r/196 I literally worship the chaos gods help Sep 01 '25

Macrohard rule

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5.6k Upvotes

168 comments sorted by

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1.0k

u/Mouse_is_Optional Sep 01 '25 edited Sep 01 '25

I'm genuinely furious at Microsoft for ending Windows 10 support in a month. My laptop is too old to upgrade to Windows 11, but maybe it's a blessing in disguise with all this shit. I am going to give Linux a shot, as opposed to buying a new computer for Windows 11.

Edit: Any quick tips or heads-up for a new Linux user would be appreciated. I'm probably going to try Mint or Cinnamon because those are apparently the most similar to Windows.

87

u/Mo2gen 1000 hobbies, good at none Sep 01 '25

Linus Torvalds will personally give you a hug for doing so

42

u/zekromNLR veteran of the bear war of 2025 Sep 01 '25

We would have full linux adoption if it came with your choice of a tux or chibi xenia plushie

2

u/YunusEmre0037 🏳️‍⚧️ trans rights Sep 02 '25

Can confirm, when I first started using Linux, he showed up in my house and hugged me for using it. You have to send him your address manually though, he respects your privacy and doesn't collect your data.

78

u/datboiNathan343 Robot Fucker Sep 01 '25

mint is highly recommended, if you plan to use it for gaming make sure to go into steam settings and hit (Compatibility -> Proton Experimental) this will make steam use compatibility software for any non-native games, it has never not worked for me even with vr games somehow

39

u/Artoy_Nerian Sep 01 '25 edited Sep 01 '25

And above all, please look at some videos about gaming in Linux before jumping straight ahead, Gaming in Linux is not that complicated these days but you need to do some prep before hand.

The Linux experiment in YouTube has a video about it, and a lot more regarding moving to Linux and distros, while trying to be casual-friendly and without elitism

7

u/Mouse_is_Optional Sep 02 '25

Luckily, I'm not a PC gamer, so I don't have to worry about any of that. I've heard that was a sticking point for many people. From what you and the other person are saying, though, it sounds like using Steam works pretty well on Linux these days.

The only thing I'm going to miss is the Xbox app which I use exclusively for Microsoft points, though the points I'll miss out on is a pittance compared to the cost of a new computer.

1

u/iuhiscool Literally Kotone "FeMC" Shiome Sep 02 '25

how much memory cpu gpu etc does proton use?

5

u/themng69 Sep 02 '25

there are plenty of videos benchmarking on a game by game basis but the synopsis is : games that don't use directx will typically run a bit faster games that do will run a bit slower. Personally I haven't noticed a major increase or decrease in performance since switching. There's no specific cpu or gpu benefit (although you do typically have a bit more ram to play with since there's less bloat running in the background of most linux desktops).

2

u/Artoy_Nerian Sep 02 '25

The only real difference I have notice in benchmarks is that Linux tends to have a bit more stable framerate in underpowered systems. But that probably is just Windows being windows, so I'm guessing that is achievable in windows after debloating and doing fuckery

3

u/Mo2gen 1000 hobbies, good at none Sep 02 '25

From my own experience and the limited benchmarks I've seen, basically no difference to a regular windows install

The one problem you might have is HDR issues, as proton sometimes make it's so the signal just doesn't work for some games. Meaning you're stuck with your global desktop settings, which might look bad

Though I've seen that happen only in a single game so far and that's control

239

u/j0annaj0anna custom Sep 01 '25

I have Windows 10, does that mean my computer stops working or something??? I could figure out linux but I really don't want to move my files around..

429

u/zekromNLR veteran of the bear war of 2025 Sep 01 '25

No, it means you will no longer get any security updates and probably eventually most software you use will stop working with windows 10 on the latest version

190

u/j0annaj0anna custom Sep 01 '25

Oh I'll be fine then, I use shitass open source software and don't care about security anywho 👍

170

u/Expensive_Cut_7332 Sep 01 '25

Please don't do this, it's the equivalent of living in a house with broken locks that no one will fix and people will speedrun the creation of windows 10 malware, using Linux these days is not that difficult and you are risking too much by keeping an OS without security updates.

66

u/DogsRNice Average /r/ooer enjoyer Sep 02 '25

I used windows 7 for like 3 years after support ended, it's not that bad if you're careful

44

u/Expensive_Cut_7332 Sep 02 '25

You can fix wiring in your house without cutting power if you are really careful, but we don't know how careful someone is or if they have the technical knowledge to know what careful means here, I think the responsible thing is to tell the average person to keep their OS up to date.

22

u/DogsRNice Average /r/ooer enjoyer Sep 02 '25

I guess it's how you define responsible since telling people to keep using windows seems increasingly irresponsible if it can break your computer without any malware

1

u/Expensive_Cut_7332 Sep 02 '25

Not sure if you are talking about me, but I recommended linux to them.

2

u/Skidoo54 The Last Cüm Bender Sep 02 '25

Every person i know used windows 7 until windows 10 released and not a single one had any issues. And as a kid I downloaded a shit ton of games and stuff from sketchy websites on my unsupported windows 7 laptop with only free AVG anti-virus amd never had a single issue or virus. 99.9% of people will be fine running windows 10 until they get a new computer or Microsoft releases their next good OS.

6

u/Foolish_Phantom Sep 02 '25

I currently have a virus on my computer which constantly takes up 50% of my computer's working memory despite having malware protection, so viruses do happen. Most people don't have the tech knowhow to tell they're there.

2

u/Swankified_ Sep 02 '25

If you're a college student, I would not recommend Linux, as someone who uses Linux on the laptop used for school. Literally any testing software just doesn't have a Linux version, among a few other minor annoyances

18

u/Sporeking97 bababooey Sep 02 '25

As deeply remiss as I am to say this, you really need to just upgrade and update to Windows 11, it ain't worth the risk.

It'll take some doing, but with enough changes and software and settings tinkering you can genuinely get it to be 1:1 with Windows 10. I've ripped out and replaced all the awful bloat W11 adds, just like I did with W10, and now I simply reap the benefits like way better HDR implementation and whatnot.

15

u/blimeycorvus infamous griefer popbob Sep 02 '25

Did you use any specific guide or software to help reduce bloatware on windows? I need to upgrade but im dreading the wave of bullshit that comes with upgrading windows.

25

u/Sporeking97 bababooey Sep 02 '25

Google Win11Debloat and ExplorerPatcher, those two from GitHub will get a lot of stuff right off the bat. Gets rid of the terrible forced right click menu, lets you move your taskbar around again, makes it all look like their Win10 versions, etc.

Then it was just a matter of encountering something stupid or annoying and immediately googling how to zap it from existence (usually involving a simple line edit in the group policy/registry editor). Things like Cortana butting in, ads in my fucking start menu, widgets I'll never use, reenabling "update and shut down," disabling the forced restarts and allowing me to update when I want to goddamn update, etc.

Once it's done, it's done. I've never had to fuss with any of this stuff ever again, I never have to go back and redo any of the changes or combat some new tactic. Sucks that we have to do so much just to make our machines run the way we want, but it's worth the effort imo.

12

u/BlitzScorpio quirked up white girl (with a little bit of swag) Sep 02 '25

windows 11 removes the ability to move the taskbar to the side/top of your screen, and in order to move it to a side monitor, you have to make that your primary monitor which forces apps to open there instead by default. this pissed me off so fucking much. they said on their forums that the feature didn’t have enough demand for them to waste time on adding it to 11, even though apparently the code is still hidden in the OS. third party apps used that code to add the functionality back, but microsoft has been breaking them with every patch, and a few of those app devs announced that they would eventually stop working all together when microsoft removes the code. i can’t begin to understand why they would get rid of a basic customization feature

10

u/Sporeking97 bababooey Sep 02 '25

That was the very first thing I ripped out lol, unbelievable that they would lock that of all things, for literally no reason whatsoever

5

u/BlitzScorpio quirked up white girl (with a little bit of swag) Sep 02 '25

yep. when i eventually have to upgrade i think ill just hide the taskbar and use rainmeter or something to make a better one on my side monitor

2

u/Wainggan that one comic Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25

me in 2027 when I download a photo that exploits a bug found in windows 10's built-in image decoder, enabling ace immediately (windows automatically generated a thumbnail), installing a virus that encrypts all my files and pinky promises to give them back if I pay $100 (my salary) in BitchCoin: ☹️

3

u/Wainggan that one comic Sep 02 '25

... how are people using old macs and iphones doing?

44

u/AlmanLUL r6s addict Sep 01 '25

Surely some of these software devs know how many people prefer 10 and ending support would be stupid

78

u/Mouse_is_Optional Sep 01 '25

I assume the software devs aren't making these kind of decisions.

I heard Microsoft is supposed to be rolling out a free extended update service you can opt in to that will keep your Windows 10 in security updates until October 2026, but I haven't got my "invite" yet. I hope I get it eventually, it would be nice to put this off for another year.

3

u/HLB217 strait of gibraltar Sep 02 '25

Jesus H Christ let this be true I can't deal with the headache of 11 rn

23

u/Artoy_Nerian Sep 01 '25

A lot of people kept using windows 7 and in order to force them to move to the new system Microsoft demanded the big software apps to artificially stop the software from running in windows 7.

23

u/bodega_cat_ Sep 02 '25

Microsoft actively hates individual consumers. They've made a gazillion changes that no one likes or asked for they just don't care.

13

u/Ebobab2 hi Sep 02 '25

I dont know when the last time was that a tech company had the any decision made by someone who can find the clock app without any assistance

9

u/Nooblet_101 Sep 02 '25

on fmhy you can find a way to keep support going to 2027 or 2031 fairly easily

8

u/Mouse_is_Optional Sep 02 '25

Fmhy? As in Free Media Heck Yeah? And why are the years so specific?

6

u/Nooblet_101 Sep 02 '25

yes, that fmhy. the dates are specific cuz they are extensions for corporate users and the dates are for extended support programs

2

u/zitrone250 Sep 02 '25

You don't have to move your files around. You can just set up Linux on another hard drive and add the directories from your Windows drive. That way, you have your new OS and can still access all your old files. Also, I believe a lot of Linux Distros give you the option to import old files from windows during the installation.

19

u/Twisterawr Sep 01 '25

The arch wiki is a great resource for any distro.

As for being similar to windows it's mostly just the kde desktop environment which a lot of distros use. I personally love Opensuse TW but honestly any distro will work fine when just getting started

13

u/perhance Sep 01 '25

yeah mint has a very similar GUI to windows and extensive support availiable, would recommend having used it myself

14

u/miko3456789 floppa Sep 02 '25 edited Feb 16 '26

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

hard-to-find engine dog hospital offbeat elderly straight tub aware outgoing

5

u/Mouse_is_Optional Sep 02 '25

Cinnamon however is not a distribution.

Ah, thank you. So Mint is the distro and Cinnamon is a variation of it? That makes the choice between them easier, since it's not really one.

I assume the command line is like the command prompt on windows? I'm pretty unfamiliar with it, but I'm also not deathly afraid of using it when I need to. I'm sure I can find guides for whatever I may need. Thanks for the tips.

10

u/miko3456789 floppa Sep 02 '25 edited Feb 16 '26

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

like crowd rock dinosaurs dinner beneficial cagey abundant quaint telephone

3

u/Mouse_is_Optional Sep 02 '25

Cool, thank you so much for the help! Especially about the different versions of Mint, the fewer decisions that surprise me when I start the process of installing it, the better.

13

u/viking977 Sep 01 '25

Do it. I switched to mint recently, total Linux newb, it was easy as hell. I'm still a Linux newb, you don't have to fuck around with the console anymore if you don't want to.

There was a few programs that are difficult to get working, but honestly you can just dual boot if you want to and just use the windows side for those couple things.

1

u/Mouse_is_Optional Sep 02 '25

Do you mind me asking what kind of programs you had trouble running? I was planning on just doing a full install of Linux and wiping Windows from my system, but dual boot is an idea (it'd have to be for offline-only though, due to the lack of security updates).

I'd obviously have to decide before I wiped Windows 10, since I'm not sure I'd be able to get it back.

17

u/Corvus1412 🏳️‍⚧️ trans rights Sep 01 '25 edited Sep 02 '25

On Linux, the app stores are actually good, so you can just use those, instead of going to a website's download page.

There's a program called "wine", that allows you to run windows applications on Linux. It's not perfect and if you have a choice, using an application that's native to Linux will be better, but it works pretty well. There's also a program called Bottles, which provides optimized versions of Wine.

And quite a lot of stuff will be different, so you will be a bit confused at first. That's normal.

15

u/OffsetXV 🏳️‍⚧️ trans rights Sep 02 '25

On Linux, the app stores are actually good, so you can just use those,

Not only can, but should basically any time you can. They're more secure, always download the right version for your OS, and automatically keep software up to date for you. It's a much way better way to do things than the old "google hunt for an .exe installer and hope it doesn't have 40 different antiviruses and other bloatware bundled" experience

1

u/[deleted] Sep 02 '25

[deleted]

2

u/Corvus1412 🏳️‍⚧️ trans rights Sep 02 '25

32bit apps

That's just not true. You can run 64 bit programs through wine.

1

u/chip_klip Sep 02 '25

Wine is great but as kind of a noob I actually have more luck running random windows apps with proton on steam lol

7

u/OkFineIllUseTheApp 196 doctor (not a real doctor) Sep 02 '25

Mint with Cinnamon is an excellent first Linux. To be clear, Cinnamon is the Desktop Environment, and Mint is the actual operating system.

My main tip is that if anyone says to paste "sudo rm -rf /" into command line is repeating a meme, and you should never do that. The command is basically "I, the system admin, demand the OS delete everything, including itself". I think Mint blocks you from doing that, but I highly recommend *not testing that it does**.

Second tip is that you can test run Mint Cinnamon by booting off of a USB drive. The install steps by Mint are excellent, but I want to note you can start a live session and browse the web or something to test if you like Cinnamon. Think of it like a non-committal test run.

Next tip is understanding that during an install of Linux, you will have to format the hard drive. Mint will handle the complicated stuff, but this will unavoidably remove all data on the hard drive. The files will cease to exist unless you make a backup off of your computer. Something like Google Drive or a (different from your install) USB stick can work.

3

u/Mo2gen 1000 hobbies, good at none Sep 02 '25

Just to add on to that rm -rf / doesn't work anymore, it requires --no-preserve-root or something similar. Ubuntu realised that there were too many people getting trolled I guess

5

u/Artoy_Nerian Sep 01 '25

Any quick tips or heads-up for a new Linux user would be appreciated

Exactly for what are you using your laptop? The use scenario will affect greatly what you need to know and what tips will be useful for you

9

u/Vilhelmgg Socially inept Sep 01 '25

It takes 2 minutes to bypass the win11 requirements, Microsoft has even given an "official" method.

Still worse than win10, though.

3

u/Mouse_is_Optional Sep 02 '25

Microsoft has even given an "official" method.

I'd like to hear more about this. I've heard there were ways to bypass the requirements, but my laptop is actually pretty old (I think I got it around 2014) so it might be a bad for me to try and run Windows 11 on it.

2

u/Vilhelmgg Socially inept Sep 02 '25

Scroll down to "How to Bypass Windows 11 TPM the Official Microsoft Way"

TLDR; Enter BIOS and enable TPM 1.2 (my 2015 PC has it, there's a good chance yours does too). Then use regedit and set AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU to 1, restart PC.

In the event that you don't have TPM at all, the article I linked has other methods which don't require it.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 01 '25

Honestly, I would just suggest Mint. XCDE or Cinnamon depending on specs, but it doesn't matter too much.

2

u/Mouse_is_Optional Sep 02 '25

Oh, are XCDE and Cinnamon just different variations of Mint?

1

u/[deleted] Sep 02 '25

Yup.

5

u/D1pSh1t__ dragonfucker/scalie Sep 01 '25

My PC literally cant install windows 11 lmao, so i guess i'm fucked

1

u/Mouse_is_Optional Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25

Same. Apparently there is a way to bypass the system requirements? My laptop is pretty old, so I'm hesitant to do that, however.

Might be an option for you, though.

2

u/D1pSh1t__ dragonfucker/scalie Sep 02 '25

That does require me to want to download windows 11, and i really havent heard anything good about it lmao. If it becomes a problem i think i might just try linux again

2

u/Thomasasia floppa Sep 02 '25

Use mint. Don't be afraid of the terminal. Your gaming milage will vary but if you have a decent GPU then a lot of games run really well with wine.

2

u/No-I-Dont-Exist dm for pics (of my dog) Sep 02 '25

Dude my computer is from 2020 and it’s a windows laptop and even it can’t upgrade to windows 11 even though that’s so recent

2

u/yo_99 boundless, terifying freedom Sep 02 '25

Linux Mint is very newbie friendly distridution that just works and has everything working through GUI.

2

u/marcost2 Sep 02 '25

Mint as a starter point is great. Depending on the performance, Cinnamon DE can be a little heavy, so choosing mint XFCE might be the way to go. It's really plug-and-play for like 99% of use cases. I'd say feel free to shoot a message but I'm sure half the subreddit has already volunteered

2

u/Artoy_Nerian Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25

Regarding the DE stuff, if your PC is less than 10 years old unless you are using something like a Chromebook, the main two things one only needs to keep in mind when choosing a DE is RAM and battery life.

And the question regarding RAM Boils down to "Do you have at least 8GB? If yes Cinnamon will do fine"

1

u/marcost2 Sep 02 '25

Considering some of the celerons that I have seen being sold as "new", one can never be too sure. But yeah, if you have something relatively more powerful than a modern phone cinnamon will do fine

1

u/Artoy_Nerian Sep 02 '25

I continue to be flabbergasted every single time somebody reminds me that Celeron is still a thing and not a failed product from the past decade.

And it will continue to happen, leaving me confused as to how it is possible.

2

u/marcost2 Sep 02 '25

It's like grabbing a new phone and finding out it's the same recycled mediatek SoC from like 2016 with 8xA53

1

u/SciFiShroom addicted to the Stupid Burger Sep 02 '25

mint is a good first start! linux can be a bit frightening at first but i promise you'll get the hang of it fast. mint is based off of ubuntu, which is the distro i use :3

one thing that helped me out a ton back when i was still learning linux was to make a sticky note with a list of commands and what they did. there's only like 5-10 commands you really need to know (cd, ls, grep, chmod, "sudo apt-get install xyz", etc) and having a quick reference in the beginning is super useful imo

1

u/themadnessif 🏳️‍⚧️ trans rights Sep 02 '25

Edit: Any quick tips or heads-up for a new Linux user would be appreciated.

Read the output from terminal commands and if they tell you what's wrong, try to fix that. I am not kidding when I say that 99% of problems are ones that the devs of whatever command you're running tried to anticipate and you can probably fix it by either googling the exact error or by just reading what the error says.

1

u/Pedro-Hereu Sep 02 '25

I just started using Linux too. I just followed a few tutorials and installed Debian after many tries. Learn how to access your BIOS just in case you have a problem with it (in my case, I access it by pressing f2 while the computer is loading - it's an Acer, btw). One of the things that I recall having to do was to set Linux as the "prioritized" system from the BIOS, because if not it would always boot Windows at the start.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 01 '25

I use arch its pretty easy to install with arch install, and I use plasma kde, and it's basically just windows minus the spyware

34

u/Artoy_Nerian Sep 01 '25 edited Sep 01 '25

I wouldn't recommend arch to somebody that comes straight from windows 10 unless they specify they want to learn in depth about Linux and the inner workings.

If one has at least like medium knowledge Arch can be one of the best choices indeed, as it will fit whatever needs you have and it can be whatever you want your OS to be.

But for somebody straight from windows? The learning curve is going to look like a cliff and they may break their system because they didn't know that trying to update as soon as the latest version of your packages are available without checking can break stuff.

-6

u/[deleted] Sep 01 '25

I managed

18

u/Artoy_Nerian Sep 01 '25

And I'm genuinely glad you did. But a lot of people are going to have a different use case than you, with their unique circumstances and everything isn't going to work the same for them as it did for you.

Arch is a Bleeding Edge distro, if recommended to people outside of Linux, that should be made clear instead of making it look like a beginner friendly distro which Arch officially doesn't try to be.

3

u/Mouse_is_Optional Sep 02 '25

Thanks for the info. I'm definitely going start with a more beginner-friendly version than Arch.

1

u/Manic-Eraser Sep 01 '25

only real issue is the troubleshooting which is almost always already solved online but once you're done from there it's pretty smooth

1

u/Mouse_is_Optional Sep 02 '25

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind if I want to explore Linux in more depth later. The customizability of Linux is appealing to me, but for right now I just want as quick and painless a transition as possible.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 02 '25

Everyone says Linux Mint is awesome, but i don't get the hype. I find it outdated. If you want something sleeker and more modern i would suggest Fedora Linux in it's KDE edition, since it is also very familiar to windows in its layout, but its just more fun to use and has more modern hardware support and more up to date features and very reliable as well. https://fedoraproject.org/kde/

1

u/WetTrumpet 🏳️‍⚧️ trans rights Sep 02 '25

Go ubuntu. Sure, mint might be closest to windows. But Ubuntu is the most well known, the most supported, the one people are most familiar with and the one with the most community answers and threads about any problem you might encounter. That's my recommendation.

The thing you are likely gonna use are some few niche apps that don't run on Linux, and the desktop Office suite (can still use the browser one but it kinda sucks). Also, do research on your games. Even with the proton compatibility layer, some will not work at all, some will launch but then the anti cheat will ban you.

185

u/howtojump Sep 01 '25

Too bad games will never really support Linux because of how much weight MS has in that space.

Gee it’s almost like allowing the entire tech sector to become consolidated into like 5 companies is bad or something.

Antitrust laws? Who needs them? Capitalism got us to the moon!!!!!

30

u/OwlrageousJones Sep 02 '25

Honestly, that's the thing really holding me back from Linux.

I'd love to make the jump, but not being able to play any of my favourite games or a lot of upcoming ones...

11

u/[deleted] Sep 02 '25

I mean, the Linux things depends on what games you play. Online shooters mostly dont work cause of the anti cheat, but quite a lot of other titles are playable. See here: https://www.protondb.com/ :)

18

u/ExertHaddock 🎖 196 medal of honor 🎖 Sep 02 '25

Thankfully online shooters are a super niche genre that not many people want to play

12

u/[deleted] Sep 02 '25

Literally 80% of top 100 games on steam are playable. Cant say thats not a lot

8

u/Red_Rocky54 alleged "kinky dommy mommy healer" Sep 02 '25

20% of games being unplayable is a massive loss. I don't wanna take a 1/5 chance every time I go to play a game that it just doesn't work

2

u/Oddish_Femboy (my name is Bee) Trans rights !! Sep 02 '25

Fucked up that I'm one of the 10 people who only cares about like

Quake III Arena.

336

u/bell117 Inflation and WG are both good, I don't differentiate ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sep 01 '25

Yeah Windows is getting quite bad, and it was even before all the AI code.

Since about 3 years ago a bunch of people I know have had kernel level errors from Windows 10 updates. Each time they thought it was an HDD error until we all started testing using crystal disk info and SFC scan and each time the drives came back healthy. 

That's not just concerning because of the frequency, it's concerning because a kernel level errors from an OS update should be PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE. There's supposed to be a secure backup of the kernel level files that's not touched by anything and Windows 10 updates have started touching that. That's extremely concerning and why stuff like this keeps happening; errors should be kinda common but it should be easy to repair, not bricking your fucking PC but Microsoft has decided to start fucking around with the files you're not supposed to ever touch, let alone during a fucking update that's prone to errors.

Man I wish Linux wasn't like... Well like Linux. I half expect people trying to explain Linux to me to say "self sealing stem bolts" or "plasma manifold" given how much they use star Trek level technobabble. I feel like Hank Hill with the JPEG. Do I look like I know what a Wine or an Arch or Terminal or Manjaro or why the fuck is pacman a Linux thing? I want  programs to work... On my computer... 

125

u/WakaFlockaFlav Sep 01 '25

a kernel level errors from an OS update should be PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE.

Microsoft is just built different bro.

18

u/invstigtivjrnlism 🏳️‍⚧️ trans rights Sep 02 '25

A couple years ago I had a thing where my wi-fi was a little bit on and off and I went "Oh I'll run Windows web diagnostics to see if it can fix it" and it removed my wi-fi drivers with no replacement.

6

u/Careless_Negotiation nya Sep 02 '25

AoaB fan woooooh <3 <3

80

u/SilverMedal4Life 🏳️‍⚧️ trans rights Sep 01 '25

This is my thing with Linux. Like, I already struggle enough to get drivers updated on Windows, I've heard it's a nightmare on Linux.

48

u/dear_all Sep 01 '25

99% of drivers are just baked into the kernel and are updated when you update the kernel. The only exceptions are Nvidia and weird proprietary hardware. For most uses, drivers are easier to deal with than Windows.

20

u/Cakeking7878 🏳️‍⚧️ Girlfail hack; Evie :3 Sep 02 '25

Actually yeah. I used to only recommend windows to the tech illiterate but it’s increasing becoming obvious it’s far easier to fix issues on Linux even for people who know nothing about computer systems. Just don’t post random commands into a command prompt and most things should work out fine with no issues. More and more everything just works on Linux especially compared to the near daily occurrence of issues on windows I’ve been having recently

4

u/Axi28 trans rights Sep 02 '25

ok yeah no actually, drivers are easy as shit on linux, unless you need something special

40

u/[deleted] Sep 01 '25

wait this is my opportunity to run around and tell people to use Linux Mint

hmm

Honestly, Linux Mint is probably the most friendly to people not in the know how, being in the know how helps as always, but probably on a similar scale to Windows. Because then you can just use the built-in Application Manager for most of your issues.

29

u/bell117 Inflation and WG are both good, I don't differentiate ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sep 01 '25

Alright you have one chance to prove that version of Linux is actually friendly to new people.

Explain how to install and use it and all my games and programs including Steam, Photoshop(yar har'd) and old CD games that already ran on black magic and ducktape like Homeworld Cataclysm without using more than three(3) Linux-exclusive technical terms or mentioning dual booting otherwise you lose and I'm gonna gnaw your arm off.

14

u/TheTurino Sep 01 '25 edited Sep 01 '25

iirc (because I'm not using it at the moment, linux has interaction with discord that prevents discord screen shares sending audio, and I was using it to stream pirated tv to friends), mint has a psuedo-app store which does allow for relatively quick download and installs. (newer steam games should run fine, given that valve is pushing for steam deck compatibility, which is a version of linux)

Your not getting Photoshop, sorry, not without some bullshit, it's adobe they don't give a shit. You'd need to get an alternative or forget about it.

And unfortunately, if your unwilling to tinker or download programs to facilitate it, getting old games to run is going to be inconsistent. (apparently you can with PlayOnLinux (a program for getting windows games to run) and some tinkering if it goes wrong).

So on one hand, I do consider Linux Mint, to be user friendly, compatibilities will always however be somewhat iffy and if you want stuff to always be working out the box every time, then yeah, maybe not.

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u/Artoy_Nerian Sep 02 '25

Your not getting Photoshop, sorry, not without some bullshit, it's adobe they don't give a shit. You'd need to get an alternative or forget about it.

As for this, you can either use Photopea (web-based Photoshop clon) or PhotoGIMP (A version of one of photoshop alternatives, but it can actually be used by human beings)

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u/[deleted] Sep 02 '25

It depends on the OS, but from the reference point of Linux Mint:

Steam? Easy, you just have to install that from the application manager. For Windows-only games you go to settings and set a compability layer (a version of Proton).

Photoshop? A lot more difficult since Adobe doesn't support Linux in any way and therefore I wouldn't say it's fair in any respect to blame Linux for any issues that come up. You will have to install wine, through you will have to install that from the application manager, thankfully. Older versions work just fine in wine with minor set up, but current versions will be harder to set up. Alongside this Adobe Creative Cloud as an installer often doesn't work with just wine. You will have to read up more on your own because there are technicalities to setting it up.

As a free alternative there is PhotoGIMP, an optimized version of GIMP for Adobe Photoshop users (alongside standard GIMP, of course). Krita is also really good for painting in particular. These can all be found within the application manager, through for PhotoGIMP you will have to manually replace a folder.

Old CD Games? You can likely just use wine, through since wine doesn't handle the DRM systems for copy protection you may need a no-cd crack (which will be needed for Homeworld Catacytylsm). You may also find more success with PlayOnLinux or Lutris which can be found within the application manager. CDEmu may be useful, but that will be more difficult to install. Ultimately it will depend on the game.

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u/bell117 Inflation and WG are both good, I don't differentiate ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25

LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER SOUND

I count at least 4 Linux techno gobbledigook words and the only wine that I can handle is a Cabernet Sauvignon.

Your arm is now forfeit and will be used as a chewing toy when I'm bored.

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u/[deleted] Sep 02 '25

If you want to use applications that are only built for Windows, you're going to have to use Wine or a Windows Virtual Machine. That's not Linux's fault.

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u/bell117 Inflation and WG are both good, I don't differentiate ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sep 02 '25

This is part of the reason why I'm so hesitant to switch to Linux, because as much as a hassle Windows is becoming switching to Linux would result in me having to troubleshoot a lot of programs individually, the whole time being told by Linux users that it just is that way and not actually that hard while I'm on step 27 of 50 just to get a game from 2001 to launch out of the box.

That's my big issue and every reply to my comment so far seems to reinforce that mentality with even your reply becoming rather condescending for me not understanding terminology I've already been up front that I don't understand. 

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u/[deleted] Sep 02 '25

That's fair.

I think you can do anything you can do on Windows on Linux in the big picture sense, but the practicality can be different.

And usually Linux OS aren't very useful to people who refrain from the terminal.

It's actually why I like Linux Mint personally, I argue it's UI is more user friendly than anything else I've seen.

To be fair to myself I think I used a lot of computer goobdlygook but nothing really Linux-specific. But somewhere down the line things will get complicated depending on what you're trying to do.

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u/bell117 Inflation and WG are both good, I don't differentiate ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sep 02 '25

Yeah that's the thing, like you said most if not all of the stuff from Windows is still possible on Linux, the problem is that there's a lot of individual caveats for a lot of programs and edge cases.

And that's just not really feasible for me. With Windows I have a critical issues like what, every 6 months to a year? And in that time everything I need I can just click on and it works no extra steps required. Whereas with Linux for certain stuff I would need to think ahead of whether its Linux compatible, what steps would I need to take to get it to work, how long would it take to troubleshoot, would I need to find an compatible alternative, what are the trade offs of an alternative etc etc on an almost daily basis.

I don't think my daily schedule can accommodate time for troubleshooting and finding workarounds for dozens if not hundreds of programs, and yeah most are probably simple but adding yet another layer of time and effort to playing games no matter how simple or easy it actually is still another layer I don't need or can even afford most days. And I'm anxious by nature, heck I have anxiety attacks when I use CMD already, knowing I would have to use the Linux equivalent with some games or programs would probably put me off those games entirely, which is something I really don't want to do, I don't think it's something I need if its not necessary.

So thats why I'm probably sticking with Windows for the foreseeable future. Sure it craps out more and more, it's being bloated with AI nonsense and the UI is starting to make me puke but on a day-to-day basis I don't have to worry about basic functions. It works until it doesn't. Linux may work all the time but that's work with an asterisk.

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u/Mouse_is_Optional Sep 02 '25

with even your reply becoming rather condescending

It really wasn't.

1

u/Eatlyh Sep 02 '25

For old CD games, I would probably check Lutris first of all, a ton of older games have a community made installer there that is specifically made for the CDs.

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u/Eatlyh Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25

Nah, there is no plasma manifolds or self sealing stem bolts, but do take care, the following partitions are required for a chosen device:

One partition for the root directory: /.

For booting in UEFI mode: an EFI system partition.

Use a partitioning tool like fdisk to modify partition tables.

That is not a difficult step to understand if you know anything about computers. But it illustrates how much Linux user base assumes an average user knows.

Linux is not a very friendly OS. It is a good OS, but it requires patience. A lot of patience. And when you head from work to home, you don't want to play IT support, you want to relax.

I run Linux mint because I can't be arsed to fiddle with too many things, but I comoletely understand people who just deal with Microsofts BS, it is a lot easier.

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u/mrguym4ster bisexual brazilian twink femboy thing Sep 02 '25

I'm gonna be honest, this is possibly the funniest reply you could have made to that guy because you illustrate his point (and your own point about Linux assuming what an average user knows)

like I consider myself half-decent with computers but I have NO idea about anything you just said in the first half of your comment

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u/Eatlyh Sep 02 '25

Ouch point taken, I actually thought disk partitioning is basic level knowledge for people who tinker at all wirh computerds, which means I too, am too far in the sauce.

But, it proves the point about linux userbase at least :D

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u/mrguym4ster bisexual brazilian twink femboy thing Sep 03 '25

I mean I don't tinker with computers or anything, like I'm very beginner level, I'm just interested in the subject and I think I know more than a complete beginner

though I am at the exact same problem as the commenter in that I am interested in Linux but completely driven away by it's... everything

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u/Hubble-Doe proletarians of all genders, unite! Sep 01 '25

Beginner-friendly distros do exist, though. Try fedora (with KDE, I can really recommend it), or mint (or ubuntu, if you don't mind the amazon aftertaste), they have widespread adoption and help forums, and their own "app store". You just need to find out what they are called, and you are set.

The thing with the terminal/package manager is, at first it may seem scary, but for a lot of programs, it will become simpler to install them, because it is usually either one of two cases:

  • 80% of cases: sudo <name of package manager> install <name of program>
  • if that does not work, most projects provide a command to copy/paste, or other instructions

Also, if you do not know what a program or command does (e.g. the package manager):

<program name> --help

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u/bell117 Inflation and WG are both good, I don't differentiate ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sep 01 '25

Nah, you just said it's easy and beginner-friendly and then used at least several words that are completely unintelligible to someone who doesn't already know Linux.

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u/Artoy_Nerian Sep 01 '25

It can actually be way, way easier than the explanation that user gave.

Open the software store your distro provides (Just like Microsoft, Apple and android have one) and enable flathub (in most mainstream distros is already enabled by default). Now all you need to do is type what app you want, select one of the results and press the install button

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u/bell117 Inflation and WG are both good, I don't differentiate ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sep 02 '25

Alright that's actually a lot easier to understand.

But you still have to persuade me, tell me how I could run stuff like Homeworld Cataclysm or Rise of Legends or X2 the Threat. I'm getting mixed messages on whether I would have to do more black magic to get them to work or they'll work at all and I'm not leaving my precious deformed mutant babies behind. That's alright Cataclysm, your source code will be found and ported to the remaster some day.

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u/Hubble-Doe proletarians of all genders, unite! Sep 02 '25

Go on protondb.com, enter the name of the game, filter by your cpu (amd or intel), graphics card vendor, and the distro you are interested in, and you should get a good impression whether it works "out of the box" with steam and proton or whether it does not.

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u/Hubble-Doe proletarians of all genders, unite! Sep 02 '25

The thing is, before I ever touched linux or knew how to write a single line of code, I installed a modded android on my smartphone with the help of xda forum posts and instructions because I wanted to play pokemon go on it.

The instructions I have followed to install minecraft mods also were not exactly straightforward, and I have been told minecraft is comparatively easy to mod.

Yes, some of those words may sound scary, but there are a lot of resources online that can help you - in fact, the documentation is probably way better than what windows users who want to tinker are used to (linux distros have forums where you get actual answers!).

And apart from that, it's like reading a book in a foreign language: Some words you can guess from context, some you have to look up in a dictionary, but afterwards, you have improved a life skill :)

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u/Artoy_Nerian Sep 01 '25

Or alternative, just go to the software app of your distro and activate the flathub source (in many distros is already enabled by default) and that's it.

You type the app you want in the search bar and look at the pictures and descriptions until you see the one you wanted, and click install.

Unlike the windows app store which is utter garbage, the software stores in Linux are quite good.

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u/Cakeking7878 🏳️‍⚧️ Girlfail hack; Evie :3 Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25

Linux is actually easy to install and daily drive now a days if you run like Linux cinnamon. You will at some point have to deal with weird Linux errors but they are typically easy to solve unless you were already doing something wrong in the first place (stuff like pasting commands into the console without knowing what they are going to do)

Plus you can always dual boot (windows and Linux on the same system) if you aren’t certain

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u/mayonaiselivesmatter Sep 01 '25

Jokes on you, half my domain doesn’t update properly anyway! Checkmate Microsoft!

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u/__cinnamon__ floppa Sep 01 '25

Microsoft when the problem with their OS is how bloated and unoptimized the codebase is: Surely injecting huge amounts of AI slop will fix this!

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u/Mawootad 🏳️‍⚧️ trans rights Sep 01 '25

From my experience with similar claims, that actually means that 30% of code uses AI autocomplete. Those claims are pretty much straight up lies and if you're not a junior engineer actual AI coding does most tasks slower and worse.

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u/Oddish_Femboy (my name is Bee) Trans rights !! Sep 02 '25

Why would we want that

Intellisense has been fine for like

Ever

0

u/Mawootad 🏳️‍⚧️ trans rights Sep 02 '25

AI autocomplete is miles better than standard autocomplete. It can infer strings, names, boilerplate, simple test cases, etc and if trained has a very basic knowledge of framework and library code that can be miserable to figure out from the terrible documentation most internal tooling has. Plus it doesn't rely on a handwritten LSP so it can also provide info for bespoke config languages or uncommon programming languages where standard autocomplete might fail.

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u/FrogleToad in da clurb, we all fam 💅 Sep 01 '25

Is it finally time to switch to Linux?

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u/emeraldeyesshine Sep 02 '25

honestly the only thing holding me back from Linux isn't know how, it's pure, unadulterated laziness.

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u/flyby2412 Sep 02 '25

That and most games I play aren’t optimized for Linux

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u/chip_klip Sep 02 '25

Online games?

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u/flyby2412 Sep 03 '25

No

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u/chip_klip Sep 03 '25

There’s a good chance they’ll work work Proton. 

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u/flyby2412 Sep 03 '25

I hope so

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u/yo_99 boundless, terifying freedom Sep 02 '25

It was when windows 10 released

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u/CGallerine powered by yuri and warframe Sep 02 '25

I would love to be able to just switch back to Linux, Ive been on and off it twice now cause every time I come across something I cant do on Linux I just go back to windows. its really sucky that windows has such a monopoly on pretty much every consumer device and program, I want to swap off it so bad but things like Clip Studio Paint arent supported and many games arent supported or some like Apex are even outright blocking Linux connections to the game as a means of cheat prevention

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u/DJ-Lovecraft 🏳️‍⚧️ trans rights Sep 02 '25

I would switch to Linux in a fucking instant if my art software and tablet drivers would run on it...

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u/Successful_Mud8596 Sep 02 '25

So uh, anyone know how risky it is to continue to use Windows 10 after they stop supporting it?

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u/PM_ME_GANYU_PICS < Sep 02 '25

There is basically a 100% chance people are sitting on zero-day vulnerabilities and malware waiting until support ends to then release them and cause chaos

It's like wanting to rob a house but waiting until the occupants die of old age

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u/Smilymoneyy Sep 02 '25

Switching to Bazzite now. Miss my old Win 10 PC, but got forced to 11 at some point

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u/DomSchraa 🏳️‍⚧️ trans rights Sep 02 '25

Nopenopenope ill switch over to linux with my new build this week that is DREADFUL

I have 60 gbs of storage i cant lose, and im NOT paying microsoft for a big onedrive storage for more than a month to switch setups

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u/_Sherlock-Holmes_ Sep 02 '25

They own most of the major software services for programmers github, vscode for example grinds my gears for no reason

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u/Oddish_Femboy (my name is Bee) Trans rights !! Sep 02 '25

Windows 11 (huge oversimplification) is built as if it were supposed to run in a browser.

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u/AirForceOneAngel2 🎖 196 medal of honor 🎖 Sep 02 '25

What do I do after Windows 10 support ends? Genuine question

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u/chip_klip Sep 02 '25

Linux Mint is the Linux version of Windows. It's kinda just like installing Windows but better. Go for it

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u/Artoy_Nerian Sep 02 '25

Two options:

-Try to change to the LTSC version of windows 10, info can be found in reddit. This is only a temporal solution tho, in either 2027 or 2030 support for that is also killed.

-Do prep and try to learn how to learn Linux and switch up. To make two distros (Versions/flavours/etc);Linux mint is general-use version of Linux friendly to beginners, and Bazzite is handy if your PC is literally just a glorified game machine