BUT IT DOES WORK

When I was checking out some Linux links as part of the updates I’m doing to my LINUX PAGE, I revisited a page called "Why Linux is not ready for the desktop" that I first read years ago.

It was written by a geek called Artem S. Tashkinov, who makes a really full on case that Linux doesn’t work as a desktop operating system, and is not suitable as a replacement for Windows.

It is fully researched and well presented. Mr Tashkinov really seems to know his stuff, and I remember when I originally read it I was fully convinced, so I went back to Windows 7.

He updates the page regularly, and has hundreds of people commenting, who mostly agree with him.

But he is wrong.

He is an experienced computer geek who really knows his stuff (an expert), while I am a clueless numpty who often struggles with the basics. So how on earth can I definitively say he is wrong?

Mainly because of one simple fact. For the past year I have used Linux as my desktop operating system every day, on both my PC and Laptop. I used it to replace Windows and it is not only working, it is generally working well.

Here is a screenshot of my Linux desktop operating system happily working well this morning:

He is not the only person online saying Linux doesn’t work and is unsuitable to replace Windows. There are dozens of YouTube videos essentially saying the same thing, but they don’t have all the research to back them up that Mr Tashkinov does.

I’m certainly not the only person successfully using Linux as a desktop operating system. As of 2025, Linux-based operating systems now exceed 4% of the global desktop market.

There are estimated to be more than two billion PC’s in 2025, so 4% of that is more than 80 million. That means there are literally MILLIONS of people using Linux as their desktop operating system.

As well as all those PC’s, 100% of the top 500 supercomputers in the world run on Linux in 2025, which tends to confirm that it must have some good points.

I’m not a geek and have no desire to get into arguments with geeks, because using their thinking methods and playing by their rules, they would shred me.

But as far as I’m concerned, if I’m using Linux as my everyday operating system, and millions of other people are as well, then this argument is done and dusted. Linux does work as a desktop operating system, the proof is in plain sight.

So how can these geeks claim otherwise? Personally I think they are deliberately ignoring all the millions of instances of it working, and focusing only on when it doesn’t.

However I’m not about to deny that for non geeks fleeing from Windows, Linux often initially doesn’t work very well, so next I’m going to do a post with 10 common mistakes and how to avoid them.

I’ve done multiple installs of Linux, and on some occasions have not been happy with the results, and have had to start over again. But I've found that by sticking to Linux Mint and avoiding some basic mistakes, it's not that hard to avoid most common Linux problems.