this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2026
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The part of the video that's unspoken is that he spends most of his time trashing Pop!_OS while he is invested in a company that is competing against System 76.
I'm not saying that to dismiss the complaints against PopOS, many of which are totally valid. Cosmic is honestly not good enough yet to be shipping as the default DE on PopOS, and by doing so System76 are really undermining the reputation Cosmic, PopOS and their entire company. Own goal there by System76.
At the same time Linus is making questionable choices at best. Asking ChatGPT for distro advice may be the "normie" thing to do right now (although I'm not too sure about that), but it's not the smart thing to do and it did lead him down a bad path. On top of that installing his OS at a LAN party when people are waiting for him to play a game is just dumb and makes this entire the entire thing seem like a bad faith attempt.
With that said, Valve are to blame for not making sure their old games all work perfectly on Linux out of the box.
Apparently according to the comments and he tried an Alpha build that is still a WIP
He is? Could we get a source for that please?
https://youtu.be/LSxbc1IN9Gg
They are going the way normies would, which includes asking the LLM of choice for a recommendation. But as they just regurgitate listicles inhaled from the web, that is what you get.
Bazzite and Cachy are the more sane choices, though Luke is by no means counting as a Linux noob
This is the "defense" they use, but I don't think it holds up. LTT knows exactly how the internet works, how SEO garbage is a massive internet problem, has nothing to do with Linux, and that nobody in the Linux community could ever possibly fix this. He's the one with a megaphone and the ability to guide users towards good resources and offset those problems, but instead he plays the usual clown role to create his own low-effort clickbait and memes. I don't think it's some anti-Linux bias or anything like that, just regular influencer attention-whoring.
The guy installing Bazzite seemed like the only one genuinely representative of what the video was trying to do (Luke didn't count IMO since apparently he was already a Linux user), but I think Linus's clown show steals the spotlight. Like, he literally tried to install it in the middle of a LAN party while people were waiting for him to start the game. WTF
I mean, I get it, but I kind of reject the premise. Normies don't install operating system, period. Not Windows and not Linux.
What's the point of Linus playing dumb here? What's the point of him always seeming to install Linux when he's pressed for time at a LAN party or before needing to leave? Has he ever done a video where he approaches using Windows as if he was a caveman who never witnessed electricity before?
It's really starting to feel like a bad faith attempt...
This is the self-proclaimed "tech tips" guy we're talking about. If you're knowledgeable enough to know what Linux is and why you might want to install it, you should be knowledgeable enough to not trust "listicles" (often produced by LLMs today) and LLMs (trained on outdated listicles from 10 years ago).
PopOS is a bad choice today. Granted, some of that is the fault of System76, as imho, Cosmic really isn't really for prime time. But I think most people with any reasonable knowledge of Linux would probably not recommend it right now. Like, if they had asked Wendel from LevelOneTechs, I seriously doubt he would have recommended it...
But Linus has a big audience and he knows that. He should have done this better instead of trusting a random reddit post and continue from there.
People also listen to him and try to also copy him. Since now people might also try Linux and the first distro might now be pop os.
I don't think it's the direction normies would go. I think they would see that video and have it guide their choices. Otherwise who is the video for?
I mean that’s kinda the point. They’re noobs, they don’t know what’s right from wrong. People who don’t know right from wrong are likely to go down the wrong path.
IMO Linux’s biggest issue with normal people uptake is choice. Normal people don’t want 7000 options. It also makes diagnosing problems all the more harder.
Ok. But that's a personal problem, not a Linux problem. In the end of the day if you're relying on "listicles" and LLMs to make basic decisions for you (for just about anything, frankly) you're going to have a bad time.
PopOS is a bad and outdated recommendation right now, because they have literally just switched to Cosmic, a brand new desktop environment that just came out of beta a few months ago. I would argue that it should still be in beta right now, and I do think that System76 made a mistake by calling the current version 1.0, but in the end of the day ChatGPT predictably gave Linus a bad recommendation, because that's what LLMs do.
If you go to ChatGPT for tech advice, legal advice, medical advice, or even something as computationally friendly as solving math problems, you're probably making a mistake. That's an "AI" problem, not a "Linux" problem. Use your brain and stop relying on "AI" to think for you.
I disagree. Choice and competition is generally good, as it means that different kinds of people with different use cases can have their needs met.
IMO Windows' biggest issue is the lack of choice, in the sense that computers are treated as one-size-fits-all systems where your grandma is expected to use the same computing environment as a professional software developer, which ultimately leads to a system that's not ideal for either of them. Why are we gaming on the same OS that people at the tire store are running? Would we be surprised to find that is holding computing back?
In the end of the day, choice is good, lack of choice is bad.
People have 7000 choices of food, but it doesn't stop most people from finding something to eat for breakfast. People have 7000 choices for transportation, but it doesn't stop them from getting where they need to go in a way that suits them.
It's not hard to get a good recommendation of what Linux distro to use today if you just ask someone who knows what they're talking about.
What are you on about? People absolutely do get decision paralysis choosing what to eat or what car or bicycle to buy. And those come with budget constraints. The trouble with Linux distros is that you can afford literally any of them!
You're looking at this as a power user. Normies don't want to have to make decisions.
Sorry but, what you you on about?
Being free and open source is literally the entire premise and the most important "feature" of the Linux ecosystem: it will almost always be free (as in beer), and there will always be a lot of good choices. You're probably never going to convince me that computers would be better off if we had to spend more money with fewer options.
People keep making this point, but to be perfectly honest it's a dumb one because it's the nature of the beast. OK, let's say for the sake of argument that there's too many distros out there, so now what?
None of this changes the fact that going to ChatGPT for advice (on pretty much any topic) is a bad idea. It doesn't have thoughts or opinions, it doesn't know that (for better or worse) Cosmic just shipped 1.0 a few months ago. It recommended him PopOS because it does nothing other than regurgitate old information scraped from the internet.
Its' like... If I use an LLM for investment advice and I lose all of your money, who's the idiot? I am.
Mate, you don't need to convince me that choice is good. I've used as daily drivers, among others, Debian and several of its' derivatives, Arch, Gentoo and openSUSE (I'm not going to bother checking the capitalization on that despite the fact that I'm literally using it to write this comment).
Linus went through the type of journey a normie would. Look at articles aimed at uninformed people, or ask an LLM. Because normies are uninformed. Hell, most normies don't WANT to be informed. You know what everyone in my social circles that knows what a package manager or desktop environment even is, has in common? They're all tech enthusiasts or professionals working in tech, usually both.
The goal of the video, IMO, is to find out if a completely-new-to-Linux user has a good journey in 2026 or not. Part of it IS choosing your first distro, and that is at this point the absolute hardest thing for a newcomer. And it is in fact still quite common for beginners to pick Pop!_OS because it's been so heavily recommended in recent years (I'm talking last 5, not last year or 2) so there are still a ton of reddit threads and lists around.
Most people also consider investments to be a lot higher risk than picking an OS/distro, so a normal person wouldn't blindly trust ChatGPT like that for something so important, I'd hope. But there's definitely idiots that will do that too.
Ok, so don’t review “Linux”, review PopOS. Then review Bazzite. Then review Cachy. Etc. Why teach (through implication) your normie users that Linux is all one thing?
Pretty sure bazzite is also in the video
Agreed. Also, they did include their own mistakes in the video (first telling about problems but then later saying that it was their own fault). You could just not include that in the video since it's pointless info about Linux when you yourself did the mistake. I think all of this in combination is meant to subtly influence viewers for "Linux = expect problems". And since LTT is generally more on the entertainment side and less on the factual/trustworthy side, and still very well-known, it could also mean that they're being paid to spread a little bit of that FUD.
On the other hand, genuinely newbie Linux users can definitely reveal some bugs or problems which might not have occurred otherwise. It's like running a fuzzer that tests the ability of a program to deal with lots of random and nonsensical input. Because some of those Windows gamers sure have some questionable habits when interacting with their PC.
Also, it shows that genuine newbies maybe need more guidance from their distro to break certain Windows habits. For example, how to install drivers (you don't because they should be there already) and applications (you shouldn't download them from the manufacturer's websites as a 1st priority). Somehow, these Windows-user friendly distributions never really include hints like that, even though that's a completely different paradigm of using the OS.
Right, because a new Linux user isn't going to make any mistakes...?
Exactly he is just spreading fud due to his lack of research. I expect better from Linus here.
It's Pop!_OS that trashes itself in front of the camera. You people were recommending it for gaming for years, then Linus shown the actual experience.
And now you ignore, that LTT vid had shown Bazzite expreince as well, but boo hoo, Pop is bad therefore Linus bad, we hate LTT together.
Linux has worst, most tribal community in any sense possible. Any criticism ends up with hate and silent downvotes.
PopOS has been a good recommendation in the past, that doesn't mean it's a good recommendation right now.
The same thing is true when Linus reviews one generation of Intel CPUs well, and another generation ends up having catastrophic flaws.
The world isn't static, things change over time.
If he had consulted a human being with a brain, instead of an LLM without one, he would probably quickly find out that PopOS just replaced their entire desktop environment and toolkit with new ones (Cosmic and Iced, all written in a relatively young programming language in terms of GUI, Rust). I'm the first one to blame PopOS for shipping Cosmic in such as rough state as version 1.0, but Linus is absolutely playing dumb to the point of contrivance here by ignoring the community and relying on ChatGPT to advice.
I think I've been pretty vocal and I'm not hating. I think my opinion is pretty nuanced.
I don't blame him for trying PopOS because it has been recommended to him before. I do blame him for using LLMs and "listicles" for his research.
PopOS clearly is in a bad state right now and that is on them.
The only thing I expect from a big tech YouTuber like Linus is that he does good research.
Trusting a random person on reddit isn't that. And he has a big audience of people who might also want to try Linux. However, this isn't helping.. I just expected better from him.
He did a good reasearch. He researched what average user will get recommended, and tested it. What else you want? It's actual linux experience. He also had somone tested Bazzite, and it was different experience. You're all foaming really because Linux has shit community that year after year shills dogshit distros to the point of ChatGPT picking it up. GG
You call that good research? He should know better.
Linus isn't the average Joe here. That is why people watch or even trust him wrt to technology to some regard.
LOL remind me which distro Framework is developing?
System76 makes PopOS and ships it on their Linux-friendly laptops and desktops.
Framework, a company that Linus is heavily invested in, also makes Linux-friendly laptops.
I'm not saying he's doing it intentionally, or that his criticisms are invalid, but there is a basic conflict of interest there.
There is no conflict of interest. Because S76 does not sell Pop OS. You can buy a Framework laptop and put Pop OS on it if you want, completely for free. It adds absolutely zero value to S76 PCs.
You realize System76 makes laptops, right?
You realize you can run whatever distro you want on System76 laptops, right?
That’s not the point. The point OP was making is that he shat on a competitor’s product without disclosing it.
He didn't shit on anyone's product. System76 sells laptops, not distros. Jesus Tittyfucking Christ you guys are so irrational and deluded.
lmao you sound like you own LTT merch
ROFLCOPTER I do not.
System76 makes PopOS.
Ignore that user. They are most likely a troll, probably my most down voted user in all of Lemmy. I once thought of blocking them, but then realized it is kind of like having a pet. They are too small and stupid to hurt anyone, but it is funny to watch them try. Ocassionally they drop some gems that are truly hilariously bad. Not KenM bad, but close tho.
Do they SELL PopOS? No? QED.
Yes. On their laptops. Also, you don’t need to sell something for it to be a product.
No they don't. Yes you do. And they definitely have to sell it if you're going to claim some sort of conflict of interest. It's not a selling point of their laptops, because you can remove it and install any other distro, and also (more importantly) you can use the distro on any other machine. You can buy a Framework laptop and put Pop OS on it. There's no logical reason to dissuade people from using it.
By that logic, SteamOS is not a selling point of the Steam Deck, and SteamOS is not a Valve product.
And yes, they do sell it on their laptops:
No, by my logic, Valve does not sell SteamOS, which is correct. Much like Pop, it's freely available to install on any machine, including Framework.
By your logic, Linus would hate SteamOS too.
Is this photo supposed to prove something? I don't see a charge for PopOS?
It does not matter that they don’t charge, because you don’t have to sell something for it to be a product. You only have to offer it to a market. You can sell spranglers, and provide sprangler dinchels for free, and sprangler dinchels are still considered your products.
Since you won’t believe me, here’s the dictionary definition of the word product. I’ve emphasized the important part.
- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/product
And if you don’t trust that dictionary, here’s another:
- https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/product
Or if you’d rather trust an encyclopedia, here’s Wikipedia’s entry (emphasis not mine):
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business)
Okay, great, it's a "product". What does Framework have to gain from PopOS being perceived as a bad "product"? Do consumers think "golly gee that software seems pretty bad, guess I'll buy Framework hardware instead"? I'm just really curious how this situation works in your head. You can't even buy a Framework laptop with Linux.
Yes. That’s the entire point here. If System76 makes this bad product, maybe their other products are bad. Maybe I should buy from a competitor. Oh, everyone says Framework laptops are great for Linux, even Framework. I guess I’ll buy from Framework instead of System76 thanks to LTT.
Don’t you see the conflict of interest there?
No, I absolutely do not see a conflict of interest. I see a completely irrational and delusional thought process.