What's Holding Linux Back?

Poor PC Hardware Compatibility

The latest updates to the Linux kernel go a long, long way to addressing many of these concerns, as do the latest distributions. However, PC enthusiasts need to understand that Linux may not be as "bleeding edge friendly" as Windows is. It may take a while to get optimized drivers for new products, but support for Linux is growing. When I talk to people about Linux, I compare it to the growth that Windows NT 4 had to go through in terms of driver support. Even Windows 2000 Professional took quite a while to get optimized drivers.

Linux has decided advantages over Windows in that the GUI is completely separate, and therefore some of the insane video driver issues that have plagued Windows won't even apply to Linux. However, there are a number of devices that may never get Linux driver support at all. At times, even when drivers are produced by the original manufacturers, they may lack in refinement.

I had the occasion the other day where the only driver available for my device had to be manually compiled within Linux, which is not something that the average user may feel all that comfortable doing. Luckily for just about all of us, most distributions contain a full and up-to-date set of drivers in every new release, so if you simply upgrade often, which is a free process, then you should be in very good shape. There are a number of third party sites out there that offer the latest and greatest sets of device drivers, some written by enthusiasts themselves. That is one of the strengths of the Linux community, but it may require new users to be patient and understanding. In this case, critics have a somewhat valid point, but hopefully the situation will get better in the near future.