Official support for Windows 10 is coming to an end soon, and many users are considering making the switch to LinuxOthers don't even consider it because "Linux is difficult," but is it really? That's the topic we're going to cover in this article. If you're not keen on reading, I'll summarize it for you: it depends on what you're going to do and your ability to learn new things.
Here it would be good to comment on how my beginnings were with macOS, back then Mac OS X: I didn't know anything about Mac, only that it worked well (I had been told and convinced). When I turned it on, I had no idea how to install an application. In those days I was using a Nokia N97, and I connected to MSN Messenger to ask one of my contacts how to c* install a program. Why am I explaining this? Well, for something simple: to start by saying that different is not the same as difficult.
Linux and package managers
Many Windows users think Linux is still in the 2000s. Twenty years ago, managing software was very different, but managers like Synaptic already existed back then. We even have a 2013 article talking about it on one of our sister blogs. It wasn't the prettiest, it wasn't a modern store, but it allowed you to search for a package and see its description.
Nowadays, it's rare for a distribution to not have a store with a modern user interface, so the difficulty of installing programs disappears...
…at first.
Download an EXE and install: impossible on Linux?
On Windows, installing a program is as simple as going to the developer's website, downloading an EXE or MSI, and installing it. It's the same on macOS, although if it's not signed, you'll have problems. Too bad Apple's system is easy.
It's also possible on Linux, but for Debian/Ubuntu or Red Hat/Fedora-based distros. Almost all of them package their programs in DEB and/or RPM formats, so downloading and installing can also be an option. Alternatively, there are AppImages, which are a type of portable executable.
Another disgruntled Reddit user
I must admit that this article has been motivated by two reasons: that Windows 10 is close to dying, and any related article can give us visits, and by an article that I have read in the 3DJuegos medium, where it is spoken of a very unhappy Reddit user with Linux. "Another" rather, because we also recently dealt with The case of a "Linux specialist" who switched to Windows 11 and loved it.
In this new case, the user complains that Roblox on Linux is a Flatpak, and that's where his problems began. Among his arguments, that Flatpak runs on the terminal, that you have to add the GNOME plugin and the repository... Wait, wait: What? Okay, I understand where he's coming from, but that's not a "Linux" problem; it's a problem with what he's chosen: most likely an Ubuntu-based distribution, specifically the official flavor, which by default doesn't have Flatpak support, and you have to do all that. Linux is not AN operating system.
Another complaint was that upon starting the virtual machine, which is required for Flathub software to appear, the software store didn't display anything. This isn't a Linux bug per se either; it sounds more like a problem with the installation in the virtual machine.
Furthermore, at one point he says that Linux wouldn't run as smoothly on his hardware, which I'm not even going to debate because it's absurd.
Is macOS easier?
I'd say it's more user-friendly, not easier. As I mentioned, you have to know how to install an application, which sometimes involves launching an executable, but other times it's by moving a file to the Applications folder. It also depends on the individual and the intended use. AceStream is available in a Docker container, something not everyone is familiar with.
The crux of the matter is whether one is willing to do things differently and how far one will go, because only Windows is Windows.
Linux is not difficult, just different
I understand what these people say, but I can't agree with it now. When I switched to Linux, I wanted everything to be like Windows, and my mentor would tell me, "This isn't Windows," or "Go back to Windows". It's true.
If there's a real problem with Linux, it's that there are so many different distributions, and not everything is designed for Linux. Linux works differently. You'll find most of them, and it can be a bit more complicated for the less popular ones.
But these are all just my perspectives, because I took a web applications course a few years ago, and I find it easier to work with PHP from Linux than from Windows. But I'm a different kind of user.
If you are considering making the jump from Windows
If someone is considering making the jump from Windows, the best thing to do is something like the Reddit user did: create a virtual machine and check that what they use daily is compatible. But be careful with this, because virtual machines aren't real environments and can cause more problems. Better than a VM, create a Live USB and test it in the physical environment.
Linux is different, period. If you don't take that into account, and aren't prepared to learn a little, stick with Windows; no one's going to tell you anything. Well, maybe your wallet when you need to change your PC.