Major Linux Desktop Problems In 2016

[thelongdivider]

Because you are a moron!

Dude, shut the fuck up. We all understand that you love windows, but many of us prefer not having all of our data harvested by Microsoft.

[hoohoo]

LOL, yeah, same list I would cite when I first used Slack in 1995. OMG, I've been using linux for over 20 years... holy crap. I remember how excited I got each time my Walnut Creek subscription was sent to me. I like it, love it, it ain't my main desktop. This is being typed on a Mac. That's right, the same things are being argued 20 years later and things haven't changed.

Hmmm, maybe Linux was ready for the desktop after all. I also started with Slack when it needed 24 HD diskettes to install.

[hoohoo]

What I don't like the most is the offline availability
You can't install programs offline
You can't install your language offline
You can't install patches offline
You can't even configure Compiz offline (Ubuntu MATE)

On Windows you can download the program executable beforehand and then you can install it offline whenever, wherever.
Couldn't be more perfect than that

I'm curious where the Linux developers got the dumb idea to make everything dependent on internet connection?

Most distros I've used (Slackware, Fedora, Debia, Ubuntu, that one with the funny green lizard for a mascot [sorry, having a blonde moment]) let one download the packages and install from the local copy. Google how to set up a "local repo" for whatever your distro of choice is. Not difficult.

Also, most of them let you disable the internet repos and only search your DVD install disk for packages. Again. google in your friend.

[tigerroast]

Please show me how do I do that smartass
99% of the programs gives you only the apt-get install command line to install them
Even if you optain the .rpm or .deb they still have dependencies that can be solved only with internet connection
Your are talking about exceptions

You can't be serious... Offline installation is the status quo, not the exception. I understand willfully ignorant people like you are allergic to reading the manual, so I'll give you an example.

Arch Linux(w/command line):

sudo pacman -Sw --cachedir ~/Downloads clementine

(you could leave out the --cachedir option if you can remember what the root download path is)

sudo pacman -U ~/Downloads/clementine-x.x.x.pkg.tar.xz

(of course, pressing Tab will get the version guff at the end)
(addendum: the -Sw switch downloads both the package AND its dependencies without installing them.)

Well, would you look at that. I just did, in 2 short lines, what you would be doing in Windows by fumbling through a website, clicking links to the download page, waiting for the webpage to load, THEN downloading the program, navigating to the Downloads folder (or wherever you put it), decompressing the program (unless it's small, in which case it won't be compressed), opening the .exe, and going through an install wizard. Sometimes, the experience is shorter by having a direct download link, but even that's inconsistent and you'll often be navigating to a downloads page.

Of course, this isn't good enough for folks like you who cry when they see the command line. But fear not, for there are Pacman front-ends that expose the functionality of all its switches and options, such as Pamac and Octopi! They do the EXACT same thing, except not only do you not need to know the command-line switches and options, but also you never have to leave the package manager; both front-ends tell you that you have uninstalled local packages!

Oh, what's that? You wanna do the same for .deb or .rpm packages? Well, tough tits because I don't use those.

[tigerroast]

Most distros I've used (Slackware, Fedora, Debia, Ubuntu, that one with the funny green lizard for a mascot [sorry, having a blonde moment]) let one download the packages and install from the local copy. Google how to set up a "local repo" for whatever your distro of choice is. Not difficult.

Also, most of them let you disable the internet repos and only search your DVD install disk for packages. Again. google in your friend.

Hell, even doing that is completely unnecessary. Simply grab what you need and install it later.

Setting up a local repo would be quite useful for syncing with other computers and not eating all the bandwidth though.

[F1esDgSdUTYpm0iy]

So, this PC I built in 2013 (which uses just a single AMD APU, no dedicated GPU) -- Windows XP? EOL, not an option. Windows 7 -- Already demonstrating some tardieness, before even installing an AV. Tardieness, straight out of the box! Awesome! Windows 8 or higher? Yeah, right... if 7's already showing tardieness, I'm not holding my breath for 8+ being notably faster.

Xubuntu with Liquorix kernel? Suddenly I'm able to play D3 (in WINE) without a dedicated/discrete GPU. Not ready for the desktop? I'm thinking, the desktop isn't ready for Linux, not the other way around. Oh, by the way... D3 in WINE, on just an APU? On open source drivers. Yeah, no joke. Windows 7 couldn't even boot as fast as Linux, let alone allow me to play a (formerly) AAA title.

Some time back, my father-in-law asked me to install Xubuntu on his laptop (2014) because Win 10 was being tardy -- he couldn't be happier with the performance improvement. Working out-of-the-box, on a laptop. Poor hardware support? Really? Haven't noticed it yet. Installed it to 4 PCs by now, ranging from less than 2 years old to over 10 years old and, they're all fine. Straight out-of-the-box. Peripherals and all.

In fact, the only negative experience I've had so far, personally, with Linux -- Fan control. My HD6870 (in my 2nd PC) does tend to run louder (and slightly warmer) in Linux, on open source drivers than it does in Windows on closed source drivers. Which is a valid concern, obviously. Part of the reason I resorted to lifting the APU-box to main PC in the house status.

[hoohoo]

Issues are being addressed? Are we from the same universe? WTF are you all talking about?

Regressions? No, freaking not, QA/QC is just not there - every kernel release brings up to 100 regressions.
No stable APIs/ABIs? All the freaking time. Even glibC developers break compatibility all the time. It's a freaking core library. Oh, libstdc++/gcc is another major offender.
+10 years old bugs no one wants to fix? All the freaking time.
Poorly supported hardware? Welcome to Linux.

Etc. etc. etc.

It's great that your wonderful PC/laptop works with Linux a dozen little nasty bugs notwithstanding. However ... you must upgrade your whole distro every 9 months to stay up to date. You need to cope with the fact that under Linux your laptop battery time is a lot worse than under Windows/MacOS X. You forsake many applications and games because they are simply not available and most likely will never be [made available].

That's all freaking great.

Several distros offer long term support releases. Ubuntu LTS is good for five years iirc. Redhat and SuSE do something very similar.

[SystemCrasher]

Major problem of desktops in 2016: where the hell is Wayland? It could seriously speed up slow/old computers in regard of graphics