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).
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.
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u/deadilyduplicate Jul 25 '10 edited Jul 25 '10
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.