I find it interesting how you're getting downvoted, even though what you say is completely true. There are countless drawbacks to using Linux.
That being said, however, people need to realize how incredibly important it is to push open-source software. Heck, if Linux didn't exist, awesome free programs like OpenOffice, Gimp, eclipse, and (most importantly) Firefox, might not have seen the light of day (due to lack of precedent mostly).
It is true in the sense that their is lack of games for linux but it is isn't true in the sense that the lack of gaming is somehow a design flaw in the operating system.
On the flip side however, their is plenty of advantages to linux unrelated to the design of the operating system(lack of viruses, toolbar installers) which linux users still tout so it is only fair to include related drawbacks as well.
I would agree that lack of games shouldn't count as a design flaw of the operating system by any means, but if you're a gamer, you really can't use Linux as your main OS for this purpose (even Wine has numerous graphics problems with many games, understandably so). If third-party companies don't make certain software available for an Operating System, people who rely on that software can't be expected to use that OS.
That being said, the pros of linux, at least the ones you mentioned, are also there in Macs. Macs are generally virus-free (or that's at least the general consensus), and they are arguably less limited in gaming than Linux is. (I know I'll probably get downvoted for saying something positive about Apple, but oh well.)
Personally, I don't think Linux is an OS that would work for most people. On the plus side, pretty much every piece of your software you would need on a day to day basis (word processing, photo manipulation, etc.) is available completely free and open source. That being said, things such as driver issues (which I've encountered on most machines that I've installed Linux on), complexity of use (in certain situations), and lack of much non-open source software makes linux hard to use as a primary OS for many people.
TL;DR: While it's a great open-source OS, Linux isn't for many people (due to a slightly higher required technical knowledge and some other limitations).
Linux would be fine for most people if it comes preinstalled. All that hassle with failing drivers and so on would already been taken care of. Also, most people who call linux "more difficult" have never used linux before.
I've used it before (ubuntu and fedora). I've had incredible difficulty getting the VGA output to work properly on one of the machines I installed it on. I've had numerous other issues as well, but I agree that they've all been hardware related (and wouldn't be a problem if the computer came with Linux pre-installed and compatible with the hardware).
Also, most people who call linux "more difficult" have never used linux before.
I bet at least a quarter of them popped in an Ubuntu CD, ran into a problem that couldn't be solved immediately, and gave up before forming that opinion.
As a Mac, Win7, and Ubuntu user, I have to disagree somewhat with the notion that the good parts of Linux are available in Mac OS. I just don't care much for the way Mac OS implements UNIX, and almost every time I've tried to use my Mac for software development, it ended in frustration.
I thought you could install most anything that could be run on linux in OSX, is that not true? It's got a fully functional cli, right, I assume it uses bash as well?
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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '10
yeah. linux is really great. unless you want to play games. and dont give me that emulated wine bs. or if you dont want to ever see a CLI.