Windows is slowly transitioning from a paid and solid OS to freemuim spyware bloated dumb OS.
Dude, that was 22 years ago… I also remember Prince of Persia as if it were yesterday
I miss Windows Vista.
The arrow pointing downwards is about to be absolutely destroyed today. Edit: it turns out that it didn’t.
Because at this time the internet was still slow, not always on and optional on most computers, and Microsoft did not know if and how they should integrate the internet into the OS. The only thing they had at the time was some link to MSN on the desktop, and activeX (???) Where you could display websites on your desktop or within your program, but without the Browser controlls.
Yeah slowly, it started years ago but it’s been getting worse every version, slowly
Fast would be if windows 8 had ads and non uninstallable internet exploder etc
Fast would be if windows 8 had ads and non uninstallable internet exploder etc
Sounds like someone who doesn’t remember windows 8!
Ads: https://hothardware.com/news/microsofts-big-hidden-windows-8-feature-builtin-advertising
They were working on it… and had it working in several places.
Uninstallable IE: https://www.technorms.com/34477/uninstall-internet-explorer-11
While not literally uninstallable… they definitely made it a lot harder.
Windows 7 was the last good version of windows.
Windows 8(.1) was still utter trash, I actually "down"graded to windows 7 at the time and it was a bliss.
(it wasn’t the non-stop-ads kind of trash, but the UI suited a tablet more than a desk/laptop)
proton is pretty much there, thinking to jump ship to linux - already use it in all my work for decades
2024 the year of Linux. As long as we can avoid the toxic “don’t use Mint, use Arch instead users”.
I mean, if you like knowing what your machine is doing, Arch is one of the best options.
It’s also ironically easier to use day-to-day than some other commonly suggested distros. Sure something like Mint or Pop_OS is much much easier to set up but later on when you need a newer version or something that isn’t in the repos. Too bad! That doesn’t exist. Time hunt down a PPA and hope it’s trustworthy.
With Arch 99.9% of the time if it’s not in the main repos it’s in the AUR. And since it’s rolling there’s no worry of doing the big upgrades (been seeing plenty of posts about issues with the transition from Fedora 38 -> 39 lately). I have daily driven Arch for almost 10 years now and there have only been a handful of times across that whole span where a pacman -Syu actually broke something.
Also the memey “xxxx the year of Linux”. Because that’s been going on for 40+ years now. 😅 You use it, or you don’t. Your OS is a tool, not a belief system.
I’d just like to interject for a moment. What you’re referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.
Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called “Linux”, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.
There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine’s resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called “Linux” distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.
Year of Linux on the consumer PC. Linux has been dominating the server space for… 40+ years now.
Honestly, I’ve been thinking about switching to Linux with my next system since about a month after I built my current system, over 4 years ago. That’s how long it took for me to be sick of Microsoft’s bullshit in Windows 10.
That said, I’m not looking forward to figuring out how to get into Linux. It’s probably easier than I think, but having done 0 research (as I don’t need a new system yet), the impression I have is that there’s a ton of stuff I’m going to have to figure out before getting started.
Linux has a learning curve that’s steep to the average Windows or Mac user. The guys suggesting Arch are saying it’s easier than the other distros, but you have to remember that most of those coming from the other two aren’t going to know what a command line is. I had to guide someone through it when they wanted to install VMware on Pop!_OS, I would not put them on Arch. (And to those suggesting the AUR, that still needs a command line and now you need to inspect the PKGBUILD for security purposes.)
If you’ve got a spare USB drive, have a look at Ventoy. It’s a program that lets you put multiple ISOs (disc images) onto a drive and select which one to boot from at startup.
Most distros have free bootable ISOs to download, which let you try that distro without installing it. They usually have an installer built in so that you can install your chosen distro from a desktop environment.
Installation is probably the trickiest part, but even that’s not too bad as long as you pay attention. Once you’re on the desktop, it’s as easy to use as Windows.
The main thing that we need imo is something like SteamOS that is installable on every PC and has the backing of valve, sadly it’s still limited to the deck
becouse it may not be the perfect desktop OS experience (for your average linux user anyway), but game mode is absolutely a game changer for people who just want to play games on their computer 90% of the time
Maybe in the next 30 years ReactOS will reach a windows 10 level, hopefully sooner.
Nah, ReactOS is a waste of time and effort. It’s like constantly trying to guess what the other person is holding in his hand by doing questionares with the guy… you’re bound to lose if he’s always 10 steps ahead of you.
On the other hand, Wine, thanks to Proton, is doing quite well.
Proton works great for gaming because the narrow set of gaming-related API allows Valve and CodeWeaver to focus their effort to make sure most games run well. Windows has a lot more API though and a good percentage of them is still doesn’t work that well in wine, which means many apps still have issues or outright unusable in wine. For example, I think iTunes for Windows still doesn’t work in wine.
I never said it’s perfect. In fact, I don’t use Wine for gaming at all, but the fact still remains that Wine got A LOT better after Valve got involved.
Agree on the unsuable part. I can even be a witness to that (no Windows drive API, USB is out if the question). But, regarding “regular” apps, yeah, it does the job. If you wana run Adobe or AutoDesk products, yeah, it’s no good (depends on the version, but no good for anything above 2018, 2019).
Regarding iTunes… if I was on the Wine team, I wouldn’t even consider that for testing… good thing I’m not.
psst… I hear you’re looking to ditch Microsoft. You might like what you see over at c/linux
Even though Windows is very user-friendly. I think Windows 11 might be my last. The amount of anti-privacy that’s implemented and what I have to do just so it doesn’t constantly phone back home is kind of ridiculous.
Off to pick my flavor of Linux.
I would say I know the basics of Linux due to owning a Pi and messing around with it time-to-time but no where near experienced.
TL; DR: From personal experience as a Raspberry Pi tinkerer and Windows evacuee, I recommend Linux Mint.
Raspberry Pi OS is essentially Debian compiled for ARM with the LXDE desktop. They used to use LXDE, and it is my understanding they forked LXDE to make their “Pixel” desktop. Being Debian, it uses the APT package manager with .deb packages.
Linux Mint is a fork of Ubuntu, which itself is a fork of Debian. It uses the APT package manager and .deb packages. The exact same commands to install, say, LibreOffice on a Raspberry Pi can be used to install it on Linux Mint.
Cinnamon is the flagship desktop, and I think is a reasonable answer to “What if Microsoft had kept developing the Windows 7 desktop instead of trying to make a tablet OS?” I chose Cinnamon pretty immediately because it felt more like the Windows I had grown up with than Windows 8.1 did.
I find it strange that people call it user-friendly, despite it doing a lot of things hostile to the user.
Just more in the neighborhood of being used or understanding something because it has been given to them from a very young age on. So getting familiar and used to it very young age on makes it “friendly” even though it is more “familiarity”.
Linux is always going to be really awkward at first but over the course of time you learn and shy away and develop your own kinda workflow and that’s the beauty of it in my opinion.
Because user-friendly means that even a tech-noob can easily set it up and use it right away without much researching.
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If an OS requires ANY AMOUNT of command line, you have lost about half the population.
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If an OS asks any remotely difficult question with techno lingo, you have lost an other quarter.
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If an OS doesn’t work out of the box the way it should (like all their hardware functioning including audio), you have lost all the other not technology inclined people.
Windows is setup that it requires none of that. It may do something that you find horrific, but most people do not care as long as it works.
Windows devices are set up like that.
If you give someone a blank hard drive and Windows install media, they need to to all of those things.
If an OS requires ANY AMOUNT of command line, you have lost about half the population.
Half? It’s way more than half.
If only the Xbox controller wouldn’t randomly disconnect on Linux. No, i bought it because i read it works well here.
This is my biggest downfall with Linux, lack of integration with gaming but I’ll learn to leave without it, I guess.
I heard some recent steam thing made it pretty great now? Or was that just marketing talking?
Sounds like bait but I’ll bite.
Most singleplayer titles work perfectly fine under Linux. Majority of my steam library runs with compatibility toggled in steam.
I’ve got a Switch Pro controller, no issues via Bluetooth or Cable connection. Gives me battery readouts via Dunst
Running Wayland with an NVIDIA GPU in both my systems.
When was the last time you tried? Steam Deck has allowed Valve to dedicate lots of time to fine-tuning Proton and it works with virtually every game now, save the ones with specific kinds of online anti-cheat systems.
You can also just add your Epic and GoG games to Steam Launcher and then they’ll be launched with Proton as well.
