While Linux usability can always improve, what's breaking Linux desktop adoption is that 1) there isn't a good enough reason for most people to switch to Linux, and 2) there are compelling alternatives in the tablet market.
I know a few non-technical people that I got to use Linux, now they all have iPads. I went from many support calls (Windows), to a few support calls in between (Linux) to almost no support calls at all (iPad). (They still have their Linux computers, but they use the iPad.)
I was hoping the article would express the opposite meaning of the ambiguous title.
You could look at the difficulty of generating a distribution that works perfectly before, during and after install, and see it as a usability problem as the article does.
For me, however, I see a major issue in the actual push for more 'usable' desktop environments (gnome 3, unity etc.)
I'm a Linux fanatic, and I've used it long enough to know it is an operating system for enthusiasts, tinkerers and professionals. Non-technical users can most certainly enjoy using it, however at some point they'll need to roll up their sleeves. Has anyone ever installed a Linux distribution (or any operating system) and not had a single problem? Guess what, there's no Linux Store on 5th ave. Drive your own car, and all that. Sure, there's webforums galore, but if we're talking non-technical users, we're talking about people who wouldn't be able to articulate the problem in the first place.
I think Debian's switch to XFCE was a great choice. The taskbar/menubar is a workhorse. When people boot into a zoomy more 'user-friendly' environment and are met with technical issues, they feel only the more cheated. It's time the more 'user-friendly' distro's woke up and realized who actually uses their software.
>"Has anyone ever installed a Linux distribution (or any operating system) and not had a single problem?"
I've installed Ubuntu several times without any problem. Windows on the other-hand took me 3 installation attempts to get working (It was something about the order I ran windows updates and when I installed the 1 program I needed windows for)
I think there is some rule about titles that are questions having an answer of no.
Anyway, I work part time in a charity that refurbishes and distributes old-(ish) computers. Because of the cost of Windows, we install Ubuntu on all of the machines. The only time we have had people report issues with their computer was because we forgot to give them the default password.
I have been using Ubuntu for years, and find that I need to do much less technical maintenance to keep in running than Windows. You install using a simple wizard, reboot, login. You open a program from the menus at the top left (or just left now). The web browsers are identical to there windows equivilent, and the office applications are more simmilar to old-stlye Microsoft office than the new-style Microsoft office.
- Lack of OEM support
- Uncertainty of driver support whenever you buy anything
- Unavailability of some types of software
If usability was the limiting factor why would anyone be using Windows anymore? The hassle with windows software/driver installation and updates alone is a nightmare if you aren't used to it.
When something breaks on Linux you sometimes need to open a terminal and paste in text from support forum. When something breaks on Windows you sometimes need to follow pictures of dialogs or regedit instructions from some support forum.
The difference is that you cannot take your Linux computer to any shop and tell them to fix it (or ask your neighbors kids to fix it).
I have no experience with OS X but I presume that it's a mix of both worlds.
I think Chrome OS is the desktop computer OS of the future, not Linux, or Windows, or Mac OS X. Sure, there are some things (like OS and library development) you can't do on the web, but there are a lot of things that you can.
I'm well aware of that. Chrome OS doesn't run the typical Linux stack though. No X11 (I think...), no GNOME, KDE, or other common desktop environment, no native applications, etc.
It does use X11, but ChromeOS uses its own WM (chromewm). If you check out the sources for ChromiumOS, you can see what all it uses, although there are parts that Google add on top.
There are ways to run native apps on it, but they are definitely tucked away for normal users/uses.
I'm not much of a Linux user, but I really wanted to try it a few months ago. I liked Mint more than Ubuntu, but sometimes you still seem to be running into issues that can be solved only by the command line, or maybe it just wasn't very obvious to me how to do it otherwise.
I remember I wanted to install an app. I don't remember which, but it asked me for some new permissions (not talking about the password) to be able to use that folder. I remember being very frustrated about it.
If this happened to me, a pretty technical person I'd say, imagine how frustrating it would be for the real "normal" users, like our parents.
Also from what I heard before from friends who used Linux, and how they thought it's just easier to use the command line than point and click, I got the feeling that Linux users and its developers have always focused more on solving everything with the command line, which in turn led to Linux being a more command line friendly OS than a point-and-click friendly OS.
So until Canonical or whoever makes Linux completely 100% point-and-click friendly, and always think of developing it from this point of view and as their #1 priority, I doubt Linux will ever get more than 2-3% market share in the PC market.
I know a few non-technical people that I got to use Linux, now they all have iPads. I went from many support calls (Windows), to a few support calls in between (Linux) to almost no support calls at all (iPad). (They still have their Linux computers, but they use the iPad.)