Stop believing these 4 myths about Linux—they're all outdated now
Linux has been popular with enthusiasts and enterprise users for decades, but it still has a negative reputation among Windows users. However, most of that negative reputation is based on outdated information.
Linux is the best it has been.
Linux is hard to install and set up
Setting up Linux was complicated—a long time ago
Once, it was true that setting up Linux was an involved process. You needed to manually partition your drives, mess with difficult-to-understand configuration files, manually compile a few things, and if you were lucky, it would still fall short of the out-of-the-box Windows or macOS offered.
However, that isn't true anymore. These days, installing Linux on a PC is usually easier than installing Windows. You plug in your installation USB drive and follow the automated steps—no complicated configuration required. The only thing you really need to do is pick your username and password, and if you want to connect to a Wi-Fi network during the installation process, enter the network password.
On the other hand, installing Windows almost feels like an adversarial process now. If your activation key is mistyped, if you've changed your hardware significantly, or if you can't connect to the internet, it is going to throw up obstacles that you'll have to work around.
Linux just works.
It doesn't have the apps you need
I never need to switch to Windows anymore
For a long time, the fact that Linux was so niche really did mean that important apps on Windows didn't have good counterparts available on Linux.
For the most part, that isn't true anymore. In the overwhelming majority of cases, there is a Linux app available that is as good as its Windows counterpart.
There are two notable exceptions: Microsoft Office and the Adobe Creative Suite.
The Adobe Creative suite is the hardest to replicate on Linux. There are other apps, like Krita and GIMP, that can replicate some of the functionality of Photoshop, and DaVinci Resolve can easily hold its own with Premiere, After Effects, and Audition. However, you basically have to piece together your own suite of tools instead of getting a combined package.
Microsoft Office, on the other hand, faces pretty stiff competition from LibreOffice and OnlyOffice. I switched to OnlyOffice on my Linux PC years ago, and I haven't really missed Microsoft's Office suite at all.
Linux isn't right for mainstream uses
My Linux PC has fewer bugs than my Windows PC
I hear it constantly: "Linux isn't right for most people" or "Linux isn't ready for mainstream use." However, nothing could be further from the truth.
Linux already powers most phones (Android is built on Linux), a huge portion of all smart TVs, the Steam Deck, and the overwhelming majority of web servers—it is already mainstream.
Outside of those uses, Linux is more accessible today than it ever has been. Whether you want to game, scroll through social media, watch videos, or draft documents, Linux is up to the job. That is especially true if you don't require a niche application.
Today, there are at least a half dozen different distros that can easily replace Windows on a home PC.
Drivers don't work correctly
Even NVIDIA works well now
Historically, drivers have been a problem point for Linux, but it isn't really much worse than Windows today.
In the last year, I've installed no fewer than a dozen different Linux distros on various devices and they've all worked instantly. Every keyboard, webcam, drawing pad, USB microphone, GPU, and monitor worked instantly. The single exception was an inexpensive USB Wi-Fi dongle from TP-Link. That required me to manually download and install something.
My Surface Laptop 4—a device made by Microsoft—is actually better with Linux than it is on Windows. Whenever I install Windows on the laptop, I have to attach an external mouse and keyboard to get through the installation process since it isn't able to recognize the built-in trackpad or keyboard on its own. Additionally, because Windows can't talk to the Wi-Fi card correctly, I have to use a workaround to install Windows 11 at all, since it won't let you proceed past a certain point without an internet connection.
On the other hand, I was able to install Linux without any of the frustration because it was able to instantly connect to the laptop's keyboard, trackpad, and Wi-Fi adapter.
Even NVIDIA drivers work without any problem now. The days of Windows being more plug and play friendly than Linux are long gone.
Linux is for everyone
Linux is still seen as niche, specialist, or enthusiast-only, when the reality is quite different. If you're just using your PC for common, everyday tasks, then Linux is as convenient as Windows. If you opt for an immutable distro, like Fedora SilverBlue, then Linux is probably also more stable than Windows too.
Of course, you don't have to take my word for it. Most Linux distros let you run them directly off a USB flash drive or external SSD so you can try them without changing anything about your PC.
