or, you know, just switch to linux. several distros are basically just as usable out of box as anything microsoft has released.
I’ve tried and gaming is a lot better than it was, but I still prefer Windows in that department though I do stick with SteamOS for the Steam Deck and haven’t bothered running Windows on it.
yeah I’m mid transition myself - probably switch for good when win10 goes EoL. I tried win11 and hate it.
I’ve done something different. I just have two computers. One for just playing games (windows), and one for everything else (Mac).
yeah. I have a tiny-pc (whatever the ultra sff is called now) that will run w10 forever - supported or not, for a specific use-case, but the desktop i’m trying to transition to will be linux. already moved my laptop to linux (both mint because it’s easy). have a different laptop that was decent 10 years ago that I use as a testbench to try out other, non-mint distros.
long term i’ll move to 3x computers but daily really only use two.
i run dual-boot on my PC, these days i’m only switching over to windows for gaming since nvidia GPUs don’t get a lot of support on the linux side nvidia doesn’t go out of there way to support linux as much as AMD does
nvidia GPUs don’t get a lot of support on the linux side.
First time I’m hearing about this. What do you mean? You get regular, automatic driver updates and they work… what is missing?
Older drivers for older cards are also available, although this may depend on the distribution rather than Nvidia.
What kind of support are you missing? I run Linux exclusively with an Nvidia card and see regular driver updates (not as frequently as the kernel, for example, but still).
If only SteamOS was made generally available.
And I honestly prefer the non-terminal solutions that are generally in Windows.
Users here generally seem to forget that
1: Not all users are power users
2: Professional software is generally not developed for Linux but either Windows or Mac. Linux is an afterthought
3: Not all programs run as you’d need it to. Wine and Proton can work for single use but I don’t see daily activity going very well with it.
For downvoters on point 3 saying they do it:
I tried the EA launcher with Proton on the SteamDeck. It’s a hacky solution and in general a not supported environment. Good luck getting help from EA if something goes wrong.
This also applies to general work environments: HPE (server brand of HP) for example denies support if it sees a non-HPE product that may interfere with your support case. They ask you to remove it and then send another support file.
2: Professional software is generally not developed for Linux but either Windows or Mac. Linux is an afterthought
Really depends. E.g. Houdini, Blender and Nuke are Linux-first as Linux took over IRIX’s market share, and generally that of Unix workstations.
All three predate Windows 95, the whole PC and Windows platform back then was considered cheap toys for accounting and management, not serious computing.
yes, but the Enterprise level license usually lasts longer than the individual license does. Enterprise level you’re basically stuck in that ecosystem, you’ve got tools written for it. I remember when IE6 was the latest hotness and then everyone struggled to get away from it for years and years but integral revenue generating tools relied on it.
I am starting to make the effort in switching but honestly, it’s not going as easily as I hoped… I got my old Surface Go running fully on Mint now and I’ve got some frustrations trying to make it work the way I want. I’m sure I’ll get there, but what seemed like a fun project has become frustrating.
Next I plan on setting up dual booting on my gaming setup, which I suspect should be less frustrating than trying to run Linux on Microsoft hardware. If that goes smoothly I’ll wipe Windows on the machine and switch fully to Mint there.
Only thing I don’t think I can let go of Windows on is my work laptop. I use too much MS office suite stuff for work and have to move documents between people all the time. I already tried using Libre Office at work a few years back already and it just didn’t work out, especially Power Point / Impress.
Overall, yeah, I think we should all start making a move off Windows when I see the state of things, it’s just… not that easy for everyone.
Just switch to Linux, guys. You can do it!
Nope. i like playing games and not being in a community which brings up Linux in every conversation
People having interests they’re passionate about is a no-go, eh? What do you and your friends talk about?
What do you and your friends talk about?
As far as gaming goes, no you really cannot. While a lot of progress has been done, notably thanks to Valve’s efforts with Proton, it’s still not ready for mainstream. Anti-cheat software incompatibility, peripherals drivers unavailability and overall jankiness are as many hurdles that make it interesting for tinkerers, but unrealistic for the general public.
That’s crazy, bud!
goes back to playing my games, doing my art and enjoying my computing experience
Yeah well, some of the most popular games in the world like Fortnite or Valorant cannot be played on Linux. Hell even Roblox which used to work was broken for 6 months this year due to a new anticheat (until it got fixed).
As for Xbox Gamepass ? Streaming only. Using a Thrustmaster wheel ? Fortunately someone is working on that, but not everyone is willing or able to build and load their own drivers into the kernel.
Setting aside potential “hurr hurr don’t play these games” comments ; there is no way around using windows if you want access to all PC games, not just some PC games.
Boss: “make sure you include a PSD and AI file in your package”
Me, a refined Linux user: “uhhhh”
It HIGHLY depends of what gamer you are. I switched to linux almost three years ago and all the games I wanted to play worked (nearly) flawlessly. But… the thing is I play mostly single player ones and usually a bit older. So for me it was huge upgrade. I got so mad over Windows so many times during last months of usung it at home, BSODs for no reason, forced updates disrespecting my settings, …
Sure, and my mechanic was working full time from his yard before buying a real garage with a lift. Just because some people go through the trouble of doing it doesn’t mean it’s the best tool for the job.
It’s not that bad. Bitwig studio plus ya ridge works pretty good. Also: no Tux no bux
I produced an album doing exactly this. the windows VST plugins with yabridge run like shit. not all of them worked. bitwig and reaper are fantastic though, and are great examples of what linux audio could be. unfortunately I am often using tools besides the daw and its built in features.
I should mention that yabridge folks are amazing. they are very responsive on IRC and they helped a lot. I think the main developer has pulled off something important here and I have a very high level of respect for what he’s doing. i have to put my music before my computer though.
once DRM and windows-only anti-cheat are no more, sure. but until then, the monopoly is working.
Not everyone can. People should consider their needs but Windows has programs that professionals rely on.
Sadly besides freecad all the other CAD programs i use are not made for linux
If you’re making a switch to linux, that means you have hardware compatible with linux–thats a given.
Flip the script: Is it ever a windows problem that windows won’t install on a RaspberryPi?
Windows 10 came out in 2015, 10 years seems like a plenty decent lifespan.
Windows 11 came out in 2021, so 10 users will have had 4 years to upgrade.
Windows 10 was supposed to be the “last version” of Windows and Windows 11 requires a lot of hardware that older machines simply don’t have, most notably TPM. Microsoft creates thousands of tons of ewaste for no reason and the owners of this ewaste have to spend thousands or millions to replace machines that are perfectly fine.
Yes, you can circumvent these restrictions, but not as a business.
Windows 11 requires a lot of hardware that older machines simply don’t have, most notably TPM.
In other words, despite fanbois’ attempts to claim that Microsoft has long since reformed, it’s still trying to slowly tighten the noose on being able to install other OSs (and by extension, the ability to perform general-purpose computing without corporate overlord approval as a whole).
Do they even make business class computers without TPM chips anymore? To my knowledge it has been a standard feature for years.
a) it’s not only about business class machines b) There are still millions of computer that are perfectly capable of running Windows 11, except an artificial requirement called TPM. My 2014 Haswell machine (that I’m typing this comment on) is not “modern”, but can be used for 99% of “non-gaming” tasks just fine. But it can’t run Win 11. I personally run Linux anyway, but you can’t require that.
Microsoft creates thousands of tons of ewaste for no reason…
Of course there’s a reason, you said it yourself: TPM.
With TPM, Software will be able to cryptographically verify that the OS and Hardware are all unmodified. This’ll be an end to piracy and end to unauthorized modifications to your PC (“We’ve detected that you’ve installed an Ad Blocker, please remove it before accessing your banking website”)
This won’t happen overnight, but the forced hardware upgrade is all about control (Microsoft over you) and creating a walled garden to drive profits (like Apple).
You can take a look at Android’s attestation and how it prevents running your banking apps on a rooted cellphone as an example of things to come.
These people… install linux! Your computer aren’t made to run just one single OS.
Please let me keep these old chains for a bit longer!
We must continue to improve freedom-respecting operating systems so that more users will switch.
Freedom respecting operating systems have been painless for most machines for at least a decade at this point, for that long anyone could have installed an easy distro and just used it normally. The problem now with getting people to switch is that they expect zero adjustment period, when they could just get used to something new that still functions 95% the same as Windows on the user’s side.
Get Adobe to port their software to Linux. They’re literally all that’s holding me on Windows. I know there’s some options to replace them, but those seem to be a mixed bag of seemingly deliberately difficult to use, or require way too much setup time to port my existing portfolio (LR to DT).
I don’t know how rare it is, but it hasn’t really been painless on laptops from my experience. I’ve had to deal with trying to find the right kernel parameters to stop my laptop from freezing, to having an incredibly high default scroll speed which I’ve still haven’t figured out how to change, to having to ask the orange alien place to figure out why my Internet card was not working. It may just seem like a hassle to some people, but I believe for most, it’s enough of a hassle to just give up and go back to Windows.
