Could be small or big.
My answer has always been that, Linux can’t handle everything I’d ask out of it that I normally can with Windows. I know the games issue has been progressing far from the days when that used to have been an archaic flaw with Linux for the longest time. Games might not be the issue except for some concerns I have for some games.
I was taking some time a few moments ago, to check if a program called Firestorm Viewer would work on Linux Mint which could’ve been my distro of choice. And the description written on the linux page described exactly the kind of concerns I’d have for compatibility and usability from going Windows to Linux.
They said that their viewer was tested and designed to function mostly with Ubuntu and while it could work with other distros, it’s not to be expected to be smooth.
That’s the kind of sentiment and concern I have always had with Linux if I were to go from Windows to it. There are programs and tools on Windows that I have that are used for specific purposes and I know they will not function on Linux. Furthermore, incase anything breaks down, any and all solutions would only be applicable to that thing that would be far easier to solve than just being SOL if I was on Linux.
It is something as a user that I just can’t simply afford to deal with on a regular basis if I made the switch.
So while I may not have too much of an issue running games, I won’t have too much of an issue using alternatives, I won’t have to deal with the Windows ecosystem .etc I will just be running into other walls that would simply make me second guess my decision and make me regret switching to the point where I would dip back into Windows in a hurry.
I’m convinced it’s much less straightforward than people here say it is.
I hate Windows, but I only use my computer for OpenOffice, some liiiiight browsing, and old-school light pirating (light enough TPB fits all my needs), so meh.
My new neighbor is an old leftist techie though, and when my 9 year old laptop dies, I may ask him to convert me. Maybe.it is not, but for the simple use case you mention, it’s actually more intuitive.
you can try it out straight from the usb.
Affinity software, Linux alternatives just are not there sadly. If affinity released a linux version tomorrow I’d be gone.
Adobe software doesn’t work
Winboat allows you to run Adobe software as if it was a native app on Linux. Or you can just use a virtual machine. There’s really no excuse not to use Linux anymore. I personally use Lutris for my non-Steam games, and other Windows programs.
Fusion 360.
Blender is not suitable for me because from what I’ve read it’s good for sculpture work but not good for dimensional accuracy.
There is Free cad but last time I looked at it, it was very far behind in terms of features. But as soon as that can do STL mesh to editable object conversion I’ll switch.
Too much annoyances migrating my PC.
And I already got a taste of it with my SteamDeck.
Yeah, not worth my nightly effort after work (and I won’t build my library solely on Steam/Valve, lol)epic game store and gog also work on linux.
You can even combine them all and use Heroic Games Launcher.
I have a professional advantage in being a windows power user. Only way of maintaining that is running windows at home. I do have several Linux systems too.
being a linux power user is a big advantage.
I went back to windows for a few months on the newer desktop. I installed mint and discovered it had a lot of problems with the hardware. HDMI, Ethernet, WiFi, and various downstream things didn’t work. I fixed some of it with help from forums and such, but eventually I went back to windows.
But a couple months later, I tried Pop!_OS and that has worked perfectly out of the box. No regrets.
While we are nearly an “All Linux” shop at home, there is one machine that I won’t change.
It is a HP oscilloscope running a heavily modified version of Win98. Back then, it cost as much as a new car, and it still works mostly fine (and where it doesn’t, I know, and can work around). The Windows is basically an afterthought to the hardware, and I don’t think I could get any kind of drivers for the hardware - not even for a newer Windows version. So that remains.
But even my wife wants to switch to Linux now instead of going Win11.
Having used linux 17 years ago for a year.
i’ve used computers 17 years ago once and it was also much worse! curious 🤔
I used computers then too. They were easier to use than Linux, still are, but were then too. I’ve checked in on it a couple times. I got shit to do with my life that isn’t constantly tweaking a computer to get it to do what I want.
if you are telling me linux is harder to use than 17 year old computers, you don’t have a valid reason not to be using it.
which is fine, you can use windows if you want, it’s just a weird way to justify it.
No, windows now is easier and more intuitive than Linux now.
17 years ago this was also true.
isn’t the last time you used it 17 years ago? how would you know?
linux is not the same as it was almost two decades ago bro.
I used it for a year and have checked in periodically since. I just put a Linux distro on an old laptop to run Fluidd for my 3d printers. It has its use but I’m not living day to day like that.
So many folks seem to be the opposite of me…
Linux just works now. Shit with my printer, device drivers, LAN things, stuff like like is like wrestling an animal on Windows for some reason, and… just works with KDE. It’s like they’ve swapped places.
Random Windows apps works better in wine than they do in actual windows, sometimes. With no fuss: I double click and they launch, that’s it.
Don’t even get me started on security.
But Linux is (mostly) not performant for gaming, at least not on Nvidia. It’s… fine, but I’m not going to take a 10%+ hit, sometimes much more severe, and poorer support for HDR, frame limiters, mod tools and such when I can just boot neutered Windows instead.
So I’m not getting away from Windows in the near future, but to frank, I don’t understand why more folks (who get past the admittedly tall hurdle of learning about partitioning and installing an OS) don’t dual boot, or seek to use certain poorly supported Linux native apps when double clicking exes mostly just works.
But my point is you don’t have to pick and choose. And there’s no commitment. You can have your cake and eat it, and send the cake back if you don’t like it.
But Linux is (mostly) not performant for gaming, at least not on Nvidia.
That’s true. If you really want to switch to Linux full-time, going with Nvidia is gonna be painful. Drivers have improved a lot over the last few years (especially on Wayland), but there are still so many small bugs and problems that add up and drive you crazy if you have to deal with them every day.
That’s why I sold my 3060. I had a 12GB model and for a period of a few months, the Nvidia drivers were just completely broken and I couldn’t even launch into a graphical interface (I guess they didn’t test that much VRAM because most models only had 8GB), so I had to go back to earlier (even buggier) builds. Even after they finally fixed that there were still constant graphical glitches and stuttering on Wayland with KDE…it worked, but it wasn’t fun.
Since I switched to an RX7800XT everything just works out of the box and I often get even better performance than on Windows. Just a few FPS here and there, but it’s still nice.
Nvidia doesn’t care. They do the bare minimum to make their cards somewhat work on Linux, but it’s not enough.
I dont own a pc, nor do i have time and energy to learn a different OS than what i grew up with and use everyday with work
Mac OS has always worked well enough. It’s much worse now in my opinion than it was since High Sierra but it’s still fine. Also, I fear it’d be quite difficult to get Linux working on an M2 MacBook Pro for dubious benefit to me.
If I was on a PC though, I’d definitely try Linux out, really don’t like Windows 11 and didn’t love Windows 10
Edit: These are reasons I use Linux because I read the title too fast… Doh…
Because I dont think its normal to have an American tech company recording what I do at my computer. Its a bit shocking that people have given up and just let them watch everything now.
Its not only that, its also that windows always is annoying. Weather its constant sounds, notifications, ads, user interface changes or bugs, its all so annoying.
Linux is just beautiful, quiet, fast, no ads. Doesnt get slower with time. Updates are actually adding features you may want.
The entire open source idea is beautiful. Sharing solutions, working together, without profit motives.
Most recently when I used Windows was because of work. I’ve been seeing these posts for a while now and I can make some valid arguments.
- Anti cheat games
- Adobe products (Web is not the same)
- MS Office desktop
- Work has processes linked to Windows specifically (server that only works on IIS Express maybe?)
- Big legacy codebase where they don’t match filename casing.
- Specific Visual Studio scripts or plugins for a DSL.
- Security requirements that need windows APIs (like mandating crowdstrike)
- Music production with a Ableton (it works but it’s not noob friendly).
- You have deep knowledge of Windows and getting up to speed on Linux would take a year without guarantees you have a comparable system.
- Your client is on Windows and you’re making a desktop Windows app that’s not cross platform.
Thankfully none of these apply to me so I’m on Linux but I can see how this is an issue.
Adobe products (Web is not the same)
Photoshop and Illustrator do work, but getting them to run is painful.
- you have to build a separate version of wine from source code and apply a patch to it
- it needs to be cracked (the licensing stuff does not work)
- it has to be installed on Windows and the files need to be copied manually (the installer doesn’t work)
I have done it and use it regularly, but it’s not that trivial.
I would like to add two more points
- Certain pricey applications aimed students and researchers (non CS background) which are only released for Windows
- Inability to learn a new way of using the PC after learning the “windows way” for 20 years. Even Windows shenanigans are second-nature to mildly-PC literate people.
audio production in Linux is awful.
Isn’t reaper the same in Linux?
the linux build of reaper is great, yes
There’s a lack of linux native VSTs, but other than that my exp has been that Linux is both easier, less demanding and more stable than Windows for audio. Don’t know how it compares to Mac.
the linux builds of bitwig and reaper are great, don’t get me wrong. but running Windows vsts with yabridge is just not going to cut it for me. I need my music tools to work
In my latest setup I’ve chosen to make due with what’s available for Linux. I’m not going to bridge Windows VSTs.
So I don’t mind the software, I’ll use whatever is available, but it was really the hardware issues with Windows that made me switch. I don’t want to spend another night trying to make Windows recognise my old controllers, when they all work without any issues in Linux. I need my tools to work too.
I’ve found a lot of success after biting the bullet and purchasing bitwig as my DAW.
yes, bitwig is fantastic on linux
