# Anyone seriously considering the switch from Windows to Linux? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 12, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650 "2025-12-12T21:54:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2026, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/281 "2026-01-24T17:41:00Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > [Snap](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snap_(software)) is the sneaky package manager that Ubuntu has replaced apt with. Everytime you use apt, or try to install software Ubuntu uses snaps behind the scenes. It has its own quirks. So, this has some clear parallels with my recent troubles with Teams in Windows. It came with my new work laptop. And it worked for a while, but complained it was out of date. Then it stopped working, then it failed to open at all. So i tried uninstalling and reinstalling. And that didn’t work. And I tried uninstalling, clearing all the caches, rebooting, reinstalling, rebooting… And it still didn’t work. So i called IT support. And they went through all the same steps I’d already done. (Not a waste of time, i wouldn’t trust users, either, if i were them.) Then they gave up, and manually installed Teams via the command line, and rebooted again. And then it worked. ---
**Author:** ![Xocomil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xocomil/32/14927_2.png) [@Xocomil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xocomil)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2026, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/282 "2026-01-24T19:21:32Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > Everytime you use apt, or try to install software Ubuntu uses snaps behind the scenes. It has its own quirks. That’s only true if the deb package essentially tells Ubuntu to install the snap package as is the case for Firefox. In that case you can install an actual deb package using apt but you can’t get it from Ubuntu. You’ll have to find it elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/283 "2026-01-24T23:50:35Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Do you take this machine online? In Windows, an account without a password cannot be connected to remotely (unless you change a setting in the registry). I know because it’s why I had to add a password to be able to connect to an account within my LAN. Fortunately, I can still have the computer set up to automatically log in. (In fact, it does this automatically now on Windows 11, it seems, as it logs back in after a reboot. This is annoying to me, because someone else may want to use the computer.) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/284 "2026-01-25T12:36:03Z")
The proper response to enshittification is not to recommend operating systems like Ubuntu for beginners. The only problem is that you are spoiled for choice: you could install Debian, Linux Mint Debian Edition, Pop OS, Fedora, you name it. Which may, by itself, confuse beginners if they need to ask someone for help with “Linux”. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/285 "2026-01-25T12:52:03Z")
For me, its this, but I foremost make a judgement to what the beginner needs. Needs comes first. - For example, if they are running a server, **Arch** would be a horrible recommendation because of the instability inherent in its design choices (rolling release, bleeding edge packages, etc); a **Debian** system would be so much better. - If someone is coming off of **Windows** , then **Mint** would be a great choice because the **Mint** team has designed the _Cinnamon_ _desktop_ to be very windows-like (less cognitive and aesthetic friction during the on-boarding period). - In puzzlegal’s use-case (what seems like a fold-able touch screen laptop) **Ubuntu** kinda fits best. _Gnome_’s UI is very tablet-like as all the icons/options are large and easy to navigate using a finger (opposed to a mouse pointer). I, naturally default to recommending **Mint** just because it will feel most “windows-like”, but not all users need that. Its just a straightforward recommendation that cuts through a lot of the “too many distros” analysis paralysis. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/286 "2026-01-25T13:04:52Z")
It’s good to hear that Canonical (parent company of Ubuntu) doesn’t completely neuter Apt. Its just sad that they have chosen to push snap in cases where the user explicitly tries to use Apt. Stealthily wrestling control away from technical and opinionated users has left a sour note on them here. Sigh. > [@Mangetout](#): > > The whole Snap debacle is pretty ridiculous really The Linux crowd is the most opinionated group of users in tech. There are many who won’t touch KDE Plasma due to one of its poor releases over 10 years ago, there’s people who refuse to use (what is now industry standard) [systemd](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemd) because it is a suite that it too all encompassing (they what to pick and choose each system deamon that runs on their computer). If you can have an opinion on it, Linux users will have already had it and forked 20 half-dead projects trying to bring it to life. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/287 "2026-01-25T14:35:02Z")
Not to mention the ‘actually I use Arch’ elitism ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/288 "2026-01-25T14:44:46Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > In puzzlegal’s use-case (what seems like a fold-able touch screen laptop) **Ubuntu** kinda fits best. _Gnome_’s UI is very tablet-like as all the icons/options are large and easy to navigate using a finger (opposed to a mouse pointer). I picked it because my husband said it was the most popular, and that means the easiest to find help with. I confirmed his recommendation by looking up “Minecraft Linux” and finding two articles about installing Minecraft under Ubuntu, with comments about “and it’s similar under different versions”. Fwiw, my screen has a lot of pixels, and under the Ubuntu default, everything is tiny on my screen. The font and the icons, whatever. It’s a physically small screen, and I’m nearsighted and can read the tiny print comfortably, so i haven’t looked to see if it can be changed. (I assume it can be.) But i went to the MIT mystery hunt last weekend, and hung out in a room with 50 people all looking at their laptops, and a couple of people walking by commented on the size of my font. (Usually, "can you READ that‽”) ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/289 "2026-01-25T15:01:19Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > The Mint team constructs their distro from Ubuntu, and one of the things they do is remove Ubuntu’s snap to put back Debian’s apt. Not literally true (or, at least, not completely). I just had to de-snapify Firefox in Mint 22.2. Default Firefox even in Mint is the Ubuntu snap version (ridiculously outdated, can’t even install uBlock Origin). Complete with the fake apt chicanery. There’s a convoluted dance you have to do with `apt` priorities and Mozilla’s third-party repositories to keep package-based Firefox from being gratuitously replaced by the snap version when you’re not looking. ETA: Which is what @Xocomil is talking about. This kind of dark pattern bullshit is why a lot of users are justified in not unblinkingly trusting Linux (although when Microsoft pulls this crap they just have to live with it). And I say this as a professional computer systems engineer with literal decades in Unix/Linux system administration. Also, snap can die in a fire AFAIAC. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/290 "2026-01-25T15:16:17Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > can you READ that‽ I’m just impressed you managed to type an interrobang on Linux! ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/291 "2026-01-25T15:57:21Z")
I didn’t, i typed it on my phone. (Is it hard to do that in Ubuntu?) I mostly access the SDMB from my phone. I’m now recharging my laptop (which completely ran out of power) before i try reinstalling audacity. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/292 "2026-01-25T16:06:05Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Is it hard to do that in Ubuntu? I don’t remember, sorry… like anything else, it probably depends on the distro, your desktop environment, etc. =/ And also your physical keyboard… special characters are easier on European keyboards with an AltGr key. Edit: Apparently you can define a compose key of your choice: [Enter special characters](https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubuntu-help/tips-specialchars.html.en#compose) Then compose an interrobang with `compose + ! + ?` ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/293 "2026-01-25T16:36:40Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > By the way, if you want to double-check whether something was installed as a “snap”, as opposed to a “package”, the Terminal way is `snap list` . I definitely recommend trying to install the Audacity package and not the snap or flatpak How would i do this? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/294 "2026-01-25T18:32:18Z")
Under Ubuntu 25.10 which I tested, and previous versions, `sudo apt install audacity` does it (yes, I confess I loves me the Terminal). _Before_ doing that run `sudo snap remove audacity`. How I can tell it worked: in the Terminal, run `which audacity`. It responds `/usr/bin/audacity`, no reference to Snap. Second, type `dpkg -l | grep audacity` which should come up with `audacity` and `audacity-data` installed, described as “fast, cross-platform audio editor”. Then, when I run Audacity, click on Audio Setup, then Audio Settings, the Playback tab has `pipewire` as an option. I select that, click OK, then open a WAV file and play it, and I hear something! PS I tested what happens if you _do_ install the Audacity snap: a window pops up asking about permissions; I clicked on “Start and ask next time”, I do _not_ have any output options available besides “default”, but the playback did actually work… (I guess the permissions must have been granted at some point) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/295 "2026-01-25T18:37:44Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Under Ubuntu 25.10 which I tested, and previous versions, `sudo apt install audacity` does it (yes, I confess I loves me the Terminal). _Before_ doing that run `sudo snap remove audacity`. So, i did that a could of hours ago, but i ended up with on older version of audacity that can’t read the files from the more recent versions. And it doesn’t offer to update itself. I suppose i might try to downgrade the audacity installed on my Mac and PC, as most of the “benefit” of the latest version send to be cloud storage, something i have zero interest in. That’s kinda why I’m here. But that’s a bit of a pita. (It’s much more convenient for me if they all run the same version.) I suppose i may add well test this version and see if it talks to my headphones. I hadn’t bothered, trying to update the darn thing. (The snap version was the latest version, fyi.) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/296 "2026-01-25T18:43:32Z")
The Snap version pop-up is telling me to `sudo snap connect audacity:alsa`; if you are using the Snap version you can try that. However, the Snap version I am getting is Audacity 3.7.5 and the package is _also_ Audacity 3.7.5. The Audacity web site latest version appears to be 3.7.7 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/297 "2026-01-25T18:44:39Z")
I initially installed audacity from the “app store”, fwiw. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/298 "2026-01-25T18:47:22Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > (The snap version was the latest version, fyi.) Ubuntu: [audacity (3.7.5+dfsg-1)](https://packages.ubuntu.com/questing/audacity) Debian: [audacity (3.7.3+dfsg-1)](https://packages.debian.org/trixie/audacity) Debian packages tend to be much older then those of other distros. This is the price of Debian’s stability. If one wants newer packages then you normally get them through other ways then the Debian-stable repository. [flatpaks](https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.audacityteam.Audacity), snap, other package managers like Arch’s, or Nix’s one; this might be a bit too advance for you to comfortably use at this point -or not, but perhaps yes > [@DPRK](#): > > The Audacity web site latest version appears to be 3.7.7 Yes, I see [3.7.7 here](https://github.com/audacity/audacity/releases/tag/Audacity-3.7.7). Perhaps the best thing would be to download and install the all-in-one appimage? Certainly simpler for a user. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/299 "2026-01-25T18:49:43Z")
3.7.5 is what I got under Ubuntu 25.10 (both Snap and deb). What is this file format it does not know how to open? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650/300 "2026-01-25T18:49:52Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I initially installed audacity from the “app store”, fwiw. In Ubuntu, that would probably be the snap version. (Although the Software store does have access to the apt repository catalog as well. But my recollection is that Ubuntu will always favor the snap version.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-seriously-considering-the-switch-from-windows-to-linux/1025650.md?page=16)