2018 is looking like a annus horribilis for Linux

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1554 posts

Uber Geek

#2068030 4-Aug-2018 17:24

MikeB4:

. . .
In recent times Suse has become a very bloated and labour intensive beast and frankly a pain to deal with compared to Mint and other offerings. The more modern distributions have left Suse behind with regards to management and installation. An OS is supposed to work for you not the other way around and with the current Open Suse it is just tiresome. Add to the labour instability and bugs the latest OpenSuse is just not worth the hassle and cost of extra coffee.

I for sure don't agree with any of this. openSUSE has the most polished and integrated offering of Plasma amongst Linux distros (can't really comment on the other DEs). It's installation wizard is probably the easiest and most intuitive to use of any OS I have come across (including Windows). While the install media is quite bloated at over 4GB, remember that this contains for or five DEs (you would really only choose 1) and the install process makes it very easy to leave out anything you don't want - meaning it is possible to have a very pared back offering.

I find I struggle with Windows 7 / 10 now a lot more than I do with Plasma / Suse and, at least on my system, it is more stable, faster and easier to use than windows (on a thinkpad that is a few years old).

BWK

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#2072543 13-Aug-2018 10:47

I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. I have eight computers here running Linux, mostly Debian, occasionally I run the beta version of Xubuntu. I have no idea what these bugs are because I never really noticed any issues.

Granted there are a few bits of software like the XFCE file manager that aren't too good, but there are other ones available that work better.

BWK

10 posts

Wannabe Geek
Inactive user

#2072559 13-Aug-2018 11:13

Never regretted switching to Linux about 2 1/2 years and it's it hard to believe it was only that long. I still have one old, very low spec computer running Windows 10, a Windows 8.1 tablet that rarely gets used, and about 10 (including several old boxes in storage) running Linux. The only reason I still need Windows for anything is a handful of small applications, the scanner software, Google photos backup and one or two other things.

Windows 10 is the worst version of Windows ever, just a big advertising money grabbing platform for MS. It's interesting for me to look back and see how much I have lost faith in MS since January 2017. I actually spent money on a new box to run it. Not very long ago that box got turned into a Linux computer.

MS held a gun to everyone's head to force them to convert to it.
They even snuck a download of Windows 10 in the background onto people's PCs to make it easier to persuade them how easy it would be to upgrade.
Loads of issues with USB devices (phones or cameras) with ridiculous error messages that it can't download data, data is in the wrong format, etc.
MS can change what is installed on Windows 10 at any time without any concern about what users think.
Installation upgrades that got stuck for hours at some small percentage were a common sight at a school where I worked when we were trialling Windows 10 on a few staff computers. It reminded me of our failed transition to Vista that never got further than one computer because of all the issues we could not have foreseen.
Still can't move the user folders to a different disk or partition. This feature being fully supported in Linux makes reinstalls really fast and easy compared to the drama of having to back everything up on Windows before you can reinstall.

I could probably think of more reasons...

BWK

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Wannabe Geek
Inactive user

#2072567 13-Aug-2018 11:37

amanzi:

MikeB4:

It maybe just me but 2018 is looking like an annus horibilis for Linux Distributions. Why is this? There seems to be regression in so many of the offerings so far this year especially Fedora 28, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Debian, Mint 19, Manjaro and for special mention Open Suse 15. All of those seem to have gone backwards and the one time darlings of Distributions Ubuntu and Mint are just too buggy for words. I simply cannot see how Ubuntu 18.04 was a suitable LTS candidate. Mint 19 and Fedora 28 frankly should still be in Beta as they are not fit for consumption. Sometimes missing a release date is better than releasing a train wreck.

I'm interested to hear what complaints you have with Debian? I use Stretch on my servers and I use Buster with LXDE as a desktop OS. Very happy with the stability and speed of Debian and haven't heard of any obvious complaints.

Totally hard to understand. I have 9.5 on most of my computers, and one that is running Buster alpha 3. Debian is the best distro ever, look at all the other ones that hang off it.

It took me a long long time to get used to Debian, it's not really for beginners but now that I have got used to it, it is just the best thing for every computer I have. Even ditched Xubuntu off a few of them in favour of Debian/XFCE. What is all the whinge about Gnome, I have never ever installed it, and only briefly looked at KDE. Even used Cinnamon on Mint for a while. I use XFCE on everything because you don't waste resources on bloat.

MikeB4

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#2112812 23-Oct-2018 15:34

I have Ubuntu 18.10 running on my laptop and I have to say I am very pleased with it so far. I have not had any issues so far, this may finally be a good release for 2018.

qwerty123

147 posts

Master Geek

#2112963 23-Oct-2018 22:22

Gnome 3.30 was the main reason I upgraded to 18.10, a way better than 3.28. But there are some issues with Electron apps built with Electron <= 2.0.7, like Slack 3.3.3 deb package (some people report that snap version seems work). Also application firewall I use stopped working after switching from 4.15 to 4.18 kernel.

amiga500

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#2123150 10-Nov-2018 10:21

Yes, far too many regressions & on Ubuntu 18.04 and the derivatives including Mint 19. I don't depend on Wine but how the heck they could launch a LTS version with Wine not working properly is beyond my understanding. Wine is one of the first things a person transitioning from Windows will want to try & having to research and then use terminal to get Wine working is a huge disincentive. Too many smart people working on fancy new features & not enough on Q&A.

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amiga500

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#2123543 11-Nov-2018 12:07

MikeB4 is so right with title of this thread. As I so love Xubuntu 16.04 (well up to today!) I thought to download the last point release of this & give it a try. (16.04.5)

All was fine until I tried to use Synaptic and got the dreaded red asterisk and 'fix broken packages'. After trying a few things with terminal & spending a while reading how to articles I decided it would be quicker to go back to using 16.04.3. Following the exact same install steps and procedures Synaptic worked perfectly just like it has for the last year or more.

Sure if I had kept trying I would have fixed the broken packages problem but how long would it have taken? And how daunting for a new user? People use Synaptic because the Software Center is so deficient and missing lots of the useful apps.

Almost every distro seems to be riddled with stupid regressions & things that should work well yet work poorly or not at all.

To be honest I am coming around to Windows 10 as the last few months it has worked very smoothly on my desktop.

It might be bye bye Linux, as right now I'm feeling like the guy who does the angry Linux reviews on the Dedoimedo website.

d3Xt3r

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#2123547 11-Nov-2018 12:31

No issues with Solus and Synaptics here on my Dell XPS, or my Mom's Latitude, which btw has been running Solus for a few years now with no issues. Mom is 60+, is a complete non-technical person but has no issues with Solus. I've set up automatic updates and they've always worked without issues, and being a rolling-release distro she doesn't have to worry about major upgrades. In fact I've had zero Linux-related tech support calls from her this year, which says something.

Linux isn't always perfect, but I'd much rather put up with Linux's shortcomings than spend my time uninstalling Candy Crush and tons of other junk from Window 10 every time I install/update it, and fighting its horrible updating mechanism that takes ages and holds your machine hostage. I mean seriously, why do you have to reboot for everything? Windows Update is so archaic, backwards and irritating compared to Linux.

Also, its a bit unfair blaming "Linux" for all the issues in this thread when it's mostly a *buntu issue. *buntu does NOT represent the entirety of Linux and MikeB4 is wrong in stating that 2018 is "annus horriblis" for Linux.

michaelmurfy

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#2123549 11-Nov-2018 12:34

@amiga500 to be perfectly honest your experience more sounds like user error. It is both easy, and very hard to mess up a Linux distro but most of the time this can be fixed rather easily however it has always been easier to do so via the terminal. Ubuntu does not reflect on Linux as a whole (in-fact, Ubuntu has turned terrible).

If you want a "smooth" distro then look at Manjaro (based off Arch Linux) or Solus. Don't let Ubuntu reflect on Linux as a whole (which many people are doing here). I've been personally running Linux for years as a desktop operating system, I game, do internet things etc just as I would on Windows. I've got a single laptop running Windows (my work one) otherwise I personally run Linux / ChromeOS on everything.

Furthermore - I run a Manjaro Repo mirror: https://murfy.nz/manjaro-linux-mirror/

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amiga500

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#2123550 11-Nov-2018 12:46

michaelmurfy:

@amiga500 to be perfectly honest your experience more sounds like user error. It is both easy, and very hard to mess up a Linux distro but most of the time this can be fixed rather easily however it has always been easier to do so via the terminal. Ubuntu does not reflect on Linux as a whole (in-fact, Ubuntu has turned terrible).

If you want a "smooth" distro then look at Manjaro (based off Arch Linux) or Solus. Don't let Ubuntu reflect on Linux as a whole (which many people are doing here). I've been personally running Linux for years as a desktop operating system, I game, do internet things etc just as I would on Windows. I've got a single laptop running Windows (my work one) otherwise I personally run Linux / ChromeOS on everything.

Furthermore - I run a Manjaro Repo mirror: https://murfy.nz/manjaro-linux-mirror/

Yes, it's possible I did something wrong with 16.04.5 but I do installs the same way each time. I do the full install then get all the updates, reboot, then install synaptic using the software center, and then go to synaptic and start marking extra programs for installation. When using 16.04.3 this has always gone perfectly - as it did yesterday.

I might give Manjaro a try though. I prob need to get another SSD or hard drive as only having 4 gb of ram makes virtual systems a bit marginal. Either that or get some counselling for my recent bout of distro hopping!

onyxnz

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2127867 16-Nov-2018 11:52

I run desktop Linux on my and my family PCs.

My own laptop runs AntergOS. Closer to Arch than Manjaro. Whole lot less time installing than Arch. Rolling distro, but have had no issues since I started using it in January. Fast and clean, running XFCE4.12, Cinnamon 4, Deepin, and Budgie (yeh different moods require a different DE, and I like customising them). I also have windows and Kali inside VMs, and windows 10 (ugh!) in a separate hdd for my school work (requires Visual Studio, double ugh!).

My family runs various versions of Mint. (I ditched Mint because I am a power user that got sick of things slowing down in Mint)

My server runs Debian, with multiple containers of Ubuntu server.

It's been the year of the Linux desktop for us since 2002. Not going back to being told how to run my computing life ever again; I love freedom and flexibility.

MikeB4

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#2127876 16-Nov-2018 12:04

onyxnz:

I run desktop Linux on my and my family PCs.

My own laptop runs AntergOS. Closer to Arch than Manjaro. Whole lot less time installing than Arch. Rolling distro, but have had no issues since I started using it in January. Fast and clean, running XFCE4.12, Cinnamon 4, Deepin, and Budgie (yeh different moods require a different DE, and I like customising them). I also have windows and Kali inside VMs, and windows 10 (ugh!) in a separate hdd for my school work (requires Visual Studio, double ugh!).

My family runs various versions of Mint. (I ditched Mint because I am a power user that got sick of things slowing down in Mint)

My server runs Debian, with multiple containers of Ubuntu server.

It's been the year of the Linux desktop for us since 2002. Not going back to being told how to run my computing life ever again; I love freedom and flexibility.

I am a long time Linux user and supporter however this year has seen a lot of regression and a lot of half baked releases. I feel many of the Distros that are on 6 month cycles are releasing solely to meet the 6 month deadline. My personal view is release only when ready and if that means once a year then so be it.

StructureDr

77 posts

Master Geek

#2156867 9-Jan-2019 10:29

michaelmurfy:

If you want a "smooth" distro then look at Manjaro (based off Arch Linux) or Solus. Don't let Ubuntu reflect on Linux as a whole (which many people are doing here). I've been personally running Linux for years as a desktop operating system, I game, do internet things etc just as I would on Windows. I've got a single laptop running Windows (my work one) otherwise I personally run Linux / ChromeOS on everything.

Furthermore - I run a Manjaro Repo mirror: https://murfy.nz/manjaro-linux-mirror/

I'll second this - had Manjaro installed for ≈5 years with no major problems other than those I created (and to be fair - a few teething troubles when KDE 5 was 'new')

I don't use the machine as much as I used to - but when I do it just works, and the rest of the time it does an able job serving up Plex etc.

Cheers for the heads up on your mirror - I will give it a try

MikeB4

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#2156954 9-Jan-2019 12:17

2019 wont be the opposite to 2018 but Linux on the desktop needs not to suck and it can achieve that and more. In 2019 I would like to see less Distributions and more quality. I feel that Canonical will hand Ubuntu desktop over to the community much like Fedora and Canonical will concentrate on commercial products and solutions. This may impact many of the Ubuntu derived Distros and some will fall by the wayside which is not necessarily a bad thing. Fragmentation has been the enemy of Linux on the desktop and rationalisation or resources would greatly benefit development. I would rather see a dozen great Distributions over one hundred mediocre Distributions.

I guess we will see what 2019 brings and what will there in 2020.

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