Linux absolutely sucks if you're not a nerd. Sorry, I spit truth. I've tried a dozen distros as daily drivers over the last 15 years. Always had to fiddle and learn. Windows 10 & 11 work right out the box, every time.

I'm not totally ignorant! I've spun dozens of Linux servers, my VPN is on Debian server. If fact, just now realized it was still running my internet, and I haven't logged into it in a few years. Rock solid.

So the question would be more to the point if we asked, "What is blocking normal people from making the move?"

To counter my own point, I used to make "little old lady" laptops and PCs for people who were too broke to get a new machine or pay me to fix Windows. I'd take their crap laptop/box, add whatever RAM I had on hand, SSD a must, load Linux Lite. Show them how to access the internet and their email, DONE. Never once had a call back. It just fucking worked.

Here's the key! Listening you nerds? I never once told them they were running Linux, never explained the concept of an OS, nada, STFU with your evangelizing. I merely handed their machine back in a working state, with minimal instruction.

The Year of the Linux Desktop may never hit. Most people don't use desktops outside their job and Microsoft has a lock on compatibility and business use cases. Can you imagine any sort of Linux Active Directory? LOL, hell no, what a scattered ecosystem.

[–] DmMacniel@feddit.org 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Can you imagine any sort of Linux Active Directory?

What is openLDAP?

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I've played with LDAP and it is nothing vs. AD. Ever administered an AD domain? Crazy what all you can manage. It's not only a user auth tool, it's so much more.

[–] DmMacniel@feddit.org 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Ever administered an AD domain?

only as part of a curriculum and in an apprenticeship; so nothing serious.

Crazy what all you can manage. It’s not only a user auth tool, it’s so much more.

yeah sure you can manage the heck out of it. But what does one really need? Restricting/Enabling access to resources, and managing authentications right? And that's feasible with Kerberos and OpenLDAP, no?

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

I'm too far gone from my last AD admin job (7 years), but I mainly remember how tightly integrated everything was. I could play that infrastructure like a fiddle!

The greatest thing about AD is that it's a "single pane of glass", all there in one tool. One example, I used RADIUS auth with Network Policy Server (NPS) to manage wireless access. Put users in the appropriate group, never had to think about it again.

One of the best parts was how easy it was to manage with PowerShell. I had on on/offboarding script that would handle a dozen pain points at a button press.