Wait, which of these Windows users are aware enough of Linux to have a formed expectation of Steam working under it or not? Like, they don’t know enough to understand what it is, but they’re super concerned that Steam, of all things, won’t run on it?
Are these Very Real Windows Users from Canada? Did they approach the poster with tears in their eyes?
A lot of very online gamers are absolutely vehemently against anything they don’t personally find value in. I’ve seen Windows users on Reddit get smug like this because they’re operating on the assumption that the limitations on Linux from 10-15 years ago were never overcome and, thus, “Linux sucks because it can’t run games.”
To me, it’s just another version of the Android vs. iOS cope for users who think their choice to use a specific ecosystem makes them superior. The reason I shill for Linux is because it’s free, I like supporting underdogs, and most Linux desktops are ready for daily use including gaming, not because I think Linux is objectively better than Windows.
I don’t shill for software, man. Not for free, anyway.
But, you know, I talk to enough people about tech stuff to know that Linux getting name dropped generates at most some brief flicker of recognition in like 95% of adults, not some half-remembered decades-old stereotypes. There just isn’t enough awareness to support misconception here. And some of the misconception isn’t that “mis” in the first place, for the standards of non-technical normies.
FWIW, I’d love a free, usable mainstream OS alternative to Apple and Microsoft. I don’t think Linux as currently designed is built to be that effectively, but it’d sure be nice if somebody figured it out. Someone that isn’t Google trying to open yet another revenue stream for ads.
I don’t think Linux as currently designed is built to be that effectively
I agree, but only in the sense that I think Linux is in its Windows 98 era and still making some things hard that should be easier. That’s ostensibly because of the Linux philosophy of user choice but it also bites people in the ass sometimes.
Depends on how much knowledge you’re interested in acquiring in the first 3 months and how much you like to play around. When I was a kid, I broke Windows a lot because I was learning what you can and can’t do. Adults don’t have that kind of time to explore and fix things that break and a lot of us aren’t intellectually curious about technology.
If you’re a tech person at all and like solving problems (or you have someone in your household who would admin your system), I think it’s ready for you. But if you’re an end user who wants every Windows feature and more on Linux and can’t/won’t fix things by searching, it’s not ready.
I think that’s fair. And for a whole bunch of device types, it’s obviously the default (and often only) option. I think Linux users get too stuck on desktop usage viability. Linux is best when tuned for specific hardware and function, not trying to be everything for everybody at the user level.
I think they expect gaming on linux to be like gaming on macos which is actually awful. As someone who has spent like her entire life gaming on linux, I tried to help a friend figure out how to run a game on their mac and it took so long to get working and was so confusing
Probably the only thing they know about Linux is from when the YouTuber Linus Tech Tips tried to install Steam and broke his computer. That’s why they’d bring up Steam specifically.
Man, scale is such a hard thing to get intuitively.
I mean, yeah, Linus Sebastian has a huge following. It’s a huge following of self-selected nerds, though. Most people have no idea who he is. Wouldn’t even know what he’s talking about if you showed it to them.
And that was one thing that he did once. That mostly nobody cared about unless they are an active Linux fan. Which is itself a tiny niche.
Humans just have a hard time parsing when things are big or small, particularly if it’s things they are a part of. This is not stupidity, it’s just how human perception works. It works both ways, too. A lot of mondern media is about having these parasocial relationships with huge media personalities and thinking you’ve found some hidden gem only to find out that your grandma follows them already.
It’s not that we’re dumb as a species, it’s that we’ve created this ecosystem built specifically to exploit human perceptual limits for profit and now it’s all we have. It kinda sucks.
Sorry, I went places there, but this whole thread (and honestly, the entire Lemmy linux community) makes me think about this constantly.
Wait, which of these Windows users are aware enough of Linux to have a formed expectation of Steam working under it or not? Like, they don’t know enough to understand what it is, but they’re super concerned that Steam, of all things, won’t run on it?
Are these Very Real Windows Users from Canada? Did they approach the poster with tears in their eyes?
Here is my take on their thought process:
“it’s not Windows, gaming under non-windows is crap, my main game point is steam, so can it run steam?”
Here’s my alternative proposal for their thought process:
“Linux?”
Alternately “I wonder what’s for dinner”.
People really overestimate how top of mind Linux is for the average Windows user.
When I switched from Windows to Linux, that was literally the first thing I heard from a colleague: "What about your games?
He knew what Linux was, but had never used it (until I convinced all my colleagues to switch to Linux).
A lot of very online gamers are absolutely vehemently against anything they don’t personally find value in. I’ve seen Windows users on Reddit get smug like this because they’re operating on the assumption that the limitations on Linux from 10-15 years ago were never overcome and, thus, “Linux sucks because it can’t run games.”
To me, it’s just another version of the Android vs. iOS cope for users who think their choice to use a specific ecosystem makes them superior. The reason I shill for Linux is because it’s free, I like supporting underdogs, and most Linux desktops are ready for daily use including gaming, not because I think Linux is objectively better than Windows.
Hey, at least you’re honest about it.
I don’t shill for software, man. Not for free, anyway.
But, you know, I talk to enough people about tech stuff to know that Linux getting name dropped generates at most some brief flicker of recognition in like 95% of adults, not some half-remembered decades-old stereotypes. There just isn’t enough awareness to support misconception here. And some of the misconception isn’t that “mis” in the first place, for the standards of non-technical normies.
FWIW, I’d love a free, usable mainstream OS alternative to Apple and Microsoft. I don’t think Linux as currently designed is built to be that effectively, but it’d sure be nice if somebody figured it out. Someone that isn’t Google trying to open yet another revenue stream for ads.
I agree, but only in the sense that I think Linux is in its Windows 98 era and still making some things hard that should be easier. That’s ostensibly because of the Linux philosophy of user choice but it also bites people in the ass sometimes.
Depends on how much knowledge you’re interested in acquiring in the first 3 months and how much you like to play around. When I was a kid, I broke Windows a lot because I was learning what you can and can’t do. Adults don’t have that kind of time to explore and fix things that break and a lot of us aren’t intellectually curious about technology.
If you’re a tech person at all and like solving problems (or you have someone in your household who would admin your system), I think it’s ready for you. But if you’re an end user who wants every Windows feature and more on Linux and can’t/won’t fix things by searching, it’s not ready.
I think that’s fair. And for a whole bunch of device types, it’s obviously the default (and often only) option. I think Linux users get too stuck on desktop usage viability. Linux is best when tuned for specific hardware and function, not trying to be everything for everybody at the user level.
It’s me lol and that’s basically my only concern as a potential newbie
I think they expect gaming on linux to be like gaming on macos which is actually awful. As someone who has spent like her entire life gaming on linux, I tried to help a friend figure out how to run a game on their mac and it took so long to get working and was so confusing
I don’t think they expect gaming on Linux to be anything. I don’t think they consider gaming on Linux at all.
Probably the only thing they know about Linux is from when the YouTuber Linus Tech Tips tried to install Steam and broke his computer. That’s why they’d bring up Steam specifically.
https://www.virtualcuriosities.com/articles/4304/it-happened-yes-do-as-i-say-linux-newbie-accidentally-destroys-system-in-15-minutes
Man, scale is such a hard thing to get intuitively.
I mean, yeah, Linus Sebastian has a huge following. It’s a huge following of self-selected nerds, though. Most people have no idea who he is. Wouldn’t even know what he’s talking about if you showed it to them.
And that was one thing that he did once. That mostly nobody cared about unless they are an active Linux fan. Which is itself a tiny niche.
Humans just have a hard time parsing when things are big or small, particularly if it’s things they are a part of. This is not stupidity, it’s just how human perception works. It works both ways, too. A lot of mondern media is about having these parasocial relationships with huge media personalities and thinking you’ve found some hidden gem only to find out that your grandma follows them already.
It’s not that we’re dumb as a species, it’s that we’ve created this ecosystem built specifically to exploit human perceptual limits for profit and now it’s all we have. It kinda sucks.
Sorry, I went places there, but this whole thread (and honestly, the entire Lemmy linux community) makes me think about this constantly.