LiLinux Desktop usage is rising more than ever continuously. Even Windows shipped real Linux Kernels for their containerized Linux Subsystems. Because Microsoft knows they too need Linux because 40% of their Azure VMs runs Linux. Linux sort of dominates within Microsoft’s own territories. Even MS SDN runs on Linux.
Linux is getting pretty popular on desktop thanks to its community, outstanding developers, and enthusiasts. But, as I wrote in the article about Ubuntu, some big Linux forums and social media threads are suffering from toxic elitists and unfriendly peoples. This creates problems, especially with newbies. They create an unwelcoming environment and put up signs that Linux is only for certain people, or newbies should not be welcomed, or criticism is bad.
The biggest problem it creates, that it makes people think negatively about the community and allows negativity to be spread. Some people point out how other parts of Linux is bad, how a specific component is bad, etc. And some outrageous people bashed Linux because the community already created a hostile environment for everyone and gave a chance to the haters.
I came across these myths often, even in 2020, and I can’t believe people are still clinging to these. Let me write some of these.
KDE is bloated
I’ve debunked this earlier in NixFAQ before, here is my article about it. And it seems people still believe that KDE needs supercomputers like hardware to run. It requires modern hardware, but almost everyone of you has more than the lowest recommended hardware.
So, if you want to customize your system all the way through, and you want to have control over your system with non-complex procedures, and one of the most modern GUI provides, you can go with KDE without hassle. Please read the article, I have written all about the claim and proved that KDE is not bloated.
Gnome is the worst
I don’t get why people hate Gnome, even though Gnome is the standard Desktop for most of the big Linux Operating systems. Ubuntu uses Gnome by default, Fedora uses it, and also Debian comes with Gnome by default. Many people point out that Gnome is heavy, which is not compared to most of the feature rich desktops.
I have also written about common myths about Gnome here. Gnome is actually the most polished desktop in the Linux universe. Many follow Gnome to polish the UI. There are arguments made by people that Gnome is anti-features, it is a sort of true, and false at the same time. Gnome does not provide theming functionality at all, all the themes just hacks the style sheet and overwrites it.
There are some purists who claim that Gnome 2 was better, but they are actually in the minority. Majority people do not care about Gnome 2 and are happy with the later iteration of Gnome 3. Many people love the polish of Gnome 3+ and enjoy it.
Distros going for-profit is bad
Elitists on many forums hate on companies like Canonical and newly formed Manjaro GmbH & Co. KG and I don’t get it why. They bring up arguments like how corporate Linux companies are evil. Which is not real! The stronger the backing of a Linux distribution is, the more reliable that Linux distribution is. See, developing a product takes time, effort and money. Nothing is free in this universe and there is nothing wrong with distro devs forming companies to hire professional full-time developers and keeping the project alive and sustainable.
Some people hate paying money to free software developers, which is not the right attitude when you want projects to sustain and live. Many projects have died because of improper funding. Not only that, a company is much needed to form a strong backing and support coverage, also for making more products oriented to consumers.
Ubuntu is the worst distribution
It’s not. If you want to use Ubuntu as your daily driver, it actually can be the best for you. Many people till the date starts with Ubuntu and it’s been like this for a long time. Ubuntu made Desktop Linux grow and become a thing and I dont get why people hate it.
As I have discussed in the previous section, many people hates canonical as a company because they are for-profit, which is a stupid reason to hate. Also for this reason they killed many projects like Unity and Ubuntu Touch. They don’t understand that Canonical never generated enough revenue to keep these alive thanks to people who hate to pay for FOSS.
So the hate for Ubuntu and its company Canonical is just unreasonable. Not to mention that many purists hate Manjaro for simplifying Arch and other small stuff. Which is also wrong.
SystemD is bad
Arguments made about SystemD being bad does not affect the user-base. If a developer hates GTK, and writes QT apps, it doesn’t affect you at all. You are using the app and focus on the app’s usability and your personal experience rather than things you don’t have to bother with. SystemD is a replacement for the old SysV init system. And the majority do not care about it being good or bad.
So it’s funny when Redditors and people who do not have to bother with Inits write furious comments about distros with SystemD. Most of these are usually memes and trolls. Like, “Imagine using SystemD” or “Haha SystemD bad”. Most of these commenters are basic users who should not care about Inits. Ubuntu, Fedora and almost every major distribution are well running with it and they are happy to maintain it for the users.
Linux world is all about free, as in free beer
Linux can be a platform for monetizing your hard work. People pay for services and games on Linux. There are tons of games that are being purchased every day by Linux users. There are tools like PDF studio that are very famous. Many people use Crossover for ease of use and professional support.
Linux has the space available for you to build your useful application or games and monetize it on the platform. Even when you are a free software developer, you can sell your applications, like in Elementary App Store.
Microsoft wants to eat Linux
Nope, Microsoft will not do what you think. Embracing Linux was the right thing for Microsoft’s own good. But that doesn’t mean they will gulp all the open source world. They just realized the truth, that Linux is important although lately, and started promoting Linux. Satya Nadella did the right thing where Steve Ballmer did wrong. Microsoft also released a record-breaking amount of patents open for all.
The only concern is, however, MS is not porting their flagship applications to Linux, and I think they are supporting Linux almost for their own good. Still, I really love Microsoft’s change and the embracing of open source.
Conclusion
Always test distros and products and use them based on your own experience. Many forums suffer from toxicity and biased opinion about certain apps, distros, and components. These may shift your mind and think something is real when it’s not. This is how myths are created. And always rely on your sole experience rather than other people’s opinion and claims.
Really informative. Keep it up!