<s>
Criticism	B-Operating_System
of	I-Operating_System
desktop	I-Operating_System
Linux	I-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
history	O
of	O
comment	O
on	O
the	O
perceived	O
shortcomings	O
of	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
when	O
installed	O
on	O
desktop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
criticisms	O
have	O
been	O
aimed	O
at	O
the	O
plethora	O
of	O
issues	O
and	O
lack	O
of	O
consistency	O
between	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
,	O
their	O
usefulness	O
and	O
ease	O
of	O
use	O
as	O
desktop	O
systems	O
for	O
general	O
end	O
users	O
,	O
driver	O
support	O
and	O
issues	O
with	O
multi-media	O
playback	O
and	O
audio	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
smartphones	O
running	O
the	O
Linux-based	O
Android	B-Application
mobile	I-Application
operating	O
system	O
dominate	O
the	O
smartphone	O
market	O
,	O
and	O
Linux	B-Application
is	O
used	O
on	O
most	O
servers	O
,	O
as	O
of	O
2021	O
exclusively	O
run	O
on	O
the	O
world	B-Operating_System
's	I-Operating_System
500	I-Operating_System
fastest	I-Operating_System
supercomputers	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
used	O
on	O
the	O
New	O
York	O
Stock	O
Exchange	O
,	O
Linux-based	B-Application
operating	I-Application
systems	I-Application
have	O
failed	O
to	O
achieve	O
widespread	O
adoption	O
on	O
personal	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linus	O
Torvalds	O
has	O
expressed	O
that	O
he	O
intended	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
kernel	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
desktop	O
operating	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
argues	O
that	O
Android	B-Application
is	O
widely	O
used	O
because	O
it	O
comes	O
pre-installed	O
on	O
new	O
phones	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
would	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
bundled	O
on	O
new	O
computers	O
to	O
gain	O
market	O
share	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Application
has	O
been	O
criticized	O
for	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
reasons	O
,	O
including	O
lack	O
of	O
user-friendliness	O
and	O
having	O
a	O
steep	O
learning	O
curve	O
,	O
being	O
inadequate	O
for	O
desktop	O
use	O
,	O
lacking	O
support	O
for	O
some	O
hardware	O
,	O
having	O
a	O
relatively	O
small	O
games	O
library	O
,	O
lacking	O
native	O
versions	O
of	O
widely	O
used	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
critics	O
do	O
not	O
believe	O
Linux	B-Application
will	O
ever	O
gain	O
a	O
large	O
share	O
in	O
the	O
desktop	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2009	O
Preston	O
Gralla	O
,	O
contributing	O
editor	O
to	O
Computerworld.com,	O
believed	O
that	O
Linux	B-Application
would	O
never	O
be	O
important	O
to	O
desktop/notebook	O
users	O
,	O
even	O
though	O
he	O
felt	O
it	O
was	O
simple	O
and	O
straightforward	O
to	O
use	O
,	O
but	O
that	O
its	O
low	O
usage	O
was	O
indicative	O
of	O
its	O
low	O
importance	O
in	O
the	O
desktop	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
his	O
essay	O
Luxury	O
of	O
Ignorance	O
:	O
An	O
Open-Source	O
Horror	O
Story	O
,	O
Eric	O
S	O
.	O
Raymond	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
usability	O
in	O
many	O
open-source	O
and	O
Linux	B-Application
tools	O
is	O
not	O
from	O
lack	O
of	O
manuals	O
but	O
from	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
thought	O
about	O
the	O
users	O
 '	O
experience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
his	O
2003	O
paper	O
titled	O
Improved	O
Portability	O
of	O
Shared	O
Libraries	O
,	O
he	O
worried	O
about	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
a	O
Windows	B-Application
Application	O
Compatibility	O
Group	O
equivalent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Desktop	O
Linux	B-Application
was	O
criticized	O
in	O
late	O
2010	O
for	O
having	O
missed	O
its	O
opportunity	O
to	O
become	O
a	O
significant	O
force	O
in	O
desktop	B-Device
computing	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
PC	O
World	O
executive	O
editor	O
Robert	O
Strohmeyer	O
commented	O
that	O
although	O
Linux	B-Application
has	O
exceptional	O
security	O
and	O
stability	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
great	O
performance	O
and	O
usability	O
,	O
the	O
time	O
for	O
desktop	O
Linux	B-Application
to	O
succeed	O
has	O
been	O
missed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nick	O
Farrell	O
,	O
writing	O
for	O
TechEye	O
,	O
felt	O
that	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
poorly-received	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
was	O
a	O
missed	O
opportunity	O
to	O
grab	O
significant	O
market	O
share	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
critics	O
indicated	O
that	O
Linux	B-Application
did	O
not	O
fail	O
on	O
the	O
desktop	O
due	O
to	O
being	O
"	O
too	O
geeky	O
,	O
"	O
"	O
too	O
hard	O
to	O
use	O
,	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
too	O
obscure	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Strohmeyer	O
named	O
the	O
"	O
fierce	O
ideology	O
of	O
the	O
open-source	O
community	O
at	O
large	O
"	O
as	O
being	O
responsible	O
,	O
while	O
Farrell	O
stated	O
"	O
The	O
biggest	O
killer	O
of	O
putting	O
penguin	O
software	O
on	O
the	O
desktop	O
was	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
community	O
are	O
not	O
desktop	O
market-share	O
or	O
popularity	O
,	O
but	O
in	O
Linux	B-Application
being	O
the	O
best	O
operating	O
system	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
made	O
for	O
the	O
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
criticism	O
often	O
leveled	O
against	O
Linux	B-Application
is	O
the	O
abundance	O
of	O
distributions	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critics	O
cite	O
the	O
large	O
number	O
as	O
cause	O
for	O
confusion	O
to	O
prospective	O
users	O
and	O
argue	O
it	O
is	O
a	O
factor	O
preventing	O
the	O
widespread	O
adoption	O
of	O
Linux	B-Application
on	O
consumer	O
desktops	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Along	O
with	O
the	O
argument	O
that	O
forking	B-Application
and	O
the	O
resulting	O
fragmentation	O
divides	O
and	O
wastes	O
development	O
efforts	O
and	O
resources	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
asserted	O
that	O
with	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
standardization	O
between	O
distributions	O
for	O
software	B-Library
libraries	I-Library
,	O
package	B-Application
managers	I-Application
,	O
configurations	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
varied	O
desktop	O
environments	O
,	O
the	O
resulting	O
incompatibilities	O
also	O
make	O
it	O
more	O
difficult	O
for	O
application	O
developers	O
and	O
software	B-General_Concept
maintainers	I-General_Concept
since	O
applications	O
have	O
to	O
be	O
adapted	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
each	O
distribution	O
or	O
family	O
of	O
distributions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
fragmentation	O
also	O
complicates	O
software	O
installation	O
,	O
forcing	O
non-technical	O
users	O
who	O
cannot	O
build	O
applications	O
from	O
source	O
and	O
resolve	O
dependency	B-Protocol
issues	I-Protocol
by	O
themselves	O
to	O
rely	O
on	O
precompiled	O
packages	O
from	O
distribution-specific	O
software	B-Application
repositories	I-Application
,	O
which	O
have	O
a	O
more	O
or	O
less	O
limited	O
selection	O
of	O
applications	O
and	O
typically	O
lag	O
behind	O
the	O
latest	O
releases	O
as	O
the	O
software	O
has	O
to	O
be	O
picked	O
up	O
by	O
the	O
software	B-General_Concept
maintainer	I-General_Concept
and	O
packaged	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
the	O
specific	O
distribution	O
and	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Linux	B-Application
advocates	O
have	O
defended	O
the	O
large	O
number	O
of	O
distributions	O
as	O
promoting	O
of	O
freedom	O
of	O
choice	O
and	O
describe	O
the	O
diversity	O
as	O
a	O
key	O
strength	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Attempts	O
have	O
been	O
made	O
to	O
standardize	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
through	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
Standard	I-Application
Base	I-Application
in	O
order	O
to	O
make	O
software	O
more	O
compatible	O
across	O
distributions	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
it	O
had	O
very	O
limited	O
adoption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Projects	O
such	O
as	O
AppImage	B-Application
,	O
Flatpak	B-Language
,	O
and	O
Snappy	B-Application
are	O
seeking	O
to	O
remedy	O
the	O
issue	O
of	O
software	O
fragmentation	O
by	O
instead	O
packaging	O
applications	O
with	O
all	O
the	O
required	O
dependencies	O
to	O
enable	O
them	O
to	O
run	O
as	O
portable	B-Application
applications	I-Application
independent	O
of	O
the	O
libraries	O
,	O
configuration	O
and	O
idiosyncrasies	O
of	O
a	O
particular	O
distribution	O
,	O
but	O
even	O
this	O
approach	O
has	O
been	O
criticized	O
of	O
fragmentation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Application
desktop	O
operating	O
systems	O
are	O
criticized	O
for	O
the	O
difficulty	O
of	O
developing	O
third-party	O
applications	O
for	O
the	O
platforms	O
,	O
with	O
distribution	O
fragmentation	O
,	O
insistence	O
on	O
using	O
shared	O
libraries	O
instead	O
of	O
including	O
the	O
libraries	O
with	O
the	O
application	O
,	O
and	O
lack	O
of	O
concern	O
given	O
to	O
keeping	O
APIs	B-General_Concept
consistent	O
and	O
backwards	O
compatible	O
being	O
cited	O
as	O
factors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
particularly	O
causes	O
difficulties	O
for	O
closed-source	O
applications	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
distributed	O
exclusively	O
as	O
binaries	O
,	O
since	O
the	O
burden	O
of	O
ensuring	O
compatibility	O
with	O
the	O
myriad	O
of	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
and	O
release	O
versions	O
is	O
borne	O
solely	O
by	O
the	O
developer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Miguel	O
de	O
Icaza	O
,	O
founder	O
of	O
the	O
GNOME	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
environment	I-Application
,	O
regards	O
the	O
disregard	O
of	O
backwards	O
compatibility	O
as	O
a	O
cultural	O
issue	O
with	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
development	O
community	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Tony	O
Mobily	O
,	O
editor	O
of	O
Free	B-Application
Software	I-Application
Magazine	I-Application
,	O
identified	O
problems	O
in	O
the	O
server	O
roots	O
of	O
Linux	B-Application
in	O
his	O
article	O
2009	O
:	O
software	O
installation	O
in	O
GNU/Linux	B-Application
is	O
still	O
broken	O
–	O
and	O
a	O
path	O
to	O
fixing	O
it	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2014	O
on	O
the	O
DebConf	O
in	O
Portland	O
Linus	O
Torvalds	O
also	O
voiced	O
his	O
unhappiness	O
with	O
the	O
binary	O
application	O
packaging	O
for	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
distro	I-Application
ecosystem	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
lack	O
of	O
strong	O
API	B-General_Concept
standards	O
for	O
multimedia	O
has	O
been	O
criticised	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
Adobe	O
Systems	O
development	O
blog	O
penguin.SWF	O
discusses	O
the	O
complicated	O
Linux	B-Application
audio	O
infrastructure	O
in	O
the	O
analysis	O
Welcome	O
to	O
the	O
jungle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PulseAudio	B-Library
main	O
developer	O
Lennart	O
Poettering	O
stated	O
that	O
it	O
is	O
very	O
difficult	O
for	O
programmers	O
to	O
know	O
which	O
audio	O
API	B-General_Concept
to	O
use	O
for	O
which	O
purpose	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Application
has	O
in	O
the	O
past	O
been	O
criticized	O
for	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
driver	O
support	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
this	O
was	O
largely	O
due	O
to	O
manufacturers	O
not	O
supporting	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
n't	O
until	O
2004	O
that	O
ATI	O
started	O
development	O
of	O
Linux	B-Application
drivers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Major	O
adoption	O
of	O
Linux	B-Application
in	O
servers	O
and	O
Android	B-Application
has	O
encouraged	O
driver	O
development	O
for	O
Linux	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wireless	O
driver	O
support	O
has	O
been	O
a	O
problem	O
area	O
for	O
Linux	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
one	O
time	O
many	O
drivers	O
were	O
missing	O
and	O
users	O
were	O
required	O
to	O
use	O
solutions	O
such	O
as	O
ndiswrapper	B-Application
,	O
which	O
utilizes	O
drivers	O
made	O
for	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
issue	O
was	O
also	O
worked	O
around	O
by	O
extracting	O
proprietary	O
firmware	O
for	O
use	O
on	O
Linux	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Broadcom	O
has	O
since	O
released	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
drivers	O
for	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
kernel	O
,	O
eliminating	O
the	O
issues	O
for	O
modern	O
Broadcom	O
chipsets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
traditional	O
directory	B-Application
structure	I-Application
,	O
which	O
is	O
a	O
heritage	O
from	O
Linux	B-Application
's	O
Unix	O
roots	O
in	O
the	O
1970s	O
,	O
has	O
been	O
criticized	O
as	O
inappropriate	O
for	O
desktop	O
end	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
particular	O
,	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
directory	I-Application
structure	I-Application
is	O
criticized	O
for	O
scattering	O
application-specific	O
components	O
in	O
different	O
system	O
directories	O
instead	O
of	O
keeping	O
them	O
in	O
a	O
common	O
application-specific	O
directory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
like	O
GoboLinux	O
and	O
moonOS	O
have	O
proposed	O
alternative	O
hierarchies	O
that	O
were	O
argued	O
to	O
be	O
easier	O
for	O
end	O
users	O
,	O
though	O
such	O
proposals	O
have	O
achieved	O
little	O
acceptance	O
.	O
</s>
