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Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux

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Re: Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux

#781

Post by mixmastamyk »

fasterik wrote: post #689

With Windows 10 EOL, I had to decide whether to upgrade my laptop to Windows 11 or Linux. I've been a Windows user for decades, but with all the user-hostile bullshit coming out of Microsoft and the degradation of performance on Windows 11, I decided to go with Ubuntu instead. I'm still on a Windows 11 desktop for the time being, but seriously considering switching there as well. The main thing stopping me is the und…

Recommend to split your music workstation from your personal files machine to get some privacy back. Then run cleanup scripts to pare Windows down to the bone. Also Mint over Ubuntu.

Re: Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux

#782

Post by 8bitsrule »

cosmic_cheese wrote: post #156
_fat_santa wrote: post #60

I've been running Ubuntu Linux for a long time now (over a decade, started with 8.04). Linux still has it's fair share of bugs but I'll take having to deal with those over running Windows or MacOS any day. For me the biggest thing is control, with Windows there are some things like updates that you have zero control over. It's the same issue with MacOS, you have more control than Windows but you're still at the whims…

The control is both a blessing and a curse. It’s really easy to accidentally screw things up when e.g. trying to polish some of the rough edges or otherwise make the system function as desired. It also may not be of any help if the issue you’re facing is too esoteric for anybody else to have posted about it online (or for LLMs to be of any assistance). It would help a lot if there were a distro that was polished and…

> It’s really easy to accidentally screw things up when e.g. trying to polish some of the rough edges or otherwise make the system function as desired.

'Similar to Windows' System Restore and macOS's Time Machine', the Linux 'Timeshift' tool can be used to do make periodic saves of your OS files & settings. (They can be saved elsewhere.) Restoration is a cinch.

Mint program 'Backup Tool' allows users to save and restore files within their home directory (incl. config folder and separately installed apps).

Re: Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux

#783

Post by ziml77 »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #68

This was me in 2022 or 2023. I have posted on HN about my shift a few times. I gave up with Windows 10 because you needed Windows Pro in order to make an "offline" account, I spent $2000+ for a gaming rig, and I couldn't add new users, one program told me to use the other program which brought me back to the original program... I had to go out of my way, buy a license just to make it work. I just went and installed L…

There actually is an installer for arch. I haven't tried it myself, but there should be an application included on the ISO called archinstall which helps with basically everything that's part of the install guide on the Arch wiki.

Re: Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux

#784

Post by mixmastamyk »

xboxnolifes wrote: post #593
jama211 wrote: post #511

There’s a lot of odd things said in this article. Like “no more file explorer hanging”, “no more waiting for the start menu to open” - is this something that actually happens to people? Perhaps on very old hardware I could see it, but it’s not my experience at all. Lots of weird emotional and very biased parts to this article. But it’s just gonna take off here anyway because it’s a switching to Linux article which is…

These are real things and they happen on very good hardware. They are even acknowledge by Microsoft. The explorer issue is from waiting on for a response from network drives that the explorer thinks exists or tries to find. The start menu I'm not sure, but I get the issue from time to time and I think its because of some background process hanging the UI or something.

Waiting to download ads to improve your experience.

Re: Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux

#785

Post by vanillax »

bigyabai wrote: post #668
vanillax wrote: post #656

I made the same switch but all linux always feels slightly jank. I think Macos is the best premium decoupling from Winblows, but that comes with its own ecosystem lock in. I use all three equally daily and it just drives me insane. Lots of games on Windows ONLY work on windows due to anti cheat. Ie BattleField 6.... MacOs Gaming is non existent and any attempt with say wine/parallels or whatever brings you back to wi…

Which would almost be unfortunate, but Battlefield 6 is the same slop as 2042 with a fanservice texture pack on top. You can play BF4, BF2, Bad Company, Arma 2/3/Reforger, and even DCS World without issue on Linux - why are you spending $70 to install a rootkit for a game you'll put 20 hours into, tops? Giving up Windows pushed me to play better games and stay off the unhealthy AAA release cycle that has strangled in…

I mean next on list is Escape From Tarkov.. the list goes on. its more than just Battlefield 6, theres tons of games that require a anti cheat solution for linux..

Re: Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux

#786

Post by WheatMillington »

ryukoposting wrote: post #259

I just started a new job where I'm subjected to Windows 11. They gave me a behemoth of a laptop. 64GB of RAM, absolute screamer of a CPU, big GPU, the whole deal. Windows 11's file browser lags when opening directories with more than 100-ish files. Windows 11's file browser takes a few seconds to open at all. Context menus take a noticeable amount of time to appear. I'm getting used to a new keyboard, so I keep hitti…

Your experience is very far away from mine. I don't experience any of these issues on a standard 32gb office laptop, or my home gaming machine.

Re: Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux

#787

Post by neuralRiot »

dist-epoch wrote: post #712
Aurornis wrote: post #633

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Windows 11's file browser lags when opening directories with more than 100-ish files. Windows 11's file browser takes a few seconds to open at all. > Context menus take a noticeable amount of time to appear. I can almost guarantee this is from some endpoint management software your company installed. I have a Windows 11 workstation that I use all the time for some CAD software and the occasional game. Everything is…

How about a right click on the desktop? I have a very fast computer with no bloatware on, yet it takes half a second for the desktop context menu to appear. When I do this repeatedly. The first time takes 1 second or more. Compare with a right click menu in a browser which is instant.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop > MenuShowDelay set to 100 (ms) close regedit, reboot.

Re: Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux

#788

Post by thr1owaway9621 »

mrandish wrote: post #653

I'm still surviving on Windows but only because over the last four years, as each new annoyance and regression arose, I made the mistake of very gradually, in tiny increments, sinking the time into invoking the arcane incantations necessary to tame each one. 15 minutes to deactivate an entire branch of notification pathways, 20 minutes to (mostly) restore the Right-Ctrl key they hijacked into a CoPilot key. 10 minute…

I never realized Windows tuning was a thing (WindHawk, Start11). Thank you for mentioning those.

I recently had to install Windows 11 to play a video game that runs janky on Linux, and I am encountering all the annoying problems people are describing in this thread (forced updates, full-screen ads, etc). It does not bother me too much, since I effectively use Windows only to play that one game. But maybe I can tune Windows 11 into something less obtrusive with the custom hacks. Thanks.

Re: Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux

#789

Post by amputect »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #68

This was me in 2022 or 2023. I have posted on HN about my shift a few times. I gave up with Windows 10 because you needed Windows Pro in order to make an "offline" account, I spent $2000+ for a gaming rig, and I couldn't add new users, one program told me to use the other program which brought me back to the original program... I had to go out of my way, buy a license just to make it work. I just went and installed L…

I switched my gaming laptop over to CachyOS (which is more or less "Arch with some good defaults for gaming and a curated runtime environment") because I literally couldn't play Stellaris on my $1800, year-old gaming laptop without regular hard crashes that locked up the entire system and required a hold-the-power-button-down hard reboot. This is apparently a rare but known issue on the Paradox forums, affecting many of their games, and it seems to be due to some problem with the 24h2 windows update on some machines, but there's no clear resolution. Eventually I got mad enough to just pave my entire gaming laptop and switch wholly over to Cachyos.

Since switching, I have not experienced a single problem with Stellaris, even running larger galaxies in longer games with more mods. I haven't had any compatibility issues or bugs or anything with my other games either. It was so painless that I switched my desktop over as well, and I no longer have a windows device. I've been really pleasantly surprised by how many games support Linux now.

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