Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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What desktop Linux needs to succeed in the mainstream (drewdevault.com)

submitted 3 years ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 years ago

The Linux Desktop (once installed) is ready for “normal” users and has been so for years

As someone who supports many novice GNU/Linux users, i think this is true, but there's many papercuts along the way. Every desktop environment is broken in subtle ways: the closest to a stable/consistent whole i GNOME but even it sometimes has services eating up resources unexpectedly, and is hard for users to tweak (too much reliance on extensions for what should be basic settings which are much easier to discover for users).

I'm not saying Windows is better: on Windows the "basic" experience works well but as soon as you start installing software, stuff will break in random ways until you have to reinstall from scratch.