Linux often feels frustrating for me.
Linux often feels frustrating for me.
enderdance123
12-28-2016, 02:02 PM #14You seem really frustrated. It took me a couple of minutes to download the installer, a USB stick, and set it up on another system. Then I spent 15 minutes searching for a Realtek driver on Github that actually worked. There were so many confusing Terminal commands and missing dependencies I still couldn’t get WiFi online after about ten minutes. Finally, I had to restore a Windows 10 disk image. All this feels like an impossible task just to fix something as basic as connecting to the internet.
I've recently upgraded to the latest version of Windows 10 on various systems, ranging from brand new to over a decade old. I can easily recall the times I had to manually install drivers, with nearly everything available out of the box. When required, this process typically took about two minutes. On my newest laptop after a clean installation, there are many drivers missing—such as Wi-Fi—and opening preferences or updates only brings them in from Windows Update within roughly ten minutes. If saving time was important, simply keeping the device connected would have automated the download. While I appreciate Linux for several reasons, I haven't been able to use it regularly enough. I currently have an Ubuntu installation on a microSD card that can be plugged into any PC and booted natively when needed, or run as a VM for alternative tasks.
AlphaMale_
01-06-2017, 05:54 AM #17Realtek drivers can be inconsistent on Linux. Support levels and availability differ widely between different distributions. Manufacturers usually don’t develop Linux-specific drivers, so the community often steps in to create them. Sometimes no driver exists at all. Also, Linux Mint shares its foundation with Ubuntu, so your experience will be similar. Finding drivers is generally simpler for distros like Arch or Manjaro compared to Ubuntu, mainly because of stronger community support there. This trend applies to other areas too—your experience won’t match Windows exactly.
barkris123
01-06-2017, 07:33 AM #18Realtek drivers? 
Please don't assume everything comes ready to go.
It seems the issue lies with how drivers are bundled, pointing to Linux and repository limitations. On platforms like Arch, missing packages are common outside repos. Third-party tools do exist, and many games now use store-based installers. Companies often control availability, so Microsoft likely provides installers for its products. You mentioned concerns about software that installs automatically—did you mean it’s hard to get set up without a dedicated tool?
Sophie_Louisee
01-12-2017, 02:31 AM #20It's because OpenBSD consistently performs well. Sure, the driver issues are more frequent, but you'll rarely encounter them. I still regret those days when CDE was the leading desktop environment for Unix systems.