I bet that everyone here has heard about Linux. However, only a few can use it because their hardware doesn't work with Linux.
In my case, I want to use Ubuntu 21.10 on my laptop, Acer Swift 5 - SF514-52T, but I can't because there's no sound coming out of the HDMI port. I have filed this issue here.
I also can't connect my Bluetooth headset, Sony WH-CH710N, at all. The headset paired successfully but it just won't connect. I believe that this could be solved using the method provided here but I didn't have a chance to try it yet.
In fact, I had tried to run Linux on this laptop since Ubuntu 19.04 came out but fail because the integrated mic didn't work at all. Fortunately, this issue is fixed on Ubuntu 21.10.
Nevertheless, the sound system on Linux is a mess...
Linux will not succeed in the desktop market unless it works on most laptops considering that laptops already sell nearly 3 times more than PCs.
Hey, Linux, see you again in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, KDE neon, or SteamOS 3.0!
Top comments (5)
Try Mint. They explicitly add to an Ubuntu base a load of proprietary drivers that are not installed on Ubuntu by default. In fact Mint used to do that without asking but for some while now there's a question during install as I hear some users wanted to opt out. You see there is simply some demand in the community to stay clear of closed-source proprietary drivers I guess. But if you're not that fussed (and I'm not) Mint just installs them without my needing to think about it and I've not run into any device support issues really.
Thanks, I will try Mint when I have a chance. It might become my main driver after several years in Windows (7-11).
I was running WIN 7 at home across the board, on my desktop, laptop and HTPC. The latter was blue screening a lot alas, and a friend suggested Mint. I tried it on the HTPC and it worked fine in that context. In particular it was possible to test with the live distribution first and it produced video and sound on the HTPC (that pumps out HDMI to a AVhost with 5.1 surround sound) and didn't fall over for ages after which using it there I put a second boot system on my desktop of Mint (so I'd have dual boot). In time I migrated all by dev tools and other tools to new ones under Mint, from the large repertoire of free stuff. A bit of work at first to find tools confounded with far too much choice, and then getting used to them and let go of the familiarity I had with Windows and my tools there. After a year or so I noticed I'd not booted Windows, ever since, and so removed that partition. Then I moved my laptops over and I've not looked back ... and love it. Mint with Cinnamon is familiar, easy to use and while not perfect, nor was Windows, butt he difference is, when I get stuck the community support and the ability to fix things in a FOSS world is magnitudes better than under Windows.
Heck at work I'm stuck on Windows, wrote out a large text file just this week, only 200MB but large, and one line. And wasted a chunk of my day researching and then consulting in house for tools to look into such a file and met with no joy. Aaargh, on my linux box
lesswould do me,gloggwould do me ...tailwould do me. On Windows the research took me to sparse free solutions all looking as dated as Win 3.1 and a load of commercial options my lacking a company credit card ;-) and nothing easily found natively. There may be something, but hours of on-line searching and consulting in a WIndows based IT business and we couldn't turn one up, bar a free hex editor I have.You know if I ever start a business, like more and more, I promise I'd be doing Linux desktops and servers, and tools. I have never missed Windows. And it pains me at work to this day (I miss workspaces, I miss being able to move a window to any monitor and making it always on top as native features, I miss VT0 and the ability hit a console when the desktop becomes unresponsive to examine the causes and try and fix them ...
Many things do just find without market shares and/or money. In fact we keep developing without money every day and are plagued by those who do do it for money. A disease.
The cover photo by Tom Pumford on Unsplash.