I have recently set up two Windows 11 machines and the amount of that crap is appalling. Also how they steer you to put EVERYTHING on the cloud. I have 1 piece of software I use regularly that I need windows for. The rest? I could go to Linux, no problem. I’ve had a Linux machine before, I’m very comfortable with that.
As I have two machines I could set up one as Windows and the other as Linux, I just haven’t gotten around to it because I’m busy with other things. But the more MS pushes AI and privacy invasion to more likely I am to say that’s it, I’m done.
At present I’m running on local accounts and using as much non-Microsoft software as possible (Libre Office instead of Microsoft stuff, for example). We’ll see how things shake out in the future.
Dell still sells systems with Linux installed if that is what you desire and from what I glean from Framework’s website, they still do too, though I am not familiar with them.
System76 is a Linux only Laptop/PC seller, and comes installed with their own flavor of Linux. That means that it is a case where the hardware and software are by the same company. There is also Purism that manufactures computers (and phones) with their Linux flavor PureOs.
This not quite true, at least for KDE Plasma, which is developed by the KDE software community. They are responsible for the overall polish and UI. I have been using KDE over Gnome for many years and it has evolved and things have become easier and easier to manage with less command line usage. Over that time, the UI has evolved but stayed essentially the same. Unlike Windows, I have been able to keep using the same functionality through several updates to the overall framework. The only change I made was switching from Kubuntu to KDE Neon because it provides faster updates when updated version of KDE applications are released.
I realize that Linux is not for some people although at this point it really is not a case of it not “just” working. Those days are pretty much gone in my experience. I use Windows essentially only for work, and use either CrossOver or VirtualBox if I need to run some windows program I can’t use otherwise.
I am proceeding on my journey of making Windows 11 usable and reliable. So far, I’ve disabled the PIN, disabled password login, and disabled Bitlocker. I’ve also just completely uninstalled “OneDrive”. Little by little, I may shape this piece of shit into a usable OS that simply works whenever I turn it on (whether it has an internet connection or not) which is the least that anyone can ask.
And I’m not interested in any computer that might deny me access because it doesn’t like the expression on my face.
The two largest and oldest community led Linux development groups KDE and GNOME Project. I’m a KDE Plasma user myself as GMONE desktop isn’t for me (too streamlined). However I love and use both community’s software (Krita, KdenLive, GIMP).
As for DE’s (Plasma, Gnome, Cinnamon, XFCE, etc.), it’s all subjective. Power users often prefer to throw away Desktop Environments altogether for a tiling Window Manger all controlled by keyboard hotkeys. Not for me, I need a mouse despite how slow it is to maneuver a pointer across a screen to click display buttons.
Most standardization problems have already been recognized and been ironed out by the community at large through the freedesktop.org group. They have done good work bringing in dev and representatives from all the projects and distro into communication, debate, and discussion outlining exactly what are the voluntary standards that they all should follow.
If there are projects that are not adhering to these standards that’s their deliberate design choice now. They deserve to wear the responsibility of breaking the established standard for their users.
I’m pretty sure that’s what he’s saying. If he only uses the machine at home and never connects it to the Internet, that’s probably not a disastrous choice.
For anyone who is considering Linux and finds that paragraph scary, Ubuntu has a GUI that looks an awful lot like the GUIs on modern versions of MacOS and Windows, with slightly different artwork. It’s possible I’ll need to use the command line to solve this one quirky issue. It’ll probably be once and done. I’ve had to use the command line on Windows and Mac computers, too. Just not very often.
FWIW I’m a lifelong Windows user. I had an old laptop of my mom’s that couldn’t run Win 11. My boyfriend needed a laptop and can’t afford a new one. Thanks to this thread, I put Ubuntu on it last night. It was pretty easy and so far everything “just works.”
He hasn’t had a good working computer for ages, just old slow Windows machines. He comes from a Mac environment and hasn’t had a Mac probably since 2005. I found the interface to feel pretty Mac-y.
Only thing that sucks is that you can’t put Safari on it, which is the browser he prefers to use on his phone. But to him, I think a browser is a browser. As long as he can get to his YouTube and Gmail, he won’t even notice.
Seems like for a very casual computer user, Linux is a great option if you can’t afford to upgrade Windows.
Certainly it’s not the most terrible thing for an air-gapped machine, but yeah, if it’s connected to the internet and there is no user authentication at all (and assuming that also extends to software installation/code execution), that machine is going to have malware on it in short order.
Both Chromium and Firefox came with the “i want the bells and whistles” install, i think. If not, i picked up the other free through the included app store. So he should be able to get his YouTube and Gmail without any issues. I can confirm that Gmail and my primary mail service, FastMail, work fine.
Well, unless Wolfpup plans on filing his 2025 taxes the old fashion way (mailing paper to Ottawa or his local tax office), his machine will need an internet connection to handshake the Canadian Government servers and e-file his taxes like the rest of us.
No prob. It’s very reliable, and “just works” (at least for my uses).
Absolutely none. It’s based on my evaluation of risk/benefit. Is someone going to steal this laptop and cause me harm by viewing the files that are on it? Or am I more likely to cause myself harm by forgetting or misremembering various security protocols?
The latter has happened to me many, many times. Google is intensely paranoid about security, but the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) is even worse. After not logging in for some period of time, the CRA demanded the answers to a whole bunch of security questions. Problem was, although I knew the answers, I didn’t remember the exact wording of the answers, so I got locked out. This super-security bullshit really pisses me off in a very major way!
I’m fed up with being locked out of my own systems because of some general paranoia about criminal activity that has never affected me and probably never will. I’m willing to take reasonable precautions, emphasis on “reasonable”.
Unless you have a separate administrator account, user authentication has no effect on whether malware is installed or not. Most users are logged in as administrators of their machines and clicking on a link that installs something on your machine does not ask you for a password thought it might ask you if you are sure.
There are other ways that actually protect you from malware, having a password for the logged in user is not one of those.
I had not thought about using Steam in this way so thank you for the tip as well. Proton is a version of Wine after all. As I mentioned above I use CrossOver which is also a version of Wine. They actually have a library of applications so you can create essentially a small VM for that application. I use it for several applications so that they integrate smoothly into my Linux desktop where a complete VM is not needed.