Linux

Good S0ix support. At the moment, Linux mostly fails to sleep correctly on modern S0ix laptops, which happens to be most modern laptops.

This means the battery drains incredibly fast, and S0ix features aren't being used, which is unfortunate as it has potential for quick wake, lid closed actions and limiting battery drain while asleep (since S0ix can eventually hibernate automatically from a sleep state)

Also the boot loader could be improved, systemd-boot needs to support secure boot natively so we can be rid of the slow, ancient and scary-looking GRUB.

Immutable distros like Silverblue or Bazzite are the only path I see that can work for normies. However flatpak itself has to mature more, theming anomalies need to be dealt with somehow for example.

Mint is only good to ease a technically inclined person into the linux world.

It depends on which user and their workflow. For example, Graphics Designer use Photoshop compare to GIMP because of native CMYK for printing as well as non-destructive effects. Most people will be fine using GIMP.

I bring this up as I tend to see people on Lemmy and even in online space that talks about open source that would bitch about "normies" being too stubborn for not trying Linux or any open-source projects in general but never think about how much compromise they had to do if they do go down the open-source route.

It's current year, I should never have to touch the terminal for anything. I don't care that it's powerful, my brain is already full of windows knowledge and I don't want to have to google what command I need to perform basic functions. Everything needs guis. If there's a gui, I can figure it out and also discover tools I didn't know about along the way, which allows me to solve future problems without going insane.

That's popular sentiment though, so how about one that I don't see often: Add options to allow windows like behavior. For example, middle click paste is the bane of my existence. I should be able to change it to middle click scroll os wide, not just in firefox. I know that there's a hacky workaround to kinda make it work, but it sucks.

An easy way to import/export Flatpaks would be really convenient. On Windows, I can easily move around software using a usb drive to a computer that may not be connected to the internet. I'd have no clue how to do that on Linux aside from AppImages

But due to fragmentation etc. I'd guess that such portable flatpaks would be huge, as they'd need to carry all dependencies in case the other end is missing some

ChromeOS does this well because it's android, a walled garden that users aren't allowed to break. You can buy it at Walmart, and it works well.

Other big "consumer" distro projects (Debian, Ubuntu, fedora, rhel, etc) are similar, especially if you're installing stable releases on hardware that is supported.

The question for me is what do users want their OS to do? My guess is internet, office, print, scan, photos, games, updates, and get out of the way. Almost all big distros will give you that experience already, as long as you don't expect to play Windows games or pick a specialized gaming distro.

Users who want to step outside using supported repos are back to googling for a solution when things are broken, and should see themselves as part of the tech-savvy group that need to fend for themselves.

1. Idiot proofing
2. Automation, integration and premade scripts and GUI tools for the use of tools such as wine and other pain point relief software
3. Idiot proofing
4. Decrease choice fatigue by decreasing the number of choices visible by default as much as possible (Ubuntu is an okay example/starting point in my opinion)
5. Make a one-stop-shop wiki or equivalent with the specific purpose of giving explanations to non Linux-savvy people

I think that the proliferation of software/app centers is a great development when it comes to package management. Guides should mention them as an option to install whatever packages are needed, as a lot of people are clearly afraid of terminals.

Which leads to the “more GUI tools” point, which I'm sure everyone knows by now.

Also, you know how Windows update is so aggressive with getting you to update? That's for a reason.

So reading all of your responses

• Tested and preinstalled hardware
• One resource to solve the issue not many
• Customizablity when needed
• Easy rollback when something breaks
• Changing people mindset that Linux isn't for desktops

Does anyone have more?

I don't think we do, but that's a feature, not a bug. Here's why:

1. There was a great post a few days ago about how Linux is a digital 3rd Space. It's about spending time cultivating the system and building a relationship with it, instead of expecting it to be transparent while you use it. This creates a positive relationship with your computer and OS, seeing it as more a labor of love than an impediment to being as productive as possible (the capitalist mindset).

2. Nothing "just works." That's a marketing phrase. Windows and Mac only "just work" if the most you ever do is web-browsing and note-taking in notepad. Anything else and you incite cognitive dissonance: hold onto the delusion at the price of doing what you're trying to do, or accept that these systems aren't as good as their marketing? The same thread I mentioned earlier talked about how we give Linux more lenience because of the relationship we have with it, instead of seeing it as just a tool for productivity.

3. Having a barrier of entry keeps general purpose communities like this from being flooded with off-topic discourse that achieves nothing. And no, I'm not just talking about the Yahoo Answers-level questions like "how to change volume Linux????" Think stuff like "What's the most stargender-friendly Linux distro?" and "How do we make Linux profitable?" and "what Linux distro would Daddy Trump use?" and "where my other Linux simping /pol/t*rds at (socialist Stallman****rs BTFO)???" Even if there is absolutely perfect moderation and you never see these posts directly, these people would still be coming in and finding ways that skirt the rules to inject this discourse into these communities; and instead of being dismissed as trolls, there would be many, many people who think we should hear them out (or at least defend their right to Free Speech).

4. Finally, it already "just works" for the aforementioned note-taking and web-browsing. The only thing that's stopping more not so tech-savvy people is that it's not the de facto pre-installed OS on the PC you pick up from Best Buy (and not Walmart, because you want people to think you're tech-savvy, so you go to the place with a dedicated "geek squad"). The only way it starts combating Windows in this domain is by marketing agreements with mainstream hardware manufacturers (like Dell and HP); this means that the organization responsible for representing Linux would need the money to make such agreements... Which would mean turning it into a for-profit OS. Which would necessitate closing the source. Which would mean it just becomes another proprietary OS that stands for all that Linux is against.

On top of being preinstalled, we also need google search-able instructions that avoid the terminal altogether. People are afraid of the terminal, it doesn't matter why, it just is.

Currently, most solutions to linux problems come in the form of terminal commands. We would have to start creating a whole new troubleshooting forum where instructions avoid the terminal and are just lists of buttons to press in a GUI. Probably helpful screenshots too.

Of course I have no idea if some things even have GUIs at all, like configuring user groups and permissions or firewall settings, someone would need to make them. Not to mention every DE or program would need a different set of instructions, GNOME or KDE, firewalld or iptables. It'll be a lot of work.

Needs tone pre installed, most people don't know how to reset their PC, let alone install a new OS.

More GUI front ends for stuff. This takes away the need to understand command line tools and syntax, and makes the out-of-the-box experience feel more like it just works.

Need hardware with it pre installed with a reason to buy other than because it has Linux

Maybe use the lack of a requirement for a Windows license to bring the price to performance ratio down

If they're really performant machines also helps break the idea Linux is only for old and slow machines, I only ever used to put it on laptops as they were reaching the end of their usefulness, the moment I put it on my pc and a new laptop it changed my perception on it entirely

I also think the majority of technical users still use windows, maybe we should concentrate on getting them first and maybe we'll see more support

Software, 1,000%. I love linux and daily drive it. But when I have videos to edit, photos to rework, or collateral to design I have a windows laptop with professional grade tools to do the job.

I'm sorry, gimp is hot garbage. There isn't a pro-grade, open source video editing tool or anything close. Inkscape is useable in a pinch. Scribus is useless.

Not everyone is a multimedia creative professional, but most software on linux never quite have the features you need, are no longer maintained, or will be useful in ten years.

That said, I'd still rather break out the laptop when doing client work than daily drive MacOS or Windows 11. Either way the barrier for most users is that linux almost works.