Did the OP leave the building?

It would not be surprising. Were I OP, I'd have left disgusted by the disrespect of some by page three.

I have found that nastiness does not win friends, but it does most certainly influence people.

no, op's been coming back regularly to this thread and commented on the flood of comments that came in, in a frequency that i find reasonable, considering the topic's uniqueness (cough).

OP's last comment has been somewhat less than reasonable.
understandable:
some comments were strong reactions that most probably resulted from reading pages of silly rant, yet they were still aimed at the op directly...

Not really. Some people like being spied on, others don't, some like giving money to unethical companies, supporting anti-virus companies,... I don't.

I just can't afford the expenses of Windows (Microsoft keeps raising prices of various products). My wife is/was a Windows admin... and she keeps using my Linux system instead of her Windows laptop; even though she has two displays (I don't think she cares much for Windows 8.1, and was directed NOT to install Windows 10 as the classes she is taking aren't supported). She even has a student version of office (which will die when school is over)... and buying a copy is out of the question, so she uses LibrOffice instead. No issues except with ONE program (a flow charter) that isn't available for Linux.

Since she likes the Mate desktop (it is almost the same as the Windows desktop), I have no problem. So she uses my system about 4-6 hours a day. Uses firefox or chrome for browsing and most class work, thunderbird for mail... I really can't justify keeping her off.

Only problems I've had with Linux in a long time was thinking the btrfs filesystem was usable (it isn't sufficiently debugged yet, and can cause kernel faults - and it is my fault for not testing things first in a VM).

Everything else just works - printer/scanner, mice, keyboards even wireless can work - depending on whether the vendor will give access to the necessary information or support.

Vendors are coming around to Linux - though some are reticent (like Nvidia). But the market for Linux systems has been growing, and more and more are supporting Linux now. Specially since Android is a linux kit - the wireless interfaces on phones/tablets are the same - so the information is leaking out from those that make the phones on how to do the drivers; after all, if the driver works on the phone, it will work anywhere else too.

I was disgusted by the initial post which was pointless. If the OP has a complaint about Linux, write to Torvalds or the developers. If he has a problem with Mint, write to their developers. If he has a problem with some obscure software that is 'supposed' to work with Linux, contact them.

Nobody here is responsible for creating Linux. This is simply one of many forums with volunteers to try to help people using Linux and I expect if someone started a thread at a windows forum saying "I solved my windows problems by switching to Linux", the posts here would seem mild.

Nothing was accomplished by the OP by his venting. I doubt anything he was trying to do works any better now that he has had his rant so it was pointless. You don't accomplish anything by being rude and ill-mannered and complaining to a group of volunteers about something they have no control over fits those categories as does complaining about something you got for free, whether it's software or a used TV or bicycle. If you want it to work and don't know how to do it, hire someone who does.

It's the Non-Nix General forum. They can open any thread within the guidelines of LQ and it doesn't have to be a question.

Not checking, but were you part of the 80 or so postings during the weekend? I'm guessing not, and no offense intended. I don't agree with the OP either. But I respectfully don't agree that one contacts Linus because they're displeased with Linux. They're free to have their opinion. They also re-visited this thread and offered some additional thoughts to the tune of saying "Hey, I'm not all 100 against it, it's been a bad experience for me, and I'll keep trying, but it's frustrating" or something like that. I don't wish to put words in their mouth, or yours.

I also do agree with your thoughts. They really ought to put in some effort and focus more on individual problems, seek solutions to them, before just ranting. However everyone rants from time to time. If the OP ends up doing that all the time, people will take note and the OP will end up not being very effective when they do post a substantive question, until they learn how to do that properly.

You are justified in giving up Linux and going back to Windows. Your business need something that work and Windows is it for you at the moment. It's something you're already comfortable with and running a business is challenging enough.

Convenience does not come free. Two weeks isn't really long enough to understand Linux. It is for those two reasons that I urge you to give Linux another chance. Pick a day where you can afford to take the time to study Linux in a less stressful circumstance. When you have a much better understanding of Linux (Mint in your case), you'll be in a better position to switch your business's computers to Linux.

I come from years of Windows usage and your original post resonated greatly with me. I was in the same boat as you: I wanted to ditch Windows completely but my switch to Linux wasn't a smooth experience at all. The Linux-purist folks here need to realize that, for some folks like me, giving up 15+ years of Windows usage to switch to another operating system, whether it's Apple Mac OS or any flavor of Linux, is very hard to do. One need to overcome the urge to fall back to Windows and the strong familiarity with it by having a stronger desire to learn Linux and its very-different-ways-of-doing-the-same-job.

Personally, I am using all of the big threes: Windows, Mac, and Linux. They all have their place. I've chosen to make Linux my main OS. It was worth learning Linux. Oh yeah. It was worth the trouble. In time, you'll learn why yourself. :-)

winBUG$ 'big' ??? >>> do not make me laugh !

The problem here is that no one asked the OP or anyone else to "switch" or "give up" anything.

Correction: It was originally posted on Newbie forum. It was later moved by a moderator without leaving a notice.

True. Linux is supposed to be a free-will choice and I see the posts in this that feel this is a worthless thread.

I disagreed. Linux can be two-faces sometime and this thread illustrated that greatly.

Microsoft is losing the general population's trusts more and more lately. But what are the alternative choices are there for the mass? It's Mac OS. Not Linux. Linux barely register in the population's minds.

Lately, Linux is getting more and more attentions. This thread is a small proof of that change. People wants to use Linux for various reasons and Linux being free is a huge draw.

This thread is also a proof of how hard Linux is. I see both sides of coin on this; Linux is supposed to be 'hard' because it's all about working with computers. Because it's fun to. It's meant for people who are passionate about computers. If it was meant to be easy for the masses, it'd be call Windows or Mac.

And yet, we want more people to use Linux. For that to happen, Linux need to be made easier. Like Ubuntu and Linux Mint, for example. In which, I personally don't agreed with or want, but I acknowledged the need for this. The path to self-education on Linux need to be made easier. There need to be some more tolerant toward the Switchers. I see all of this adaptions happening. With resistance, lol.

If Microsoft had 'behaved' and didn't have a situation where they are slowly losing their base, Linux would have been left alone. There wouldn't be a reason to make Linux easier to use. The difficult road to Linux-enlightenment would be justified because it's meant for people who are passionate about computers and want the challenge.

I personally picked this path because I want to know as much as I can about computers. And the rewards of keeping up my study are now (finally) coming in for me. That's why I made the post to urge OP to try Linux again. Linux is a good operating system and the only personal investment I have in making that post was to help promote more widespread use of Linux.

Thanks for the correction. Yes, placement in a regular question based forum is not appropriate for this thread.

I'm fully aware of that which is why I rarely bother to read anything here. No, I don't expect him to actually try to contact Torvalds and I doubt he would get a response. My point was simply that there was no point to his post and specifically, posting it here. It certainly didn't accomplish anything positive and I doubt he resolved his problems.

As I said above, I just find it rude and ill-mannered to complain about things you get for free and I wouldn't bother to try to help someone with this attitude. Everybody runs into difficuties at times and whining about it doesn't help.

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