Re: The problem with Linux

On 3/21/24 2:16 AM, vallor wrote:

The "problem" with Linux is there is no "Genius bar" or "Best Buy" to
visit if there is a problem.  No "Geek Squad".
 If you aren't your own systems guru, then you know someone
that can come by and work on your system, or that you can
take your system to get fixed.

Agreed, and this functionally ends up being a barrier to new customer adoptions.  To use an aviation analogy, they're apprehensive (and probably deservedly so) about "flying solo".

 I end up being help for family and friends with Windows problems.
For example, Dad and his wife fight with their Windows 10
laptop all the time, thanks to Windows 10.  They're stuck with
it, because half of their life is in MS Access databases.
 They are locked-in.

Yes, family can often be the "IT Help Desk".  One problem that stepping up to volunteer can have is that one has to keep your mouth shut when they screw things up ... without ever mentioning it to you: no matter what happens, it can end up being "your fault", not their own.

 This is also the case in businesses.  Before companies had dedicated
IT staffs, there was the "departmental guru model":  someone in the
department would get the training to help everybody else out.  But
there was always someone to turn to.

Yup, which is why I chose to specialize in Apple:  it allowed me to shuck all of the Windows coworkers begging for help.
Likewise, one can also see then why Enterprise chose to standardize desktop hardware and also on Windows OS:  it was less proliferation of permutations which made it hopefully easier to manage, which presumably would then cost them less overhead.

Linux, you either need to learn something -- not as much
nowadays, but still, you need to know how to (say) boot a USB drive,
or ask a _good_ question in a support forum.
 Or, you know someone who can help; or buy turnkey from a vendor
that has very good _Linux_ tech support.

I'm only aware of RedHat as a Linux tech support company; I'm sure that there's others ... but my impression is that they're much more Enterprise centric than home, so their price structure probably reflects that scale too:  probably not cost-effective for an individual or family to purchase a support agreement.

 So, my point:  Until there is more ubiquitous support for Linux
desktops, there won't be as many Linux desktop systems sold.  But
don't be fooled:  that doesn't mean Linux isn't successful, just that
its success with desktops is narrowed-down to certain
types of users.

And that user type of what I'll refer to as a "technically oriented geek" is IMO becoming more and more niche.
Its similar to the technical savvy on automobiles in that there's many fewer "shade tree mechanics": indeed, many car owners aren't even doing technically trivial stuff like oil changes anymore, but handing money over to a shop to do it.
We can call this "appliance", and the net bottom line is that there's a growing trend of disinterest within their users to care about the details of how a digital IT product works "under the hood".  Sure, we can blame some of this on Steve Job's "It just works", but much of it has been due to the overall growth in product sophistication and bullet-proofing.  For example, as a kid, I can remember how my father would check over the car before taking it on a 'long trip' to the grandparents: gas, tire pressure, oil, antifreeze, sometimes even suspension grease fittings:  all of this for a run that was just ~100 miles one-way.  Today, we don't even think about this kind of stuff for only a 100 mile run, nor even for some between 5K oil change intervals. Fact is that products have become much better/reliable, so there's less need for every last user to be "handy" to DIY themselves out of trouble.
-hh