They’re functionally indifferent, for purposes of this conversation.

If I know the name of the package/application

How do you know it?

There is a package manager for Windows

Yes, that’s what I said.

WinGet I believe

LOL it’s just called Microsoft store, my dude.

Objectively, huh?

Yes huh

I can have a package installed by the terminal before Discover (the GUI for installing packages) even opens

Just lying again. You’d have to go and search what words to type in first.

And going to a website to download an executable to install a specific piece of software, which you need to give permission when executing to get through the firewall because (to your system) it’s just some random executable, isn’t?

I don’t know what you aren’t understanding about this. All 3 OSs have package managers that function similarly. What I’m talking about is when the software is not available in the package manager…

Then having that executable check for updates when launched and sending you to the website to download a new installer

You’ve really never used Windows before, have you? That’s once again not how it works. Maybe give it a go and come back after you’ve got some experience.

Is Microsoft paying you?

You could make an argument for such a thing insofar as time is money. And like they say “Linux is free so long as your time is worth nothing.”

It does a lot more than it’s told and you know that

All different tasks under the umbrella of “install this software”. I don’t understand the relevance.

Ideally, yes. Whatever you want. Not whatever bad actors want.

So Windows will install malicious software and Linux won’t…? Even if you tell it to? No.

The answer is the file extension doesn’t do anything

Again I don’t understand the relevance.

Glad we sorted that out.

I think you misunderstood.

I didn’t.

It will anything whether it should or not.

It does what it’s told, which is the way an OS should work.

It can be made to execute a payload that shouldn’t be run.

And Linux can’t? Isn’t that the whole thing about Linux and open software is that it can be made to do whatever you want?

Having an app store is easier than expecting people to download things from the internet

…how exactly do you think the app store works?

Do you just not realize that Windows and Mac also have app stores?

That’s not how you install stuff on Linux normally

It’s not how you “normally” install stuff on Windows or Mac either. But often times the software you need isn’t available in a package manager. If everything was available as a flatpak I would take it all back, but that doesn’t even remotely resemble reality.

I find that faster and easier than using a GUI

It is neither of those things. Objectively.

the GUI option is there and dead simple and easy for people who can’t be asked to learn how to use the most basic tools on their computer.

The phrase you’re looking for is “can’t be arsed” but you’re wrong anyway. The problem is not that we “can’t be arsed”, the problem is that it’s an unnecessarily convoluted and unintuitive process.

I hate hunting for exes online to install the most basic software

What are your talking about? You don’t need to “hunt” for anything. You just type it into a search engine the same way you would on Linux…?

and how there’s no way to update all of my apps with a single click

…have you just never heard of the Microsoft store? You wanna take a guess at what that is?

Well now you’re just blatantly lying. Windows doesn’t execute anything without you asking it to. The difference is that it works when you do.

Sure, if downloading onto a thumb drive and rebooting a few times is hard becase you expect your OS to be preloaded then maybe but that wasn’t even your point.

You’re right. It wasn’t. Not sure why you brought that up.

Open up the Application Installer, a GUI and type in the obvious bar at the top for what you want, download and good to go.

You’re intentionally misrepresenting the situation. That’s great if the software you’re looking for is available in the “application installer”. That is very often not the case. If it’s available at all, it’s often a .deb or .rpm or appimage, or you’re expected to compile it yourself from scratch.

AppImages won’t even run without some fuckery. And when you do that, they still have no icon and can’t be pinned in your app tray. Sure, you can install Gear Lever to greatly simplify this process if you know about it but it’s not typically not installed by default, which makes this process completely unintuitive.

And if they only make a .deb available, and you’re running Fedora, well fuck you.

These are all complications that simply don’t exist on Windows or Mac.

That’s not what the title of the OP says. That’s my point.

From their FAQ

Yes, I am aware. I did not argue that is isn’t for testing. I said you didn’t need to compile it for Mac or Windows, because it’s not expected of you to have a CS degree to install it.

You probably just need to use chmod to let your system know it’s allowed to execute it.

WTF is chmod? Execute what? How can you not see that this is a problem?

that sounds like you dont understand or just dislike the process and conflate that with difficulty

LOL and what exactly else would you call that? They’re random to me. I don’t know them, I don’t want to know them, I just want it to work like every other sensible OS where I can figure out how to complete basic tasks without needing a computer science degree. That’s what most people want and it’s why Linux will remain a niche OS by nerds and for nerds, because that’s the way they like it, which is fine, but let’s not try to gaslight people into believing there’s no reason people might want something else.

It’s a PITA because there are a dozen different installation methods, and if anything at all is not functioning perfectly, the only advice you’ll get is typing random commands into the terminal that report back some generic error that you have no idea what to do with.

I’m assuming you have to compile that yourself because it’s in testing

Weird, you don’t have to compile the Windows or Mac versions…? 🤷‍♂️

hope it’s the real one

…why wouldn’t it be the “real one” on their website?

The fact Windows apps are required to check online for updates and then you have to open it in a browser and download and install it yourself is the most garbage experience. You’re just used to it.

…no, they update themselves? Have you just never used anything other than Linux? It’s hard to imagine how you would not know this unless you hadn’t.

It’ll keep it updated and you never have to think about it.

Other than the pop-ups telling you you need to update every 5 minutes?

The Minisforum tablet seems to work well with Linux.

I don’t know a Windows user that hasn’t had to edit registries, for example

You’re experiencing more delusions. 99.9% of Windows users wouldn’t even know what that is.

(with just a vague notion of “some software” when the vast majority is fine)

Again you’re asking me to write out what is a list a mile long. I’m not doing that.

I will give you one example though. I went to download GrayJay yesterday. I got the file. I have no idea what to do with it. Because there are a dozen types of files for Linux and all of them have to be installed differently. I got a folder. I know from years of experience how to install .deb, .rpm, flatpak and appimages, this folder has 398457 files in it and none of them are those. That’s not even getting into how a lot of Linux software, you’re expected to know how to compile the fuckin thing yourself…

You know how to install programs on windows? You download the .exe, double click the file and it installs itself, every time.

You know how to install programs on Mac? You click download on the .dmg, double click the downloaded file and it installs itself, every time.

The fact you just keep repeating “particular hardware or software that does not work” without actually giving an example shows you’re talking out of your ass though

LOL I love it when people get offended because someone disagrees with them and then try to put forward their experience as if it’s a fact. I didn’t repeat anything. I said it literally 1 time. You expect me to sit here and list the dozens of hardware configurations that I’ve personally used that have conflicts with Linux? Hell anything with an Nvidia GPU (which is the vast majority of GPUs in existence) is an exercise in software engineering just to get it functional.

That’s cool. That’s not been my experience at all. Nor has it many many other people. It’s like the number 1 complaint, and the number of delusional people who try to pretend like it doesn’t exist is insane.