It's so easy to install Linux on a PC these days. Be glad you don't still have to compile the kernel yourself just to get an OS on your computer. All you have to do is download a disc image, create some bootable media, and you'll be on your desktop environment of choice within minutes.
The problems start after you're done installing your operating system. You notice you have no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, or you can't run any 3D apps , because there's something wrong with the driver for your GPU. If you're really unlucky, you might find that some component in your computer doesn't have a working Linux driver at all , at which point your "free" OS is starting to cost actual money.
Linux hardware support is better than ever, but still nowhere near "it just works"
A miss is as good as a mile
Now, I want to be perfectly clear: Linux has come an enormous way when it comes to hardware support. Compared to 20 years ago, it's almost a miracle. For the most part, Linux will automatically detect your hardware and do all the complicated stuff in the background.
The problem is that being better than before is not the same thing as being good enough for primetime. Linux fans might say that Linux's hardware support problem is a non-issue, but these are people who already now what Wi-Fi cards to avoid, which laptop brands don't play nice, and how to do some terminal-based troubleshooting just to get basic hardware functionality back.
It's why computers like this purpose-built Kubuntu Focus Linux laptop are necessary. The designers of the system validate the hardware for Linux, which means you know everything will work.
If you install Linux on any random laptop, chances are some components will never work, and these may be parts that can't be changed, unlike on a desktop.
Compare this with the experience on other mainstream OSes . Obviously, macOS is vertically integrated with the hardware, so Mac users literally never even have to think about this. On the Windows side of things, a lack of driver support is generally not a thing, and Windows does a pretty good job of finding and installing the right driver in the vast majority of cases. Windows has a lot of problems , but hardware support isn't one of them.
The PC industry still treats Windows as the default target
And are they wrong?
Of course, the main reason this is the case is a chicken-and-egg situation. Most personal computers in the world run Windows. Supporting hardware with drivers is expensive and difficult. If only some tiny fraction of your customers use Linux, why use resources to create and maintain a driver for that device?
The major reason Linux hardware support has become as decent as it is comes down to the hordes of people around the world who create and maintain open-source driver libraries for Linux. Some companies are nice enough to release an open-source version of their drivers so that the community can do the work, but others keep everything proprietary, so when they drop support you're out of luck. The only other option is to reverse-engineer a solution, which is its own can of worms.
Basically, hardware makers treat Windows as the top priority, and that's the right move for them. A larger percentage of desktop users need to be on Linux for that to shift, but without better hardware support it's less likely Linux will get mainstream adoption as a replacement for Windows.
Linux hardware support often works "technically," but not completely
Lowering your standards isn't actually a solution
There's a difference between a printer driver that allows you to do basic printing, and one that gives you access to all the advanced features the printer is physically capable of. There's a difference between a Bluetooth adapter that "works" and one that works well with low-latency and all the features it should have.
Unfortunately, a lot of the time a "working" Linux driver is a pretty low bar. Little better than the generic device drivers that Windows has to use when you have a really obscure piece of hardware. I don't want to disparage the work of all those people working for free on open-source drivers, but they simply cannot give sufficient attention to all the millions of devices out there. Especially if you have to reverse-engineer closed firmware and drivers.
OEM support is the real bottleneck keeping Linux from mainstream adoption
From my point of view, the answer seems pretty clear: OEM support. We need more computers that are certified as Linux compatible in the way that companies like Kubuntu Focus and Dell do. This is a little harder on the desktop PC side, because it would only apply to prebuilds, but I'd like to see more laptops that offer Linux as an option, with a guarantee that the hardware has proper driver support.
For self-built PCs, the situation is both better and worse. If you are looking to build a Linux PC, then you're obviously going to do your research and only buy parts that have good Linux support. However, it would be nice to see more individual components prominently display their Linux credentials, and as that Linux desktop percentage climbs, first-party drivers should become a good business decision, not an afterthought.
