[akmittal]

Ubuntu is becoming more and more suitable for normal users. Most of the work is done in web browsers these days. I do ubuntu minimal installation and almost everything works out of box. More people would be using if laptop makers start giving ubuntu as default option.

[wincy]

You still get weird gotchas. My wife wanted to install Microsoft Teams to talk to our doctor. She got the the Linux download page then asked “should I download the .rpm or the .deb?”. Luckily I was there to tell her. Then she installed it like a champ and got it working, so that was nice.

But there’s no way she’d have just “known” this, and it’s just another hurdle to non technical users. Why should you have to know that Ubuntu is a downstream distro of Debian to install a program?

[nmstoker]

I get your point that there's clearly further to go, but it's not that unusual to need to know something relevant like this if installing from a source that's not your OS app store. After all, we often expect Windows users to know their install option is "PC" (a historic piece of info that isn't "Windows") rather than than Mac.

It's also something that is answered effectively with the very first Google result for an obvious search: https://www.google.com/search?q=should+i+install+deb+or+rpm&...

There are a few ways round this but they would generally require action on the part of all the software suppliers who post packages via websites. In your example it wouldn't be hard for MS to figure out the Ubuntu users and send them just the right link and likewise several other Linux distros - I guess it's still not worth it.

Maybe this is an area where a JS library for websites would avoid each one rolling their own and thus make the experience better across the board?

[PossiblyKyle]

I mean, this is why snaps are a thing, despite their scrutiny

[mixmastamyk]

Why on earth would someone talk to their doctor with such a product?

[lowtolerance]

Because most doctor visits right now are “telehealth” visits and as a patient you have zero say as to what platform your doctor chooses to use.

[Sir_Substance]

My experience is that people will be happy to use other things if you just ask them to, and have a ready-to-go solution on hand.

Just say "teams doesn't work well on my computer, it's very poorly made. Can we use jitsimeet? It's much easier for me." and them drop them a jitsi link without waiting for their response.

Teams is the official video chat at my company, I've been successfully ignoring that for more than 2 months now. At this stage, jitsi usage is starting to spread to other teams.

[bdcravens]

My doctors are using Zoom (via MyChart, so I assume many are using the same); one of my wife's providers is using Google Duo.

[rawTruthHurts]

What do you mean by "normal users"?

For my parents it's simpler to go with OSX.

For working on print, Inkscape and Gimp pale in comparision with adobe's suite. Not to mention sharing files with the "de facto market standards" world .

For working on audiovisuals, no cigar.

For working on development, well, none of my external hardware was supported (my last experience was Ubuntu 18+) but ok, the IDE worked.

In any case, going to the original question: normal user who?

[wazzaps]

Inkscape: For professional print I can't answer (never had to use CMYK), but Inkscape works well enough for 99% of people who need it IMO (web developers, logo designers, CNC/Milling)

Gimp: Agree, most features are there but finding them is a chore

File sharing: Illustrator uses .ai files which are .pdf (compatible with inkscape), can't speak about .psd compatibility with Gimp, never tried it

Audiovisual: DaVinci Resolve is awesome, and adequate for most if not all home users

Development: I'm assuming you mean embedded development, this relies on support from the vendor, community can't do much about this. Most development are not embedded developers, and in my experience boards by SiLabs worked pretty much out of the box. Obviously anything web (except ASP I guess, I may be wrong) is a breeze on Linux

Regardless, the normal user needs none of this. They need a web browser and an office suite. The Linux ecosystem needs a more intuitive office suite, but libreoffice is good enough and Google Docs/Office365 online work for many people too