Too late. I’ve already switched to Linux Mint and am never going back.
Same, almost a year and couldn’t be happier.
More people are moving to Linux and are never using Windows in future.
They gatekeep windows 11 from older devices, what did they think would happen? I tried Linux on my thinkpad yoga, and the drivers are so shit i had to switch back to windows on it, and no, I’m not throwing away a perfectly good laptop!
Out of curiosity, what Linux did you try on it? Relatively new and you tried Mint maybe?
I ran mint on an hm110 with an old as balls nvidia and the only bug i had was tracking down the 330 drivers so i could shut the godddamn fan up. (And then had to compile a Kodi build from source yay thanks muppets)
Linux isn’t as transparent as windows when it comes to legacy drivers, it’s always been an issue
Not to sell your experience short, that sucks, but that’s on Nvidia for being the worst company in the world for driver support.
Yup, two prongs on the same fork.
Fedora
And is the laptop quite new I wonder?
X1 yoga 3rd gen, so around 2018ish. The stylus and thunderbolt are broken. And the mouse lags. I already wasted a lot of time troubleshooting it. I’ll try again in a few years, maybe it’ll be fixed.
Well I’ll be. Didn’t know the Yoga line had abnormal hardware for things like trackpads/etc, as Thinkpads in general are considered to be so good for Linux. If you should tinker in the future maybe try something with a much more modern kernel 7+ like CachyOS. Either way nice chatting have a good one.
My Yoga 370 runs great with Fedora KDE
I’ve had this happen on a thinkpad yoga before. Honestly just keep windows on it and run an antivirus because you’ll definitely not be receiving updates for windows defender anytime soon as that is tied to windows update.
You could also be like me though eventually and hack the bios to not be absolute trash and get Linux working on it anyway.
Maybe if they had done that to begin with I wouldn’t have nuked the SSD and dropped Linux on it?
After the 3rd or so warning about EoL and not being “allowed” to install windows 11, I went back to Debian. I’m not going through the trouble of switching again any time soon.
Yeah, once I was gone it’s over, I did Linux before when the whole Windows ME mess. I went back with 7, when it actually worked again, but them doing worse with 11 than they did with ME and then 8 is a “Three Strikes” rule on them.
I don’t think there is any way to convince me to every use their crap again, especially not as it’s all flippin’ cloud subscription SAS scamware slopified surveillence tech now.
Jokes on them, if you have a shitty enough computer that’s doesn’t meet the minimum requirements, you get to stay on Windows 10 forever!
Vista 2: Electric Boogaloo
ME 3: The Crappening
LOL!! I like it.
Windows 11 can be wrangled into something decent, but it requires an immense amount of wrangling on initial install to do so.
As an example, XP needed 8-12hrs worth of work before I was happy with the way I had it configured. Win11 needs about 32-48hrs of work and testing. Some bits - like violently bludgeoning File Explorer back into a halfway XP-like folder tree - takes deep, repeated dives into the registry to properly and permanently eviscerate things like the Library and Home (quick access).
Is there a way to not require a Microsoft account? That’s why I haven’t upgraded.
Yes,
- disconnect internet on install
- install and get to the initial setup screen (out of box experience screen where you setup keyboard, etc)
- press shift+f10 to get console
- run “OOBE/BYPASSNRO”
It will reboot and bring you back to that same initial setup but when you get to the account page you will have an option for “I don’t have internet” which then will allow you to create a local account.
They were going to remove this but haven’t yet, at least the last time I setup a VM for some windows only software about a month ago.
Edit: This was a fresh install, not a 10->11 upgrade. I haven’t tried that way so I can’t confirm if it works on a keep everything upgrade.
RUFUS is a lot simpler.
And upgrades keep all settings, including local accounts. They always have.
Build your USB installer using RUFUS.
The SELECT drop-down (the down arrow itself, not the entire button) even downloads a generic multi-version of the latest Win11.
It’s at the last step before creating the installer when RUFUS gives you a bunch of settings that you can leverage, one of which is a Microsoft Account bypass so you can create a local account.
Fedora workstation with KDE.
Took like 10 minutes dude.
I love Linux. I really do. I would say 99.9% of all services I self-host are things I run on Linux. And the other 0.1% I’m actively looking for a way to run on Linux or just don’t run at all. But as a desktop, there are things that I just can do as well or at all on Linux. And most of that are drivers or utilities that just either ignore Linux or half-ass it. Which is not Linux’s fault, but it is what it is.
An example: I have a laser cutter in my shop. I use Lightburn. They essentially have stopped all development on the Linux version years ago. So I have an old Macmini running the Mac version (I despise windows with the passion of 1000 suns). So no Linux there. I haven’t looked for a decent Linux version so something might exist. But what I have works and I have other more fun things to try.
But Linux on the desktop can have advantages. At work, the desktop management shit is really getting annoying and increasingly affects my Mac desktop. I don’t need some central office making choices on my desktop/laptop when I know more than most of them. Not to mention I do weird things with networking for my lab that is so outside of normal, I guarantee they have never even considered. Case in point, they were forcing reboots to upgrade the day of any OS update. Even dot 0 releases. I’m like WTAF. I got them to allow a week which is better I guess. They haven’t figured at how to force that on Linux yet so there is a reason to move to Linux for sure. But this advantage for Linux is basically due to the same thing. Linux is ignored on the desktop.
You have to do the essentials on Linux. You have to fight for it. The more people turn on Linux and bitch about stuff not working, the more likely companies/people will start building drivers for it. It’s a fight, no shame if it doesn’t work, just use other operating system to get it working but spit on it while doing it
You’re not wrong. And we have several people in my group especially since most of us are geeks and technical, that are running Linux as a desktop.
Linux can be made to do those things too. That’s a management issue. Head office is dumb and doesn’t know what they are doing and they make that your problem.
As for the CNC, aren’t those all some variation of GRBL anyway? I feel like there’s a major disruption opportunity for retrofitting a more standard control system onto existing CNC machines. Something supported by Linux/bsd/temple/whatever. The CNC machines are technological anchors for any shop and honestly they don’t need to be. They aren’t as complex as people think.
GRBL
Depending on the controller board yes. Lightburn is more than control though, it’s also design/preparation/GRBL gcode generation for the job.
I know. Just don’t tell central IT. Plus the few number of Linux desktops is also reasonable n to not bother. And anybody running Linux as a desktop has way more of a clue than some admin running windows 11.
It’s not the GRBL that’s the issue. It’s the turning things into GRBL that’s the issue. Like I said they probably exist. It’s just a matter of being lazy and not fixing something that already works. If it was windows only, I’d be more inclined.
I still run a small constellation of programs (some obscure) that are required for my workflows that have neither a Linux version that is perfectly file-compatible, nor can be run reliably under WINE.
Plus, I also provide tech support for others, so being able to “mirror” actions on my own iron as I’m helping them is a massive plus. Differences between installs has helped me catch config issues on many occasions.
So unfortunately, running Windows is still a must-do for the foreseeable future. Now granted, I also have a good half-dozen workstations, which also run MacOS, OpenBSD, OpenSUSE, and various other virtualized fun shit (HaikuOS, etc.).
Keep a windows VM available with Boxes.
More than XP 🤣 I think Linux is better for everyone
If hardware were cheap it might have gone a little better. Like I would love to build a new beast gaming rig (dual boot Linux and W11) but component prices are stupid and my W10 rig is perfectly fine.
Ha! Suck it, every computer tech that told me I had to move to 11.
I’m just sitting here patiently waiting for the end of the world staring at these corporations, Microsoft and Meta especially, just make company ending mistake after company ending mistake, for over a decade now. I really don’t believe companies able to absorb that kind of incompetence should exist.
Unfortunately until they are no longer “vital infrastructure” to governments, they will just get bailed out. I guess the best we can hope for is they disappear into obscurity as just another corporate software package that could easily be replaced by a spreadsheet.
I am a convenience oriented PC gamer who doesn’t enjoy fiddling with the command line. What’s the Linux distro for me?
I would only recommend not starting with Ubuntu, there is a cultural idea that it’s the easiest, but it really isn’t, and has some very unique “features” that aren’t for everyone.
The bigger question is not what distro to get, but what desktop environment to chose, because that will be your interface and that’s where the first point of tension will come from. I highly recommend KDE.
Other than that, every modern distro will be basically the same, you install steam and it just works.As a non-expert, I switched to Linux Mint and have had zero issues. If you have any questions let me know.
There is probably loads, I use mint. Installing stuff can be a lot becuase there are different methods and results. There might be a bit of terminal work there but when you look for software look for ones with a gui so you can skip the terminal when using them.
Onve you get your head around installing, you will be absolutely fine, it is just that hurdle for me on mint. After that, like a less shit windows.
Others have mentioned Bazzite and Mint. I have used both. Bazzite is gaming focused, but, in my opinion, slightly harder to administrate due to the whole immutable/atomic thing. I went over to a buddy’s recently who is running Mint. It’s been a few years since I used Mint, but it was a great all around Linux system, doesn’t have any of the Bazzite weirdness, and it was exciting to see it used by someone out in the wild (not in my own home).
If you weren’t a gamer, I would almost certainly recommend Mint. In your case, I would say try them both out, break them, push them to the limit and throw weird scenarios at them, maybe shut the computer down incorrectly a few times. See if you feel more comfortable with one or the other, then do a reinstall of the one you liked best after breaking them both. It is more work up front, but it’s worth knowing you can maintain your system when it very occasionally breaks or has an issue. Above all, make sure you take regular backups. That way you can mess with stuff and not worry about whether or not you’ll break something.
I’ve been using Bazzite on an HTPC that also does some light gaming for a couple of months, and I like it. I’m still on W10 on my main gaming rig, though. (not because of any specific deficiency with Bazzite, just have a couple of games I play that have anticheat issues under Linux)
Competitive shooters from mega-corporate publishers are generally the only ones who have a cow if they can’t rootkit anti-cheat your rig.
So whether you’re against oligarchs or against setting up a backdoor into your PC, you shouldn’t be playing those titles anyway.
Well, I do like Destiny :(
I’m seeing this is a hard no for Linux. Seems dumb since they support cross play on multiple other platforms. Is Linux just too open for them to feel like they can handle anti-cheat?
Basically, yeah.
It’s a bit easier to know someone doesn’t do drugs if you require they hand over keys to the cops for regular surprise inspections and searches of their home, but at what point have we made the fix far worse than the problem?
Similarly, rootkit anticheat gives advanced low-level access to anyone who can crack the anticheat program, all to make it a bit less likely that you’ll cheat. It’s a bit easier to program than server-side anticheat, but at what cost?
i think bazzite works with that on
I personally recommend Fedora KDE. It’s polished and set up reasonably for the average person so you should never need to even open the terminal (you might need to fiddle with some stuff like enabling flatpacks but thats all sone in a GUI application), and it’s reasonably up to date withour shipping broken packages.
Bazzite is the perfect first distro because it protects you from making huge beginner mistakes because the system partition is read only from userspace. If you ever run into something that requires root, move to a different distro at that point.
As an aside, Linux is super awesome because all your user files are kept in your home folder, so as long as you don’t format your home folder, you never lose anything important. Part of the benefit of Bazzite is that it forces you to keep all your files in your home folder, because system files are normally locked.
As another commentor said, Bazzite is a good bet. It’s an atomic OS based on fedora silverblue, so it’s very difficult to accidentally fuck up your system, and if anything does go wrong you are able to revert to the previous bootable state.
It also supports the popular patent-encumbered video codecs, as well as Nvidia drivers (with the Nvidia edition), out of the box.
You shouldn’t need to mess with the command line at all. It’s set up for (non-game) software distribution via Flathub, so you are unlikely to run into software compatibility issues and you don’t need to use a command line software package manager.
It does come with basically all the popular Linux gaming software already installed, which is a pro or con depending on your preference.
I reccommend the GNOME version, not KDE, for the smoothest and most straightforward/convenient user experience. (don’t come for me)
Thanks - I think I read once about “immutable” distros… is this the same as what you mentioned about being able to revert to previous bootable state?
Bazzite. Game ready right after OS installs.
I would say try Manjaro with the KDE desktop. It’s based on Arch so it will update indefinitely, it’s one of the few distros out there that has system recovery snapshots enabled by default, and it was designed to work best the less you tinker with it (it really wants you to leave it alone so it can manage things for you).
I like the sound of that. I don’t even know what I would ever want to manage. Turn on,connect to the internet, launch games. That’s all I need.
The have done this every window release.
I’m still on windows 7.
It’s horrendously insecure. It can be hacked sliently by a hacker sending a crafted IPv6 packet to it (CVE-2024-38063). You should try Mint on it.
I only moved off 7 about 18 months ago. Check out W10 LTSC IoT It’s much nicer than regular W10 and it’s supported until 2032
I keep hearing about this, but I’m certain there must be some drawback
It’s Windows. It’s all drawback.
Hahah fair
The only thing I found is that you need to install a video player, an image viewer and other minor things that don’t get included on the OS.
Upside is you don’t get all the normal windows bloatware, and you choose when to update not the computer shutting down for an update when it feels like it.
wait, they’re still going with this?
Kind of expected this.
Changed computer for others reason ( needed more power for some games) . I don’t hate win 11, it does the job.
But, expecting people to throw away computers that matched their need just to upgrade an OS? Nah!
