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Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

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Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#311
post #257
post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "You couldn't pay me to put up with the massively inferior environment of any of the Linux DEs at this point." Sounds like you're using Visual Studio... which at this point is closer to an Operating System than an IDE...

Why do you say that? I just hate jank, and KDE, Gnome, and XFCE are all janky as hell in their own infuriating ways. PS: I haven't had any version of Visual Studio installed since about 2004.

Can you give examples of what you disliked in each of KDE, GNOME and XFCE?

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#313

I just moved to Linux as my primary OS; been fucking great. 11/10 Overall, everything seems to "just work" at least as well as on MacOS and is not quite (for me) as endlessly frustrating as Windows. Gaming has also been effortless and honestly just the most delightful surprise about the whole thing. I can write code AND play games... on the same machine... and it's running Linux?! I would've lost that bet ten years a…

> Really, most modern Linux distros are pretty god damn nice. I agree, and what really sold me was Plasma Desktop, as someone that couldn't stand KDE 3 & 4. It used to be that GNOME was the desktop environment you could turn into a Windows or macOS clone, but it looks like that switched with GNOME 3 and KDE 5. I have Plasma Desktop set up[1] to take advantage of my macOS muscle memory when it comes to the GUI and key…

I finally got fed up with tweaking Arch/DWM and switched to Manjaro with KDE on my main machine, I went through all the versions of Manjaro and all had their problems and I finally settled on KDE.

Looks good, allows me some tweaking, runs surprisingly light. Although, still some annoying bugs, the most annoying being when I open an application on my 1440p screen, KDE often opens it on my second monitor for no real reason.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#314
> "Linux is more flexible and customizable." > "Linux gives you more control over your computer." > Stop it.

I think the above reasons explain this better rather than the deep dive the article tries to accomplish.

We're talking about preferences here. If I prefer Linux I don't need an explanation. Personally I like the lesser restrictions (Both Windows and Mac are locking down more and more) and the higher customisation it offers.

But the thing about preferences is that they are largely a feeling. Therefore reasons don't have to be concise or defined scientifically. One example: I hate the way Windows 10 forces me to update whenever it wants, and doesn't allow me to turn off telemetry. Neither of those things will actually affect me very much: I would usually update within the required timeframe anyway and the telemetry is minimal.

However it is the feeling of increased corporate control over my machine, in a time where corporate surveillance is already rampant that makes me hate this.

So objectively these arguments are hardly valid but still I feel better moving to Linux (or rather: FreeBSD) as a daily driver. That's ok as it is my preference :)

PS: I use pretty much all platforms every day for various reasons

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#315
post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently spent 30 minutes figuring out why the Bluetooth pairing process wasn't giving me the pin number I needed to pair my new wireless keyboard. Ugh. Eventually, after searching through forums, I updated the right modules to get it working. I want to use Linux as my daily driver, but I am frustrated by little things that don't work or go wrong.

I've been using Windows for the past couple years for work after mostly using Ubuntu for several years. I felt the same way about Bluetooth but I've found all the Bluetooth problems I thought were "Linux" are just as bad on Windows. But Windows is just a lot more unstable. Every other week there's some new thing that breaks in a confusing way, and it's all closed source shovelware so I can't even figure out what is c…

I was using windows for years, both in work and at home. It never ever break up that often for me. Serious question: what is breaking up that often for all? I mean, which part of the system, what it does when it breaks?

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's possible the Chromium/Electron thing is this bug[1], which affects new proprietary nvidia drivers on recent Chromium versions. I also experienced that bug, though I don't think it affected Firefox for me. It resolved itself for me recently in all apps except Slack. I have no idea why. I'm fairly sure I didn't update anything. While it was still reproducing, I tested a purported fix in the upcoming Chromium 87 (o…

Yep. Only Slack ever had that problem for me. I reopen it again after every resume, when I have to work with my customers. I don't use Slack for anything else.

I can't stand the electron client of Slack, so I use ripcord instead.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#317
post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Linux runs better on both new and older hardware. This is very much debatable. What's true however is that if your HW is not supported by at least Windows 8.1 you're SoL. > Better as in programs open faster, the file manager opens faster, the task manager opens faster. Everything uses less memory and less CPU cycles. Everything is snappier. I haven't observed any slow downs in Windows 10 for ages. As for "less memo…

Parent author reporting back. I am going to have to sort of disagree with you there (in Lumbergh voice). In all seriousness though, you are wrong on all points. Sorry, yes you are wrong. Rather than write a point by point rebuttal, against my common sense (you know, the thing about arguing with someone one the Internet) I'll just write a few paragraphs, provide some professional anecdotal and maybe quantitative evide…

I think in a previous HN thread I got unkilled I talked about the problems of CompatTelRunner and Appraiser, shipped with Windows 7/8/8.1 updates and which even MS employees like Billy O'Neal complain about. I deliberately installed the updates that contain CompatTelRunner and Appraiser on an old Windows 7 laptop with a hard drive to demonstrate its problems.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#318
post #115

This may seem silly to a bunch of people in this thread, but MS Office and OneDrive is what is keeping me on Windows. I rely on the core MS Office apps enough that I wasn't able to switch to Linux full time. Also, I rely on OneDrive and the "download files as you need them" feature which isn't available with any of the open source apps. That said, Windows 10 is solid and with the combination of WSL2 and Hyper-V, I ca…

I believe Dropbox also supports Smart sync and has Linux support.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#319
post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 2. Linux servers are targeted and breached. Linux desktop share is too small to be worth it (yet). Why aren't we replacing them with something better then? Why are most servers still running GNU/Linux?

Linux as a server/headless OS has been fantastic for me. I have a home NAS running Linux that hasn't been rebooted in over a year and that was due to swapping out hard drives. Linux as my desktop OS, not so much. I have to reboot my Linux laptop every few days for various reasons, including complete unresponsiveness to any keyboard input.

Run a memtest86 and keep an eye on the temps during usage. This is not normal.

Are you running nvidia drivers?

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Really, most modern Linux distros are pretty god damn nice. I agree, and what really sold me was Plasma Desktop, as someone that couldn't stand KDE 3 & 4. It used to be that GNOME was the desktop environment you could turn into a Windows or macOS clone, but it looks like that switched with GNOME 3 and KDE 5. I have Plasma Desktop set up[1] to take advantage of my macOS muscle memory when it comes to the GUI and key…

I finally got fed up with tweaking Arch/DWM and switched to Manjaro with KDE on my main machine, I went through all the versions of Manjaro and all had their problems and I finally settled on KDE. Looks good, allows me some tweaking, runs surprisingly light. Although, still some annoying bugs, the most annoying being when I open an application on my 1440p screen, KDE often opens it on my second monitor for no real re…

If you hare looking for a more arch experience again, check out endeavouros. Phil and the Manjaro group have increasingly proved their incompetence.
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