This has been my complaint for years. I have not been adverse to trying out different distros, but none of them come up to the standards of Windows, at least my standards!
It is not for my personal satisfaction. I want other people to realize how HARD it is to do every LITTLE thing in Linux compared to Windows. Things that can do with 1 click in Windows, you need to google up and discover the 8 steps in Linux to do same thing. Then there is no easy way to discover if it is working properly on Linux after those steps. It is all too much!
@roga: Moving to Linux is not "impossible"; It just takes a little more tech savvy and diligence than Windows. But once you put the work in, Linux can be locked down securely. And I've seen some screenshots of Linux distros that are really beautiful. Of course, you can always ask questions here. There a few Linux gurus here who will help you.
If there is one comprehensive guide on locking Linux down securely, that could work. But there is no such thing, they are all customized guides for special purposes too hard for normal people to grasp. The beautiful Linux distros are not secure, example is Elementary OS it is beautiful, though it lacks features. Linux Mint is the best compromise between looks and features, it is regularly updated. But even Linux Mint is hard to use when trying to improve security like OpenVPN. Is there a easy software in Linux allowing realtime monitoring of internet traffic, equivalent of TCPView in Windows, without typing long command lines?? That would be a start, this kind of software is essential to prove there is no spying going on with Linux.
Linux is easily doable but a lot of the software isn't as good and there is less of it. I know you are going to say openoffice, gimp, etc. But sorry they don't cut it.
Very true. But the OP may want to just run a shell with no bells and whistles? Personally. Once i have things the way i want them. I'll run VM's from within the shell with minimal dependancies. Something i could never do when running a M$ O/S and propriatary software
I have a low (zero) tolerance level regarding people who speak as if they know what they are talking about when they do not. The OP would fit that category. You can download a simple RPM (which is equal to an EXE in Windows) and install an app just as easily. This includes OpenVPN. The OP is either misinformed or chooses to seek out the most manual way of doing things. You can use the command prompt, but why?! I could use the command prompt in Windows too, but I often choose not to for the same reason (convenience)
VERY common Linux term; RTFM. I find that most Windows users don't have the skin to handle UNIX/Linux. Linux communities are very different from MDL. Thick skin is a requirement. And often the documentation is not very up to date if it exists at all. My distro uses .t?z. (.txz or .tgz)
Linux is really good for a server. One sets it up and it does the same task over and over again. Its rock solid. Arch (install KDE plasma) and Kali are the decent Linux distros. There are sensitive people in every OS camp. The way I say choose an OS is whatever solves your problem/task the quickest, either it be Linux, Windows, Mac etc.
Documentation is often up to date. And it isn't that we don't want to help people. It is that we are like GOD in that we help those who help themselves. You at some point had to learn Windows. You were not born knowing Windows, you learned it. The same is true for Apple or Linux, you must learn and get your hands a little dirty. Asking someone a dumb question such as 'where the desktop?' on a Windows forum will get you about the same response as asking 'where is the desktop' on a Linux forum. You have to dip your toe in a bit before people will take you seriously.
I do not teach those who have made up their mind. I do however point out their stupidity in an effort for them to disprove it (which can only be done by seeking information to counter). It would be different if the OP didn't come in as if they knew it all.
The fact is: Linux is built by User's for User's! That simply means that any different User/Developer of Linux 'build' that OS bound to his/her personal likes! And as more knowledgeable that User/Developer is, as more specific for his personal use is what he/she creates! That simply makes is difficult for other, special Non-Knowledgeable users to even understand the basics of that 'special' version! That's why for a lot of people, who try to change to Linux, simply give up! They also see in a very short time, that the learning curve will need a long, long time, Years in fact! OK, there some Linux OS'se which are developed by commercial Companies, like Ubuntu! Those are not Open Source anymore and the Source Code isn't publically available anymore too! Just, to be able to develop or even change banal things in Linux, need the knowledge of UNIX, on which Linux is based on. Also, many different Linux Distro's are based on other Linux OS'es. The base Logic of those Linux OS'es maybe near the same, just that didn't helps any Newbie for to be able to 'adjust' that Linux Distro he/she use to configure for their own personal use! Even Apple's OS'es, are based on UNIX and that's one of many reason why it will never get a much higher Market Share as it has today! The Apple OS'es are simply bound to a very small range of the available Hardware in the first line. Further, the company Apple has limit the use of their OS'es using legal ways to 'protect' their intellectual Property (means their OS'es) for to use in any other way as they (Apple) allows to the user's. Microsoft, on the other hand, has developed their software for as much available hardware as possible, which is a very difficult task! Ease of use was from beginning the goal Microsoft tries to use to makes it easy for any user, even a Newbie, to use that software. And with the years passing by, the further development were to make it even more easy for the user to use their software, till today with Windows 10! Like it or dislike it, Microsoft is the only big OS Developer who listens to their Customers and User's. That not everybody will agree to that, is just normal. Just the latest installation of the Insider Hub, from which many user's already have benefitted, shows the social commitment Microsoft has! On the end of the day, Microsoft's OS will be still the main used one and most used OS around the world! Linux will be just have a few percent of the Market Share for now and the next future and Apple will stagnate on the place where they are!
My mother is completely computer illiterate. She truly thought that when I formated her computer she would lose her email and she wanted me to reinstall Google. That is the extent of her computer illiteracy. She happily and safely uses OpenSuSe without a single problem. Linux is not hard to learn and if you're just an end user, it can be just as easy as point and click as Windows.