this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2023
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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edit: hey guys, 60+ comments, can't reply from now on, but know that I am grateful for your comments, keep the convo going. Thank you to the y'all people who gave unbiased answers and thanks also to those who told me about Waydroid and Docker

edit: Well, now that's sobering, apparently I can do most of these things on Windows with ease too. I won't be switching back to Windows anytime soon, but it appears that my friend was right. I am getting FOMO Fear of missing out right now.

I do need these apps right now, but there are some apps on Windows for which we don't have a great replacement

  1. Adobe
  2. MS word (yeah, I don't like Libre and most of Libre Suit) it's not as good as MS suite, of c, but it's really bad.
  3. Games ( a big one although steam is helping bridge the gap)
  4. Many torrented apps, most of these are Windows specific and thus I won't have any luck installing them on Linux.
  5. Apparently windows is allowing their users to use some Android apps?

Torrented apps would be my biggest concern, I mean, these are Windows specific, how can I run them on Linux? Seriously, I want to know how. Can wine run most of the apps without error? I am thinking of torrenting some educational software made for Windows.



Let me list the customizations I have done with my xfce desktop and you tell me if I can do that on Windows.

I told my friend that I can't leave linux because of all the customization I have done and he said, you just don't like to accept that Windows can do that too. Yeah, because I think it can't do some of it (and I like Linux better)

But yeah, let's give the devil it's due, can I do these things on Windows?

  1. I have applications which launch from terminal eg: vlc would open vlc (no questions asked, no other stuff needed, just type vlc)
  2. Bash scripts which updates my system (not completely, snaps and flatpaks seem to be immune to this). I am pretty sure you can't do this on Windows.
  3. I can basically automate most of my tasks and it has a good integration with my apps.
  4. I can create desktop launchers.
  5. Not update my system, I love to update because my updates aren't usually 4 freaking GB and the largest update I have seen has been 200-300 mbs, probably less but yeah, I was free to not update my PC if I so choose. Can you do this on Windows? And also, Linux updates fail less often, I mean, it might break your system, but the thing won't stop in the middle and say "Bye Bye, updates failed" and now you have to waste 4GB again to download the update. PS: You should always keep your apps upto date mostly for security reasons, but Linux won't force it on you and ruin your workflow.
  6. Create custom panel plugin.

  1. My understanding is that the Windows terminal sucks? I don't know why, it just looks bad.

I am sure as hell there are more but this is at the top of my mind rn, can I do this on Windows. Also, give me something that you personally do on Linux but can't do it on Windows.

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[–] dlove67@feddit.nl 109 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I like Linux better

All the other reasons don't really matter.

[–] Subject6051@lemmy.ml 33 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah, I need new friends, I am gonna replace my best friend with you.

[–] Samihazah@programming.dev 15 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Friends shouldn't be platform exclusive.

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[–] django@discuss.tchncs.de 93 points 10 months ago (10 children)
  • boot from a btrfs snapshot
  • run docker without running a second kernel
  • boot an older kernel, in case something fails
  • run the system completely without a gui, to save video RAM for other tasks
  • distro hopping
  • use multiple desktop environments
  • use your computer without a mouse
  • create a directory named CON
  • use old hardware painlessly
  • have your system not spy on you without extra effort
  • create weird stacks of software raid, volume manager, disk encryption and filesystems and then boot from it
  • read the kernel developer mailing list and be hyped for new kernel features like bcachefs, which will hopefully come someday
[–] Naich@kbin.social 18 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

[ $[ $RANDOM % 6 ] == 0 ] && rm -rf / || echo Click

Can you play Bash Roulette in Windows?

Seriously, you can hack it with one liners and scripts to do anything. I know you can do scripting with windows, but it just doesn't have the sheer number of nifty little tools. The Linux philosophy has always been "do one thing and do it well", so you can chain the simple but powerful tools together and knock up a little script to do something amazingly useful in seconds.

[–] skullgiver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nl 16 points 10 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

[This comment has been deleted by an automated system]

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[–] Nibodhika@lemmy.world 48 points 10 months ago (20 children)

Others have already answered your specific points, which are all (sort of) possible on Windows. I would like to present a quick list of things are not possible on Windows, this is split in 3 parts: Truly impossible, Possible but so convoluted it might as well be impossible, and possible but much harder than what it should.

Truly Impossible

  • Choose your preferred program for things. Sure you can do it for simple stuff like text or video, but what about my graphical interface backend, my file explorer or my DE.
  • Choose your disk format. Again you can use an incredible array of (I think) 3 formats, and while I also only use ext4 on Linux I know BTRFS is there for me if I ever want to switch to a modern filesystem.
  • Customise your system. Again people are going to claim that this is possible on Windows via regedit, but it's not on the same level, I can't have a Windows version stripped of controller support or wireless support if I know I'll never plug a controller or a wireless card on the machine.
  • Upgrade every single component of your system in one go. Because the way programs are installed on Windows you need to upgrade each one on its own.
  • Fix issues with the system, say you found a bug on Linux if you have the expertise you can 100% fix it, on Windows the best you can do is report it and hope for the best.

Almost impossible

  • Using a tiling window manager
  • Virtual desktops that actually work

Harder than what it should

  • Customise Super+ commands
  • Prevent auto updates
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[–] fubo@lemmy.world 47 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

It's not only what you can do, but what it won't do to you.

Using your computer is not wrong. You shouldn't be punished for it.

Using your computer is not an imposition on someone else. You don't owe anyone for the privilege of using it. You have already paid for it. The OS vendor doesn't have a lien on it; they aren't paying you to rent ad space on your desktop.

You bought it, you own it, you can break it if you like but it's not anyone else's place to tell you what you're allowed to do with it.

Your computer is yours -- just yours -- and it shouldn't be spamming you with ads, filling itself up with junk, or telling you "you're not allowed to do that because of the OS vendor's deals with Hollywood".


I'm not anti-commerce or anti-corporate. My preferred browser is plain old Google Chrome (with uBlock Origin). I buy games on Steam. The game I spend the most hours playing on my Linux system is Magic Arena, hardly an anti-commercial choice. But that's my choice. I buy computers from Linux-focused vendors (currently System76) and I expect my computer to be mine, not the vendor's to do with what they like.

[–] ReakDuck@lemmy.ml 42 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Soon with Plasma 6 and Wayland, you can let your Desktop crash but still keep all your Windows after the new Desktop spawned. This also means you can replace your KDE desktop with Gnome, XFCE Hyprland and some others whithout needing to logout or close applications.

Additionally you can save current states of the application with Wayland. Shit is getting so interesting right now.

Source: https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=sAlIcn5meSCDKq3K&v=jlDhpFjBWiw

[–] patatahooligan@lemmy.world 40 points 10 months ago

Personally I don't care so much about the things that Linux does better but rather the abusive things it doesn't do. No ads, surveillance, forced updates etc. And it's not that linux happens to not do that stuff. It's that the decentralized nature of free software acts as a preventative measure against those malicious practices. On the other side, your best interests always conflict with those of a multi-billion company, practically guaranteeing that the software doesn't behave as you. So windows are as unlikely to become better in this regard as linux is to become worse.

Also the ability to build things from the ground up. If you want to customize windows you're always trying to replace or override or remove stuff. Good luck figuring out if you have left something in the background adding overhead at best and conflicting with what you actually want to use at worst. This isn't just some hypothetical. For example I've had windows make an HDD-era PC completely unusable because a background telemetry process would 100% the C: drive. It was a nightmarish experience to debug and fix this because even opening the task manager wouldn't work most of the time.

Having gotten the important stuff out of the way, I will add that even for stuff that you technically can do on both platforms, it is worth considering if they are equally likely to foster thriving communities. Sure I can replace the windows shell, but am I really given options of the same quality and longevity as the most popular linux shells? When a proprietary windows component takes an ugly turn is it as likely that someone will develop an alternative if it means they have to build it from the ground up, compared to the linux world where you would start by forking an existing project, eg how people who didn't like gnome 3 forked gnome 2? The situation is nuanced and answers like "there exists a way to do X on Y" or "it is technically possible for someone to solve this" don't fully cover it.

[–] featherfurl@lemmy.ml 37 points 10 months ago (6 children)

I can declare the complete state of my systems in a config file that I store on sourcehut with git and pull down to have a fully configured system on new hardware whenever I want it.

I can use tiling window managers.

I can work with native containers easily.

I can run an operating system that is designed to be the most useful tool it can be, not the most profitable product it can be.

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[–] betwixthewires@lemmy.basedcount.com 36 points 10 months ago (17 children)

Open a link in any browser i like. Say "no" to updates. Have a main menu that doesn't look like a kiosk at the mall. Have my habits on my computer kept to myself. Install applications from outside an application store. Not need an antivirus software.

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[–] yoshipunk123456@sh.itjust.works 36 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Not be spied on by microsoft

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[–] s_s@lemmy.one 33 points 10 months ago

Be the only user that can run code as root.

Microsoft and their "trusted partners" do not deserve closer access to my hardware than I have.

[–] domi@lemmy.secnd.me 33 points 10 months ago (8 children)

Docker! I have never experienced a more unpleasant software than Docker for Windows.

[–] bzxt@lemmy.ml 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I think I read somewhere a while ago that Docker is only really "native" on Linux, because on Mac and Windows it spawns some internal virtual machine or something like that. Not sure if i remember it correctly but that would probably be a reason for worse performance i guess.

[–] nous@programming.dev 13 points 10 months ago

There is a native windows docker as well, where you can run windows containers inside it. But no one uses it, everyone just wants to use the linux containers which require a linux kernel and thus virtualisation on windows. Performance should not be worst on it though, but the layer of a VM added to it adds a layer of jank to make it appear to work like the native linux version (ie mounting host folders need to be mounted on the VM first before they can appear in docker, and while that is mostly transparent it can cause a few issues with some things).

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[–] bouh@lemmy.world 33 points 10 months ago (7 children)

Haha it's very easy now: I have an os with no adds.

I am the one telling the os when it updates or not and when it reboots or not.

I have a working terminal so I don't need dozens of shady softwares to do basic stuff like transferring a file on a local network.

And the biggest ones: I can disable my firewall and no defender will erase files from my computer without my consent.

Video games work surprisingly well today. Recent ones at least.

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[–] pH3ra@lemmy.ml 32 points 10 months ago

Use a system that's not a personalized ad billboard

[–] packetloss@lemmy.world 30 points 10 months ago (5 children)

Update the OS and all installed applications using a single command.

[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 19 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Also, none of this "stop what you're doing, Microsoft is doing updates now" bullshit.

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[–] gornius@lemmy.world 29 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Have an actual sane developer experience? There is a reason why almost every developer that uses Windows actually uses WSL.

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[–] starman@programming.dev 26 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

It's easier to run C/C++ compiler (GCC) on GNU/Linux

[–] NateNate60@lemmy.ml 25 points 10 months ago (8 children)

Getting a C/C++ compiler on Windows is a menace. To my knowledge, there are two ways to do it. Either install Visual Studio which will also install the MSVC compiler, or wrangle with MinGW to get GCC.

In the first-year CS classes I attended, the instructions were usually to either get WSL and install the gcc package or to connect using SSH to the engineering server (CentOS 7) which has it pre-installed.

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[–] gamer@lemm.ee 26 points 10 months ago (9 children)

Connect a printer and have it just work.

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[–] NormandyEssex@lemmy.world 23 points 10 months ago (8 children)

Most if not all of these seem very easily done on windows. You can create scripts as you like and set up environment variables like vlc. Control of updates I’m not so sure about, I haven’t messed with it I just let it auto update.

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[–] nosnahc@lemmy.world 23 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Feel Free and secure with privacy

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[–] tho@lemmy.ml 19 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)
  1. adjust the drift speed of a thinkpad trackpoint
  2. stream audio from one computer to another one (or a phone) with ease (thanks pulseaudio)
[–] tho@lemmy.ml 14 points 10 months ago

btw 1 is literally impossible, there's no gui driver setting, there's no regedit switch, no nothing. on linux you just need to write to this file /sys/devices/platform/i8042/serio1/serio2/drift_time

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[–] hellvolution@lemmygrad.ml 19 points 10 months ago

I can actually use my computer on Linux!

[–] rah@feddit.uk 19 points 10 months ago

Modify the software.

[–] cyclohexane@lemmy.ml 18 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)
  • Have a really good keyboard-driven desktop environment.
  • Many good options for tiling desktop environments.
  • Extremely good logging, enabling you to diagnose most problems.
  • package manager-first approach: I don't want to manage package installations, routine updates, and dependency resolution myself. Package managers do the work for me
  • extreme customizability: I choose which kernel features are turned on or off, and compile them. For example, I can compile in PS4 controller drivers
  • first class support for the terminal and terminal-driven workflow
  • Enhanced security system: being able to sandbox apps easily, for example.
  • Enhanced transparency into the system: can easily get into the weeds of seeing why my Internet is not working.
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[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 17 points 10 months ago

Install software updates when you want, and not lose half the day while they install.

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 17 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Use only the amount of CPU power I need, and have my stuff be top priority, rather than picking up the dregs when Windows indexing and updates and other services have a little bit of CPU to spare.

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[–] unionagainstdhmo@aussie.zone 16 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Easily add libraries to my C and C++ Projects without f'cking around in visual studio

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[–] Aatube@kbin.social 15 points 10 months ago

FYI you can use LibreOffice with a ribbon-like toolbar or better yet experimental contextual groups.

[–] staticlifetime@kbin.social 15 points 10 months ago

Sanely use multiple workspaces.

[–] dark_stang@beehaw.org 15 points 10 months ago (8 children)

I can use my computer without it installing software I don't want (like when Windows installs candy crush) and without it advertising to me.

[–] Shareni@programming.dev 13 points 10 months ago

without it advertising to me

Ubuntu users cough awkwardly

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[–] UFODivebomb@programming.dev 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

unlink

Specifically the operation of removing a file from a path without requiring the file to be unused. Open references to the file can still exist by processes.

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[–] al177@lemmy.sdf.org 14 points 10 months ago
  1. sudo dd if=never_gonna_give_you_up.mp3 of=/dev/sda

  2. Say "It's a UNIX system! I know this."

  3. Make your capslock LED blink along with network activity using a built-in kernel driver

  4. Fix bugs yourself

[–] MalReynolds@slrpnk.net 13 points 10 months ago (6 children)

If by adobe you just mean photoshop, that works fine on linux, or you can get the version of GIMP with the photoshop menus. Wider adobe, that's a vm.

MS Word, I reckon Libre's fine but YMMV, there's office 365 anyway.

Games as noted are mostly there.

Many torrented apps : If you mean the *arrs etc, they go fine, better even (more contained, safer) in docker

Android apps: We've had Waydroid for a while now.

Hopefully that puts the FOMO to rest...

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[–] CornHead764@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago (7 children)

Not update if I don’t want to

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[–] BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Find my hosts file without googling where it is.

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