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People keep flocking to Linux, not just to escape Windows

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201–210 of 214 posts

Re: People keep flocking to Linux, not just to escape Windows

#201
post #30

I switched to Linux in the past month. First, I installed GNOME based Fedora 43, that was a mistake. I got it working "somewhat" like Windows, with Dash to Panel etc. widgets, but stability was not there after all the hacks. Then I figured I try KDE Plasma, and this is so close to Windows that I made the switch permanent. Even little things like double-clicking on top, or bottom resize handle vertically maximizes the…

Generally, people who think apple has made good os ui/experience choices like gnome, people who are used to windows or like to tinker like kde, people who are comfortable with linux and want to specialize their workflows for greater productivity go tiling window managers (I personally like hyprland but a big part of that is it's the first tiling window manager I managed to get key combos to my liking before the big change of tiling pissed me off so much that I fled back to kde. I also don't mind the drama because I too hold political beliefs that would be characterized as center right libertarian sympathizing in the 80's and 90's but were labelled fascism 2017-2024ish. There are other options, niri is interesting, sway is an old standby that I never liked the aesthetic of.)

Re: People keep flocking to Linux, not just to escape Windows

#202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My parents run a Windows PC as, from what I can tell, a home for stray botnets. The main uses are checking email and working on Word documents. (They have a laptop and iPad, respectively, which does most of their work, so it's an infrequently consulted machine.) What Linux build would you recommend that I can fire and forget, that would be compatible with the Windows 10 machine they have running and will likely never…

How can they manage without Office suite? I really can't without teams that's why I keep coming back. PWA doesn't have the "5% feature" I need.

what's missing in the linux teams client out of curiosity? I use it every day and, besides being slightly less stable it doesn't seem to be more junk than the windows client (which in itself is pretty junky. There was so much moaning when we switched from telegram to teams at work just because message delivery was not rock solid)

Re: People keep flocking to Linux, not just to escape Windows

#203
post #30

I switched to Linux in the past month. First, I installed GNOME based Fedora 43, that was a mistake. I got it working "somewhat" like Windows, with Dash to Panel etc. widgets, but stability was not there after all the hacks. Then I figured I try KDE Plasma, and this is so close to Windows that I made the switch permanent. Even little things like double-clicking on top, or bottom resize handle vertically maximizes the…

I have a story quite similar to yours, both timeframe, KDE and fedora, but I did instead switch to CachyOS instead.

But regarding your Nvidia issue, I did get it working on Fedora first, but it was remarkably cumbersome (I put the blame squarely on Nvidia though). I used this guide:

https://github.com/Comprehensive-Wall28/Nvidia-Fedora-Guide

Re: People keep flocking to Linux, not just to escape Windows

#204
post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My parents run a Windows PC as, from what I can tell, a home for stray botnets. The main uses are checking email and working on Word documents. (They have a laptop and iPad, respectively, which does most of their work, so it's an infrequently consulted machine.) What Linux build would you recommend that I can fire and forget, that would be compatible with the Windows 10 machine they have running and will likely never…

It probably depends a lot on your parents. I went with Popos. It is simpler than KDE for someone with dexterity and mild cognitive issues. Plus it fixes a lot of the annoying ubuntu / gnome decisions like snaps and hiding the taskbar etc. There were a few initial teething questions in the first week, but 6 months in now and no other issues (apart from forgetting her password). Highly recommend.

PopOS is great, but I wouldn't recommend it right now while the new DE is in beta.

Re: People keep flocking to Linux, not just to escape Windows

#205

“Microsoft president Pavan Davulur tweeted on Nov. 10 that ‘Windows is evolving into an agentic OS, connecting devices, cloud, and AI to unlock intelligent productivity and secure work anywhere” Apple could probably run a Mac vs PC billboard on this tweet alone.

You can disable these if you don't want them, and if you do, then "Come to Linux, we're missing important features" is not going to be a winning pitch.

Re: People keep flocking to Linux, not just to escape Windows

#206

I don't know who said it, but it fits the current Windows vs Linux moment perfectly. "Most people don’t want control. They want optionally having control." Windows gives you the worst of both worlds. It restricts the control over the things that matter, and dumps unnecessary knobs on everything else. Linux flipped that. It stays out of your way, lets you change what you actually care about, and never fights you for o…

"They want optionally having control" sounds like Linux to be honest; do you want GNOME (no control) or KDE (unnecessary knobs on everything else)?

Re: People keep flocking to Linux, not just to escape Windows

#207
post #61
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They are mostly on the wrong side in the war on general-purpose computing. All modern Chromebooks can be put into developer mode without opening the case, which gives you root access.

And until very recently you could install whatever apk you wanted on your android phone.

You still can.

Re: People keep flocking to Linux, not just to escape Windows

#208
post #11
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Until ChromeOS get its own OS (wasn't it supposed to be in 2019?), it's still a Linux.

I think aluminum OS is next. Still Linux based.

Aluminum isn't an OS, it's a project to replace ChromeOS with Android.

Re: People keep flocking to Linux, not just to escape Windows

#209

What I want is some hardware that, if Linux stops working on it, it's someone's job to fix that. Which is why I'm strongly considering a Steam Cube.

A thinkpad then? Not exactly someones job, but hardware support for them is very good.

It still takes a discerning buyer to avoid the bad models (most of the ones ones with dGPU, etc).

Re: People keep flocking to Linux, not just to escape Windows

#210

I've been hearing about how Linux is going to replace Windows for at least 2 decades now. I expect it to finally happen some time after we get 'too cheap to meter' fusion power.

"The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed"
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