this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2023
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Additionally, what changes are necessary for you to be able to use Linux full time?

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Last time I tried Linux was about 10 years ago. I installed multiple different combinations until I found one I liked (I forget which though). I was attending university at the time (chemistry) and had it dual booting so I could switch back to Windows as needed. I really tried, but everything on the Linux side was just so buggy or complicated.
I was using Open Office or something similar, mainly for spreadsheets, and I just kept needing to switch back to Windows so I could spend my time getting the actual work done, rather than trying to figure out how to make the computer work. It was so long ago that I don't remember the details, but I vaguely remember it repeatedly freezing up on me for relatively simple spreadsheet tasks.. the kind of stuff they teach in beginners or maaaaybe intermediate Excel tutorials with 10-50 rows of data.
Eventually, I gave up on trying to do any of my work in Linux and figured I'd come back to it when I had some free time. When I finally had some free time, I decided to wipe the current Linux install and try something else. I had gone through the installation process so many times before that I thought I remembered the steps. Well, I didn't, and I managed to delete something super critical and couldn't even boot to Windows anymore. After much trial and error, some kind internet stranger offered to help walk me through it.. the only problem was that they were only familiar with Arch (?), so that was the distro we were going to use to get me back up and running. We got it fixed so that my computer dual boots, but I have to supervise the boot process every time since the default boot is Arch, and I'm just not ready to deal with that.
I've casually looked a few times to see if I can figure out how to change the boot order, but I'm too scared I'll end up worse off, so I've just left well enough alone since then.

I have an Android phone and rooting it is always the first thing I do, so it hasn't scared me off tinkering altogether, but I hardly touch a PC outside of work anymore, so there's just no motivation to try again.

[โ€“] tomatol@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

FIFA23. 22 was working great on linux but they added a new DRM so the new one doesn't work anymore. Hopefully someone can get the next one to run on Linux so I can ditch windows again.

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[โ€“] mad_harlequin@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 year ago

Basically visual arts software and some writing software. Additionally I have a free version of Ableton Live Lite 11 (so one music-making application as well) that came with my keyboard.

I mostly do photography, writing, and other visual arts type work on my two computers. I use quite a few photography and painting applications (Photoshop, ArtRage, Rebelle, Lightroom, Inspirit, and a few others; I'm also looking at BlackInk), as well as Scrivener and MS Office when I'm writing. I don't know if any of those run well or at all in Linux or in Wine, etc. Also I stopped flirting with learning programming and there wasn't much point maintaining a Linux machine after that. I think Linux is better than Windows all around, and I hate Windows, but it's just because I use certain apps and from what I've heard and seen the Linux apps just aren't as good.

TLDR, creative software that won't run on Linux (to my knowledge, anyway).

[โ€“] ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My pattern with linux is that I tinker with it until I eventually break it in a way I don't have the knowledge or skill to repair, and then I balk at the thought of starting from scratch again, so I just put windows back on the machine...

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[โ€“] notasandwich1948@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

games just don't run as smooth and I can't use gsync with how xorg works, also everything on windows just seems to work unlike Linux. although I've been running a Linux server for almost a year for myself and I'm now quite comfortable with the terminal

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[โ€“] livus@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Basically photoshop and games. I was dual booting and when I switched computer it wasn't worth reinstalling because I spent most of my time in windows. This was a long time ago.

Now that windows is moving into subscription basis I keep thinking I should try getting into linux again but I don't have the time to fiddle around making stuff work.

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[โ€“] Tebz@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago

I use autodesk products and other electrical engineering industrial products that require using windows. I'm mostly happy with being able to live in the mingw environment provided by git bash. Gives me most of what I need for a POSIX environment.

To switch to Linux full time I'd need to change jobs, lol.

[โ€“] jonwyattphillips@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago

I have been using linux, mostly Pop OS, for the last several years. Haven't really touched Windows since maybe Windows 8 came out. Very happy with linux.

I just bought a new laptop that had Windows 11 installed, and I was travelling, so I didn't do the usual format and install linux right away. I thought I'll maybe keep windows installed and then try to dual boot so if I need Windows for anything specific, I will still have it installed. And I thought I'll just wait a few weeks until I get home to do that.

But with the Windows Subsytem for Linux thing they have now, I have an Ubuntu install running inside Windows and it works really well. Connects directly with VSCode, Ubuntu has access to Windows filesystem, Ubuntu comes up as my default when I open terminal, Oh-My-Zsh installed perfectly.

I'm sure at some point I'll find something really annoying with Windows and just scrap it, but for now it's easier to just keep running Windows and access Ubuntu through it.

[โ€“] imekon@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 year ago

My main system is Windows, I'm a Windows developer. My older machines are Linux - because Windows runs like a dog on them and no longer supports them.

[โ€“] Ichebi 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I think o went back because I wanted to play LoL? And I kind of became complacent?

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[โ€“] kazerniel@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I never tried Linux, but I consider it every few years. However if I weigh that

  • O&O Shutup10 and group policies can remove all the telemetry and intrusiveness from Windows +
  • most of my work involves Adobe products +
  • my main hobby is gaming, with the vast majority of my games not having a Linux port

there are simply too many factors that would make Linux to be more hassle, have less performance or downright impossible to serve as a substitute for Windows, while for me personally not really offering any practical benefits over Windows.

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[โ€“] Buwka@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Hate to say it but, laziness.. bought a new gaming laptop with windows 11. My old laptop was running Mint for a couple of years and I really loved it. Software wise everything I needed just worked.

[โ€“] ValiantHobo@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Building WiFi kernel drivers myself where on Windows its a double click, finding a desktop environment that lets you add a 2nd taskbar in the GUI without losing certain important items like the start menu, system clock, or system tray (I always lost something), finding replacements for certain niche Windows programs is frustrating (VoiceMeeter -> PipeWire), or completely absent, as my Oculus Rift and the Adobe Suite (which I need for my job) was unusable, and my Razer, Logitech, TourBox, Xence, and Elsra devices aren't programmable, missing or bad support for basic features like multiple monitors and HDR, having to manually set AppImages to run as an application and not open like a file (I know it's a file), but in the end, needing 2 GPU's to virtualize a Windows machine officially ended my Linux dreams for the near future.

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[โ€“] angstylittlecatboy@reddthat.com 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The first time I tried to switch to Linux, it was a bad choice of Distro (Puppy, I think Lucid Puppy, where I learned that I would rather use Windows 3.1's UI than stock XFCE) me incorrectly believing I could just run it from USB all the time so my family could just use Windows (I couldn't have been older than 14 and the PC was old at the time, we got it in 2005 and it came with XP and struggled with Windows 7, and the storage was low,) and just not making an earnest effort to learn Linux. This was all user error. I tried Mint also, which straight-up didn't work on my hardware at the time.

The second time I tried to switch, Mint again, about a year or two and a new PC after the first. I think Cinnamon is one of the best UIs ever made, but I also think Windows 10's is pretty good (to be clear I despised Windows 7's UI,) and I ran into compatibility issues and ultimately found that, with no strong benefit to web browsing or gaming (this was well before Proton) which were the main things I used my PC for, and still needing a lot of Windows software, just being mostly Windows worked.

Last time I tried to use Linux earlier this year, I didn't intend to switch fully, but I wanted to switch my music making hobby, that I do with Linux Multimedia Studio, to Linux because some features of LMMS don't work on the Windows version (I wanted to link multiple channels to a single VST plugin, which is necessary for the VST plugin "Genny" to produce a file that works on a real Sega Genesis.) This feature does work on the Linux version of LMMS, but Genny itself does not (and I did install WINE, some other VSTs did work.)

I'd love to say I'll switch when Windows 10 EOL hits, Windows 11 has a fucking awful UI and starts to introduce some of the reasons I've never seriously considered Mac or iOS (I feel like Windows used to at least respect that my PC is MY PC when Win11 doesn't,) but I can't because that last one still sticks in my mind. I keep a Mint partition on my PCs, but it's pretty much solely for doing things that might get me malware on Windows, or helping fix Windows if I break it.

LSB dependent printer driver (Epson M100)- (Debian has a love hate reatioship with LSB - Compat package), Display Link - official drivers available only for ubuntu LTS, and Hikvision CCTV cameras IVMS is not officially supported by linux. Basically corporates making bad decisions.

I had to recompile nvidia-bl every time the Linux kernel updated or my backlight control keys wouldn't work. Put up with it for four years then installed Windows 10 when it came out.

[โ€“] quasd@lemmy.fmhy.ml 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

PUBG, waited for years and then caved.

Was using arch +5 years and eventually I just wanted to play some PUBG. win10 has been bearable as it doesn't change much anymore. Wallpaperengine is nice plus. Yes there are ways to achieve the same on Linux, but haven't seen anything as good with built-in library for Linux.

Back on win10 for something like 6 months, during which I switched to NVIDIA. NVIDIA + Wayland is not really something I wan't to tackle anytime soon.

Being able to focus on gaming, fixing other parts of my home lab and automating updating other system has been breath of fresh air. Gaming and upkeep of the system was always some amount of work, when comparing to windows. I have felt the windows hasn't gotten in my way almost at all, ( apart from getting ansible automation working. Windows being the target of palybooks. But that was just my inexperience with windows and such stuff)

For now if my win10 installation stays solid, I don't see myself going back anytime soon on my gaming machines. Even on my lan pc getting full control of fans has been a hassle on Linux, yes there probably is kernel module on aur for the chipset or the support will be in future kernel but the simplicity of https://github.com/Rem0o/FanControl.Releases is just golden, I don't know will I bother when everything works without hassle on windows. This is all on ASRock B650E PG-ITX WiFi.

After troubleshooting/automating Linux systems for 8 hours a day I guess I just want to be able to play games and relax after work. For now the os of choice for that is windows for me.

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[โ€“] Switorik@lemmy.fmhy.ml 4 points 1 year ago (3 children)

My main issue was trying to get two monitors to work. I followed some guides on how to update the drivers and each time it broke to the point that it would only be a black screen. Not even a terminal to help troubleshoot.

I have a 3080 12GB and can't use it on Linux. After about a week of trying I gave up.

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[โ€“] B16_BR0TH3R@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I could never get my bluetooth microphone to work under Linux, and I was having to input my password many times every day just to accomplish simple tasks. Couldn't even make the password into a PIN, that wasn't allowed for some reason.

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[โ€“] Alphamars@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I left windows because of the unauthorized data stealing and forced updates. linux has been a god sent and haven't look back.

My OS kept stalling/crashing on boot-up a few months into using it and I could not figure out why or how to fix it. Couldn't log in or input any commands into the terminal to try out anything so I just gave up.

Luckily my important data was backed up and I had Windows on another drive. I thought the drive might have failed, but it hasn't had any issues since on Windows. I'd love to return to Linux in the future but I think that experience wil haunt me for a while.

[โ€“] Sabakodgo@lemmy.fmhy.ml 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Games (Blizzard and Riot) I have a linux laptop that I occasionally use. It is far better than it was years before, yet there are still occasions when it just does not work, or it refuses to update.

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