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The day Windows died

thomasbandt.com

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Re: The day Windows died

#221

Post by tw04032023 »

I'll bite. What are our options?

Linux desktop environments are the worst out there and I for one am eternally grateful I don't have to deal with this stuff every day. Between X11/Wayland debacle, conscious effort to prevent anything resembling backward compatibility AND proper software distribution on the platform and a myriad of minor infuriating issues in each major desktop environment I cannot fathom why people are even bothered to complain about stuff like ads.

And don't even get me started on non-user-facing issues. At this point I know enough about the innards of Linux I can barely tolerate it on my servers, and I swear I switch to BSD next time something like fsyncgate comes up. Although there are environments where I cannot opt out from Linux, sadly, so I guess I'll clench my teeth and try and bear with it.

Apple takes the sweet spot of unbearability between user-hostile Linux and consumer-hostile Windows. I mean, I used to run with Mac for several years, but I didn't buy into the "ecosystem" - and most of my user experience was to learn how to do basic stuff _differently_ for apparently no reason, user-hostile enough. Then consumer-hostility comes up - who in their right mind could even conceive notarization?

macOS is stable though, I'll give it that. But then I still don't trust Apple to do hardware besides iPhones.

If you want a stable, fast desktop on hardware of your choice where everything just works (tm) get Windows. Just uninstall what you don't need, install what you need, configure DNS or get a Pi-hole or something to get rid of ads, complain on feedback channels and call it a day.

While Windows is getting more and more consumer-hostile by the day we still don't have a viable alternative and it doesn't seem we will get one in my lifetime.

Re: The day Windows died

#222

Post by nextos »

localghost3000 wrote: post #167

I am sure I will get all kinds of hate for saying this: despite the extra up front cost, apple stuff is a better value. Lets take device lifetime: I have a 2013 MBP 15 and 2015 MBP 15. I use them for intensive things like music production. Both devices work flawlessly. I also a System 76 Oryx Pro which cost more than any mac I own. The webcam failed 5 months in, several keys don't work anymore, and it gets hotter tha…

We are getting close to the best of both worlds, low-power high-performance Apple ARM laptops plus freedom to run Linux on them, if you want to, with great support.

Re: The day Windows died

#224

Post by FridayoLeary »

surgical_fire wrote: post #24
josephcsible wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That is what anti consumer looks like. Not SIP. It's not an either-or. Both of those are super anti-consumer. If you want an OS without anti-consumer "features", then install Linux.

I recently moved back to Linux, perhaps permanently. What kept me from it was not being able to reliably play games, but I can confirm that is no longer a problem. I can't properly describe how happy this makes me.

The issue with Linux for me is how crude and unpolished the desktop environment is compared to windows and Mac. For the average user the desktop is everything and Linux lag way behind on that. Why are there basically only 2 choices on Linux and both have the same boring font?

Re: The day Windows died

#225

Post by bobbylarrybobby »

qbasic_forever wrote: post #154
afavour wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And they won’t be able to complete their school work

Arguably they'll be learning more valuable skills than some of the schoolwork teaches.

Computers are tools. You're supposed to learn them because they make you better at something else. There is no virtue in being a Linux wizard; if anything it's a stain on Linux that wizards are even a thing.

Re: The day Windows died

#226

Post by technol0gic »

surgical_fire wrote: post #123
bee_rider wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did Linux gaming for a bit. The main annoyance was getting all the sound settings to work with… I guess it must have been Skype at the time, or maybe Google Hangouts or something… so I could play multiplayer games with friends. This would have been more than a decade ago, so I believe you if you say it is pretty good nowadays. Might check back. I know Discord runs OK on Linux.

For a long time I had Linux in Dual boot, cursing at how unfortunate it was that I couldn't really play games there. Even games that had Linux builds often had those as afterthoughts, with bugs not present in the main windows version. Now I can just play the Windows version through Proton. I hope that if Linux gains traction Proton becomes unnecessary, but I'm happy that Proton came as far as it is. Honestly, to play…

If I'm not mistaken, one of the reasons Proton is necessary is DirectX (Windows native & Proton) still does a better job of handling a lot of things than OpenGL (Linux native), so while you still see the same house (the game), the graphics foundation underneath is completely different. And say what you will about Microsoft (don't even get me staaaaaaarted), but DirectX is polished. It might even be their best product.

Re: The day Windows died

#227

Post by paulryanrogers »

midasuni wrote: post #126
baremetal wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They really advertise to you inside the operating system? I've been a Linux user for 20 years so I don't know.

[flagged]

Windows isn't free, though upgrades have been for a while after major releases since 10. You pay for it with a new PC or you have to buy it for custom built PCs.

ChatGPT was trained on data from 2021 and earlier, and tends to hallucinate. It's not a reliable or original source.

Re: The day Windows died

#228

Post by wang_li »

jakub_g wrote: post #135

> Next: Casual games. Minesweeper, Solitaire… who didn't waste time with those in the 1990s? Now they are cluttered with in-app purchase offerings. Wat? What are the purchases in Minesweeper and Solitaire? (My old laptop can't get Win11, thankfully I guess). Anyone could screenshot?

Solitaire in windows 10 has ads. If you want to disable, you’ve got to pay.

Re: The day Windows died

#229

Post by hparadiz »

charcircuit wrote: post #196
hparadiz wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Easy anti cheat works in linux now. Most games now just work

EAC has worked on Linux for like a decade. That doesn't mean that those games will let you play on Linux.

That's patently untrue. There were a few kernel patches necessary only a year ago to make certain EAC games work.

Here are all the games I play regularly with no problem:

- League of Legends

- Counter-Strike Global Offensive

- Apex Legends

- VRChat

- Civilization VI

- Factorio

- RimWorld

- Path of Exile

- Skyrim

- Final Fantasy XIV

And my performance is usually better.

Re: The day Windows died

#230

Post by flanked-evergl »

treve wrote: post #41
doctor_eval wrote: post #13

Having never lived in a Windows world I had no idea what life was like on the other side. So many times on HN I read about how MacOS is bad for the user, locked down, rubbish etc etc. But if this article is true then Windows 11 is absolutely insane. That is what anti consumer looks like. Not SIP. Not poor documentation. Not first party apps. While those of us who use Apple’s OS fear for the worst, those in Windows ap…

I built a gaming PC recently, so also new to Windows (normally Linux main). I was very surprised to see advertising in the operating system, for an operating system that people pay at least $190 CAD for. This issue is made worse by every hardware vendor needing to install their own bulky applications with their own popups. It's extremely noisy. My main take is that Microsoft has lost all pride in Windows and they're…

> they're uninterested in actually competing.

Microsoft has not had the need to compete on the merits of their software for very long, and this is really by design.

In the corporate world they sell to people who can't make informed choices and will never be held accountable for the choices they make.

In the home market they mange to get pre-installed on most hardware.

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