Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by greenhouse_gas 3149 days ago
The issue is "the long tail". For example, if my favorite game (extra points if it's from 2000 and abandonware) doesn't work on Linux, why should I switch?

If my camera which I already own isn't on Linux, why should I switch?

If I'm running an office and I suspect I'll need a Windows program in the future (almost guaranteed, if you want some off-cloud accounting or billing or business-logic software), why should I switch?
1 comments
the_af 3149 days ago
> if my favorite game [...] doesn't work on Linux, why should I switch?

That's easy: you should not switch to Linux because of games. You should switch because you like it better than Windows; if you also happen to like gaming, you will find plenty of games for Linux. Your favorite game might not be available, but then again, you should not switch (to any OS!) because of games.

This is not exclusively a problem for Linux either; it also happens to Mac users. Still, the Mac has many fans, right?

link
greenhouse_gas 3149 days ago
>That's easy: you should not switch to Linux because of games. You should switch because you like it better than Windows; if you also happen to like gaming, you will find plenty of games for Linux. Your favorite game might not be available, but then again, you should not switch (to any OS!) because of games.

That's my point. For the "masses", there isn't much there (see how much they care about privacy), and something to lose.

link
the_af 3149 days ago
I first started using Linux because I liked unix, programming and open source; privacy wasn't a concern.

I'm not sure it's an OS "for the masses". I know it works for people who just want to edit simple documents, browse the web, watch movies and play the occasional game.

Note that I was replying to MrFurious' comment about "videogames and MS Office". This may come as a surprise to us techies, but "the masses" do NOT game on PCs at all. Gamers on any platform at all are not particularly mainstream (they certainly weren't until relatively recently). I'm willing to bet most people who game at all either play on consoles or play casual games (which usually work on Linux). Very few people play AAA on their PCs, comparatively speaking. Serious PC gamers who build monstrous high-end machines won't be comfortable with Linux, sure -- but they are not the mainstream.

MS Office and related apps are a reasonable point. I get by with Libre Office, but I'm willing to concede the point it's not on par with MS Office. But gaming? I do not believe gaming is the reason people don't use Linux.

link