Some examples from my latest (Ubuntu 18.04) linux experience:
- Does hidpi work? For ALL applications, and flawlessly?
- Is the desktop responsive, or does it feel laggy?
- File manager:Can I customize my favourites, including removing the builtin ones?
- Can you use a lot of good desktop applications? Like MS Word, Adobe Photoshop, and similar? Or Google Drive, Pixelmator, Dash, Flux, tools in general that may have a small price but make your work considerably faster?
- Does bluetooth audio work flawlessly, like, you can use a bt audio device, then stop, then start again?
- does the system include a braindead, just-works backup-and-restore system?
Sure: if you know Linux well enough, AND YOU SPEND ENOUGH TIME ON YOUR SYSTEM, you can fix most of the above issues (I could not fix the Gnome DE latency with hidpi, btw). But I don't want to waste my time fixing my desktop; I want to pay, and my desktop should just work.
Then: if you like the Linux desktop, feel free to use it.
> I think any comments about the looks of a Linux desktop must be sure to talk about what Desktop Environment are you saying that about.
"The whole desktop" -> I was talking EXPLICITLY about the exact setup of the desktop of the article, not about a "generic" Linux desktop. I don't know where you got that impression.
I must say that the whole desktop looks like something from the 90s. If you find it fine for your needs, that's great. But I don't think it's a general solution. Linux is so half-baked with respect to desktop, very often it's getting as problematic as a Windows system, especially on laptops.
Sure: if you know Linux well enough, AND YOU SPEND ENOUGH TIME ON YOUR SYSTEM, you can fix most of the above issues (I could not fix the Gnome DE latency with hidpi, btw). But I don't want to waste my time fixing my desktop; I want to pay, and my desktop should just work.
Then: if you like the Linux desktop, feel free to use it.