this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2023
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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[–] BaumGeist@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

run adobe and games natively

  1. adobe sucks for the same reasons I alluded to in my last paragraph. Money-grubbing corporation company hurts developers by patenting, trademarking, and copyrighting every minor feature in their programs to the point where FOSS alternatives have to bend over backwards to find ways to implement some of the same functionality. The problem isn't linux, the problem is adobe, the problem is profit-motive, the problem is capitalism.

  2. IDK what distro you use, but I'm using Debian, and it does run games natively--nearly half of the ones I own on steam. Not all of them, but that's not Linux's fault, that's not Gnu's fault, that's not Debian's fault: they already offer compatibility layers and yet that's not good enough for everyone, and there's not much they can do beyond that outside of building a windows clone (or at least a partial clone) that would probably get them sued. To run natively, the devs would have to compile it to run on Linux and the ones that don't are making the choice to not do so--consciously or not, because of profits or not; it's hard to say why, even indie devs who make free games as a hobby sometimes choose not to, so it's not as easily dismissed with "because capitalism"

That all being said, the "software availability" criticism can cut both ways. I've found so many tools and utilities and apps and FOSS programs that are only made available for linux (unless one is willing to port them oneself), and there isn't an app or program I use everyday that I haven't found a linux-compatible alternative for. The glaring exception being games; to me that wasn't a huge deal, I'll bite that bullet because I'd rather go without kernel-privileged spyware for an OS--and the same for an anti-cheat engine--than play a triple-A on maximum graphics, play online multiplayers that require microsecond reaction time, or other such use cases where Proton actively hinders UX. Like I said, I'd rather have anti-authoritarian computers than worry about keeping up with the performance spec joneses