[Skybird]

Mint Cinnamon here, 18.x

Once the system is set up, it runs and runs and the terminal should not be needed. At least for the ordinary "just user".

But you are right, that one can so easily run into the need to use terminal if one does not just use the system, but wants to tailor things a bit more, is something that will prevent Linux for another 25 years to become really popular.

And maybe we should be thankful for that. That is still is by far the safiest of the OS in use, is not becasue it cannot be damaged (it just is more difficult to attack it, but not impossible), but because the market share of less than 1% makes it so unattractive to code malware for it. Such code has too short reach in the wild.

Privately I have even stopped to recommend it, for that simple reason. Serious. Android once was said to be safe, too, but that has changed in recent years, due to its popularity. Google Playstore sees one infested app slipping through their controls after the other.

Hardware compatability is also something that handicaps Linux, especially printer, modems, scanner, and gaming hardware.

And affecting me personally: chess is a sad story under Linux, very, very sad. Chessbase database and Fritz interface, or Arena equivalents? None. If you want a bit more than just playing a quick chess match, then native Linux environment is a dry, desolate place.