Post #1178742

2026-04-03 08:59 UTC

I never understood the argument of "if it's not in the UI you may need to use a command to achieve it and it's scary". On windows, if it's not in the UI you have to use either a powershell command or update the registry to change it - which are both a very similar experience. The only difference I actually see in this point is that Linux has a lot more options.

Replies (3)

@JC1@lemmy.ca 2026-04-03 16:42

I often had to go to the registry on Windows and the registry is way less user friendly than modifying files on Linux. When we say that we have to use the terminal for more complicated things on Linux, it's usually just modifying files that are well commented so you know exactly what you're doing. If you can read of course which isn't always a given. For sure there are scripts and 3rd party apps that can modify the registry, but you can have the same thing on Linux too. And today with how advanced KDE and Gnome are, the user needs to go less and less in the files. Almost everything I do is in the home folder too. I require root less and less, mainly to install packages. I think it mainly comes down with what users are used to. People are used to the quirks of Windows, so Linux becomes scary and hard. If it was the other way around, Windows would be considered to be complicated. That's my take.

Open ##1178796
@HubertManne@piefed.social 2026-04-03 16:57

yeah and honestly that sounds like something from a decade ago. I find things are not in the linux ui at the level things are not in the windows ui and if anything more run into having to do registry or powershell with windows. much more often I can find an install in linux that will give me the ui if its not already.

Open ##1178797
@Ralkero@thelemmy.club 2026-04-03 13:51

In Windows there are tools or 3rd party softwares available to customize literally almost anything. There's plenty on Linux that I couldn't say the same for. Granted I may not know where to look in some cases and may have missed it, or it may simply be a result of my lack of experience with Linux in general. But the point is that a new user's first impressions matter, and if someone who isn't comfortable doing commands and using non-GUI tools is forced to use them all the time, their patience may run thin faster than others. I believe people should want to learn and they should do the research. But realistically, if the goal is to get as many users to adopt Linux as possible, this is a barrier to entry.

Open ##1178799