[jmiserez]

> Even linux (which is awful as desktop system)

I disagree. Linux is great as a desktop system precisely because you're in control, not some third-party. And in terms of desktop functionality there is no meaningful difference anymore.

[cm2187]

But the drivers problem isn't really behind them. I just purchased a lenovo laptop after reading similar comments noting the progress of linux desktop, and can't get the laptop to connect to an external monitor, despite the device being on ubuntu's certified list.

[washadjeffmad]

If you post your model laptop on the Ubuntu forums or on reddit.com/r/linuxquestions with your issue, you'll likely get either a solution or enough information to know how about soon support will be added for your device. It's often a solved problem just with no upstream patch yet.

[cm2187]

Thanks. I'll give it a try.

[DanBC]

Plenty of windows machines, with MS logo stickers, have terrible windows drivers. Or have drivers that sort of work in Microsoft Windows 8.1 with Bing but not in Windows 10.

[ams6110]

Graphics adapters and WiFi are still the two things you have to really pay attention to if you are buying a new PC with the intent of running anything other than the OS it's delivered with.

[zxcvcxz]

I'm 100% positive that for every single instance of Linux having some driver issue, I can find 10 times the amount of issues on Windows through a simple google search.

Multi-monitor setups not working on windows 10:

http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1255544-windows-10-10074-n...

answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-start/win-10-wont-recognize-multiple-monitors/fb5c5f33-b9e7-4158-ab82-833a9595e466

https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/windows-10-do...

http://superuser.com/questions/947819/multiple-monitors-brok...

So yeah we can go on all day about the driver issues in Linux or we can go on all decade about the driver problems on Windows.

I my self bought a brand new laptop from dell with Windows 10, the laptop would not wake from sleep the first time I opened the lid, I had to close it again and re-open it every time. When it did wake up the wifi wouldn't work.

Driver issues are a common occurrence on Windows and in my experience more common on Windows than Linux.

[cm2187]

No usually when you buy a laptop, it pretty much works out of the box. Now there might be some smaller compatibility issues but not some core feature simply not working like this.

[zatkin]

Not for all Linux distributions. A lot of Linux distributions give you lots of control at the expense of reading an excessive amount of documentation just to tweak things to your satisfaction.

[zxcvcxz]

You have to read all sorts of configuration guides to get win 10 to disable all the crapware it comes with. Ads, candy crush, telemetry, etc.

[codedokode]

Linux might be great if you have enough free time for learning how to set it up, experimenting and fixing bugs. Also you'll need time to optimize it. For example out-of-the-box Debian boots slower that Windows. And latest Ununtu is maybe 2 or 3 times slower than Debian, I don't remember when I saw such a long operating system bootup. Maybe it needs SSD but I don't want to buy it.

[zxcvcxz]

Windows might be great if you have enough free time for learning to disable all the crapware, experimenting and fixing bugs. Also you'll need time to optimize it. For example out-of-the-box Windows on an SSD boots slower that Ubuntu and Windows boots slower than any Linux OS on an HDD. And latest Windows 10 is maybe 2 or 3 times slower than Windows 7, I don't remember when I saw such a long operating system bootup. I know for certain it needs SSD but I don't want to buy it.

(this is my experience, and the experience of many on the Windows 10 forums)

[all2well]

>because you're in control

Realistically, who reads and reasons about every line of code that their system runs? For the most part, people don't ever really consider software beyond just installing it. In that case, maintainers have control.

[khedoros]

I choose from among the dozens of options, based on functionality and configurability. That's the degree of control that I've needed. Saying that "control" would require someone to read every line of source is a wonderful strawman.

> In that case, maintainers have control.

And if they change the software in a way that I dislike, I can fetch a previous version of the program and use it that way forever, or disable the changes in the new version. Thankfully, I don't usually have to do that. There's almost always another piece of software that can be reconfigured to do what I want.

[codedokode]

> I can fetch a previous version of the program and use it that way forever

Unless it is a web browser because modern frontend developers tend to make their web apps compatible only with the latest version of a browser they use on their Mac.

[khedoros]

Point taken. Still, if it's important to me for something local, I've got the choice. It doesn't need to be useful with every program on my machine to be a useful capability to me.

[jmiserez]

You don't have to read every line of code. But if some maintainer goes and adds something like the Win 10 autoupdate, you are allowed to go and revert that and provide an alternate fork or distribution (assuming GPL license or similar). You can't do that for Windows, because legally you're not allowed to.

[zxcvcxz]

Also Linux has better font rendering and more straight forward UIs than Windows.