No, because I don’t live in a binary world where I have to pick one over the other.
I wish. Unfortunately I’m to locked into Ableton to switch. Wish they’d make it compatible with Linux :/
Unfortunately, I can’t be. None of my creative tools work on Linux, and the alternatives all have less functionality and/or a steeper learning curve.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/PkSx0HiA_vM?
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
I’m Windows-free for about 18 years.
Windows is a last resort. If some proprietary apps don’t work under Linux (mainly at a work).
It’s funny how conservative Windows is, it still has components from the NT.
I’m Windows-free for about 18 years.
It’s basically the same time I started using Linux somewhat more. I didn’t go Windows-free until 2007 though and then returned to Windows because I needed it for something with my Master’s thesis. I kind of shudder at the thought how my old setups looked under the hood. You learn a lot in 18 years… Probably copy-pasted a lot of shell commands back then. But UT2k4 in its OpenGL glory was worth it
After many weeks spend on downloading and installing various things for linux, he complains that he needs to download drivers for windows, a process that will take one afternoon or less. Makes sense. I understand that Linux is a tech toy for a techy, but pretend that somehow it is easier installation and setup than windows for average person is just dishonest. Even which flavor of linux one should install creates a stupor for non-tech person (or a person who never used linux).
I’m with you with (distribution) choice (that’s definitely stressful, especially when you aren’t used to actually having to choose what kind of computing experience you want) but driver/program distribution on Linux is less painful/easier than on Windows on average. If your hardware happens to be supported, everything should work out of the box without the need to install drivers; the biggest problem for more or less average users would be having to install Nvidia drivers if they have a Nvidia GPU. Installing software is generally as easy as opening your distribution’s software store, searching what you need and hitting the install button.
If your hardware happens to be supported, everything should work out of the box without the need to install drivers;
Is not it true with Windows? Plug and play? And while I did not study this, I strongly suspect that it is more true for Windows than for Linux.
Is not it true with Windows? Plug and play? And while I did not study this, I strongly suspect that it is more true for Windows than for Linux.
I don’t use Windows much, but recently I booted it up and found my graphics tablet didn’t work. I needed to install a driver from Wacom, then reboot. It got very confused about whether my tablet or my monitor was the primary monitor, and moving between screens was somehow worse than Linux. On Linux, the tablet driver worked out of the box, but I had to adjust display scaling for both my monitors to co-exist peacefully. I also had to switch from GNOME to KDE and switch to Wayland on my NVIDIA card to get Krita to work properly (interface was split across both monitors and couldn’t resize it). GNOME’s multi-monitor handling was bad, regardless of whether I used Wayland or X11. Multi-monitor handling on KDE was better than Windows…in the end.
I’m not really sure which of these is worse.
I’ve been using Linux for about a decade now. Windows for even longer before that. We still have some Windows laptops in our house. Even a decade ago when I first started trying Linux out, it was far more plug and play than Windows and still is.
The overwhelming majority of the time drivers are provided by the Linux kernel - install your distro and everything just works.
Windows I always have to go to various websites, download files for various devices and then install them.
Even when I need something specific on Linux, one store (in my case Arch repositories, including AUR), I can use one interface and download and install anything in one step - I skip the looking for the manufacturers website, going to the website, finding the software download, downloading it and then going through the installation process on Windows.Linux has some things that are more difficult, but overall is infinitely easier to use.
The thing is, most people don’t consider installing an OS. Odds are the computer came with one.
Otherwise (aside from the paralysis of choice) neither Linux nor Windows present more or less of a challenge to install.
The people who find the most difficulty seem to be the ones who think they know better or have become used to the windows way of doing things.
As an aside, Last windows install I did required setting two registry keys during the install process. It was far more annoying than a typical Linux install.
The install Linux is vague because each distro (not themed or flavoures) is effevtively a unique OS, and user onboarding is a different experience per disro. However if you have ever installed Windows to an unformated drive compared to something like Zorin install. Windows is the harder install for nontech people
There is nothing difficult about installing Windows, whether the drive is unformatted or not.
Have your mom try it, and my point is something like Zorin is easier.
Quite possible. But chance of non-technical person to do Windows install on new computer is zero. Re-instal, on the other hand, is very easy - I have done it couple of times.
use case: When your hdd or ssd fails compketely and you buy a new drive off of amazon
I like the idea of ditching Windows because of all the telemetry but I just need a machine that’s going to do what I need it to do without a fucking battle. Everything on Linux is just so difficult, it’s like every time I give it a go I wind up spending hours trying to figure out how to do something that would take ten seconds on Windows. I wanted to make a desktop shortcut that would run a script with root privileges. On Windows that’s right click, drag, and select the option to make a shortcut. Takes a few seconds. Took me ages to figure it out in Ubuntu, mostly because it wasn’t working as it should. Yesterday I did an apt upgrade on another machine and it wiped out the WiFi. I’m still working on fixing that and now I’m looking into compiling my own drivers.
I have a work Windows laptop that I refer to as my time machine. If not for having to use it for time sheets, email, word, and PowerPoint fun I’d kick the habit all together.
No, I still need it for non-linux programs with no suitable alternative.
No, I’m not listing those for anyone to suggest inferior replacements. It’s a fact, not a debate.
I stopped carrying. When my GF bought a laptop I just installed Linux there and she has no issues using it. Linux is where I always wanted it to be. Now when I see someone using Windows I just think “you poor soul” to myself and move on.
As soon as gaming is mostly flawless and similar or better performance than windows, I’ll be 100% over. Gaming has come so far, all the way into the 2010s the only games on Linux were like Portal, HL, minecraft, and KSP. But it’s still got a little ways to go.
If you are on amd, that already is the case. On nvidia however things are a lil different, not bad though.
If that’s the only barrier, you should try again. It’s further along than you think. Thanks in large part to the Steam Deck, compatibility is miles better. I have run into 2 games since I switched 1.5 years ago that won’t run - both are EA titles (shocked Pikachu face). That was my reason not to switch too.
I’m well aware of how far out has come, I was a second batch pre-order for the steamdeck. And yes, just in the time it’s been out, Linux gaming has come sooo far. For me, all of my games don’t run seamlessly and as well, some do still just shit themselves, so I still keep a win10 boot drive for gaming. Once major support for win10 ends I think Linux gaming will be even better and my gaming will finally be all Linux.
It’s always worth remembering that Linux is not a product, it is free software. So if you are switching you can’t go into it with the mindset of “somebody better fix this or I’m leaving” because there is nobody that will feel that pressure or care. You have to use Linux because it’s something you want to do.
Yep. Windows XP was my last Windows and when it became obsolete I permanently switched to Linux Mint (without dual-booting). Everything that I use has worked very well. I’ve never even thought about switching back to Windows.
I am looking at offloading asuch power draw from my physical residence as possible. I have an older windows desktop that I use strictly for gaming. However, I have mostly moved my higher end gaming to GeForce now. The service is often and my dream is to be able to run a lower powered laptop, and use GeForce now for high end gaming, but Nvidia is doing everything in their power to prevent Linux users from getting their full benefit of GeForce now. This means that I have to either keep an old macbook around or use windows to get my 1440p 120hz feature in geforce now.
As soon as there is a reliable way for linux to do this, I am completely off of windows. (with the exception of work)
Hell yeah I am. I’ve been using linux since 2019. I bought a dell laptop and installed manjaro.
I recently discovered GNU Guix and decided to install it onto an old desktop (built in 2009) I had laying around. I used a system crafters custom installer and the accompanying video to do a non-libre kernel install. I’ve been liking Guix and I think I’m going to install it onto my laptop and make it my daily driver.
There are way way too many testimonials here lately about switching to Linux or installing Arch, etc. These aren’t interesting.
I’d be more interested in knowing how many people are sticking with Linux.
What issues besides insert windows program doesn’t work.
Places where the average switcher has problems that aren’t just user error or misunderstanding some fundamental difference, but good places that the community can investigate and improve on.
Most people will probably give up after a few days. Not only because Linux is bad, but because most people don’t wan’t to spend hours to fix an issue they never heard off and never encountered on Windows/Mac
Windows/Mac are spoon feeding their customers and people tend to forget how important it is to have problem solving skills ! How to search the web, get out of their confort zone and learn new things…
The tiktok, meta, shorts generation will probably never touch any linux distro, except if during their live time they have some sort of “revelation” on how bad it actually is…
And some just don’t have time… Job, baby, wife, friends…
Linux is a full time and never ending experience, the rabbit hole you want/will dig deeper in hope to find a white rabbit !
Linux is a full time and never ending experience, the rabbit hole you want/will dig deeper in hope to find a white rabbit !
While Linux can certainly be such an experience, it doesn’t have to be at all.
If you have a defined use case for your system, and there’s Linix software to support that, it often just install something like Linux Mint, install the software you need from the repos, and wahoo, you have a computer to do what you need and you just use it.
Which, for most people, is how they use their computer anyway, a few bits of software they just use to do what they need to do, no need to tinker, problems unlikely to arise.
But these people are the type that don’t care, they’ll use what comes with the computer they bought, and just be happy, and thus will likely never try Linux.
For those of us who like to stay in the know and on the bleeding edge, and tinkering and understanding, then it’s a full time thing. But we’re such a small minority.
