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Linux is good now

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Re: Linux is good now

#191

Post by nine_k »

threethirtytwo wrote: post #173
ErroneousBosh wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gaming now works better on Linux than it does on Windows. This must be upsetting for Microsoft, but it was their game to lose.

The irony is that gaming on linux got better but the instigator was not the OSS community. All of it was funded by closed source software competing with other close source software. The OSS community by itself did not have the conviction to climb over this bulwark.

But when Steam started to develop Proton, WINE was 90% there! Valve only had to provide the remaining 90%.

The strength of Linux and Free software in general is not in that it's completely built by unpaid labor. It's built by a lot of paid, full-time labor. But the results are shared with everyone. The strength of Free software is that it fosters and enforces cooperation of all interested parties, and provides a guarantee that defection is an unprofitable move.

This is one of the reasons you see Linux everywhere, and *BSD, rarely.

Re: Linux is good now

#192

Post by ffsm8 »

hackyhacky wrote: post #134
hparadiz wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Linux kernel has eBPF now so if they wanted to start spying on everything you do they can just do it.

> The Linux kernel has eBPF now so if they wanted to start spying on everything you do they can just do it. Sure, except that anyone can just compile a Linux kernel that doesn't allow that. Anti-cheat systems on Windows work because Windows is hard(er) to tamper with.

Uh, you'd have to compile a Kernel that doesn't allow it while claiming it does ... And behaves as if it does - otherwise you'd just fail the check, no?

I feel like this is way overstated, it's not that easy to do, and could conceptually be done on windows too via hardware simulation/virtual machines. Both would require significant investments in development to pull of

Re: Linux is good now

#193

Post by hodgehog11 »

lotsoweiners wrote: post #159
babl-yc wrote: post #33

I switched my desktop from macOS (10+ years) to Ubuntu 25 last year and I'm not going back. The latest release includes a Gnome update which fixed some remaining annoyances with high res monitors. I'd say it pretty much "just works" except less popular apps are a bit more work to install. On occasion you have to compile apps from source, but it's usually relatively straightforward and on the upside you get the latest…

Did you start using Linux on the Mac hardware or on PC hardware? I have a late era Intel Macbook and was considering switching it to Ubuntu or Debian since it is getting kinda slow.

Not the OP, but I have a 2015 Macbook Pro and a desktop PC both running Linux. I love Fedora, so that's on the desktop, but I followed online recommendations to put Mint on the Macbook and it seems to run very well. However, I did need to install mbpfan (https://github.com/linux-on-mac/mbpfan) to get more sane power options and this package (https://github.com/patjak/facetimehd) to get the camera working. It runs better than Mac OS, but you'll need to really tweak some power settings to get it to the efficiency of the older Mac versions.

Re: Linux is good now

#194

Post by Aldipower »

synergy20 wrote: post #182

Linux is my main and sole desktop since around-2006. I needed windows for TurboTax a few hours a year in the past but that's it, I did not do PC games though, just regular desktop stuff including developing code.

Same here, since 1997 though, running the tax software in a virtual machine with Linux as host.

Re: Linux is good now

#195

Post by BLKNSLVR »

BrandoElFollito wrote: post #149

What is really blocking the move for me is zScaler, Zoom (they may exist on Linux, not sure about how integrated they are) but especially Outlook (the client). The OWA version is subpar and without it I cannot function in a work environment.

> without it I cannot function in a work environment.

This is more about what you choose as your operating environment, not what your work imposes as your working environment.

Most places of work, mine included, run Microsoft services that lock them into the ecosystem incredibly tightly.

As per the article title, "if you want to feel like you actually own your PC", this is about your PC, not the one provided to you by your workplace (since it's likely owned by them).

One thing I'm worried about in my work environment is Microsoft enforcing the web versions of Office and deprecating the stand alone desktop applications. The web versions are a massive step down in terms of functionality and ease of use. Your mention of OWA makes me feel as if that is what Outlook will be sacrificed for at some point in the future anyway.

Re: Linux is good now

#196

Post by amlib »

tkiolp4 wrote: post #38
babl-yc wrote: post #33

I switched my desktop from macOS (10+ years) to Ubuntu 25 last year and I'm not going back. The latest release includes a Gnome update which fixed some remaining annoyances with high res monitors. I'd say it pretty much "just works" except less popular apps are a bit more work to install. On occasion you have to compile apps from source, but it's usually relatively straightforward and on the upside you get the latest…

But what about laptops? I don’t use desktop machines anymore (last time was in 2012). Apple laptops are top notch. I use ubuntu as vm (headless) for software development tho

Best you can do is build a high end desktop at home and access it remotely with any laptop you desire. The laptop performance then becomes mostly irrelevant (even the OS is less relevant) and by using modern game streaming protocols you can actually get great image quality, low latency and 60+ fps. Though, optimizing it for low bandwidth is still a chore.

Have that desktop be reachable with SSH for all your CLI and sys admin needs, use sunshine/moonlight for the remote streaming and tailscale for securing and making sunshine globally available.

Re: Linux is good now

#197

Post by xboxnolifes »

drnick1 wrote: post #175
fooker wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The last remaining roadblock is kernel level anti-cheat frameworks. Pretty horrible technology, and unfortunately a good majority of the gaming industry by revenue relies on it.

Clearly, when there will be enough Linux gamers another solution to the kernel-level anti-cheat issue will be found. After all, the most played competitive shooter is CS and Valve has does not use kernel-level AC.

The competitive CS leagues do use AC though. The big issue for these games is the free-to-play model does not work without anti-cheat. Having a ~$20 fee to cheat for a while before getting banned significantly reduces the number of cheaters, and that's what CS does with their prime server model.

And for what it's worth, I'm pretty sure Valorant is the most played competitive shooter at the moment.

Re: Linux is good now

#198

Post by sudo_and_pray »

mkozlows wrote: post #76
sho_hn wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been working on the Linux desktop for 20 years, and I've been using it on the desktop since 1999, so I lived through the infamous "Year of the Linux Desktop" era. I've not seen anything like the current level of momentum, ever, nor this level of mainstream exposure. Gaming has changed the equation, and 2026 will be wild.

Windows 8 era had the same vibe.

This time there 2 big factors that were not there in '12.

1. 'office' cloud services - now you just need a browser for majority of docs/sheet/slides tasks

2. gaming - while it was possible back, but it was really hit or miss with a game. Nowadays vast majority of games work on Linux out of the box.

Re: Linux is good now

#199

Post by gerdesj »

mkozlows wrote: post #83
tkiolp4 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But what about laptops? I don’t use desktop machines anymore (last time was in 2012). Apple laptops are top notch. I use ubuntu as vm (headless) for software development tho

Works well if the laptop has hardware designed to support Linux. Framework stuff is great, for instance.

"laptop has hardware designed to support Linux"

I've had Linux running on a variety of laptops since the noughties. I've had no more issues than with Windows. ndiswrapper was a bit shit but did work back in the day.

What issues have you had?

Re: Linux is good now

#200

Post by rolph »

nodesocket wrote: post #50

I have a Windows 11 PC strictly for gaming. Nearly every-time I interact with Windows it infuriates me with garbage code, Microsoft business BS and anti-privacy. I’d love to switch but has Linux gaming solved the anti-cheat requirement issue? Do Epic and EA games work on Linux? I also play a decent amount of Flight Simulator 2024 and losing that is almost a non-starter for switching.

anticheat is not a linux issue, its a developers issue. it seems facially easy to solve. pair players with the type of game they want.

  turn on anticheat if you want to join no cheat sessions.

 if you want a cheat game turn off anticheat and you join sessions with other cheat players.

 the whole dilemma comes out of malignant users that enjoy destruction of other users ability to enjoy the game.
  go nuclear on clients that manage to join anticheat sessions with cheats turned on.
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