There is no comparison. Linux suffers from "not my department" syndrome. If some component in the stack borks the install you are in hell trying to fix it and risk breaking something else.
Windows for all its faults still has some semblance of the majority of the OS being developed under one roof so things actually work together.
Post like this mystify me. I’ve been on Ubuntu since 2008 and I’ve never once had a failed install. Now installing redhat from floppies in 1998? Yes that sucked. But it’s been a good experience for a really long time.
I ran into a bug about a year ago with the Ubuntu installer that caused it to crash on me when I was trying to install it on my Framework laptop. I had to try multiple times before the install finally went through.
It takes a good six months before Linux supports new hardware well. Usually LTS (or even other) Ubuntu is not recent enough. I recommend Fedora on such machines, and later on Mint (no snap).
I knew someone was going to reply about it being a hardware thing. Ubuntu was listed on Framework's compatibility page as being fully supported. And the hardware was not particularly special or cutting edge. Also, the installer is STILL bugged even with 25.10. Not crashing, but if you connect to WiFi in the installer, when you click next it sits the indefinitely waiting for it to connect even after you can see in the system tray that it's connected.
And I tried Fedora at the time but, if I remember correctly, that was the distro that wouldn't load the fingerprint sensor settings page.
Ubuntu used to be "hot shit", but I don't think I'd recommend it for any reason these days, especially since it doesn't support Flatpaks.
Pop_OS!, Fedora, etc. are all better and much more stable, and I can't see this changing given Shuttleworth's weird, bizzare, misogynistic, and ableist hiring practices.
Pop_OS is the one I will likely settle on once Cosmic is out of beta.
I will say I don't' have a strong opinion on Snap vs Flatpak, but I didn't know that about the CEO's hiring practices. Definitely not interested in touching Ubuntu again after reading some first-hand accounts of his behavior.
> There is no comparison. Linux suffers from "not my department" syndrome. If some component in the stack borks the install you are in hell trying to fix it and risk breaking something else.
>
> Windows for all its faults still has some semblance of the majority of the OS being developed under one roof so things actually work together.
My favourite part of Windows is how opening the start menu causes CPU usage to spike because the start menu is made using React, versus using native UI components for it. Is... that the kind of "working together" that you mean?
I've been running Linux since 2009 and these complaints are fine to pull out when levelled at contemporary Linux, but it's grown up hugely since Valve started throwing money at it. I haven't had to do any major config on a Linux distro outside of "things I wanted to do with it, just because" since around 2021 (this includes games via Steam or Lutris). Meanwhile I very, very regularly have to hear stories from people about how much work they're putting into their Windows setup just to have a remotely functional OS, including replacing the entire start menu component with a random hack made by a private non-Microsoft sanctioned group.
It's honestly very funny, and it's going to get funnier as the trend keeps continuing.
>My favourite part of Windows is how opening the start menu causes CPU usage to spike because the start menu is made using React, versus using native UI components for it. Is... that the kind of "working together" that you mean?
Yeah your one edge case is totally the reality for the billions of people that use Windows daily. To be more clear since I expected these kids of responses: On the mean the OS is the most cohesive out of all of them. Its still a 30+ year old collection of code despite being made under one roof, its going to have edge cases.
If you have have to start your comment with Id didn't have to do that or it works for me then its "not my department" syndrome.
Bullshit. If you try to troubleshoot your windows problems by looking for answers on the internet, you get "certified microsoft experts" giving you tips like "update your antivirus, flip the power cable, and defragment your hard drive" to fix your driver issues.
Searching for problems about linux is going to yield much higher quality results.
The point is that you buy a computer from the store, install userland apps and it most likely won't have those problems I mentioned out of the box. Thats good enough for the billions that continue to use Windows, Linux can't even do that.
Of course it's difficult for Linux to support devices when a) the OEMs have contracts with Microsoft, b) the OEMs are writing drivers for windows, and c) Linux developers have to reverse-engineer said drivers to provide a modicum of support, with all of the legal and technical challenges thereof.
I don't think it's fair to blame Linux for "bad device support" when really it's entirely on the OEM and how shitty they are to non-Microsoft developers, and that varies a lot between manufacturer. A Lenovo Thinkpad, for example, is almost guaranteed to have a decent-to-good level of support because of how they, as a company, act and implement their systems. Other manufacturers like Asus, the relationship is more adversarial.
Linux support of mainline devices is in many ways expecting to catch up to a freight train with a little handcar. The fact that Linux supports so many devices and that I've been able to use it satisfactorily for every day work and life on Thinkpads, HP Pavilions, and other random devices, is itself a miracle. The fact that you can install it on a laptop and expect it to mostly work with only maybe sound card issues or lid detection issues, is itself a testament to the skill and effort invested in it. And then when there are problems, it's easy to dril down to the root of things. Versus my dad's USB and wifi card randomly disabling itself within Windows and there being no support for this and no way to figure out what's wrong.
I understand the desire to get out from under the MS umbrella, as there are definitely legitimate gripes. But I also see the irony that if you have the technical ability to install a Linux distro, you definitely have the technical ability to use an autounattend XML.
I don't know about openly hostile. Definitely making moves that the user base openly disagree with and think are, at best, very bad decisions, but I don't think they have crossed the "hostile" line. And MS is not alone with those kinds of decisions.
Apple may not "force" you to use an iCloud account for their devices, but they sure push it hard.
As far as Linux communities go, Red Hat, Arch, Cisco, and even Ubuntu have also done their fair share of "bad decisions".
everybody else is doing it doesnt excuse the issue.
when users make a technical effort to workaround these bad decisions, and you keep chasing after them, subverting said technical measures, in order to enforce said bad decisions, this has gone far beyond being bad decisions; it is being done on purpose to prevent users from opting out of a Hostile ecosystem.
What would it take for you to admit they are openly hostile? Removing the ability to install without internet, taking up resources on your computer by stuffing more and more forced ai onto you that nobody asked for, resetting default browser preferences, taking screenshots of everything you do, baiting people into uploading their private files onto the cloud through onedrive, and this is still not enough? You still go "oh I don't know about openly hostile?? Hello???
I'm currently trying to set one up. What do I have to put in there so the OOBE is skipped, or at least skip the online account part? My goal is to install a Windows 11 in a VM with zero user interaction.
Edit: Actually, currently the whole thing is failing after the second reboot for other reasons. I get an error that says there is some malformed command in the unattend.xml or something. Couldn't fully debug it yet - it's possible the setup succeeds after I figure this one out.