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Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

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Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#41

Post by blakesterz »

I thought to myself, reminds me of the ol' "This is the year of Linux on the desktop"! But then I wondered, how long have I been reading THIS is the year?

Found this old headline on Slashdot: "Linus Says 2004 is the Year for Desktop Linux"

For me, at least, 2015 was the year of Linux on the desktop. I could get the sound and fans to work (Finally!) all the time without much work. The graphics card was finally stable. I could do nearly everything I needed to do on Linux and it more or less "just worked" most of the time. That's all I really want in an OS. Windows is probably required for most work and no small number of people get along just fine on MacOS. Linux gets the job done now, and it's stable and things tend to work really well without any major problems. Or so I've found, I know not everyone agrees and depending on what your work is like, things will be different. I've written before about how I find Linux to be a better OS on a home build desktop than my nearly new M1 Macmini. Just yesterday this damn thing gave me a greenscreen kernel panic for no apparent reason in the middle of an important meeting.

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#43

Post by agumonkey »

jdlyga wrote: post #2

The real reasons I use Linux are mostly out of convenience. For example, updating all my software and OS using one command rather than clicking on 50 updaters.

This and its dual, not having to restore apps configuration every 3 weeks because some bloatware has the rights to change boot settings etc

I like windows for various reasons but it's a constant maintenance chore. Linux is more like a stone wall.. set and forget.

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#44

Post by streamofdigits »

in a world that had its mental faculties intact even one of those reasons would have been enough: e.g. windows 11 requiring a front-facing camera.[0]

but we don't live in such a world. we have entered the downward spiral of unaccountable tech oligarchies and it is not clear where the bottom lies.

[0] I pressume if you cover the camera you will get automatically blacklisted as someone having "something to hide" and you are tortured with daily updates

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#45

Post by LegitShady »

peakaboo wrote: post #24
Vindicis wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't. You can still run local accounts.

Yeah if you disable WiFi which is a very dark pattern and user hostile.

last time I installed windows 10 this wasn't required - you just had to figure out which button took you past it. Maybe its changed since

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#46

Post by jeremyjh »

vinceguidry wrote: post #19
consumer451 wrote: post #3

I just went back after 3 years of Ubuntu. Admittedly I am a dilettante but I never did anything very "hacky" and still ended up with a broken upgrade path, twice. I can't have this in a work desktop machine. My employer gives zero f's about my privacy concerns.

This is why I moved to Arch. Debian rolling release is a good way to go as well.

After using Arch for years every other package manager enrages me because it is so hard to rollback/undo bad changes or to pin versions. I use MacOS for reasons but I still miss pacman :(

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#47

Post by thesuperbigfrog »

jnsie wrote: post #36
thesuperbigfrog wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Performance No telemetry No forced upgrades No intrusive ads

I'm out of the loop - are there intrusive ads in the Windows OS? If so, what kind of ads and when/where?

>> are there intrusive ads in the Windows OS? If so, what kind of ads and when/where?

https://www.windowslatest.com/2021/05/30/microsoft-edge-nagg...

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#48

Post by breakfastduck »

jnsie wrote: post #36
thesuperbigfrog wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Performance No telemetry No forced upgrades No intrusive ads

I'm out of the loop - are there intrusive ads in the Windows OS? If so, what kind of ads and when/where?

Windows 10 has adverts in your start menu by default

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#49

Post by OneTimePetes »

Tenoke wrote: post #21
jdlyga wrote: post #2

The real reasons I use Linux are mostly out of convenience. For example, updating all my software and OS using one command rather than clicking on 50 updaters.

Linux has its conveniences but I think I definitely spend more times on updates. Some break things and some like Nvidia's drivers can take me ages to actually apply (though with that one the usual trick seems to be to remove --purge nvidia-* first).

Which is honestly what i never understood, why its not shared on a more "systematic" level beyond stack overflow.

A hardware and software config + the goal (print)- and a dialog pops up, offering your solution as a line by line shell script.

All this stored in a trustworthy DB and even complex problems could be plug and play on windows. Add a "support" button to finance the whole thing.

Voila. Year of the linux desktop.

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#50

Post by Tenoke »

thesuperbigfrog wrote: post #23
Bostonian wrote: post #12

I can now run Linux GUIs on Windows under WSL, so with Windows I get access to Windows and Linux software. What is the case for pure Linux?

Performance No telemetry No forced upgrades No intrusive ads

Performance and telemetry if you don't need anything Windows-centric like games are very good reasons. Upgrades though? Even if they are not explicitly forced I'd bet way more people (as a %) are fine using XP or 7 today than whatever version of Ubuntu or other popular distros came those years.
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