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Get your Windows license refund

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Re: Get your Windows license refund

#61
post #33
post #30

So after fighting windows for 30yr i also have started searching for linux os to switch to. Might feel weird initially but its a must now. 60% of my time spending on windows is wasted in refreshing/slowstartup/installing bloat and updates/. Clicking next > next etc multiple time just to install one software. Winget is not upto mark like apt and other unix package managers. As soon as i install chocolatey or 3rd party…

I switched to Mint and never looked back. It's one of the easiest transitions IMO, and if you really miss Windows, you can bring the aesthetic with you: https://cinnamon-spices.linuxmint.com/themes/view/Chicago95

I’m really curious how many people run this kind of skin unironically. Unironically here means they’d actively seek out to make their desktop OS look… 30 years old? No shade at all, just curios.

I def have all kinds of warm feelings towards the moment I first installed W ‘95 but wow I can’t imagine having that UX as my daily OS today.

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#62
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had some experiences like that, mostly when Spectre/Meltdown were new. (or if I had a dGPU which didn't have good drivers - or.. if there's no hardware acceleration for smooth scroll for some other reason, like chrome on ARM for a long time). I agree that it's a dealbreaker, and the circumstances in which it can happen are opaque and difficult to troubleshoot. Luckily these days with anything released since 2020…

Luckily these days with anything released since 2020- it's a lot better. Unless it’s a post-Intel Mac, and that’s all of them these days.

Websites work better on a mac than ever.

You mean Linux, probably, but thats because Chrome doesn't enable hardware acceleration pn ARM, so smooth scroll is disabled. Pretty rough.

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#63
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I switched to Mint and never looked back. It's one of the easiest transitions IMO, and if you really miss Windows, you can bring the aesthetic with you: https://cinnamon-spices.linuxmint.com/themes/view/Chicago95

I’m really curious how many people run this kind of skin unironically. Unironically here means they’d actively seek out to make their desktop OS look… 30 years old? No shade at all, just curios. I def have all kinds of warm feelings towards the moment I first installed W ‘95 but wow I can’t imagine having that UX as my daily OS today.

A few years back I threw Mint plus this theme on my old Thinkpad T430s. My intent was to use it for one thing and one thing only: writing. The theme helped me trick myself into thinking the machine was unusable for anything else.

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#64
post #30

So after fighting windows for 30yr i also have started searching for linux os to switch to. Might feel weird initially but its a must now. 60% of my time spending on windows is wasted in refreshing/slowstartup/installing bloat and updates/. Clicking next > next etc multiple time just to install one software. Winget is not upto mark like apt and other unix package managers. As soon as i install chocolatey or 3rd party…

Dual boot off a second SSD with a Grub EFI loader (it will recognize the Windows boot-loader on the other drive), and leave your windows install untouched. Still backup your TPM drive keys from windows before touching your bios settings, or you could lock yourself out of your account.

Everyone has an opinion on distros, but Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop is going to be easiest to migrate over use wise (looks like XP/win7.) Debian family of OS like Linux Mint or Ubuntu 26.04 LTS support most drivers like Brother network laser printers and scanners (check support before buying.)

For most users, Linux Mint will work with your hardware out of the box. Again, do a quick laptop model search to see what others say about your hardware drivers in a specific distro. Note, Ubuntu 26.04 with rtx 5070 ti needs a bit of driver customization, and quite a bit of patches to be pleasant. =3

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#65
post #30

So after fighting windows for 30yr i also have started searching for linux os to switch to. Might feel weird initially but its a must now. 60% of my time spending on windows is wasted in refreshing/slowstartup/installing bloat and updates/. Clicking next > next etc multiple time just to install one software. Winget is not upto mark like apt and other unix package managers. As soon as i install chocolatey or 3rd party…

maybe Azure Linux? :)

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#66
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly would assume that’s a pretty honest price for an OEM license paid by a company as big as Asus, they definitely don’t pay retail!

Why do you assume that? I’m genuinely asking. I’m aware of big companies generally paying lower rates for things, but I believe that’s usually driven by the increased leverage a big buyer has, while Asus has absolutely no leverage, if they switch to Linux today they’ll be out of business tomorrow. It certainly costs MS less to deal with one professional org than a million flaky individuals, but price is determined by…

You can get a new Windows 11 laptop on Amazon for ~$200. If they're paying retail cost ($140) for the license, over half that is going to Microsoft. I think most people would much rather buy the equivalent Chromebook for $70. In fact, the equivalent Chromebook costs about the same.

Re: Get your Windows license refund

#67
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly would assume that’s a pretty honest price for an OEM license paid by a company as big as Asus, they definitely don’t pay retail!

Why do you assume that? I’m genuinely asking. I’m aware of big companies generally paying lower rates for things, but I believe that’s usually driven by the increased leverage a big buyer has, while Asus has absolutely no leverage, if they switch to Linux today they’ll be out of business tomorrow. It certainly costs MS less to deal with one professional org than a million flaky individuals, but price is determined by…

I mean, it's also in Microsoft'S business interest to keep a major computer manufacturer like Asus selling windows machines. That's one of the main reasons windows is the default OS for most people.
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