My favorite is the pcmr type that says Linux is to hard, but their comment history recommends registry edits to keep edge from becoming the default browser or something stupid.
I’m using Linux professionally since ~15 years and my private PCs are on Linux since ~5 years.
Registry hacks are still much, much easier than what you sometimes have to do on Linux.
The main reason is variability. There are at most 2-3 different versions of Windows in support at a time, with about a billion users between these 2-3 versions. That means, you will easily find a detailed fix for your problem that will work just fine. You can blindly paste it into the registry, and it will do what you expect.
Linux on the other hand has 2-5 supported versions per distro, and each distro tends to have between a handful and a dozen flavours, so the chance of some random guide on the internet actually applying to your setup is much, much lower. If you use Ubuntu 24.04, chances are quite high to find something, but even with Fedora you are often stuck having to translate solutions to your distro. Sometimes it’s as simple as searching through your package manager to figure out how that package is named for your distro, but at other times it means you have to compile stuff from scratch, or the solution might look like it would apply to your setup but it just doesn’t work.
The registry is a nice centralized place with one set of rules how it works and how you interact with it.
Linux on the other hand has thousands of config files strewn over hundreds of directories, written in dozens of config file languages, and some configs aren’t actually even done via config files (or shouldn’t be done via them) but instead use random config tools instead.
Unironically, yes. That’s not nearly as common sense as you may think. There’s no such thing as idiot-proof steps. To some you may very well be a pro from that alone.
I never said editing registry files is “common sense”, but in the grand scheme of things it’s very simple and, yes, quite idiot-proof (go here and here, create file this and that, set value to 1). That may count as pro to some but I’m pretty sure it’s not enough to actually work with Linux (which one of my family members uses so I see it in practice).
Besides, considering this comment
Most of those registry keys are not documented, and it’s very hard to be completely sure about what you are touching.
Maybe it’s precisely the fact that I’m brazenly tinkering with registry files that renders me not-as-pro as some might think.
There is no such thing as idiot-proof steps to tamper the registry. Most of those registry keys are not documented, and it’s very hard to be completely sure about what you are touching.
My favorite is the pcmr type that says Linux is to hard, but their comment history recommends registry edits to keep edge from becoming the default browser or something stupid.
I’m using Linux professionally since ~15 years and my private PCs are on Linux since ~5 years.
Registry hacks are still much, much easier than what you sometimes have to do on Linux.
The main reason is variability. There are at most 2-3 different versions of Windows in support at a time, with about a billion users between these 2-3 versions. That means, you will easily find a detailed fix for your problem that will work just fine. You can blindly paste it into the registry, and it will do what you expect.
Linux on the other hand has 2-5 supported versions per distro, and each distro tends to have between a handful and a dozen flavours, so the chance of some random guide on the internet actually applying to your setup is much, much lower. If you use Ubuntu 24.04, chances are quite high to find something, but even with Fedora you are often stuck having to translate solutions to your distro. Sometimes it’s as simple as searching through your package manager to figure out how that package is named for your distro, but at other times it means you have to compile stuff from scratch, or the solution might look like it would apply to your setup but it just doesn’t work.
The registry is a nice centralized place with one set of rules how it works and how you interact with it.
Linux on the other hand has thousands of config files strewn over hundreds of directories, written in dozens of config file languages, and some configs aren’t actually even done via config files (or shouldn’t be done via them) but instead use random config tools instead.
Registry is easy mode.
I didn’t know I’m already a computer pro by following a couple of idiot-proof steps I found by googling.
Unironically, yes. That’s not nearly as common sense as you may think. There’s no such thing as idiot-proof steps. To some you may very well be a pro from that alone.
I never said editing registry files is “common sense”, but in the grand scheme of things it’s very simple and, yes, quite idiot-proof (go here and here, create file this and that, set value to 1). That may count as pro to some but I’m pretty sure it’s not enough to actually work with Linux (which one of my family members uses so I see it in practice).
Besides, considering this comment
Maybe it’s precisely the fact that I’m brazenly tinkering with registry files that renders me not-as-pro as some might think.
The not-as-common-sense part was referring to knowing how to look stuff up online, I think. Many people just kinda… Don’t.
There is no such thing as idiot-proof steps to tamper the registry. Most of those registry keys are not documented, and it’s very hard to be completely sure about what you are touching.
If you need a debloated experience, install LTSC.
I mean, .reg files are pretty idiot-proof, but can also contain something malicious if you don’t read them.
How do you think we all learned linux?