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I dumped Windows 11 for Linux, and you should too

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Re: I dumped Windows 11 for Linux, and you should too

#651
post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've yet to have a day when CachyOS can come out of sleep: hangs at various steps and requires a hard reboot that somehow relaunches apps on login that I explicitly closed hours ago.

I had the same problem with Fedora which is part of what prompted me to switch. It works great for me in Cachy. I assume either way it was an Nvidia problem.

Yup, I have Nvidia :)

Interestingly enough, I didn't have the same issue with Omarchy/Hyprland. Hyprland doesn't have even the most rudimentary ability to restore windows but it was almost rock solid when it came to coming out of sleep.

Still searching for that one true Linux distribution :) Will stay on Cachy for now because gaming is so much better.

Re: I dumped Windows 11 for Linux, and you should too

#652
Since 2008 I've been on linux as my daily driver. You'll find two laptops in my backpack: a macbook air and whatever linux machine I'm using for development. I'm almost to the point with the mac, I use it maybe once a month. So much works better on linux. The Mac (and occasions where I've tried Windows) is not nearly as easy to deal with as it was. Far too many decisions for the user to make, and far too many situation where you just aren't allowed. For example, I once fired up my macbook, only to be jarred by Apple News notifications about a gristly mass murder. While I sympathize with the victims, I do not want my routine broken by news out of my control. So I tried to get rid of Apple news only to be told by Apple support that was not possible.

My computer is mine. I do not want the manufacturer or author of the OS controlling it. Ever. Full stop.

Re: I dumped Windows 11 for Linux, and you should too

#653

For both ideological and practical reasons, I'd love to switch. If I were a desktop computing person, I'd already have done so years ago. Alas, I exclusively use laptops - as I work a great deal while travelling. I do not wish to have to carry around a mouse with me wherever I go with my portable computer. If any Linux distro manages to replicate even 80% of the smoothness and functionality of a Mac trackpad experien…

Here's a perfect example of this: Using a Mac trackpad on macOS, you can two-finger scroll as fast or slow as you want. If you go slow enough (you might have to "roll" your fingers instead of moving them down), you can scroll your browser pixel-by-pixel. This behavior carries through every app on the system. Scrolling basically does exactly what your fingers do. Now, run Linux (say, Ubuntu) on that exact same hardwar…

idk, the two finger "rolling" pixel-by-pixel scroll seems to work for me - Firefox (also foot terminal, Slack (xwayland), and Signal) on Scroll (a Sway fork) on Debian (testing) on a ~year old Thinkpad X11. I don't think I've done anything to configure or customize it either.

I got a Thinkpad (after a few years on a Macbook) largely because in the past the track point was a lot better than trackpads. But in those years, it seems hardware and/or software have improved enough that I barely use it.

Re: I dumped Windows 11 for Linux, and you should too

#654

Everyone is talking about moving to Linux lately, it’s a bit of a trend. I wish they’d stop, for one simple reason: I’ve been using Linux exclusively (when I’m not forced to use macOS by work) for several years now, and I rather enjoy the lack of malware, spyware and other bullshit on the platform. If the general public comes over this situation might end. Desktop linux isn’t a target right now because its niche, I’d…

Better spread the Linux word because with enough users more developers will be attracted and the race good vs bad hackers in OSS will be won be the former. "Nothing is hidden under the sun". Closed source is made to push malware secretly.

> Closed source is made to push malware secretly.

That is factually incorrect flamebait. Closed source is made primarily due to a desire to retain control. While one can use control for malicious reasons, the predominant use is to make money.

Re: I dumped Windows 11 for Linux, and you should too

#655
I bought a laptop in 2008 and in 2017 was forced to install W10. Well, the `08 hardware wasn't having it and I didn't have the cash to pony up for a new laptop so I installed Linux. Great decision.

There's definitely specific niche software that is restricted to MS and if you must use that, then by all means stay aboard. Otherwise, today's a great day to scroll distrowatch and pick your poison.

Re: I dumped Windows 11 for Linux, and you should too

#656

At some point it is not that Linux is better, it's about rejecting the decisions made by a company blinded by profits.

Yeah this is what switched me. I was forever complaining about wall gardens and yet was too 'comfortable' with my macbook-pro as it was the best laptop period.

I switched to a thinkpad x1-carbon and popos and never looked back. Sure I would love 10 hour battery life, but it's not THAT big of deal (for me) to carry a charger.

Re: I dumped Windows 11 for Linux, and you should too

#657

This was, still is and for the foreseeable future it'll be bad advice. Stay on Windows 10 as long as you can. With LTSC IoT that's 2032. We will figure out something then. It doesn't work. Right now the main issue is Wayland vs X where Wayland is not working and will never work because the underlying ideas and goals do not align with that of a desktop. Someone described X as ALSA, Wayland as PulseAudio and we are wai…

> Wayland is not working and will never work because the underlying ideas and goals do not align with that of a desktop.

Can you elaborate on this?

I don't use Wayland because it lacks something I need (unprivileged Scroll Lock LED control) but I'm curious about what else keeps people from using it.

Re: I dumped Windows 11 for Linux, and you should too

#658

It’s worth acknowledging the real challenges raised in this thread: desktop Linux still has rough edges for some use cases, hardware support isn’t always perfect, and niche professional software may lack native support or require workarounds. But these obstacles are not intrinsic technical limitations so much as ecosystem and investment gaps, areas where community projects, standards efforts, and wider adoption could…

Desktop Windows still has rough edges. Desktop MacOS still has rough edges. Desktop Linux still has rough edges. Pick your poison. Niche professional software may lack native Windows support or require workarounds. Windows has a strong grip in enterprise environments where it is desirable to remove desktop control from users. You have things like FreeIPA and Samba making weak offers beyond directory services in that…

> Desktop Windows still has rough edges. Desktop MacOS still has rough edges. Desktop Linux still has rough edges. Pick your poison.

I think this sentiment is often overlooked as people are used to their 'poison'.

As someone who uses Linux a their main personal machine (with dual boot to Windows every now and then) as well as W11 for work, it's amazing what you get used to.

I was almost agreeing with OP, remembering bluetooth issues I had with Linux just last month when one of my headphones couldn't connect properly and I had to spend 10-15 minutes messing about with bluetooth stacks to get it working again.

But reading your comment I just realised that my current work machine doesn't even detect my bluetooth headphone's microphone and I have not found a fix yet. That machine also does not go to sleep properly (a common, real, complaint from many linux users) and I have to hibernate it manually via command line as the option does not exist in my power menu due to corporate's rules and regulations.

I also get Windows blue screens far more often than I get Linux kernel panics.

You're just so used to the issues and inconveniences that you don't even recognise them as such anymore. Issue and inconveniences from a new piece of software you're trialing stick out like sore thumb though...

Re: I dumped Windows 11 for Linux, and you should too

#659
post #574

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ironically, being concerned and skeptical about running random executables from the internet is a good idea in general. I agree you shouldn't run random executables, but the key word is "random". In this case, Ring Racers is a relatively established and somewhat well-known game, plus it's open-source. It doesn't guarantee it's not harmful of course, but ultimately for someone with the mindset of "I should never run…

> plus it's open-source Open-source only matters if you have the time/skill/willingness to download said source (and any dependencies') and compile it. Otherwise you're still running a random binary and there's no telling whether the source is malicious or whether the binary was even built with the published source.

It's no guarantee, but it's a positive indicator of trustworthiness if a codebase is open source.

I don't have hard numbers on this, but in my experience it's pretty rare for an open source codebase to contain malware. Few malicious actors are bold enough to publish the source of their malware. The exception that springs to mind is source-based supply chain attacks, such as publishing malicious Python code to Python's pip package-manager.

You have a valid point that a binary might not correspond to the supposed source code, but I think this is quite uncommon.

Re: I dumped Windows 11 for Linux, and you should too

#660

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But most of those issues are because Linux doesn't have enough market share. No one brushes off Windows because they need to support Windows and they need to add CI/CD for Windows. The combination issue is a real issue though that (as far as I know) is mostly solved with Flatpaks, or in case of games, by using the Steam Runtime. Of course, it is a "chicken and egg" problem of "we don't want to support Linux because t…

Windows userland compatibility is outstanding. I can run most 30 year old Windows applications on Windows 11 without a problem. This makes it easy for a commercial vendor to support their applications on Windows. The same is not at all true on Linux. Right now at work, I’ve got a bunch of commercial apps built for RHEL9 for which I’m chasing vendors for new builds that work on RHEL10, for a variety of reasons. Depend…

Funnily enough there are old Windows applications that do work on Wine, but doesn't work on Windows 11
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