Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux • Hacker News Board

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#201

Post by walls » Fri, Oct 22, 2021, 3:16 PM UTC

msla wrote: post #195

filmgirlcw wrote: post #186

Disclosure: I'm a developer advocate at Microsoft with a focus on Linux, I am typing this on a laptop running Windows 11 (it also has another SSD that runs Linux), and I'm a diehard Mac user. I hate this sort of SEO-driven clickbait that is trying to inflame wars that frankly, were settled two decades ago. Use Linux. Use Windows. Use macOS. Use Chrome OS. Use OpenBSD. Use Haiku. If you're a complete masochist, use GN…

> There are plenty of Linux distributions with tons of telemetry and spyware (Deepin Linux is literally run by the Chinese government) Trying to "Both Sides" telemetry and spyware fails because you can use Linux without either, whereas macOS and Windows are inherently married to it and you can't use them without submitting to their respective surveillance regimes. Oddities like Deepin barely matter and can't be used…

That's weird because I ran a tool to disable it in Windows the day I installed it. I'd wager it was even easier than disabling it on those Linux distros.

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#202

Post by notreallyserio » Fri, Oct 22, 2021, 3:17 PM UTC

hotsauceror wrote: post #153

ridaj wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't Windows have a decent terminal nowadays?

It does, the new Windows Terminal app is pretty nice. What it does not have is a good set of command line tools. Powershell is powerful and great in its way, but it is cumbersome to use for little tasks. And the lack of a command-line text editor like vim is a huge pain in the ass.

However, if you install Windows Terminal you will find that Start menu behavior changes in a annoying way that the Terminal developers can’t fix without changes to Windows itself[0].

With Terminal installed, if you search for a directory from the Start menu — hit the Windows key, start typing, press enter — the menu won’t close automatically.

0: https://github.com/microsoft/terminal/issues/7122

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#203

Post by gspencley » Fri, Oct 22, 2021, 3:18 PM UTC

formerly_proven wrote: post #141

apeace wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. I was going to comment "Reason #12 to switch to Linux: you love reformatting the entire system every once in a while, typically after struggling to fix a driver for hours and completely screwing everything up in a way you can't figure out how to undo."

This is an interesting observation, considering that traditionally Windows has had these opaque failure and degradation modes that are "unfixable" unless you reinstall. Personally, it doesn't ring true to me - I've been using the very same OS install for around a decade now, I just kept moving it from machine to machine and I think my laptop install is actually a duplicate. I've restored it from backups a few times,…

I wonder how much this has to do with first impressions.

Back in the late 90s when I first started experimenting with Linux, the parent's post definitely described my experience. I remember booting up into a text-mode login prompt and running 'startx' and having to do a lot of messing around with manual configuration files. One mistake with an init file could leave your machine un-bootable and you'd have to use a rescue shell to recover. Driver support was a mixed bag for sure.

In current year it's literally the exact opposite experience. I have more issues with installing Windows apps that will make driver changes or add stuff to the registry that causes weird unexpected issues than I have with Linux. Linux is quick and easy to install and tends to "just work" for me once it's up and running.

I'm sure choice of hardware still has something to do with mixed experiences. I did have one bad experience in recent memory with a work-issued laptop and the track-pad not working with Linux. I had to use a personal device while I was employed there since it was a known issue with that particular brand and the fix was an upcoming kernel update. But that seems to be the extreme rare exception for me. Most devices I've installed Linux on have worked perfectly right out of the install and have required me to do zero configuration to make it usable.

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#204

Post by lostgame » Fri, Oct 22, 2021, 3:20 PM UTC

mkl95 wrote: post #71

I have been dual booting for a while with no issues whatsoever. I develop software on Ubuntu because the tools I use work out of the box. I play games on Windows because the games I play work out of the box.

I'm a MacOS person (iOS dev for a living, no choice), but how is WSL; from a development perspective?

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#205

Post by chayleaf » Fri, Oct 22, 2021, 3:21 PM UTC

walls wrote: post #201

msla wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are plenty of Linux distributions with tons of telemetry and spyware (Deepin Linux is literally run by the Chinese government) Trying to "Both Sides" telemetry and spyware fails because you can use Linux without either, whereas macOS and Windows are inherently married to it and you can't use them without submitting to their respective surveillance regimes. Oddities like Deepin barely matter and can't be used…

That's weird because I ran a tool to disable it in Windows the day I installed it. I'd wager it was even easier than disabling it on those Linux distros.

the tools don't disable all telemetry, besides, most linux distros have no telemetry to disable

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#206

Post by zdragnar » Fri, Oct 22, 2021, 3:22 PM UTC

chirau wrote: post #196

vetinari wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To add to the funny story, I have Ryzen 1900X on my desk (literally, the cpu in a small plastic box). Nowadays, those 8 Zen cores clocked at 3.8 GHz are not enough to run Windows, apparently.

This is obviously not true. Which Windows can't you run on that?

Does it meet 11's hardware requirements? I thought I had heard older Ryzens wouldn't- not from performance, but other chip features.

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#207

Post by Tenoke » Fri, Oct 22, 2021, 3:22 PM UTC

qalmakka wrote: post #161

Tenoke wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

Once you learn to avoid NVIDIA, your life gets way easier. I've bought an RX 580 4 years ago and it's been a pleasant plug'n'play experience ever since.

Sadly for Deep Learning Nvidia is way better supported.

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#208

Post by roman-holovin » Fri, Oct 22, 2021, 3:22 PM UTC

walls wrote: post #201

msla wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are plenty of Linux distributions with tons of telemetry and spyware (Deepin Linux is literally run by the Chinese government) Trying to "Both Sides" telemetry and spyware fails because you can use Linux without either, whereas macOS and Windows are inherently married to it and you can't use them without submitting to their respective surveillance regimes. Oddities like Deepin barely matter and can't be used…

That's weird because I ran a tool to disable it in Windows the day I installed it. I'd wager it was even easier than disabling it on those Linux distros.

Just wait for an update that will reenable everything you've disabled.

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#209

Post by metalliqaz » Fri, Oct 22, 2021, 3:23 PM UTC

chirau wrote: post #196

vetinari wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To add to the funny story, I have Ryzen 1900X on my desk (literally, the cpu in a small plastic box). Nowadays, those 8 Zen cores clocked at 3.8 GHz are not enough to run Windows, apparently.

This is obviously not true. Which Windows can't you run on that?

He's talking about the Windows 11 hardware requirements, which are very strict and only support the newest CPUs.

However Windows 11 can be installed on the same hardware that runs Windows 10, it just won't allow you to upgrade. Otherwise it runs fine.

Microsoft is basically turning Windows into what mobile OS's are: tightly controlled and requiring specific hardware to ensure a particular set of user expectations with their devices. In other words, it's becoming a laptop OS.

Re: Reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

#210

Post by filmgirlcw » Fri, Oct 22, 2021, 3:23 PM UTC

msla wrote: post #195

filmgirlcw wrote: post #186

Disclosure: I'm a developer advocate at Microsoft with a focus on Linux, I am typing this on a laptop running Windows 11 (it also has another SSD that runs Linux), and I'm a diehard Mac user. I hate this sort of SEO-driven clickbait that is trying to inflame wars that frankly, were settled two decades ago. Use Linux. Use Windows. Use macOS. Use Chrome OS. Use OpenBSD. Use Haiku. If you're a complete masochist, use GN…

> There are plenty of Linux distributions with tons of telemetry and spyware (Deepin Linux is literally run by the Chinese government) Trying to "Both Sides" telemetry and spyware fails because you can use Linux without either, whereas macOS and Windows are inherently married to it and you can't use them without submitting to their respective surveillance regimes. Oddities like Deepin barely matter and can't be used…

I actually disagree. Ubuntu has a lot of telemetry on by default (unlike Deepin, they disclose this, but I'm pointing this out) and for many years, Canonical really tried to push the whole account login thing (RIP Ubuntu One). Not to mention the time Ubuntu inserted Amazon affiliate links into the search app (which to their credit, they eventually removed -- tho the Amazon app that was just an affiliate launcher didn't go away until LAST YEAR).

In fact, I would argue that most distributions with a focus on user interface and usability tend to have a lot more of the things that macOS and Windows have, like user accounts (tied to app stores or whatever), giving back telemetry (which is often really, really important for developers to have), or are part of major enterprise servicing agreements that have a lot of tracking and management by design.

Plus, whether you use a Mac, Windows, or Linux, most users are going to be using Chrome as their web browser, almost certainly attached to a Google account, watching Netflix, using a cloud service for storage, and what, playing games using Proton, which is sure giving Steam a whole lot of your data. The web won and the web surveils us. It just does.

If it makes you feel better that your chosen distro doesn't have as many options enabled by default and that you can't have a common user account to sync settings across multiple desktops, that's awesome. But I think that ignores a fundamental way humans use computers and the web -- regardless of OS. You're being surveilled. Linux isn't going to save you.