 XDA claim they're a "leading tech publication". They published an article titled: "Why I like Linux on my Steam Deck but not my desktop" -> Uses tiny and basically unsupported obscure Linux distribution to make a case against it on the desktop. -> Also thinks somehow Proton is only on Steam Deck? Please, if you're going to publish a Linux article, get your writers to do more than 1 minute research into it. 64 comments
@gamingonlinux Was literally about to say this guy's a fucking idiot, missed your first post with context. @gamingonlinux The first part sounds very much like "I installed LFS and then I complain I actually have to do things on my own". I bet the solution to all the problem they mention about the difficulty of setting up things would be resolved with "Take a live Ubuntu USB stick and plug it". @Bromind The solution to most articles going like this is usually "Install Ubuntu" and read up on it for a couple of minutes  @gamingonlinux this is a very low quality article. Click bait, even. Linux is great on the desktop. You don't have to touch a terminal at all. All you need is some desire to learn, as it will not hand hold you like Windows does. What a 🐮💩 article.  @gamingonlinux I'm an Ubuntu user and installing a second SSD on Ubuntu takes like 2 minutes at most. No hidden private files and so on. @gamingonlinux Linux sucks and here's why: Windows is a bit garbage at times, but you can't replace it. I used Linux for a day and didn't understand anything at all. I did not research anything at all and refused to Google any of my problems. It sucked. -1/10  @gamingonlinux His XDA profile explains the reason for such an uninformed and shallow article: "Matthew is a PC Hardware Writer at XDA, having previously written for Digital Trends, Tom's Hardware, and other publications since 2018. He's mainly interested in the three way fight between AMD, Intel, and Nvidia in PCs and servers." Guy's not even a tinkerer. From the "article". "Programmers don't make GUIs; they just type commands because that's way faster." 😂 There's this weird repeating problem of people expecting to instantly know how something works, despite basically never using it. I see this everywhere, not just Linux. In this case though, I see articles like it still *all the time* and the big issue is just to get clicks. @gamingonlinux I usually advise Windows users trying out Linux to remember their very first experiences of Windows while they're getting familiar with the environment, to steer them away from the expectation that it's going to be a drop-in replacement. Expect a learning curve, expect workflow adjustments, expect more freedom and control in the end.  @gamingonlinux When did you last crack open a manual for your smartphone, fridge, car, TV, phone app or game console? Designers have spent untold hours over decades making this largely possible. PCs - including Windows and osx - really stand out here, in a bad way. @jannem I've looked up how to do things on my iphone quite a lot actually, same with a lot of things - people assume too much of themselves @gamingonlinux @jannem yeah phone and even mac os x is a bad example. I struggle now with how to do simple file operations on Mac. They hide things a lot these days. @gamingonlinux This describes the LTT Linux challenge pretty accurately. @gamingonlinux Yeah, I've never understood this. Most people took at least a few years of learning to be able to use Windows comfortably, but when they try Linux they not only expect to be able to learn it all in one day, they also expect it to be a drop-in replacement where everything is done in the same way as in Windows 😅 @gamingonlinux i honestly feel like people just detest the idea of change and so they make an intentionally poor attempt at trying the new thing just so they can go "see! It's terrible!" and not have to think about it any further. @gamingonlinux I even see *developers* having that expectation when presented with complex systems.  @gamingonlinux I do think the point of Linux being hampered by its very open, user-focused and custom nature is true, but it's not really well put forward. Windows is the standard because folks use it at work, and they use it at work because Microsoft has huge enterprise contracts and marketing teams. That will never happen for Linux - even if folks use enterprise Red Hat at work, for example, they're not going to be instantly proficient with Arch at home  @gamingonlinux Yeah, without meaning to ruffle any feathers, I wonder if the rise in use of the term "UX" over the last few years has anything to do with this. Seems to me that immediacy is a thing that's presented as good UX? Personally, I'd like more emphasis on software we can learn to use in a similar vein as musical instruments we can learn to play.  @gamingonlinux also a very annoying manifestation of this: looks at new thing @gamingonlinux without context it looked like you're saying they swapped emacs for vim or something haha! @gamingonlinux I might have shared some opinions with my buddy who works over there, no idea if they got passed on or the social backlash eventually twigged. Adam is a good guy though. @gamingonlinux I think that's a shame. Would have been a good opportunity to let the original editor have another shot at it with some community help and create an update to the article that way.  @gamingonlinux People need to learn the difference between "this is different" and "this is bad". @thomholwerda YES and not to install some random ass Linux distro by 1 person and expect it to work the same as Windows @gamingonlinux Yes! But that's also partly the community's fault for insisting on recommending jank Arch-based distributions to newcomers for some reason. Fedora, Mint, or Ubuntu. That's what you offer to newcomers. Anything else is going to be problematic. @gamingonlinux It's funny that people decide to write such articles and make fun of themselves. Here is a quote from article: "I still hold out hope that one day, some company will make a Linux distro that does what Windows does but better..."  @gamingonlinux I don't get why they didn't try Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, or something more meant for new Linux users, unless their goal was to be biased. @gamingonlinux shit i was using the web version and i thought i reposted :hurb: it was the reply button @gamingonlinux Oh shit that's my Steam Deck in that photo (I used to work there before going back to my old employer). The most disappointing part is that I know at least one of the other writers there could probably have made a better go at a post like that. @gamingonlinux To the author @matthewconnatser: Why not use something that is made for the desktop? Like Kubuntu?  @gamingonlinux Huh, I'm not a programmer and I've been using Linux for nearly 30 years (for the last 20 of those, pretty much exclusively) and I've never run into problems because I was scared of the command line or didn't know how to edit a simple text file. Perhaps because I cut my teeth on pre-1990 MS-DOS. @gamingonlinux I also saw the video, it was a cringe short and also promote another handheld that used Windows.  @gamingonlinux XDA stopped being cool a while ago. Another dumpster fire for my personal collection. @gamingonlinux sadly this is all too common from multiple sources. So many used Ubuntu for a week and then think they’re an expert on Linux. @gamingonlinux Every time I see Holo ISO recommended, I cringe. It's just not a distro anybody should be using, as it is barely supported. If you want a SteamMachine type system, then ChimeraOS is the answer. It is actively developed and supports a wide range of hardware configurations. Desktop should be using a desktop distro, of which there are plenty of great options to chose from. @gamingonlinux Yikes. That author should not write about things they aren’t familiar with. > However, not everyone is fluent in computer languages, which is why Windows, macOS, and other user-focused OSes use a GUI, which is slower but infinitely more usable. Not all users are programmers. The command line interface is not programming, I hate this particular misinformed parallel that is always drawn. @gamingonlinux @gamingonlinux Don't forget their endorsement of the disaster of a phone known as the Pro1X https://www.makeuseof.com/fxtec-pro1-xda-phone-review/ @gamingonlinux OH NO IT’S WRITTEN BY MATTHEW CONNATSER. I thought he’d disappeared after the AdoredTV drama. @gamingonlinux I've been using linux as a daily driver for a decade now and I've only tried holoISO once, it was not what I'd call a beginner distro. Right now for anyone who wants to drink to FOSS flavoraid I'd suggest Linux mint. @gamingonlinux it’s not an entirely correct article but he as a point: Linux Desktop as people know it (X11, GNOME, KDE, NVIDIA) sucks, but Steam Deck simply “works”. Imagine people knowing most of the leading Infotainment devices on Cars are also running Linux and just like Steam Deck “it works”. @gamingonlinux I’ve been using Linux professionally every day for over 20 years and I don’t want it on my desktop. @gamingonlinux as a Steam Deck owner, and this having been my first experience with Linux, what tools would you recommend for becoming more familiar with the OS? I’d love to explore the OS side more, but my research thus far has not yielded great results. Seems like there are tons of resources if you know what questions to ask, but I’m at the stage just before that where I need to know more about the OS generally so I have questions to ask. Hope that makes sense! @gamingonlinux Thanks for the feedback! I’ll look into it. Will likely use one of my dusty laptops to just play around a bit. @gamingonlinux Hell I thought I was using a fairly obscure Env running Garuda, lol. I've been running Linux since '06. Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, then Mint from around 2012 till 2 months ago. My Mint borked to where I couldn't boot it so I figured it was time to try an Arch based. Guess what I've been doing the last 2 months? Looking shit up on Arch Wiki. The learning journey never ends with Linux, even after almost 2 decades. People thinking they can just pick it up in a week are silly. |
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https://www.xda-developers.com/why-linux-on-steam-deck-but-not-desktop/