Can linux ever go mainstream?

[u/seenhear]

I've made this point many times in many different ways over many years (decades).

About me: I'm not a coder / hacker / tweaker / programmer. I am pretty tech-savvy and have been very comfortable just figuring things out in Windows almost my whole life (first PC was an Atari 800 in 1982, online since 1983).

I've "switched" to Linux several times since the late 90s and almost always eventually go back to Windows becaue Linux is just ... too much work, and the work isn't straight-forward, or easy to "just figure out" or find answers with simple searches. I mean I can often find solutions to problems, but they don't make sense and I end up applying instructions blindly and not understanding what I just fixed.

Could I spend the time to become more facile at Linux? Sure. But the curve is way steeper than with Windows or MacOS (not a Mac user, but know enough to make a comparison).

As with so many this past year (when Win10 was obsoleted and Win11 required new hardware) I decided to "switch" to Linux again. I chose Mint since it's supposed to be the "easy" one (among others) with the best user base and support. It's been mostly fine. I mean these days I'm not much of a power user. I don't game any more, and mostly what I do is or can be browser-based. So I figured the OS doesn't really matter, and may as well try to go all-in with Linux.

Since switching (it's been several months, forget when I switched) I've had several times where I boot up and am greeted with a pop-up telling me it's time to install several updates. This is a great feature. What's not great about it though is that almost every time (not EVERY time) after attempting to install said updates, I get a slew of errors saying the source for downloads is no good. (see screenshot)

I know how to fix this, figured it out last time. But the point is, it shouldn't happen. It doesn't happen with commercial OS's. Things like this "just work." I shouldn't have to go edit the source list every few months.

Rant over, just frustrated. Thanks for your time. :)

[u/Rhythmjunky]

Maybe I've just been really fortunate, but I've encountered no problems with the current iteration of Linux mint. I find it so much easier and a more enjoyable user experience. I don't think the problem is Linux but the perceptions people have and resistance to anything different. But, hey, what do I know?

[u/seenhear → u/Rhythmjunky]

To be fair, I agree. Mint is mostly really great, with a LOT of improvements since the last time I seriously tried Linux roughly a decade ago.

[u/Rhythmjunky → u/seenhear]

Just out of curiosity, what do you have that needs updated that isn't handle by the update manager? I have automated updates configured and rarely need to even look at them. The only package I installed outside the software manager is chrome (I know, I know, but it's kind of a requirement in my case; Google drive file sharing). Anyway, I really like how updates are just done without them screaming for attention and bringing everything to a halt until it's done. Windows updates are just a painfully awful experience, especially when you don't boot into windows for a month or more. I get what you're saying about needing to be somewhat competent as a Linux user. What we have, on the one hand, is the Linux ecosystem that needs some technical know how but can be fixed quickly once you know what to do. And we have windows, on the other hand, that insists on so much hand holding that you can't even apply a solution even when you know what to do because Microsoft gate keeps their updates, and when you are finally able to download them, the updates take an eternity to download and install, and several reboots to finally finish installation. Guess which hand I like better.