I just went from small dark closed box to a nice huge green open(source) forest..
best. sentence. ever.
enjoy your new found freedom to explore and learn, friend.
this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2023
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Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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It's interesting how far Linux desktop has progressed recently... I don't hate Windows, in fact I think it's a great OS for most purposes. But I happened to try Linux Mint a few years ago in a fit of pique about being excluded from the Win11 upgrade for spurious reasons... and it just kind of stuck.
Two years later and I am full on Linux now. Don't even have a Windows partition (though I do keep a VM). And I'm about to buy a new laptop that I intend to buy without an OS, it will never be touched by Windows, there's just no need.
For my purposes, Linux does everything now. OS, software, the games I want to play... I never even think about it. Also, everywhere I look, I see Linux - my Steamdeck, my MiSTer, my Pis, my Miyoo Mini. It's everywhere...
Your not missing much with window 11. It's like moving from a toxic relationship to an abusive one. Your constantly second guessing yourself on what your still allowed to do on it while you question if you actually own the os you spent $200 on.
I use it for work. Other than having to think for a second to find weirdly hidden menu items, it's fine. At least for my purposes, as a .NET dev. One thing I love about it is Windows Sandbox... really wish Linux would could up something similar.
As far as I'm aware WS is pretty close to what you get by just using virtalbox (with an easier setup) so you could do that on Linux. With Linux you also have more advanced solutions though like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qubes_OS
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I switched five years ago or so, but the last two years have been great. Almost all of the little annoyances I had disappeared in that time.
Yeah, it's weird. I'd been trying it on and off since 1997, and always bounced off because of some annoyance or other. Now... nothing. It's very low friction.
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I didnt hate Windows until 10/11. I hate the design aesthetic they've taken with it, and I hate the walled garden approach they are slowly moving the OS towards, and the ridiculous overbearing nature of the telemetry data gathering.
I still will argue any day that Windows 7 is the best OS ever made, It had the best balance of usability, stability, and performance, and I would still be using it today if it wasnt for being EoL'd. first OS I got at launch, and installed Day 1.
But I'm on linux now, and on Linux I'm staying.
Windows 7 no longer gets security updates.
Yea came here to say this. If the machine is connected to the internet, you're waiting for trouble.
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I'm on the yearly trip to linux land. The one thing that bothers me is hardware support, specifically configuration of hardware devices. My external audio device (Focusrite 2i2) works fine but there is no easy to change the bit rate etc without messing with core config files. This is the sort of thing that should be in the GUI already. My PS5 controller works as well but I can't make it automatically go to sleep after 5 mins. Also HDR support is still missing.
That said, so far I'm finding ways to do what I need, but it is clear Linux still has much to improve if it hopes to attract more windows users.
Thats been my enduring gripe about linux.
95% of the time, it works flawlessly and to an astonishing degree considering, in my case, most of what i'm doing is running windows games at reasonable high detail. Something that I didnt think was feasible like 5ish years ago, which makes it triply amazing.
but its that last 5% thats just a miserable fucking slog. Tiny little things like that, that should be so easy, and seem so obvious, yet to do them is next to impossible or convoluted to hell. Like not being able make middle mouse buttom autoscroll instead of paste, or having to edit some obscure file directly to do the thing you need, or being obscure as fuck and difficult to, say, install a second program into a proton prefix for when you want to use a save editor or something for a game you've played a thousand times.
These are the kinds of comments that never seem to come up when I'm looking for info about making the switch myself, they make it seem like everything is perfect now and there's no issues, but these are the exact kind of small problems that end up making me switch back, because I don;t have the patience to sort it out while trying to get shit done. Like, cool, I can play my games just fine, but all of my peripherals have quirks and issues because the software that sets them up has no linux version.
Yeah. There has been more than one moment in recent history alone, much less across my years of linux history, where I genuinely was about 30 seconds from taking the tower off the desk and throwing it out the window because it was getting so. stupidly. frustrating. to do something that would be so brainlessly easy on another platform.
but, that was all extra stuff to gaming. Like, installing a mod into cyberpunk 2077. One mod just (a core/foundation mod, of course, that everything else relies on). refused. to work, despite following the linux/proton guide for it, installing all the extra bits via protontricks,etc etc. Or installing a second program into the same prefix so I could fool around and do some cheaty hacky shit (single player games i've beaten a half dozen time, folks, before the pitchforks come out.)
The straight, core gaming? and controllers? Pretty much a non issue, in my personal experience. Only extra step is to check proton DB to see if it works, and what proton version to use... and unless its multiplayer with nasty invasive anticheat, its fairly certain to work.
There was a saying years ago that still hold true to today - "Unix is user friendly, it's just selective who it's friends are".
Years ago, I setup an SGI IRIX box for my parents to use, back when Netscape was browser king. I had it so customized for my parents that they still talk about how easy it was to use; problem for me was it took me months to figure out all the config tricks and X customizations to pull it off... Your post made me think of that lol
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This is just because you are used to windows and it's issues. I've been using Linux for 15 years now and I think this about Windows. It works great, in particular for some specific applications, but it is a pain to use. It is slow, lacks customisation and you always have to install drivers for any device you want to use. Plus those updates are really annoying when you don't boot Windows for a long time. You can't use your computer while they are installed and of you have a lot of them it can take a really long time. I'll never switch to Windows!
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One of us! One of us! Which distro did you go with, and how has the driver functionality been? Is this for a laptop or a desktop?
Main is Pop_Os and server is now Mint. With ryzen PC setup it´s great. Laptop is old i5, didn’t have a problem.
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Like you i switched from about 30 years of windows to Linux almost three years ago, Ubuntu, Mint, Manjaro, Endeavour before ending up with Arch which I find perfect. I also have two PCs running Debian for HomeAssitant setups in two homes but I don't like Debian I sometimes use my wife's Windows setup for Garmin Express as that's the only windows program that I need. So keep on going, Windows is not missed,
I made the switch recently as well. I was really unsure of how the whole thing would turn out with me having used Windows for the last 20 years +, but man, it was way easier than I thought.
I went with EndeavourOS on my desktop and Pop!OS on my laptop (for easy igpu/dedicated gpu switching) and I haven't missed Windows since. What's the most difficult is learning the new keyboard shortcuts, but even those you could rebind in Linux. Because you can customize the OS to however YOU work best, instead of having to conform to whatever the OS thinks is best for you.
And man, package managers, am I right? How cool are they...I tried to use chocolatey and winget on Win11 but they never felt quite right, but pacman and yay? Absolutely glorious. I love typing yay into the terminal every couple of days and watching it go, keeping my system up to date.
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Hell yeah I just installed mint on my PC. Gonna dual boot for now as I transition but god windows just keeps getting worse
I had a very similar experience when I switched to Linux around 2 years ago. Now I dread every second I have to use Windows at work.
Great to hear!
Now that you have a couple of days since the switch what are you missing or not missing aside from what you pointed out? Any little things that stick out?
Missing? Nothing. Few things were easier to run on win, some wizards helped me along the way but otherwise, I don’t think I was happier to use a computer. It’s 3-4 months since I switched main and only one time booted into win for my bookmarks and passwords
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Did the same on my ThinkPad X270 last week. Went for Arch and everything worked out of the box. KDE Plasma + Wayland was a doddle too. Very happy!
It's dual boot with Windows 10 for now but I think I'm ready to delete the Windows partitions already
holy shit it's big chungus i'm your biggest fan
Big Chungus hugs to you!
Today you're big chungus. Tomorrow you'll be oh lawd he comin'.
Thank you for sharing your linux journey!
I've been toying around with linux since the old famous slackware distro!
I have used Windows professionally, later switched to Mac, but my desktop (my main driver) has been linux for a long time.
I run it the way I am most productive with it (yes, Gnome, don't hate me, but liked xfce before that).
I like the way everything is customizable, light weight and... free.
Welcome! I'm a relative newcomer myself and have had a mostly positive experience. My computer is a joy to use now and I actually feel like I own it. Pop Os is also what I've been on for a while and I love it!
Welcome to the communion, Chungus.
I highly recommend ZorinOS for relatives stuck on old Windowses.
I want to switch, but every flavor I’ve tried so far has not been compatible with my twin graphic cards.
No promises but arch Linux is pretty much a swiss army knife for stuff like this. I just use it because I can get it running on anything and set it up anyway I want.
Well, swiss army knifes work.. really bad in comparison with specialised tools.
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I remember that exakt feeling a long time ago and I also never went back. It's just too good. :)
I just did this also with my laptop after getting a bigger SSD and dual booting it. The only thing I am missing is fingerprint support, but even with windows it was extremely spotty. I had went through the trouble of adding another finger as a backup and still had over a 50% failure rate when trying to unlock my computer so I haven’t missed it.
Good for you, welcome aboard!
Enjoy, friend! Glad you had a good experience and hope this post helps more people make the switch.
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