Yeah, I know, it's terrible to just install a driver and have something work well. If you are referring to Optimus then you may have a point but for desktop cards the NVIDIA drivers have been a good reason to pick one of their cards.

Back to the original post: This is why I never try to persuade anybody to use Linux and why I recommend people only choose Linux if they're prepared to do a lot of reading and be frustrated. Linux can be extremely rewarding to use and having to use anything else annoys me greatly but thanks to lack of manufacturer support and manufacturers pre-installing Windows on 99 of machines it's not going to be for everybody.
IF you can though, jkirksey1889, I would suggest dual-booting Linux then just dipping into it every now and again looking to resolve and issues -- if your wireless card doesn't support Linux though it will be an issue until a driver appears.

The initial post actually was help request: help to convince me it is not me who is failing, it is Linux that is bad.

I'm confused, you're not the OP?
Assuming you're just trying to translate I would respond that Linux isn't bad but thanks to the actions of certain manufacturers it can be next to impossible to get working in certain circumstances and in those circumstances it's probably a better use of somebody's time to use Windows (and possibly use Linux in a VM) and keep an eye out for Linux-friendly hardware next time they purchase a computer.
I know I only started using Linux when I could ditch my Winmodem for an ethernet-connected cable modem as otherwise I simply could not get onto the internet. I've had issues with wireless cards also that have prevented me using Linux on machines for a while. Sadly Linux is thought of as an afterthought to most hardware and software companies so there will always be situations where somebody simply cannot use Linux.

Can't you read between the lines? What would be possible reason to post something like this on a support forum?

Let me translate the original post:

Guys, I feel dumb. All you get around in Linux and I failed. I need patting on back. Please tell me it is Linux that is impossible to learn.

How long did it take you to come along with Windows?
Not all Distributions are targeted to all levels of skills of users. I've installed more than 30 Debians in the last two years on machines which where bought by people at the time of their retirement, "to learn that computer thing". These people are now in their beginning/mid seventies of age. When they bought their machines, those computers came with WinXP. They understood, what it means that there is no more support by MS to XP and they understood the benefits of Open Source Software and switched to Linux. They are all average computer users, no one of them is "computer affine". Exactly one complains about Linux, and that's on a very old machine from about 2000 or 2002. The rest of them is really pleased by the system and glad about the fact, that most malware is targeted to MS (one of the strongest reasons for the big problem of malware is the "average windows user", even those, who claim to be to be well versed in computers/windows). They had no problem in understanding that there is no start menu to run a program. They don't miss that on their smartphones either. They simply want to use a program.

What expectations did you have on Linux? For what reason did you have to use the shell?

Yes you are right, I completely failed. Maybe my intelligence level isn't quite as high as I think or thought it is or was.
I need to add a few things that I didn't mention originally as I was above my frustration tolerance level when I started the thread. However I am kinda in a hurry now but I will be back later and clarify some things.

Completely agree. After over 20 years of using ATi cards I made the switch to NVidia and it was one of the best things I've done. Wish I had made the move many years before.
Cheers!

This isn't your failing but the failing of manufacturers to support Linux.
Mind you, even supported hardware can be problematic -- I spent hours compiling and recompiling software to try to get a software defined radio card working only to discover that the issues I was having were a combination of bad antennae, living in a poor signal area and some less-than-perfect software. I've played and worked with technology all my life and it never ceases to amaze me how hard the simplest task can be.

I am not and never will be a gamer so Intel graphics work just fine for me and I don't have to install any drivers or battle any blank screens. Many folks trying to convert to Linux don't understand that hardware vendors don't consider Linux a priority so they expect stuff to just work. After struggling to create a bootable ISO, they load it up and get no WiFi or a blank screen. Yes, if you know how you can get past this but that's why there are so many frustrated folks using forums like this.

I always recommend Intel hardware as it just works with Linux. BTW, I only use laptops - haven't owned a desktop in over 15 years...

Why?? Honestly, if you're done with Linux and have gone back to Windows, there is no point in coming back here...unless this was a troll thread to start with. This:
...would indicate 'troll' to me. I have installed Linux on MANY laptops and desktops, and have ZERO 'major problems'. Wifi has worked right out of the box for many years now, as well as 3D/openGL graphics. And unless you have VERY bleeding-edge hardware and/or something very exotic (CAD input systems for example), I find it very hard to believe that shoving Mint onto ANY system would fail. It's entire purpose is to 'just work' for end users.

You start out by trying to install a touch-screen POS system onto Mint....right off the bat, you need to realize that Linux DID NOT FAIL...your Mint installation worked, and your problem was you were trying to install a touch-screen POS system (see: 'exotic hardware' comment above). Would you say that Windows had not installed without 'major problems', if you tried to install a third-party piece of software on it, and encountered problems? Nope...you'd quickly say that the PROGRAM had problems.

If you don't want to learn something new, that's fine, but please, be accurate about what you're saying. If you expect Windows programs to work on Linux, that's not going to be the case, anymore than wanting a Windows program to work on a Mac, right? The two ARE DIFFERENT...would you go to the Apple store and complain that your copy of XXXX software for Windows doesn't work on Mac? Nope...this is no different.

thanks for posting that.

personally, i don't think the op of this thread is trolling anymore than anybody else on this forum.
i'd never have thought of it this way if somebody hadn't brought it up (otoh i knew immediately that this thread would grow cancerously; doesn't exactly take clairevoyance).

or, if it really is so, then trolling has to be redefined as something that is not "bad" or "evil" or "offensive" behavior in itself.

Did the OP have some highly specialized need (like installing a touch screen POS), and is that the reason Linux didn't work out?

A bit silly to generalize that to "the average user can't use Linux" isn't it?

Agreed...
If it wasn't meant to be a troll post, why post at all? If you're going back to Windows...just GO. There is absolutely zero reason to post on a Linux forum a 'goodbye' message, with all of the faults/flaws that someone perceived.

The OP began posting about a touch-screen POS system from sourceforge...not exactly something you can just shove onto a system, unless you know what you're doing, even on Windows. Not sure why the OP thought that Linux wouldn't need drivers, or have to be configured...Windows would (and does), when you plug in new hardware. If it can't find a driver, you have to provide one, or your system won't work. No different than Linux, Mac, or any other OS.

But, according to the OP, the OS had 'major problems'. Wifi didn't work (on Mint...hmm..), and having to type in a command was too difficult.

Hi...

Sometimes they're not just perceptions, they're actually problems the community needs to work on.

Regards...