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I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

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

#581

Post by pjmlp »

morshu9001 wrote: post #445
rickcarlino wrote: post #260

Linux is one of the last strong defenses for the idea that people should control the computers they own. On desktops and servers, root access is normal, and attempts to take it away do not work because software freedom is well established. On phones, that never happened. There is no real, mainstream “Linux for mobile,” and the result is a world of locked-down platforms where things like “sideloading” are treated as s…

Android is Linux. There could easily be a secure-boot desktop Linux too if companies cared to target that platform with things like banking apps.

Not really, it makes use of Linux kernel, cages it on pseudo-microkernel architecture since Treble and Mainline refactorings, uses a Java userspace, and the NDK has a quite clear list of what APIs are allowed to be called.

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

#582

Post by _yc_is_evil_ »

conz wrote: post #535
mft_ wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or maybe the operating system should just work reliably for (at least) the basics? Or if it can’t, at least give an indication why? Blaming a new user like this is one of the cultural reasons why the ‘year of the Linux desktop’ has always been n+1.

Re: "Or maybe the operating system should just work reliably for (at least) the basics?" So, out of curiosity, if I tried installing MacOS on any of the 15+ computers I have at home, what are the likely chances that this "operating system should just work reliably for (at least) the basics?" I can tell you that my success rate with Linux is 100%.

[dead]

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

#583

Post by jolmg »

crazysim wrote: post #379
bisby wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

no? A file system is the format that the data on the disk is stored as. If you mount an ext4 disk as ntfs, it wouldn't load properly. It's not just the interface for loading the data, it's how the data is actually stored.

What I mean is that it should ignore permissions on external ext4 by default in Desktops.

There's no concept of "external". What would it be, "USB" or anything mounted under /mnt or /media? What if it's the root OS drive of another computer you're trying to fix connected through a USB-SATA adapter? Should any program running with minimized privileges get to overwrite even root files in that OS drive?

I think that it's a pretty good heuristic that if permissions exist in the filesystem, they matter and shouldn't be ignored.

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

#584

Post by distances »

bigstrat2003 wrote: post #423
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.

Bro I don't care how long the battery life is. I use my laptop plugged in 90% of the time. The portability is so I can change what location I'm sitting at, not so I can be unplugged constantly.

It's the same for me. I understand that people do want to use them without plugging in, but I would imagine at least most developers prefer external screens, right?

For me the battery is good enough when it can last two back-to-back meetings without me getting worried, so about 2.5 hours. Otherwise it stays plugged to USB-C.

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

#585

Post by tonyedgecombe »

leptons wrote: post #224
bee_rider wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows is a bizarre product at this point; it is what the company is famous for, but it is small beans next to Azure, right? Nobody would get into the Operating System business to make money I think, the going rate is $0, subsidized by something (an ad company, a hardware company, or general kindness and community spirit).

If you want the "Home" version of Windows, you'll get ads and crap, but the cost will be free/low. If you don't want the ads and need a more professional setup, then you can pay for Windows "Pro" version. They also have server versions that cost a lot more, so yes, Microsoft can and does make money from their OS. No, it's probably not as much as they make from Azure now, but in the past it made them a lot of money. I…

The Pro version doesn't remove the adverts.

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

#586

Post by ErroneousBosh »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #243
ErroneousBosh wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Linux is a lot more user-friendly than Windows, with generally useful error messages when things go wrong. How do you fix Windows when it breaks every couple of weeks and the only information you get is a bright blue screen with a couple of lines of hexadecimal on it?

You run memtest86 to rule out a RAM issue, then check with your system reseller or mobo vendor for BIOS mitigations for the latest round of Intel CPU bugs. If you are able to rule out the RAM and CPU, try a different power supply. Failing that, the motherboard itself may be causing the issue. Unfortunately there are few good ways to narrow down intermittent hardware failures (which is what you are experiencing) beyon…

The same hardware works flawlessly running Linux.

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

#587

Post by cromka »

rsyring wrote: post #490
cromka wrote: post #452

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Current Intel chips get 20h of regular laptop usage. For real: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-empire-strikes-back-with... The upciming Intel and Qualcomm CPUs are even better. They really caught up with Apple.

Not 20h of regular laptop usage: > The ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 Intel lasted for more than 21 hours in our Wi-Fi test (150 cd/m² brightness). This device will easily last more than ten hours in everyday use. Also, tested on Windows not Linux. Still, if I could get 10 hours of regular usage on Linux, I'd be ecstatic.

If you add a MacBook to comparison there on that website, you'll see they last basically the same in same usage. Qualcomm actually can get even more hours, if I remember correctly.

In any case, I don't think the battery time is an issue anyone with 2025+ devices.

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

#588

Post by xolve »

Some of the key milestones for desktop Linux which I can remember:

* Office and PIM apps moved to web, no longer its a requirement.

* You can game on Linux out of the box, same performance or even better.

* Installation and hardware compatibility - it has improved a lot! Even Nvidia and Broadcom chips run easily with no tweaking of config editors.

* Old hardware still runs at same performance (mostly). If I need to upgrade its because I am doing something more like watching 4K movies, running LLMs locally or running MS teams! Not because my file browser or basic text editor is suddenly slow.

There are two major hurdles I see:

* Enterprise IT still prefers Windows or Mac because of MDM (managed devices).

* Niche tools like photo/video editing, CAD software are still Windows only (with Mac ports for some).

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

#589

Post by throwaway2037 »

snek_case wrote: post #101
blauditore wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>unify the look and feel of mobile and desktop Lol, that's what Microsoft tried 10+ years ago and everybody gave them shit for it, especially Apple fans. Now Apple is "inventing" this again.

Ubuntu also tried this with Unity. They were hoping that Ubuntu would become more popular on tablets if they had a more tablet-friendly UI... They imposed this on desktop users even though nobody asked for it and basically nobody used Linux on a tablet. It was kind of a disaster. Ubuntu is a commercial entity though, so yeah, prone to the same kind of bad management decisions. as Microsoft and Apple. At least with Li…

    > It's sad that Ubuntu still has issues waking up from sleep mode in 2025.
This has little to do with Ubuntu and probably much more to do with proprietary hardware that makes it difficult to a write a bug-free driver for Linux kernel sleep mode.

What device is giving you the most trouble with sleep mode?

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

#590

Post by throwaway2037 »

ekianjo wrote: post #491
tombert wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree with this characterization. I don't run Gnome now (since I have more fun hacking on Sway), but I really don't think that the characterization of it being a "tablet desktop" is actually very fair. I found Gnome to be very productive, and actually extremely keyboard focused. Outside of a tiling window manager like Sway or i3, I actually have found it more keyboard-centric than any other desktop I've used. Th…

GNOME gets flak because they keep removing stuff people want for no good reason.

Can you give some examples?
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