Posted June 25, 2018
low rated
Hi there gogers. So I have a rather sincerer question for those of you that use Linux as a desktop OS.
Why, just… why!
Okay, there’s a few things I need to go over, I’ll do my best to keep it short though.
What is Linux?
When I say Linux I mean desktop distributions. I’m not interested in hearing about super computers, phones, or microwave OS’s. I’m talking about Debian, Ubuntu, Manjaro and anything else based on that kernel meant for the Desktop.
My position on Linux and Windows.
Hating Microsoft is easy to understand and I don’t like what they’ve been doing with Windows either. Since Win8 I’ve been unhappy with the direction MS is taking this once great OS. Bill Gates needs to come back and set things right.
Linux on the other hand is something I truly hate and despise. I can’t stand the community or the software itself and I can’t for the life of me figure out why people use it or why they push so hard to get others so support it.
My history with Linux
I first tried Linux shortly after the release of Win8 and used it on and off for about 5 years. I decided to preserve judgement until I had spent a descent amount of time with it and learned how to use it properly. I mostly used Linux Mint but I distro hopped as well to get a better understanding of how it all works.
Why I hate it so much
If I was to list everything I didn’t like about Linux I would never stop typing, so instead I’ll just stick to the things that bother me the most.
First and foremost I really can’t emphasize this enough, I know how to use Linux. While I don’t know everything there is to know about Linux I was able to get it to do most things that I wanted it to do. I didn’t really have any problems getting things to work.
So why do I hate it? Because I don’t like the way it works. I don’t like the way it does things. I don’t like the way it install programs, the way it updates, installs drivers, installs itself, excreta excreta. However, the one thing that bothers me the most and the reason I’m posting this here instead of the Linux forums (Linux forums are a waist of time anyway.) is because of the DRM-like behaviour of the software.
We’re all GOG users and one of the reasons GOG is so much better then Steam is because the games are DRM free. From a practical standpoint this means you don’t need internet to get your software to work.
Linux doesn’t have DRM, but it does use repositories to install updates, drivers, and most of all dependencies. Dependencies are needed to make your software work. You can install dependencies offline but this is an extremely tedious process. Not only that, but unlike Microsoft VC++ redistributables, dependencies are both unique to each distribution and ever changing. This means that the files you’ve downloaded will only work with a very specific version of a very specific distribution.
Are you starting to see the problem?
Furthermore Linux has poor software backwards compatibility. This means that the dependencies and the software that needs them can lose functionality with future releases of the kernel. Case and point Remastersys, a program that is no longer supported thus you can no longer use it. The distributions no longer support it, and the dependencies needed to run it are no longer stored in repositories.
Do you see the problem?
What if Trine 2 for Linux is your absolute favourite game? It already needs a specialised selection of dependencies. (They’re listed on GOG’s store page.) That of course have to be downloaded and installed separately from the game.
What if your internet isn’t working and all you’re left with is the install.sh?
What if the repository no longer has the dependencies?
Having DRM free software should mean not having to worry about any of this.
Linux repositories remind me of Steam. Please explain to me why a group of DRM free software enthusiasts, would ever want to use an operating system such as this.
Why, just… why!
Okay, there’s a few things I need to go over, I’ll do my best to keep it short though.
What is Linux?
When I say Linux I mean desktop distributions. I’m not interested in hearing about super computers, phones, or microwave OS’s. I’m talking about Debian, Ubuntu, Manjaro and anything else based on that kernel meant for the Desktop.
My position on Linux and Windows.
Hating Microsoft is easy to understand and I don’t like what they’ve been doing with Windows either. Since Win8 I’ve been unhappy with the direction MS is taking this once great OS. Bill Gates needs to come back and set things right.
Linux on the other hand is something I truly hate and despise. I can’t stand the community or the software itself and I can’t for the life of me figure out why people use it or why they push so hard to get others so support it.
My history with Linux
I first tried Linux shortly after the release of Win8 and used it on and off for about 5 years. I decided to preserve judgement until I had spent a descent amount of time with it and learned how to use it properly. I mostly used Linux Mint but I distro hopped as well to get a better understanding of how it all works.
Why I hate it so much
If I was to list everything I didn’t like about Linux I would never stop typing, so instead I’ll just stick to the things that bother me the most.
First and foremost I really can’t emphasize this enough, I know how to use Linux. While I don’t know everything there is to know about Linux I was able to get it to do most things that I wanted it to do. I didn’t really have any problems getting things to work.
So why do I hate it? Because I don’t like the way it works. I don’t like the way it does things. I don’t like the way it install programs, the way it updates, installs drivers, installs itself, excreta excreta. However, the one thing that bothers me the most and the reason I’m posting this here instead of the Linux forums (Linux forums are a waist of time anyway.) is because of the DRM-like behaviour of the software.
We’re all GOG users and one of the reasons GOG is so much better then Steam is because the games are DRM free. From a practical standpoint this means you don’t need internet to get your software to work.
Linux doesn’t have DRM, but it does use repositories to install updates, drivers, and most of all dependencies. Dependencies are needed to make your software work. You can install dependencies offline but this is an extremely tedious process. Not only that, but unlike Microsoft VC++ redistributables, dependencies are both unique to each distribution and ever changing. This means that the files you’ve downloaded will only work with a very specific version of a very specific distribution.
Are you starting to see the problem?
Furthermore Linux has poor software backwards compatibility. This means that the dependencies and the software that needs them can lose functionality with future releases of the kernel. Case and point Remastersys, a program that is no longer supported thus you can no longer use it. The distributions no longer support it, and the dependencies needed to run it are no longer stored in repositories.
Do you see the problem?
What if Trine 2 for Linux is your absolute favourite game? It already needs a specialised selection of dependencies. (They’re listed on GOG’s store page.) That of course have to be downloaded and installed separately from the game.
What if your internet isn’t working and all you’re left with is the install.sh?
What if the repository no longer has the dependencies?
Having DRM free software should mean not having to worry about any of this.
Linux repositories remind me of Steam. Please explain to me why a group of DRM free software enthusiasts, would ever want to use an operating system such as this.
