https://www.makeuseof.com/best-live-usb-linux-distros/

Tells about the Linux you can have on a USB thumb drive.

In article <d86f8fa3-e0a0-49ec-9ee1-c6b7d1302bb2n@googlegroups.com>
Dim Witte <dakadldo2@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> https://www.makeuseof.com/best-live-usb-linux-distros/
>
> Tells about the Linux you can have on a USB thumb drive.

Here's the other side of the story.

https://betanews.com/2013/09/30/the-top-5-problems-with-linux/

The top 5 problems with Linux

By Brian Fagioli Published 8 years ago

I have been using Linux for many years. I consider myself well-versed
in the open-source kernel and its associated operating systems. When I
first started using Linux distributions, the community dreamed of a
day when it would become the dominant force in computing.

Well, arguably, the time is now. You see, Android is now the most
popular mobile operating system and ChromeOS is making big strides in
education -- both operating systems use the Linux kernel. Also, Unix-
like operating systems power 66 percent of the web (47 percent of
which is Linux). However, Linux is not perfect and is still trailing
on the desktop to Microsoft. Below are what I view as the top five
problems with Linux. Advertisement

5. Different desktop managers lead to a fragmented experience

I am a big fan of the Gnome desktop environment and conversely I
dislike KDE (but I do respect it). Unfortunately, in the Linux
community, this story is all too common. It equates to the old Chevy
vs. Ford, Coke vs. Pepsi and Xbox vs. PlayStation debates. However,
with Linux, there is also XFCE, Unity, Cinnamon, etc. -- all of which
have associated "fan-boys". In other words, the community is vastly
divided by tribal identity.

While many may point to the freedom of user-interface choice as a
positive (and it can be), I would also argue that it is a negative.
You see, from a trouble-shooting perspective, it is almost impossible
to direct a Linux user over the phone or instant-messenger by just
knowing their distribution. If a user seeking help says they are on
Ubuntu, you cannot be sure that they are on Unity -- they may be on
KDE, Gnome or something else which ultimately can lead to confusion.

A lack of familiarity and shared experiences fragments users since
they do not have a shared rallying point. A screenshot of an OS X or
Windows desktop is immediately recognizable; the countless Linux
desktops? Not so much.

4. Too many package managers makes Linux hard to learn and master

Many Linux newbies start with Ubuntu. This should not take away from
Ubuntu; it is a testament to its smart design and ease of use. In the
terminal or on the command-line, these users will learn the apt
package manager commands, as that is what Ubuntu uses. Sadly, these
new Linux users will think the apt package manager is the only package
manager. There are many other managers such as YUM and Pacman. These
package managers use entirely different commands which can be
confusing.

For the most part, that is fine if they never stray from Ubuntu.
However, if they do stray, they will be in for a rude awakening and
frustration when the commands they know and love no longer work. How
can a user master Linux and become an expert when an unfamiliar
package manager can cause a beginner-like regression?

3. Lack of software

This is a sore subject for many, as Linux-purists and loyalist will
eagerly point you to wonderful alternatives that can be acceptable.
Need Adobe Photoshop? Use Gimp. Need Microsoft Office? Use
LibreOffice. For basic users, these alternatives may work (and work
well). However, true professionals cannot trust their careers and
reputations to alternative software. Open-source ideology be damned,
Microsoft Office will create more compatible files and lead to a more
successful employee.

While Linux distributions offer wonderful photo-managing and editing,
video-editing is poor to non-existent. There is no way around it -- to
properly edit a video and create something professional, you must use
Windows or Mac.

A good example of software woe is, to protect my father from malware,
I built him a computer using Linux Mint. I figured, since he lives in
the browser, a Linux desktop with Google Chrome would be ideal and
safe. For a while, this worked like a dream. However, one day his
printer broke so he had to go to the store to buy another.

He wanted a wireless one so he could put the printer in another room.
Of course, the HP setup CD-ROM did not support Linux and setting up a
networked printer manually was not something he knew how to do. This
lead to headaches and disappointment and in the end he had to return
the printer (I later installed Windows 7 at his request and installed
the printer for him).

Overall, there are no true killer Linux applications that a Windows
user would lust over. However, conversely, Linux users have plenty to
be envious of -- Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Netflix support
and much more.

2. Hardware compatibility

Linux has come a long way regarding hardware compatibility. In fact, I
would say that Linux now offers a better out-of-the-box experience
than Windows or Mac for basic hardware detection. However, out-of-the-
box is not the end-all-be-all. Hardware will be released after that
kernel release and some accessory hardware will not have the needed
software to interface.

When I bought my first Nexus phone, the Galaxy Nexus, I was in pure
Android heaven. However, that device did away with USB Mass Storage
and opted instead for MTP. Sadly, this caused the device not to
interface with Linux properly. It was not until much later that
lengthy and convoluted instructions were posted on the internet that
enabled flaky performance at best. It is only very recently that MTP
support has started working out of the box.

Another example happened to a friend of mine who is in the Army and
purchased a Garmin GPS running watch. After running and working out,
you can connect the watch to a computer to upload the data.
Unfortunately, the watch was not recognized by Linux (Ubuntu 13.04)
and even if it had been, there was no Garmin software for it to
interface with. Unfortunately, I had to set up a dual boot with
Windows; an embarrassing moment since I was the one who got him
started on Linux.

1. Linus Torvalds is mortal

Linus Torvalds, the founder of the Linux kernel is a remarkable man.
However, his intelligence and prowess is rivaled by his outlandish and
controversial behavior -- hurling profanities at Nvidia and insulting
kernel developers are two examples that come to mind. Ultimately, it
is his project and he is the keeper of the kernel; he maintains it.
The problem is, Linus will not live forever and his death can cause
grave consequences. You see, once Mr. Torvalds is no longer living, a
new top kernel maintainer and protector must be named. This can
potentially cause a schism in the project or even worse -- lead to its
demise.

Linus Torvalds is both a gift and a curse for the Linux community.
Obviously, the entire thing would not exist without him. However,
developers and users only tolerate his behavior as he is the father of
the creation; he is not often second-guessed (those that do will feel
his wrath). Even if a capable successor is named, their intentions and
decisions will always be questioned. Eventually, the entire project
could be forked into irrelevance.

Conclusion

Despite these five problems, Fedora will continue to be my main
operating system at home on my desktop; I can personally get by
without Windows or Mac. However, I still maintain Windows and
Hackintosh installs just in case.

What about you? Can you get by with Linux exclusively? Do you agree
with my problems list? Tell me in the comments.

On 6/5/23 2:45 PM, Harry@home.org wrote:

> A good example of software woe is, to protect my father from malware,
> I built him a computer using Linux Mint. I figured, since he lives in
> the browser, a Linux desktop with Google Chrome would be ideal and
> safe. For a while, this worked like a dream. However, one day his
> printer broke so he had to go to the store to buy another.
>
> He wanted a wireless one so he could put the printer in another room.
> Of course, the HP setup CD-ROM did not support Linux and setting up a
> networked printer manually was not something he knew how to do. This
> lead to headaches and disappointment and in the end he had to return
> the printer (I later installed Windows 7 at his request and installed
> the printer for him).

Even when Brother offers linux support, it's crippled. The first one I
had included CUPS and was pretty easy to deal with. I love Brother.
The one I bought a year ago (print/scan/fax) wasn't quite as
user-friendly and required a lot of tweaking by 3 people to get it to
work properly -- for the most part. I still love Brother, but with a
bit less fervor. There's SOMETHING that makes it stick at double-sided
printing unless I specify single-side every single time. I suspect that
if I print with windows I can set it to single-side as the default.
Maybe next week...

> Overall, there are no true killer Linux applications that a Windows
> user would lust over. However, conversely, Linux users have plenty to
> be envious of -- Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Netflix support
> and much more.

There is no ready-to-use linux tax software that I know of. HRBlock,
contrary to its instructions which claim that it requires win10, still
works with my win7 machine. So far, so good.

> 2. Hardware compatibility

> Another example happened to a friend of mine who is in the Army and
> purchased a Garmin GPS running watch...

My windows machine can see my linux machine on the LAN; the linux
machine can't see the windows machine -- exactly wrong. It USED to work
properly, and then something did something wrong. I should be glad that
I can save my tax output to my linux machine without writing it to a
thumb drive, but I'd really rather the windows machine knew NOTHING
about the LAN. I need to update the firmware of my Garmin GPS (the one
that lives in the glovebox), and I need to do that with the winmachine.
Maybe next week...

> 1. Linus Torvalds is mortal
>
> Linus Torvalds, the founder of the Linux kernel is a remarkable man.
> However, his intelligence and prowess is rivaled by his outlandish and
> controversial behavior -- hurling profanities at Nvidia and insulting
> kernel developers are two examples that come to mind.

We hope someone will step up. Someone ALWAYS steps up.

> What about you? Can you get by with Linux exclusively? Do you agree
> with my problems list? Tell me in the comments.

No. The only essential windows thing is the tax software. I used to do
it by hand with a calculator and Pub17, but I'm no longer willing to do
that. I just want to transfer the numbers, write the checks and forget
it until next April.

Google earth for windows works better than the linux version. Picasa
(linux and windows) is a nifty simple photo editing tool, but it's not
as good as Irfanview. GIMP is great, but needlessly complicated -- I
think the author just hates people and wants us to suffer.

--
Cheers, Bev
"You know that I could go on the Internet right now under my
alternate screen name, "CherryXXX69," and get complete strangers to
email me a picture of their scrotum. I tell you, this country gave
the finger to privacy a long time ago." -- Bill Maher