The distros that tout themselves as user-friendly come with pretty much everything an average, non-power-user would need pre-installed ootb: Internet browser, file browser, media player, app store, and some sort of settings app/menu to fiddle with basic things like screen resolution, input devices, audio settings, etc.
Has your experience been different? Is there some specific distro or some specific missing/confusing feature you’re talking about?
I’m not speaking from personal experience as such because I’ve been using Linux since the late 90’s, but I do know a bunch of people who haven’t had great experiences with Linux, mainly due to eg wanting to run games – which is fairly easy nowadays thanks to Proton but it’s still not as stupid simple as just installing a game in Windows – or driver problems (esp graphics)
Gotcha, thanks for clarifying. I definitely recognize that gaming isn’t 100% perfect on Linux yet, and graphics drivers can still be a pain. I think both of those statements hold true on Windows though, and I don’t think I’d consider a gamer an “average” PC user. PC gaming is a niche hobby. A large niche maybe, but it’s not the main thing people use a PC for. So I think it’s a little unfair to point to gaming-related issues when trying to claim that Linux isn’t user-friendly.
I wouldn’t call gaming a niche hobby at all – I know plenty of people who aren’t “technically-minded” in any way but who still play games on their computers and not just on mobile devices or consoles. 54% of Europeans aged 6-64 played games according to a 2024 poll, 43% of them on a PC – that’s a huge chunk of the population.
The distros that tout themselves as user-friendly come with pretty much everything an average, non-power-user would need pre-installed ootb: Internet browser, file browser, media player, app store, and some sort of settings app/menu to fiddle with basic things like screen resolution, input devices, audio settings, etc.
Has your experience been different? Is there some specific distro or some specific missing/confusing feature you’re talking about?
I’m not speaking from personal experience as such because I’ve been using Linux since the late 90’s, but I do know a bunch of people who haven’t had great experiences with Linux, mainly due to eg wanting to run games – which is fairly easy nowadays thanks to Proton but it’s still not as stupid simple as just installing a game in Windows – or driver problems (esp graphics)
Gotcha, thanks for clarifying. I definitely recognize that gaming isn’t 100% perfect on Linux yet, and graphics drivers can still be a pain. I think both of those statements hold true on Windows though, and I don’t think I’d consider a gamer an “average” PC user. PC gaming is a niche hobby. A large niche maybe, but it’s not the main thing people use a PC for. So I think it’s a little unfair to point to gaming-related issues when trying to claim that Linux isn’t user-friendly.
I wouldn’t call gaming a niche hobby at all – I know plenty of people who aren’t “technically-minded” in any way but who still play games on their computers and not just on mobile devices or consoles. 54% of Europeans aged 6-64 played games according to a 2024 poll, 43% of them on a PC – that’s a huge chunk of the population.
Same survey:
I know there’s overlap, people who play multiple devices, but even with that, 43% is smaller than the other numbers
Looks like the numbers are similar for the US: 64% of the population plays games, 45% of them using PCs: https://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2025-Essential-Facts-Booklet-05-30-25-RGB.pdf