Linux is great, in fact - super great. I love the philosophy of tinkering - I understand that. But when it comes down to non-tinkering usage (which is what mainstream use of computers is all about) - Linux on desktop so far fails.
Forget about autologin. Let's take another example.
Look at YouTube. Thousands of videos uploaded everyday are screencasts. Now try doing one on Linux. You know, like a voice over on a microphone and sound from the computer itself, like if you are doing a software tutorial and that software needs to have its sound recorded for the screencast as well.
Is it possible? It is, sure.
Is it easy to do? No, it is not. And there is another thread there that speaks about just that.
This example is not meant to put down Linux. Linux is what it is. But if one wants to be truthful, one has to admit that a number of functions that are considered "normal" by a modern multimedia computer user, and of which screencasting is an example, are not available for a Linux user. Or are barely available.
I would love to do screencasts and tutorials on Linux Audio. But I have no idea how. GTKRecordMyDesktop does not work with JACK and hasn't worked for months - for months! Other apps which I tried don't even have an option or else require some voodoo rituals.
I've seen Jeremy's method, it is great tinkering, superb work-around. This is the Linux way, sure. But this is not relevant to a user who wants his computer to provide a function, rather than a lab for tinkering.
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When discussing Linux going mainstream, we have to be clear on this: the concept of Linux is at its core alien to mainstream usage.
Mainstream usage is people using computers as a function. Mainstream usage focuses more on what computer does than on what the computer is.
Linux usage is more about the computer. It is a hobby of diving into technology. Over the years all this tinkering has produced a working environment, sure, but its inners workings are still married to the initial concept.
So if there is a main "reason", it is this.
L.V.
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