I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great • Hacker News Board

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#61

Post by t43562 » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 5:15 PM UTC

toddmorey wrote: post #9

Commercial OSes (both Windows and MacOS) now feel so insanely agenda driven, and the agenda no longer feels like anything close to making the user happy and productive. For Mac, it feels like Apple wants to leverage what came out of VisionOS and unify the look and feel of mobile and desktop--two things no one asked for. For Windows, it feels like ads for their partners and ensuring they don't fumble the ai/agent tran…

Even within the range of Linux distros there are some that feel more agenda-driven than others. That's the absolute wonder of it. One can sidestep the flamewars and just use another distro that suits likeminded people.

On the other hand I think this makes it difficult to provide a perfect experience - you have to stay closer to the herd if you want trouble free computing. You have the choice.

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#62

Post by carlosjobim » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 5:16 PM UTC

xerox13ster wrote: post #32

raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Come back when I can run Linux on a laptop that has 12+ hours battery life, runs fast, that’s lightweight, quiet and doesn’t cause infertility from the heat when I put it on my lap…. Using an x86 laptop in 2025 is like using a flip phone 6 years after the iPhone came out. Of course if you are a gamer, ignore everything I just wrote.

Given that this is your stance and demands for laptop hardware I have to assume that you have never once participated in the laptop market prior to the M1 releasing? That’s the only way your unrealistic expectations make sense. Of course, people have been parroting that about Linux on laptops for over a decade. I never understood it, since I’ve never had any significant issues with Linux on my laptops.

Battery life was always better on Macs, along with a bunch of other things.

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#63

Post by bee_rider » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 5:17 PM UTC

raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #14

toddmorey wrote: post #9

Commercial OSes (both Windows and MacOS) now feel so insanely agenda driven, and the agenda no longer feels like anything close to making the user happy and productive. For Mac, it feels like Apple wants to leverage what came out of VisionOS and unify the look and feel of mobile and desktop--two things no one asked for. For Windows, it feels like ads for their partners and ensuring they don't fumble the ai/agent tran…

Come back when I can run Linux on a laptop that has 12+ hours battery life, runs fast, that’s lightweight, quiet and doesn’t cause infertility from the heat when I put it on my lap…. Using an x86 laptop in 2025 is like using a flip phone 6 years after the iPhone came out. Of course if you are a gamer, ignore everything I just wrote.

Why would anyone come back? Nobody is bothered by you having a device that you like, and nobody cares if you replace it.

People without this particular 12 hour battery life requirement (which is quite niche, most of us live near plugs) are talking about what works for them.

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#64

Post by 1970-01-01 » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 5:17 PM UTC

My Linux evenings usually appear 6 months down the road. It's the big updates that cause system breakdowns. This is like saying I got married in November and everything is going great. Far too early to know how far your patience will be tested before you leave.

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#65

Post by rwyinuse » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 5:18 PM UTC

raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #14

toddmorey wrote: post #9

Commercial OSes (both Windows and MacOS) now feel so insanely agenda driven, and the agenda no longer feels like anything close to making the user happy and productive. For Mac, it feels like Apple wants to leverage what came out of VisionOS and unify the look and feel of mobile and desktop--two things no one asked for. For Windows, it feels like ads for their partners and ensuring they don't fumble the ai/agent tran…

Come back when I can run Linux on a laptop that has 12+ hours battery life, runs fast, that’s lightweight, quiet and doesn’t cause infertility from the heat when I put it on my lap…. Using an x86 laptop in 2025 is like using a flip phone 6 years after the iPhone came out. Of course if you are a gamer, ignore everything I just wrote.

I love my expensive Macbook at work, but at home old my old Thinkpad running Linux is a godsend. The performance is perfectly adequate for all my daily non-work needs, battery lasts several hours, and since the thing has little monetary value, I can be pretty careless with it, in an environment with small kids running around and doing random things. At this rate, I think it will last me well into 2030's.

I'm not going to buy a new Macbook with my own money as long as I can't install Linux on it. I don't want perfectly fine machines to turn into e-waste, or at least become insecure once the original manufacturer decides not to offer OS updates anymore.

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#66

Post by raw_anon_1111 » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 5:18 PM UTC

carlosjobim wrote: post #62

xerox13ster wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given that this is your stance and demands for laptop hardware I have to assume that you have never once participated in the laptop market prior to the M1 releasing? That’s the only way your unrealistic expectations make sense. Of course, people have been parroting that about Linux on laptops for over a decade. I never understood it, since I’ve never had any significant issues with Linux on my laptops.

Battery life was always better on Macs, along with a bunch of other things.

Apple did some OS optimizations. But the next to last x86 laptop generation (the butterfly keyboard era) was really bad. The keyboards were bad and they had poor thermals

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#67

Post by xerox13ster » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC

carlosjobim wrote: post #62

xerox13ster wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given that this is your stance and demands for laptop hardware I have to assume that you have never once participated in the laptop market prior to the M1 releasing? That’s the only way your unrealistic expectations make sense. Of course, people have been parroting that about Linux on laptops for over a decade. I never understood it, since I’ve never had any significant issues with Linux on my laptops.

Battery life was always better on Macs, along with a bunch of other things.

Yeah, but that’s Mac, not Linux on Laptops of the era designed for Windows

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#68

Post by hackyhacky » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC

nikanj wrote: post #55

Do any of the main-stream Linux installers make any attempt at bringing over your files? I have seen so many ”anyone can switch to Linux” articles, and none of them seem to mention ”all of your files are going to be utterly lost”

This is a non-issue if your files are stored in a partition separate from your OS, and is infeasible otherwise.

* If you have a separate partition, you can replace your OS and your file remain untouched.

* If you don't have a separate partition, your OS and your files will be replaced by the Linux installation. The only way to preserve your files is to copy to some external media before installation. Even if the Linux installer could retain files while reformatting a partition (which might be technically feasible), it would have no way of knowing which files to retain: the user could easily keep important files in arbitrary directories, not just in their designated C:\User\Patrick directory, and they would be understandably irate if the installer promised to keep files but didn't. To say nothing of adding complications of copying files that Windows has pushed to OneDrive.

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#69

Post by tazjin » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC

raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #14

toddmorey wrote: post #9

Commercial OSes (both Windows and MacOS) now feel so insanely agenda driven, and the agenda no longer feels like anything close to making the user happy and productive. For Mac, it feels like Apple wants to leverage what came out of VisionOS and unify the look and feel of mobile and desktop--two things no one asked for. For Windows, it feels like ads for their partners and ensuring they don't fumble the ai/agent tran…

Come back when I can run Linux on a laptop that has 12+ hours battery life, runs fast, that’s lightweight, quiet and doesn’t cause infertility from the heat when I put it on my lap…. Using an x86 laptop in 2025 is like using a flip phone 6 years after the iPhone came out. Of course if you are a gamer, ignore everything I just wrote.

Xiaomi, Honor and Huawei make ARM-based notebooks like that. The closest to your description is probably the Qingyun line of laptops.

Re: I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

#70

Post by arcfour » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC

freedomben wrote: post #23

arcfour wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been using desktop Linux for about the same amount of time and the way I see it now, even on the occasion where I have to troubleshoot something weird (which has maybe been one or two times in the past few years), it doesn't sound any different from the issues people are having with Windows and Mac these days—and at least I can fix it!

Yes exactly. When I had a Mac for work, I had to tinker with that thing just as much if not more so than I do Linux. To windows credit, it was the best of the three when it came to not having to tinker to get what I want, but the lack of ability to configure it in a way that was comfortable and preferable was more limited and difficult, so there were annoyances I had to just live with. The point at which they started…

Oh god, I had a Mac for work recently and had to spend 3 weeks becoming an expert in Mac External Displays And Thunderbolt just to get my HP Thunderbolt 4 dock (officially compatible with Macs!) to use a dual monitor setup with it. Finally I got it working, but every configuration I tried Just Worked(tm) on Linux. Jeez...