub par vs Windows.
In Windows I can use WebAuthN over RDP. In Linux I can barely get a passable RDP solution.
The problem with Linux is that everything gets to 80% or 90% usable and then someone decides there needs to be a new improved version and the development results in years of broken crap. It happens over and over and over and the OS never gets to the point I would consider stable enough to rely on.
To be clear, I don't mean stable in terms of not crashing. I mean stable in terms of logging in and being able to do a day of work without the potential of having to screw around with something that's broken or not working.
> In Windows I can use WebAuthN over RDP. In Linux I can barely get a passable RDP solution.
YEAH. And SmartCards forwaring. And...I was shocked couple of weeks ago when I was able to use my fingerpint scanner over RDP to login with 2FA. Just that thing is light years away on what other solutions can provide.
AFAIK (and I could be wrong), that runs in the current user session, so it doesn't work for headless systems or systems that haven't been logged on.
And that kind of speaks to my complaint. I've used Linux for 2 decades and I can't even get remote desktop set up to allow me to switch between users / profiles. I can technically, and I've done it for Hyper-V enhanced session support, but it's a huge pain.
There's a neat script on GitHub to help with it for Hyper-V, but Google's tracking seems to be broken in a way that won't let me follow links from search, so I guess I'm just going to say screw it for the day and hope all the broken trash works better tomorrow. Lmao.
> And that kind of speaks to my complaint. I've used Linux for 2 decades
and you are still not sure "that runs in the current user session, so it doesn't work for headless systems or systems that haven't been logged on" - very weak point of Linux (in wide terms) ecosystem - YOU ARE NOT SURE.
Windows (in wide terms) gives you simple way - buy more RAM and be ASSURED. Simple action people can do and apply in their planning.
Given the advances, how possible is it to use Linux without ever touching the Terminal? Until the answer is "100% possible", it will never be the year of Desktop Linux.
It's also worth noting that desktop computers are dropping in popularity for home users. Gamers will use them for years to come, but the average non-technical home user that just wants a web browser and social media are more likely to opt for a tablet these days. If they REALLY want a keyboard and a larger screen, they'll probably get a laptop.
It's perfectly doable. I set up Linux Mint for a non-technical family member on a laptop almost a year ago. They use it for browsing the Internet, watching things on streaming services, etc. I just told them to click on the small shield icon that pops up in the system tray now and again to install system updates. I visited them yesterday and asked to see the laptop out of curiosity. It's fully updated, fast, and does everything they want.
When updates or apps go wrong on Windows, you sometimes need to use Powershell. Sometimes it's easier to use Powershell for admin tasks to avoid janky settings menus. What's the difference?
There are a lot of Linux distributions, but one of the things I bumped into with the early SteamOS version is it was really, really hard to get the command prompt. It was bugged and would fail until you got some environment settings, if I remember right. Games and the video drivers worked, however. Too funny.
Most folks are using a PC for games, surfing, and gmail. Linux works surprisingly well for those use cases and I really did not need to use a terminal for any of the normal setup. Ironically, cleaning up the crapware on my Windows 10 start menu... required powershell.
Given that I've had to either use the Command Prompt or Registry Editor to fix Windows on every installation I've had when it somehow messes itself up, I don't see how having to use the Linux terminal in similar situations is a big problem.
It's foolish to think that anything Microsoft does will trigger an exodus towards Linux.
Your typical non-technical user, if they decide they're fed up with the latest version of Windows adding more spyware/adware, is more likely to switch to a Mac than to Linux.
your typical non-technical user is totally unaware of any spyware and probably likes the ads, assuming they point to games, weather apps, and celebrity news sites
I’ve been impressed at how quickly the anti-cheat situation under Proton has improved. The only reason I keep a Windows install around at the moment is to play Warzone and Tarkov with mates. If you’re an Apex, Hunt or Day Z player, for instance, you can already get your game on thanks to recent improvements. 2025 doesn’t seem like a bad bet.
Imagine a generation, growing up with a gaming system that is not a windows pc. All it needs, is to be capable to do something that windows can not do. One killer feature. The momentum has shifted. And the youth has no preconceptions, as long as it works and offers methods to modify.
I'd love to see a decent package that includes Proton... I'm using a proton launcher written in Rust for a few Windows apps that seems to do okay, but I had to set my proton version in Steam to the one the launcher expects. I would think that it would be easy enough for someone more familiar with Wine and Proton to work through... not sure why the launcher doesn't have a more baked in dependency on Proton that it automagically loads on first use.
IIRC, there have been distros with a better WINE integration, though they haven't been particularly interesting to me. Given the popularity of MINT for starting users, that would probably be a good place to start from. But I don't know where their core team stands as far as the distro's direction.
Given the advances in Steam/Proton along with PopOS and Linux UI support in general and that most people have moved on from being tethered to most applications outside the browser... It seems like it could be a good time for many to make such a switch.