What are the main issues you have with Linux?
Posted by edmond_ciprian@reddit | linux | View on Reddit | 192 comments
Literally the title: what are the main issues or the main parts you wish would be easier or done differently when using a Linux distro? From the moment you installed it, to the moment you're using it for a long time, to features you wish it would have or do better than it does already. What apps or looks or capabilities you wish it would be able to have or do from the get go?
This is a question for people at their start of the journey with Linux, to experienced, people who edit or build their own distro and people who mainly use one flavor in it's original ISO.
lorenzo1142@reddit
lack of options. must use wayland and systemd.
Literallyapig@reddit
when it comes to init systems there are certainly lots of options. just because most mainstream distros only support systemd doesn't mean you can't use alpine, artix, gentoo, chimera linux, void, kiss linux... and there's also ton of init systems themselves, and you just need to choose which one works best for you.
now with wayland, the problem is that xorg is an archaic 22yo codebase implementing a 41yo protocol, and no one really wants to maintain them due to so much legacy. and creating a new display protocol requires having EVERYONE on board: gui toolkit maintainers, gpu manufacturers, developers, distro maintainers... its not something that can be made in a week by anyone. still, xlibre exists somewhat ig, and arcan is a very interesting alternative display server.
lorenzo1142@reddit
systemd works fine for me, does what it's intended to do. but there are no other options where there should be options. as we've seen with the recent addition of age tracking in the systemd platform, we cannot question their choice. any mention of it gets deleted and your account banned. that is no way to run an open source project.
Literallyapig@reddit
i just told you of a bunch of distros that support other inits. you're talking like systemd is the only init system that's currently maintained, even though there's s6, dinit, finit, runit, sysvinit, openrc, shepherd... just to name a few. hell, you can even make your own init if you really want to. plus, all systemd-adjacent projects like udev and logind either have great alternatives or can be extracted from the init system and used by itself. so there's definitely plenty of options, they're just not adopted by mainstream distros because systemd is both easy to use for most and easy to work with for the maintainers.
lorenzo1142@reddit
ok, what distro uses rpm and doesn't use systemd? any?....
satsugene@reddit
I get the issue, but it can swing the other way like with sound or package management.
Having several different implementations comes with its own problems.
Lisanicolas365@reddit
develop your own! it's all volunteer work in Linuxland!
lorenzo1142@reddit
if time was unlimited, I very much would.
EJ_Drake@reddit
AutoCAD! Autodesk need to catch a wake up.
Junior_Common_9644@reddit
Tell them, as that is their problem. Not a Linux problem.
Marek_1234@reddit
It's currently a Linux problem as well. I was recently trying to find any nice professional 3D CAD I can either use for work or get for non commercial use through my school and it turns out there really isn't any. Maybe Onshape, but I have only learned about that now, and isn't a desktop CAD but a web page. Otherwise it just sucks and do not try to come up with freecad, that thing isn't really built for productivity (which is fine, just not what I need).
2D CAD should probably be easier to get working? Like Brics, Libre, Ares, ...
Junior_Common_9644@reddit
No, it's still not a Linux problem. Missing software that you want is a you problem and a software producer's problem. Linux is still running fine without them, so how is this a problem with Linux?
Marek_1234@reddit
I do disagree; It IS a Linux problem since it makes me and others who a seeking a Windows alternative want to switch to MacOS since Linux won't offer me the tools I need an operating system for in the first place. Ofc, just that this makes Linux loose its user base doesn't make it a "problem" quite like a kernel level backdoor would, but it's a problem nevertheless. Blaming large software companies for not developing their tools for Linux is obviously the first thing that comes to mind but some have tried that and decided not to continue since it's probably not profitable. And not everything can non profit.
Junior_Common_9644@reddit
Which keeps people who aren’t true Linux fans away. This is a feature, not a bug.
EJ_Drake@reddit
Been having some success with LibreCAD out of necessity. It works but it has a long way to go. It helps to use an AI alongside it, e.g. I wanted to import a csv table - no easy way, end up write a quick Python script and create a csv to dxf converter. It Works but it's not AutoCAD.
gr33fur@reddit
My issues over the years can be summed up as manufacturers not caring to develop drivers or provide specs for open source drivers. It was a pain back when I started.
litli@reddit
Wifi drivers in the early 2000s were the bain of my existence.
But trying to get them to work forced me to learn so much.
squibby_sh@reddit
yeah but linux also had the best wifi *ahem*....certain tools back then too if you used specific cards with specific drivers and chipsets. probably still does now
edparadox@reddit
Fail to see where you're going with this.
squibby_sh@reddit
Where I was going is that Linux has been the de facto standard for pen testing WiFi and has offered the most support for injecting frames or whatever else. As in aircrack-ng
So I was suggesting that in that sense, Linux has always had much better support for WiFi
Suspendamania@reddit
I wish I could run my recording software on Linux. Ableton live and Cubase need Windows or expensive fruit...
Myavatargotsnowedon@reddit
Cubase used to be able to start up with wine but the old eLicenser wouldn't work and stop it, they since stopped using that now so there's a possibility the newer versions work? (Though I'm guessing you've already tried)
Suspendamania@reddit
Too much work, I just want to play guitar and make music! I mean I wish it was just plug n play...
Myavatargotsnowedon@reddit
Luckily most interfaces are, it's just the lack of support by the notable DAWs
Unruly_Evil@reddit
The companies that don't make proper drivers for Linux. I am not blaming Likux, those companies just suck.
Junior_Common_9644@reddit
This is not the fault of Linux, but the hardware manufacturers. Take it up with them.
Unruly_Evil@reddit
I literally said that.
Junior_Common_9644@reddit
You still said it in here. Tell them, not us in here. We don't need to hear it.
PsCustomObject@reddit
Yes but reading before posting a reply is overrated anyhow :) /s of course
edparadox@reddit
What does Corsair do that do not work.
Unruly_Evil@reddit
Corsair peripherals do work on Linux, but don't thank Corsair for it. Thank the community members who donate their time to make them work, like https://github.com/jurkovic-nikola/OpenLinkHub
edparadox@reddit
Like most hardware device, you mean?
Milumet@reddit
Because they have no incentive to do so. End of story.
Unruly_Evil@reddit
They will and we will remember the good companies and the trash ones.
Milumet@reddit
Agreed, but that is part of the incentive structure. As long as they assume, rightfully or not, that they can care less about Linux, they will.
Unruly_Evil@reddit
I've been around Linux since 1997. Every single year was supposed to be "the year of Linux" since then. But what I'm witnessing this year is unlike anything I've ever seen. Linux is seeing mass adoption (because Windows 11 sucks, thanks to Valve, among other reasons). It jumped from 3% to over 10% in no time, and it's still growing.
Sure, new users might not care, and maybe native drivers and clients will just be there for them in the future. But for veterans like me, there are companies I will never, ever buy from again.
s0ul_invictus@reddit
They have a massive financial incentive to do so. End of story.
CheesecakePerfect156@reddit
Qualcomm...
kieppie@reddit
This more than anything else.
Power-management & biometrics is pretty high on that list
Ameratsuflame@reddit
I’ve been on CachyOS for like 6 months now and still can’t figure out how to put the system in standby mode or wake from standby.
Unruly_Evil@reddit
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Power_management/Suspend_and_hibernate
jikt@reddit
This is basically the only problem I've experienced. These days I'm more careful to check before buying.
Unruly_Evil@reddit
Yep, me too.
EEeeTDYeeEE@reddit
Nvidia
Junior_Common_9644@reddit
My nvidia system disagrees with you.
EEeeTDYeeEE@reddit
Tell that to swaywm
Junior_Common_9644@reddit
Well there's the problem.
payne747@reddit
Distros thinking they know better and end up forking stuff that no one needs rather than just working with existing OSS projects to improve things.
Tony_Marone@reddit
Potential users resisting Linux because they're all convinced it's a command line only OS, or that they have to write their own applications.
dougs1965@reddit
People saying to Windows users "you can just install Linux, and then ..."
Bro, people can't "just" do that. You know nothing about their constraints and their abilities. You're not helping.
ronaldtrip@reddit
Got it. I'll leave Windows users to their own devices. I don't speak Windows anymore anyway.
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South_Leek_5730@reddit
Not a huge issue but tutorials and finding the right one for the distribution and the right version of the software. Also the realisation that if A isn't working and it relies on B then sometimes you are also going to have to fix and learn B. Learning there are no shortcuts, if you want something to work properly then learn it properly. I truly despair at the use of AI and it's type this and do that model without actually telling people what they are doing and then them blindly doing it. If someone asks me to look at or fix something and they tell me they used AI to set it up I start pulling my hair out.
As others have said back in the day drivers were lots of fun where you would be going down a chipset rabbit hole.
DeltyOverDreams@reddit
Using a graphics tablet on Wayland Plasma is weird and sometimes annoying. It's like the pen is not even recognised as a proper cursor outside of drawing programs at some times.
rafuru@reddit
For some reason, during the Cachy OS install everything worked perfectly, however once I restarted the PC and boot from the SSD, the WiFi just didn't work.
I had to look for an old ethernet cable and google a lot to find a solution, other distros didn't have this issue so I'm not sure what happened.
This kind of situations literally scares new users.
Lisanicolas365@reddit
CachyOS is bleeding edge, so it's bound for instability and stuff breaking, from time to time. This is why I hate when people recommend it to beginners. It's going to give a bad first impression
TaoRS@reddit
What instability? It comes wity two kernels installed that you can choose on boot and pre configured snapshots.
I swapped to Linux on December last year, picked cachyos and has been rock solid for me.. and I'm on Nvidia btw
AlternativeCapybara9@reddit
But is your hardware the very latest? If it's 2 years old everything will just work.
TaoRS@reddit
5900x + rtx4070
not the latest, but not the oldest.
actually. if you have the latest hardware you want to be on arch. having to wait 6+ months for your hardware to work is not fun.
ROS_SDN@reddit
Had this happen on fedora needed a cmos reset.
ThellraAK@reddit
If it ever comes up again, USB tethering on your phone should work just fine.
If it's a somewhat modern phone and you are connected to wifi, it'll share that instead of mobile data.
Lisanicolas365@reddit
probably AMD Adrenalin not being present and mouse middle click to scroll not existing
Arsikkz@reddit
For me click to scroll has always worked? Never had to configure anything
plumm0@reddit
No click to scroll is infuriating
znseta@reddit
Middle-click to paste is much more useful and a sane default imo. Just highlight and middle-click, no keyboard needed
znseta@reddit
middle-click to paste is much more useful and a sane default imo
lorenzo1142@reddit
my scrollbars still have an arrow at both ends. not sure what you mean.
IstAuchEgal@reddit
He means that feature where you click the mouse wheel on a scrollable page and then control the scrolling speed and direction with the cursor. Its usually called something like scrolling click, auto scroll, middle click scroll
https://visualstudioplatformteam.gallerycdn.vsassets.io/extensions/visualstudioplatformteam/middleclickscroll2022/17.0/1630426322624/middleclickscroll.gif
Junior_Common_9644@reddit
Tis a gnome issue, bud.
VoidspawnRL@reddit
The middle can be configure ex. In KDE or other non-gnome DEs
Literallyapig@reddit
middle click is configurable depending on which de / wm / compositor you use. i configured it on both niri and hyprland and it ended up better than on windows somehow.
ZorbaTHut@reddit
The counterintuitive app-store-esque forced-update stuff. Almost every distribution has THE PACKAGE VERSION LIST and forces you to update your packages in lockstep. Want to freeze a package? Yeah, it might work. Might not. Deal with it. Want to install a beta version of that one package? Well, do you want to update your entire OS to the beta branch? Those are your options. Everything or nothing.
The irony is that I actually had more control over software version on Windows, I could easily update a specific program if I wanted, or downgrade to an older version. On Linux I have to manually build and install it and this is never even remotely as clean or easy as the package manager.
Want to go install a new piece of software? Tough shit, there's been an OS version update, now you must update your entire OS, close everything, and reboot, or you can't install anything new and have it work.
Linux users used to mock Windows computers for needing to reboot constantly but modern Linux is an order of magnitude worse than modern Windows.
Caderent@reddit
Some drivers don’t exist. And as they simply don’t exist, there are no workarounds. For over a year Linux is my main driver for work, hobbies and gaming. Everything just works. Except my Tobii eye tracker has no driver and it won’t ever have a driver for Linux.
Vladekk@reddit
levolet@reddit
Hardware - you have to plan to avoid headaches.
YourLizardOverlord@reddit
Poor support for older NVIDIA graphics cards.
In general Linux is good for extending the useful life of older PCs, but not when they have old NVIDIA cards.
I appreciate this is a very difficult problem to solve because NVIDIA won't support old hardware.
ronaldtrip@reddit
My biggest gripe is the lack of a standard, versioned userland. Every distro rolls their own and this makes distributions incompatible, forcing every package to be duplicated per distro. Flatpak, Appimage, Steam and Snap solve this problem by delivering their own userland with the App. This is putting the cart before the horse.
It would be far easier if an organization (e.g. the Linux foundation) would maintain versioned userlands for fixed periods of time, say 5 years (or 3 or 2, whatever is workable), and only do bugfixes on them. After 10 years current version minus 2 can be sunset. This would have two versioned userlands available over a period of 10 years. Apps can then target current or minus one, skipping the whole rigmarole of building solutions that drag whole userlands behind them. It would make distros supporting this binary compatible.
It's not going to happen of course, because that would be too convenient and something, something freedom. Insert your favorite reason not to standardize here. So we will have a massive hodgepodge of userlands for decades to come.
Rodya_gambler@reddit
It's not mine, but I often spot people mad after trying linux, and it's mainly the drivers not working.
sleepingonmoon@reddit
Bad UX. The end.
Hri7566@reddit
lack of standard music software, which ended with me buying a macbook for that :/
there is a group i am keeping an eye on that is attempting to get ableton working on linux, which would save me a lot of local file transfer
domsch1988@reddit
Not enough people using it.
That's it. If more people used it, most remaining issues would be solved. Hardware support, game support, software availability all hinge on the small number of users making it not profitable to develop for.
deadlygaming11@reddit
The random bits of hardware that dont have any sort of linux support so may or may not work. I got a Creature BT-W5 before I started using this and it basically works, but sometimes it has issues which can only be fixed in a windows vm
Caddy666@reddit
currently, waiting for mint to update.
i'm trying to do some c++ programming on my laptop, and the c++15 interferes with mesa 26. to be expected as they're both new, unstable repos, but really fucking annoying.
MatureHotwife@reddit
Been using Linux for over 20 years and it's mostly always the same:
I have a whole separate laptop just for my 3D scanner because no vendor makes a Linux compatible scanning app.
zasedok@reddit
Battery autonomy on most laptops is considerably worse than with Windows.
WildMaki@reddit
I'm locked in since 1993 or 1994. Every time I want to try another os, I get back to Linux because it's ways more stable and faster and more convenient and more fun than the others. Only exceptions freebsd and solaris
CheesecakePerfect156@reddit
Wi-Fi drivers when it's not Intel...
xxCorsicoxx@reddit
The fragmentation being a blessing and a curse. Imagine the lengths one could have of there were 4-5 distros sharing the resources instead of 57 each with their own revenue stream and manpower, then each reinventing the wheel in small ways with only a handful being truly different. Maybe 5 is too few but yeah.
Then it being FOSS you'll see the occasional weird drama or ego but moreso FOS and UX sometimes live in parallel worlds, and you'll see some app with very established usage patterns but it's written in a bonkers backwards way when the de facto way of ding it existed for a decade.
But none of that is explicitly about Linux I guess, just general FOSSverse woes.
So by and large the biggest strength being also its biggest curse type deal.
Dynablade_Savior@reddit
There's a couple of things that bug me, and exactly one of them is a feature I miss from Windows.
In Windows, you could go to your audio devices, select an input device, and hit a check box to listen to it. It would then loop back that device's audio input into your current audio output. This was stupidly useful for my setup specifically, because it allowed me to have an aux cable routed to the back of my PC, which I could plug into anything.
On linux mint, the closest thing I've found is to use a bash script to deal with the headache of pactl commands. And even then, that isnt perfect-- the output tends to get fuzzy and distorted over time. It also only works over the microphone port, whereas on Windows I was able to use the Line In jack, which otherwise went unused.
Outside of that, there isn't much beyond making customization easier. I get that it's all possible, but it's still such a headache just to install custom themes. I understand that I'm using Mint, where customization takes a backseat to ease of use, but it's still a nitpick I have.
Also BeamNG is VERY unstable, and often freezes the whole system, forcing me to power cycle just to get back to the desktop. But BeamNG also doesn't claim Linux compatibility, so I'll forgive it.
FryBoyter@reddit
I have the most issues with the Linux community. Not with everyone, but with part of it.
For example, for some users, Linux is more of a cult or a religion than just a tool. That’s pretty annoying and also discourages people from switching from Windows to Linux. It also prevents a discussion from being as objective as possible.
Furthermore, some programmers are good at coding but extremely poor at dealing with people.
And even though this is more of a general problem, it’s getting worse and worse with users who are simply too lazy to use a search engine or a platform’s search function, yet expect the solution to their problem to be handed to them on a silver platter.
Consistent_Berry9504@reddit
You treat them too nice and baby them, they don’t learn. You treat them firmly and tough and say read the manual, then they’re complaining it’s “the worst community” you can’t win with these people!
Grumpflipot@reddit
Suspend and Hibernate: Microsoft destroyed the S3 state of standby and replaced it with their shitty S0new always on battery sucker state. If I want my linux laptop to sleep it isn't able to wake up again, or the Wifi does not work, and the battery is depleted like never before. I blame M$ and the Wintel chip makers, not Linux for that. Suspend did work for 20 years under Linux.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47994677
solar1ze@reddit
I had this problem with Windows, where laptop wouldn’t wake after sleep. After installing Linux it’s not a problem now.
cyb3r_bl1tz@reddit
Compatibility
iluvatar@reddit
Lack of configurability. It used to be that back in the day, if your video card wasn't working properly, you could hard code the driver to use, the clock frequency, etc to get it working. Now you're stuck. Either it works out of the box (and mine doesn't)[1] or you're screwed and have no ability to do anything about it.
[1] For example: leto:~% xrandr | grep -A 1 DP-1 DP-1 connected primary 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 600mm x 340mm 1920x1080 60.01 59.97 59.96 60.00 60.00* 59.94 59.93 30.00 24.00 29.97 23.98
The problem is that DP-1 is a 4k monitor. But I can see no way to get it to anything higher than 1920x1080. The video card is capable of driving it at full resolution. But something is preventing me from doing it. In the past, the configuration was visible to the end user and could be change. Now everything is hidden - "don't worry, friend citizen, we'll do everything for you". Which is fine until they don't.
not_perfect_yet@reddit
It is very nearly impossible to go from "icon and program I have installed" to "package name + installation method" to the bug tracker for that program to report an issue.
Because the Software itself usually doesn't tell you. Because the OS doesn't tell you and there is no standard. And also usually because the devs don't want reports from people who aren't savvy enough to find that information and spam issue reports.
The last point I get, but it also means that they don't get exposed to the volume and importance of low level usability problems. Meaning, yes, if one person reports a critical bug, that's important, but maybe if 10.000 people report the same UX problem, that also would be important, but those 10.000 people will never find the bug tracker.
starquakegamma@reddit
Linux needs a single, easy to use distribution, that everyone can agree on to recommend to new users who are switching from any other OS. It needs to be simple, well documented and familiar, with all the basic features a new user could want. This should be where new users are funnelled into - if they want to explore other ones later then cool.
Sensitive_Box_@reddit
Just anti-cheats not working. But that’s not even a Linux problem. 🤷♂️
chemape876@reddit
Kernel level anti-cheats not working is more of a feature to me.
NOT_EVEN_THAT_GUY@reddit
the choice to run or not run that software on your machine will always be there for you, whether support exists or not
the absence of this capability is not a feature in itself
ICantBelieveItsNotEC@reddit
The vulnerability that allows spyware to install itself into the deepest bowels of your system will always be there, and that affects all users.
chemape876@reddit
you assume that i have constraint - i don't. so for me, it is a feature.
stewi1014@reddit
In filtering users who choose to use such software out of the ecosystem, and in motivating alternatives where possible, it can act as a "feature" to the wider community.
Junior_Common_9644@reddit
It's not Linux software, so it's not a Linux issue!!! Take it up with Wine, Proton, and Steam!!! You don't get to complain about non-Linux software issues in a Linux sub!!! FFS!
__rituraj@reddit
Suspend doesn't work but only sometimes.
Most likely some motherboard quirk.. I had to add a param to make suspend work.. without that it wakes up instantly after suspend..
now it works, but sometimes it just doesn't. like it gets stuck in a non-recoverable state.. I have to force poweroff the system after that!
I wish I knew what the issue was!
tagratt@reddit
Sound, once you go beyond the basics, like getting my topping DAC working. Network printing and scanning can be frustrating at times.
Dani_E2e@reddit
Eigentlich keine!
Maximal wünschte ich mir ein Programm für die Konsole grafisch mit dem man häufig benutzte Befehle wie an einer Wandzeitung haben kann. Zb für mich zum NAS mounten.
Ich nutze immer cursor hoch und das dauert manchmal etwas wenn ich mehr in der console gearbeitet habe... Aber da gibt es schon was- mir fällt es nur grad nicht ein.
nozendk@reddit
Sound is confusing and hard to set up. You have alsa, jack, sdm, pipewire, wireplumber, probably more. For example a wireless headset can have eight profiles and only one of those work when you try to make a video call.
friendlyreminder_@reddit
Sound isn't as complicated as you're making it out. It used to be a catastrophe.
Alsa is the actual kernel drivers. Pipewire is the sound server.
Wireplumber is a device configurator for pipewire, you don't usually interact with it.
Jack can still be used. It's a low latency sound server alternative to pulseaudio and pipewire, but pipewire is versatile with low latency support as well so jack is often no longer necessary. Pipewire is intended to be a total sound server solution. In the past you had to switch between pulseaudio and Jack because pulseaudio can't do low latency audio.
nozendk@reddit
I know what each of these are. OPs question was what issues people have with Linux. Commenting that you do not have that issue is beside the point.
icadkren@reddit
im using pipewire and let pipewire handle everything alsa jack etc
Sfekke22@reddit
That tends to work best, adding JamesDSP on top for those who want to fine tune.
It's been my go-to and works great, my Corsair headset has a very-very flat sound profile by default and having an EQ is a must.
As for Corsair, OpenRGB to control the lights is a blessing.
SiddharthAbhimanyu07@reddit
This!
deino@reddit
Other than the usual nvidia/adobe stuff:
Bazzite, immutable, audio stuff.
I am streaming a lot on twitch for fun, and one of the usecases I have on windows is just using steeleries sonar as an audio "sink", so I can play music on stream even if I mute it for myself for raid/dungeons. Simple GUI, creates like 4 or 5 virtual audio interfaces, takes like 2 minutes to set up. Put foobar output as "steelseries media", now I can pull it down fully in sonar mixer if I want to, and its muted for me, but unchanged for twitch.
That... is so much more complicated to do on linux compared to windows, its not even funny. And it bugs / wipes out on restart sometimes. Fun, fun, fun.
Also setting up my microphone with easyeffects was a pain in the dick, and it still doesnt sound as good as it did with just letting steelseries sonar handle it with 1 preset, and like 1 toggle for noise filter on windows. Spent a day manually doing compressor, trying out different noise filter settings, EQ, whatever, and it just sounds worse. And sometimes I get audio crackling, and the only way to fix it is switch to a random other audio input/output, then switch back.
Arctic_Ninja08643@reddit
When downloading a program I often have to use another command just to start the program. Can't it just automatically create a shortcut I can click on?
I know that I can manually create a shortcut to start it but I always have to look up how to do it and it always gives me anxiety. And I often end up thinking "f it. I dont want to use it anymore"
TapEarlyTapOften@reddit
Driver maintainers being dogshit - vendor specific hacks in the kernel or their drivers, lockign me out of mainline.
skinnyraf@reddit
Lack of raster graphics editors which are both good enough and relatively simple to use. I tried both Krita and GIMP and both are just too convoluted for occasional use.
null_enthropy@reddit
Standardization tbh. This is a negative of decentralization, there is slow movement on things that would’ve been standardized way sooner on an OS like Windows or MacOS.
Too many ways to install software, Wayland vs X11, Systemd vs whatever flavor cringe init system of the month, GTK vs QT and a new toolkit from System76 for cosmic called Ice.
Lots of people complain about drivers and vendor support, but truthfully it all boils down to this. There’s too many thing and variables to build for and support on Linux.
Thankfully things are moving in a decent direction. X11 is on its way out, Systemd is used by every major distro, pipewire, Valve & Wine collaboration making great contributions to the kernel for gaming. There’s still a lot of work to do.
I know this is a pie in a sky idea but I’d like to see Red Hat, Canonical, Valve, the Gnome & KDE projects, and community all work together to push for better standards, APIs etc for developers to build with. Linux is in a way better spot than what it was in 5-10 years ago, but this one area is still a major problem.
friendlyreminder_@reddit
Having different toolkits isn't a problem exclusive to Linux. The exact same issue exists on Windows and is actually worse.
Apps use win32, winforms, QT, WPF, UWP in the rare case. There's more I'm missing there's so many.
fpsgamer89@reddit
Alsamixer settings not saving but that’s about it
JannyWoo@reddit
Still NVIDIA.... it's 5 TRILLION dollar company but Linux support for new and workstation hardware is still shit.
I'd love to move to Linux exclusively but my RTX A6000 ADA just still has too many issues compared to Windows.
unluckyexperiment@reddit
Lack of mmo mouse drivers
I wish there was a better email client.
Pip videos arr not always on top during gameplay.
dawidd8888@reddit
Not being able to install any software easily. Every software has different ways to install it on Linux. You have: single binary download, third-party apt/dnf repo, snap, flatpak, brew, nix, pip, npm, you name it. It's not so uncommon needing at least 3 package managers to install all the software you want. I wish we had one universal agreed format. Even if it's an additional package manager to the one the system is already using.
3dGrabber@reddit
Creating .desktop shortcuts is a PITA. Why can’t i be as simple as creafing a symbolic link?
jmontano86@reddit
My wireless card isn't compatible so I'm limited to 50 Mbps. Still better than being on windows though
ValiumNicke54@reddit
Loveu bro
Middle-Sand-5222@reddit
For me it’s usually fragmentation and inconsistency between distros.
You solve something on one distro, then the package manager, drivers, paths, or desktop environment behave differently somewhere else.Linux is incredibly powerful once configured, but the “random thing broke after an update” experience still scares away a lot of normal users.
ValiumNicke54@reddit
Some Anti-Cheat not working, Autodesk Fusion 360 zero support Linux also.. My main "issues", but still use Linux full time forever and ever now. Freaking hate Windows but looking forward to experiencing the migration of Win users to Linux-side since Microslop is stabbing them self in the back more and more. This will probably generate as I wrote, a mass migration of new users to Us. And then, the developers that worships Satan will see and understand the beautiful meaning of freedom and life and start making Linux supported Anti-Cheat.. 🤣
nlflint@reddit
Stream 4k UHD from legit paid streaming services. Aka, Widevine L1 support.
Ing_Sarpero@reddit
No issues💪🏻
ReadyAwareness995@reddit
I’m older now and I see a lot of changing government regulations. And although I genuinely support free and open source technology, and educational materials. I don’t see it being adopted by serious companies/end users who want more assurance that things will be kept up to date and address any and all regulatory concerns, as well as be a part of those discussions on behalf of the paying users . Also, most of the programs people pay for are on windows or Apple , not on Linux, so it’s better I’m accustomed to and develop on a windows machine/mac for that reason alone. At the end of the day, although I use linux personally for various things, that stuff matters when I have bills to pay. Sad. If I didn’t have kids I’d be using freeBSD and writing post-apocalyptic satire.
sparkling-rainbow@reddit
Only feature Linux missing; the benefit of the default.
maokaby@reddit
Binary incompatibility between distros. You can't just copy some ELF files to another distro, as they will fail on start because of different glibc or something else. So you got to compile for each version of each distro. That's annoying. In windows you install c++ runtimes, .net runtimes, and you are set (or it's preinstalled in many cases) - so you can copy your exe and it's works.
Now I maintain an app for three Linux distros (one version of each) and one windows installer. And I foresee how it will be 20+ Linux packages soon, and still one for windows.
yahbluez@reddit
The solution for this issue is called flatpak, snap, docker, podman, appimage, just chose one and the distribution nightmare ends.
maokaby@reddit
Our customers don't allow that.. only rpm and deb.
yahbluez@reddit
That makes your task harder and reduces the security trough isolation on your customers system. Even with static linked apps you may need several targets.
pemb@reddit
Statically linking your binary would provide something that works across distros. Or if that's not an option, ship your own version of libraries, install to /opt/ and use LD_PRELOAD to point at them.
d_maes@reddit
Statically linking/vendoring in libraries and compiling against the oldest glibc version that needs to be supported should work.
maokaby@reddit
Probably we will try to enforce appimage on them, these rpm/deb packages support consume too much time.
D3PyroGS@reddit
are you the app developer or distro maintainer (or both)?
I'm under the impression that flatpak and appimage are designed to circumvent those packaging problems. though I get that it's not a solution for all programs, especially those without a UI component
maokaby@reddit
App developer, most customers are big government-related corporations. They have strict rules, sometimes not so wise, but still we have to follow it.
"especially those without a UI component " - nah it's systemd service + webui. At least we don't have to support non-systemd distros (yet).
RealisticLion3095@reddit
If you are a Windows user and want to use Linux before throwing Windows out of the window, simply get a PC with two separate drives and Install Windows on one drive and Linux on the other drive.
*Before installing one Linux OS, disable the opponent drive (the one that have Windows installed) in BIOS/UEFI setup to make sure both drives are isolated from each other.
Adjust boot order to set the first OS you want to boot from when you turn on the computer (mine is Windows).
Now, anytime you want to boot into the second OS, press the magic key (Del, F12, F9 or whatever key that open the one-time boot menu) and select the Operating system (OS) you want to boot from.
*If you are going to switch to Linux while you are on Windows:
No need to perform the above steps if "Turn on fast startup (recommended)" check box is already unchecked in Control Panel>System and security>Power options>Choose what the power buttons do.
*If you are going to Switch to Windows while you are on Linux, no need to perform a complete shutdown.
*Remember the last OS you used. Because if you forgot that you shutdown from Windows while fast start-up is enabled, when you boot into Linux and try to access the Windows drive and files, the drive may be in read-only mode or inaccessible and you could corrupt data in it if you edit files on it. More trouble you are looking for if BitLocker is enabled.
Now you can safely test different Linux distros without affecting your main Windows installation before making a permanent switch and don't have to deal with grub. Sure, if you have a third drive or a fouth drive you can test two more Linux OSes in parallel, even better for you.
Take your time and see what fits best for you before you make a permanent switch.
Once you decide to use Linux, you can now throw Windows out of the "window"...
I am currently on the testing phase. I am currently giving Ubuntu a try..I am to test Fedora, Debian and more to see which one works for me. Windows is so convenient that it makes it hard to switch. Don't give up.
In case I won't make a permanent switch, I am still going to keep my dual boot setup...
runningwithwizards@reddit
It makes it hard for me to go to work and face yet another day of enterprise windows.
cqs_sk@reddit
Enterprise doesn't like it very much as a desktop alternative. You are usually forced to use, in the better case, macOS, or in the worse case, MS Windows.
PriorityNo6268@reddit
Not supporting the hardware and software I want to use. And the community is acting like a cult, very scary people.
Expert-Stage-4207@reddit
Sound settings and recording are a mess!
iLikeDickColon3@reddit
companies having terrible compatibility with linux. i'm not talking about things only made for everything that's not linux, i mean when companies make something FOR linux and that thing sucks on that version. in my case, it's just games :p oneshot on linux still has a game breaking bug that makes it unbeatable. some games just run worse when played on the linux version instead of using a compatibility tool (steam proton). something something bluetooth
people like to say linux runs some games better. which is true, but it's in cases where it doesn't matter. a lot of the time, linux runs games a bit worse. if the game doesn't natively support Vulkan, it'll get translated to Vulkan when ran through steam proton, and that makes it slower but compatible.
how non linux users think of linux is completely wrong but we all know that now don't we ;-;
Zargess2994@reddit
I use Gnome DE but their keybindings interfere with intellij. Have to use a different keymap than what I'm used to, which is annoying.
Also have a Surface Laptop Go 2 (very niche device) where wake from sleep cause issues sometimes.
Slight annoyances but I love my setup and I can definitely live with it.
siberiandruglord@reddit
Bugs and unstability on Linux = user error.
But bugs and unstability on Windows = "micRoSlOp BAd, WorSt OS evEr"
Linux evangelists constantly use the "works on my machine" even if the issue is widespread and largely known.
For example the Xorg unstable high refresh rate with multiple monitors with different hz. Most common fix was to disable the composition in your DE or in my case just turn off the other monitors, so games run smoothly on the main monitor.
Now with Wayland this is basically solved, so thats nice..
TechnologyTurd@reddit
I only have problems with PDF files and this drives me crazy!!!
Why can't we have a good pdf editor on linux?
Every time I try to edit a pdf form with common linux tools it turns into a mess! You cant write text on the line, you can't activate checkboxes, sometimes the text blocks and pictures got broken, after i saving the file. Digital Signing is also just frustrating.
Manipulating dpf files is also complicated. PDF Arranger is "okay" but it doesnt have all the options i needed.
I use know an old "cracked" version from Master PDF Editor, because 70€ for a pdf editor is just crazy.
boar-b-que@reddit
So I've been around a while. I've been using Linux in academic, personal, and professional settings since around 1995. I've seen changes come, and occasionally go. Maybe my pain points are going to be different.
Most Linux distros have installed by default vim and nano as their primary and secondary text editors. I dislike modal editors in general and nano has some limitations. It's perfectly fine for editing config files from a console, but I've gotten to the point where one of the first text editors I install on a new system is micro, which is heavily inspired by nano, but with a lot fewer limitations.
Linux distributions in general should switch to having micro be their 'default' editor.
Grub is the default bootloader for many, but not all distributions. And, to its credit, Grub supports damn near every boot scenario that could possibly arise. However, its configuration syntax is psychotic. cryptomount hd0,msdos1. insmod normal. normal. In a lot of cases, even with full disk encryption setups, it's not necessary. You need a shim-style bootloader on efi-based systems.
One of the two needs to happen: Grub needs to come into the 21st century. It's configuration needs to be made less batshit, braindamaged, speaking-in-tongues deranged. It needs to have easy-to-use built-in support for shim-style bootloading, signing linux kernel images and enrolling them into Secure Boot setups ~OR~ we need a shim-style bootloader that more gracefully handles non-UEFI systems. Those of us who use Linux on hardware ~10yo are stuck using GRUB with its Charles Manson syntax, period. We shouldn't be stuck like that.
(Also, Grub only recently got Agon2id support in the main tree, despite a fix being available for YEARS.)
Most Linux distributions depend on systemd for startup and service loading. And, no, I'm not going to harp on systemd for the usual reason. My biggest single complaint about systemd is that there's no way to force a slow, single-threaded boot sequence without a TON of plumbing. By default, systemd parallelizes as much of the boot process as possible in order to make booting fast and painless as possible.
That's great, right up until you're trying to troubleshoot boot-time issues or hardware issues that only occur immediately after system reset.
Systemd tries, but can't give an absolute guarantee that the same software or hardware comes up in the same order every time. Also, if a piece of hardware is misbehaving and shows up in /dev before its fully upright, systemd will often (but not always) treat 'require'-type directives involving it as fulfilled. Even inserting timer delays into your systemd units is often a hit-or-miss affair due to the parallelization.
This makes troubleshooting certain driver issues absolutely hair-pulling experiences.
Systemd needs to have a simple way to do a 'fallback mode' boot sequence that does one thing at a time without parallelization. Booting with systemd is not deterministic in some cases and that has caused me, personally, a huge amount of agony.
Holiday_Floor_2646@reddit
Gtk and qt
Rachid90@reddit
I would say the lack of software that configure hardware from companies. For example Logitech G Hub to configure my mouse and headset.
And stuff like that.
SammyCatLove@reddit
No high quality in printing it does print but badly and does not use the software of the printer that would be so helpfull.
m_se_@reddit
I wish I'd categorised or tagged packages in some way as I installed them, because now I can't tell the difference between random vestigial crap and critical dependencies + bonus I wish there was a better way to get rid of related files when you uninstall a package, I have so many directories in my .config that take up a couple KB or MB that I have no time-efficient way of knowing are useless
Infinity-of-Thoughts@reddit
The package manager is not meant to interact with user directories. It would be pretty bad if one user had files that they'd need, that just suddenly got removed because the root user uninstalled something.
Surely you'd know what apps you have uninstalled, and can just remove the corresponding directory in \~/.config. If you uninstalled gedit, you'll just remove \~/.config/gedit. System level components don't leave stuff in \~/.config, unless you specifically put them there to avoid (e.g. paru has a .conf in /etc, but you can put one in \~/.config/paru/paru.conf as well, but you'd specifically have to put it there, so obviously you'd know).
I do agree that cleaning up the \~/.config can be tedious, though.
As far as knowing what packages you have installed, and assuming you actually use an Arch(-based) system: : https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Pacman/Tips_and_tricks
UAP44@reddit
I actually wrote a python script that analyzes all the installed packages, their last access date time and other metrics, and then feeds it all into a local llm to help classify it + estimates impacts analysis of removal. Sent to multiple models, asking for confidence intervals and reasoning for such. Then the results are cross referenced and shows you where the models agree vs where there is a gap. All in a user friendly html page.
Never any changes made to the system, if does however let you easily select all packages you want removed and generates the needed cli command to make the actual changes for you to copy and sudo in yourself. Thus as you can guess, it never aks for your password. It's read only.
emfloured@reddit
You can not just buy any mid-high end motherboard and expect the built-in WiFi to work.
A kind of niche but extremely annoying issue I have is; It requires root privilege to see the CPU 'package' temperature (at least for Intel CPUs, accessible only via the 'turbostat' utility), but it does not require root permission when reading the CPU 'core' temperature using any other generic CPU temperature monitoring tool. I mean what serious info could reading the CPU 'package temp' value leak that the core temp doesn't already do that it needed to be protected this way?
Linux used to expose this about 1-2 years back, not anymore.
I believe all types of system temperatures ought to be accessible without the need for root privilege. There are way more information about the hardware that is leaked using lsusb, lspci, lsblk without requiring 'sudo', yet somehow hiding the system temperature values is necessary!? And if this info is somehow needs to be secret anyways for whatever reasons, Linux could at least add a kernel flag via grub so that you won't have to type sudo add the password everytime you want to look at the CPU package temperature.
RavenK92@reddit
Audio support is hit and miss (my 11.1.4 soundbar just worked on windows), no widevine L1 support means no 4k streaming, lack of proprietary features like RTX VSR on my nvidia card, sleep and hibernate being broken, some software programs just have barebones Linux implementations
joe4942@reddit
Proprietary software not designed for Linux.
Capital_Rub213@reddit
Nvidia drivers, sometimes i will boot and the drivers will just not load
Ameratsuflame@reddit
At the moment? Getting Forza Horizon to work…
Junior_Common_9644@reddit
If it's not a native port, that's not a Linux problem. That's a you trying to run Windows software on not Windows problem. Take it up with Wine, Proton, and Steam.
Ameratsuflame@reddit
I see the Linux defense force is in full tactical gear today. I’m so impressed.
coldfeetbot@reddit
Hardware/driver issues, software that needs baby sitting to not shit the bed or graybeard-tier fixes for everyday tasks. Linux rocks though, just the cons I experienced.
mlk@reddit
DRM like wedevine, stuff like Prime Video will only stream at low resolution. Pirated content works great though...
Henrithebrowser@reddit
Autodesk software
deusmetallum@reddit
I wish the major distros had baked in support for AppImages from the off. I don't really use AppImages because most of what I use are already in the repos/snaps/flatpak/PPA, but I can see the appeal of AppImages for new users. Download. Double click. It's running.
Just give us automatic .desktop file creation and updates (and have that fuse driver already installed) natively in the distro and quite a lot of pain for new users will be resolved.
chance125@reddit
Haven’t experienced it myself but many of my coworkers have had a lot of trouble with video conferencing through the browser, especially when it comes to screen sharing.
The vast majority of issues I see reported from folks who write off Linux in social media posts are associated with user error. Either they don’t understand user permissions, or they install multiple different versions of a package without understanding how paths or configs work, etc.
Linux isn’t for everyone. There is a learning curve. Once you learn a bit about how things work it’s quite hard to go back to a locked down OS that offers GUI everything.
If we’re talking about gaming on Linux, Steam OS is pretty amazing. The main frustration points with it have to do with navigating ridiculous nested directories to find files for games built for Windows. That’s just a mirror for what it’s like to manage things on a Windows system anyway, so you can’t really blame Steam OS.
On Linux I feel that I have agency and I can investigate issues / track down the source of a problem. On Windows or Mac OS there are absurd layers of abstraction and lockdowns that present rabbit hole after rabbit hole for the user.
Low_Caterpillar6532@reddit
I would love more high quality paid software, Like Affinity Publisher or MoneyMoney on OS X. I am old enough for time being more valuable than money and it is nice when things just work. The operating system and desktop environment (Tuxedo OS with KDE) in fact do just that and my distro hopping days are over.
the_reven@reddit
As a developer, I have no real issues. Eh, updates on distros aren't always the smoothest. Most of the time they are, but I was one ubuntu 23.10 and couldn't upgrade cos it was too old. It was quicker to reinstall than muck around with it.
That's one of the things I like about Linux. How quick it is to just reinstall and have everything setup correctly.
I wish it was on phones with banking apps and nfc payment. That what I really want.
Legally-A-Child@reddit
Gnome is great but I wish it let me configure stuff more. Yes, I've tried KDE. Yes, I've tried the quirky tiling BS. I just want the feel of Gnome with the options of other DEs' settings GUIs.
mehx9@reddit
0days lately.
espresso_kitten@reddit
Some apps still don't have great alternatives or Linux versions. Like I still have some proprietary VSTs I paid good money for back in the day that don't work on Linux
Junior_Common_9644@reddit
That's a problem with your app creators. Not a Linux problem. Take it up with them.
Falimor@reddit
No problems.
NuclearGriffin@reddit
My main issue isn't with linux, but with software devs that dont add linux support
Consistent_Berry9504@reddit
The same people asking the same questions
Junior_Common_9644@reddit
Okay, so make that 2 correct answers. :)
star-trek-wars00d2@reddit
none
Junior_Common_9644@reddit
This is the only correct answer.
The_Duke_96@reddit
Still waiting for Nvidia drivers to catch up, currently still on Windows, eager to switch to CachyOS.
BlikPleb@reddit
On my HP Victus I had a lot of trouble getting a proper visible screen after installation of any distro. Appearently I just needed to enable discrete graphics mode but small things like that are never an issue with Windows. That and audio quality through usb interfaces. All in all Linux has come a long way from when I first tried it 15 years ago and have not had as many issues as back then.
AliceCode@reddit
I get a lot of stuttering that I believe is related to my Nvidia GPU, and I sometimes run into swap issues since I only have 16gb of RAM, but I think that's less of a Linux issue and more of a Rust-Analyzer issue.
Hot-Employ-3399@reddit
* No normal password manager with autotype in wayland
* Drivers for desktop hardware are worse than windows drivers (some don't exist)
* Setting up three keyboard layouts is a pain
phoenix823@reddit
As software? Nothing. As a fanbase? Probably the fanbase.
Ameratsuflame@reddit
True for any fanbase.
EvilVim@reddit
I have nothing to complain about and it makes me feel something is missing. At least with windows you had a reason to complain.
Suspicious-Leg2397@reddit
Some stuttering while playing a game. Still don't know how to fix it.
Bleutooth breaks after kernel update
vip17@reddit
Driver issues sometimes. Bluetooth is not working in some of my PCs. Wifi signal is measured incorrectly in some others, or performance may be worse than Windows drivers. Fingerprint readers don't work, and when I tried with the available patch, login completely broke. NVIDIA driver likely has just broken and I can't use external monitors after upgrading and I'm currently have to revert from 6.17 to 6.14
Some Wayland issue with clipboard and drag and drop. It's only currently happening in one machine, maybe because I installed KDE into Ubuntu instead of using Kubuntu from the start. Copying any texts will make chat boxes and cloud provider webs immediately showing the drag-and-drop overlay, making it impossible to chat or doing anything else
RadicalDwntwnUrbnite@reddit
I wish Ubuntu never started copying some of the worst aspects of Windows like being required to close an app or rebooting your machine to update some things. I was never one for distro hopping and most of the searchable support out there was for Ubuntu so I used it.
I wish Xorg wasn't so frustrating to work on that it spawned Wayland, I'm in a weird state now that some things only work in Xorg and some things only work in Wayland.
I wish I could restart a Wayland session without logging out like I can with Xorg.
I wish updating nvidia graphics drivers wasn't always a roll of the dice.
The__Toast@reddit
The wacky speaker/mini woofer setup on my XPS 9530 do not work properly with Linux. Apparently there is some hardware bug that causes this.