Linux Desktop: A 14-Year Retrospective
Table of Contents
For over 14 years, I’ve relied on Linux as my primary operating system, starting with Ubuntu in october 2010. While I regularly use Windows for work, my desktop experience remains firmly rooted in the GNU/Linux world. I consider myself an advanced, yet typical user – someone who sticks too the standard interface, rather than delving into advanced customization.
My experience has been largely positive. However, certain aspects of the Linux desktop could benefit from improvement. I’d love to hear yoru thoughts on what’s missing from the Linux experience in the comments below.
Modern graphics: Catching Up
While I’m not a hardcore gamer – my recent gaming adventures involve titles from 2008, 2011, and 2014 (all from a certain Bethesda, Maryland-based studio founded in 1985) – I’d appreciate faster adoption of graphics technologies found on Windows. My preference for older hardware highlights the need for better Linux support.
For AMD Radeon users, a user-friendly graphics configuration interface within AMDGPU, easily enabling features like FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), would be a notable improvement. Similar streamlined support for Nvidia DLSS and Intel XeSS2 is also needed. Currently, Linux support for these technologies often lags behind, with solutions ranging from nonexistent to obscure single-developer projects.
The Quest for the Perfect Photo Editor
My biggest frustration with Linux is the lack of a comprehensive photo editor that handles RAW files and offers robust cataloging features, comparable to commercial software. While several projects exist, none perfectly combine all desired functionalities.
GIMP is excellent for final adjustments – I use it for trimming, sharpening (though I miss the “wavelett-sharpen” plugin), and colour correction.however, it’s not ideal for RAW processing. Rawtherapee is powerful but cumbersome, with overlapping options that often conflict. exporting can also be frustrating.
Darktable, conversely, is incredibly powerful, almost to a fault. As one user put it,”sometimes exporting a photo in darktable makes my chin drop. But in 99% of cases, it’s terrible.”
These tools generally lack modern features like content-aware object removal and reliable AI upscaling. digiKam offers AI-powered people recognition and tagging, but I’ve experienced significant stability issues.
The Linux desktop offers a powerful and customizable experience, but improvements in graphics support and photo editing software would significantly enhance its appeal to a wider audience.
The Tech We Need: A Plea for Simpler, More Powerful Software
For years, users have relied on industry giants like Adobe and Microsoft for thier software needs. But a veteran tech user argues that the complexity and cost of these programs outweigh their benefits, leaving a gap in the market for simpler, more powerful, and free alternatives.
The Missing Audio Editor
Twenty-four years ago, digitizing audio was a different ballgame. “With the help of a TEAC double-deck with Dolby B and SB Live 5.1, I digitized everything using Cool Edit Pro,” recalls the user. ”It was a few-click procedure with great quality results.” The user’s workflow involved noise removal, parametric EQ adjustments, and export to high-bitrate Ogg Vorbis. This simple, efficient process, achieved in a program later acquired by Adobe (and becoming Adobe audition), remains unmatched in today’s offerings. “I still miss the simplicity, speed, and elegance of Cool Edit Pro,” the user admits.Modern tools like Audacity, while functional, lack the ease and speed of the older software.
A Video Editor for the Modern age
The user’s experience extends to video editing. “We used to have VirtualDub on Windows 98,” they explain, highlighting its ease of use for digitizing from TV tuners and VHS recorders. While Linux offers options like avidemux and kdenlive, the user finds them lacking in crucial areas.”Avidemux’s progress is significantly beyond the theoretical possibilities. He still can’t fully AV1,let alone VVC,” they state. This necessitates using ffmpeg, a powerful but notoriously complex command-line tool. “Handbrake can’t do some things that Avidemux has in filters or ffmpeg in parameter settings,” the user points out, emphasizing the need for a user-friendly choice with cutting-edge codec support.
The Need for a Worldwide App Store
The fragmented nature of Linux app stores is another pain point. “The pain of linux is that GNOME has its Software, KDE has its Discover, Alexander Larsson from Red Hat mixed in Flatpak (thanks!), Canonical and Snap (really no thanks), Mageia does its thing and dozens of other distributions as well,” the user explains. The lack of a centralized app store,similar to the Microsoft Store,Google Play,or the Apple App Store,hinders both developers and users.
Reimagining the Office Suite
Microsoft Office, despite its flaws, excels in certain areas. “Microsoft Office has a thousand great features,but it is negatively compensated by a thousand software horrors,transgressions against the ergonomics of the UI and catastrophic things against the UX,” the user acknowledges. However, features like multi-level lists in Word and conditional formatting in Excel are superior in Microsoft Office compared to LibreOffice, which “more or less ignore[s] in development” these functionalities.The user also points to the seamless integration with cloud services and AI tools as a significant advantage.
The user concludes by expressing a desire for a comprehensive, free suite of tools that combines the simplicity and power of older software with the capabilities of modern applications. This highlights a significant gap in the market for user-friendly, yet powerful, free software.
The Linux operating system continues to evolve, with 2025 promising significant advancements and challenges. while its core strength lies in its open-source nature and adaptability, certain areas require attention to ensure continued growth and user satisfaction.One key area is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
Currently, many Linux users rely on services like Google for tasks such as speech-to-text and translation. “Even the local Mozilla is not that good, not to mention ChatGPT,” notes one industry observer. This highlights a need for robust, open-source AI solutions that offer comparable functionality without compromising user privacy.
The Need for Open-Source AI Solutions
The lack of readily available, well-trained, free AI models for tasks like image upscaling and enhancement is another concern. The reliance on “evil corporations” for these tools raises questions about data security and control. The development of ethical and privacy-respecting open-source alternatives is crucial for the future of Linux.
Beyond AI,the Linux landscape faces the ongoing challenge of fragmentation. “What Linux, on the other hand, does not really need, but which will be created even in 2025 for a number of reasons, are other separate distributions (God forbid the millionth Ubuntu clones), other desktop environments (often based on Qt or GTK / some foreign Wayland composer anyway),” observes a developer. This proliferation of distributions and desktop environments,while showcasing the platform’s versatility,can also lead to needless complexity and hinder widespread adoption.
Collaboration Over Competition: A Path Forward
The industry expert’s call for “less differentiation towards others (upstart, Mir, snap) in favor of mutual cooperation” underscores the importance of collaboration. Rather of competing with numerous, frequently enough overlapping projects, a focus on shared resources and interoperability would benefit the entire Linux ecosystem. This collaborative approach could streamline development, improve user experience, and ultimately accelerate the platform’s growth.
While challenges remain, the future of Linux in 2025 and beyond looks promising. Addressing the need for open-source AI solutions and fostering greater collaboration within the community will be key to unlocking the platform’s full potential and ensuring its continued relevance in the ever-evolving technological landscape.
Linux Desktop: A 14-Year Retrospective
from seasoned Ubuntu user to advocate for open-source alternatives, this article delves into the strengths and weaknesses of the Linux desktop habitat, highlighting the areas ripe for improvement. The author reflects on their 14-year journey with Linux, touching upon graphics performance, photo editing, audio and video software, the need for a unified app store, and the desire for a more feature-rich open-source office suite.
Linux Desktop: A 14-Year Retrospective
For over 14 years,I’ve relied on Linux as my primary operating system,starting with Ubuntu in october 2010. While I regularly use Windows for work, my desktop experience remains firmly rooted in the GNU/Linux world. I consider myself an advanced, yet typical user – someone who sticks too the standard interface, rather than delving into advanced customization.
My experience has been largely positive. However, certain aspects of the Linux desktop could benefit from improvement. I’d love to here yoru thoughts on what’s missing from the Linux experience in the comments below.
Modern graphics: Catching Up
While I’m not a hardcore gamer – my recent gaming adventures involve titles from 2008,2011, and 2014 (all from a certain Bethesda,Maryland-based studio founded in 1985) – I’d appreciate faster adoption of graphics technologies found on Windows. My preference for older hardware highlights the need for better Linux support.
For AMD Radeon users, a user-amiable graphics configuration interface within AMDGPU, easily enabling features like FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), would be a notable improvement. Similar streamlined support for Nvidia DLSS and Intel XeSS2 is also needed. Currently, Linux support for these technologies often lags behind, with solutions ranging from nonexistent to obscure single-developer projects.
The Quest for the Perfect Photo Editor
My biggest frustration with Linux is the lack of a extensive photo editor that handles RAW files and offers robust cataloging features, comparable to commercial software.While several projects exist,none perfectly combine all desired functionalities.
GIMP is excellent for final adjustments – I use it for trimming, sharpening (though I miss the “wavelett-sharpen” plugin), and color correction.though, its not ideal for RAW processing. Rawtherapee is powerful but cumbersome, with overlapping options that often conflict. exporting can also be frustrating.
Darktable, conversely, is incredibly powerful, almost to a fault.As one user put it,”sometimes exporting a photo in darktable makes my chin drop. But in 99% of cases, it’s terrible.”
These tools generally lack modern features like content-aware object removal and reliable AI upscaling. digiKam offers AI-powered people recognition and tagging, but I’ve experienced critically important stability issues.
The Tech We Need: A Plea for Simpler, More Powerful Software
For years, users have relied on industry giants like Adobe and Microsoft for thier software needs. But a veteran tech user argues that the complexity and cost of these programs outweigh their benefits, leaving a gap in the market for simpler, more powerful, and free alternatives.
The Missing Audio Editor
Twenty-four years ago,digitizing audio was a different ballgame. “With the help of a TEAC double-deck with Dolby B and SB Live 5.1, I digitized everything using Cool Edit Pro,” recalls the user. ”It was a few-click procedure with grate quality results.” the user’s workflow involved noise removal, parametric EQ adjustments, and export to high-bitrate Ogg Vorbis. This simple, efficient process, achieved in a program later acquired by Adobe (and becoming Adobe audition), remains unmatched in today’s offerings. “I still miss the simplicity, speed, and elegance of Cool Edit Pro,” the user admits.Modern tools like audacity, while functional, lack the ease and speed of the older software.
A Video Editor for the Modern age
The user’s experience extends to video editing. “We used to have VirtualDub on Windows 98,” they explain, highlighting its ease of use for digitizing from TV tuners and VHS recorders. While Linux offers options like avidemux and kdenlive, the user finds them lacking in crucial areas.”Avidemux’s’ progress is considerably beyond the theoretical possibilities. He still can’t fully AV1,let alone VVC,” they state. This necessitates using ffmpeg, a powerful but notoriously complex command-line tool. “Handbrake can’t do some things that Avidemux has in filters or ffmpeg in parameter settings,” the user points out, emphasizing the need for a user-friendly choice with cutting-edge codec support.
The need for a Worldwide App Store
The fragmented nature of Linux app stores is another pain point. “The pain of linux is that GNOME has its Software,KDE has its discover,Alexander Larsson from Red Hat mixed in Flatpak (thanks!),Canonical and Snap (really no thanks),Mageia does its thing and dozens of other distributions as well,” the user explains. The lack of a centralized app store,similar to the Microsoft Store,Google Play,or the Apple App Store,hinders both developers and users.
Reimagining the Office Suite
Microsoft Office, despite its flaws, excels in certain areas. “Microsoft Office has a thousand great features,but it is indeed negatively compensated by a thousand software horrors,transgressions against the ergonomics of the UI and catastrophic things against the UX,” the user acknowledges. However, features like multi-level lists in Word and conditional formatting in Excel are superior in Microsoft Office compared to LibreOffice, wich “more or less ignore[s] in advancement” these functionalities.The user also points to the seamless integration with cloud services and AI tools as a significant advantage.
The user concludes by expressing a desire for a comprehensive, free suite of tools that combines the simplicity and power of older software with the capabilities of modern applications. This highlights a significant gap in the market for user-friendly, yet powerful, free software
