7 ms·

What's this year's lock-in / excuse... games?

newjersey 4y ago
I’ve given up on a one computer solution. I am currently on multiple computers. One thinkpad and an old dell optiplex run Fedora. Main desktop runs Windows. I can still ssh into my old dell optiplex from my windows desktop with its nice windows 11 power shell terminal. I can switch over to my thinkpad t490s and use Fedora with gnome (and still ssh into my dell optiplex because all of them are on the same home Internet connection and router (and same switch other than the thinkpad). One thing I’ve noticed is remmina isn’t quite the same as mstsc windows Remote Desktop but I think it is high praise that I could even get to the point of someday expecting it…
happymellon 4y ago
Honestly there is absolutely no reason to not switch to something else. Mac's have Office and Photoshop, and I haven't personally ran into any games I can't play on Linux. Shame that Microsoft haven't given Linux Office 365, because Microsoft ♥ Linux. Right?
- vladvasiliu 4y ago
  > Shame that Microsoft haven't given Linux Office 365, because Microsoft ♥ Linux. Right? For my basic needs, I've found that the office web apps actually work much better than the classic ones. Outlook, in particular, is much snappier. I use it daily on Firefox on Linux for work, since they're married to MS.
  - happymellon 4y ago
    I use Office via the web and it suits 99% of my cases. I think the only issues have been some formatting options are hidden, I honestly don't remember them because it mostly works. It was more a cheap jab that they don't want to actually support Linux.
    - vladvasiliu 4y ago
      I think that with the move to the web and web app everything, there are fewer and fewer reasons for people to use Windows as a client OS outside of specialty software. Hell, my last two HP laptops, nothing fancy, had worse hardware support on Windows than on Linux (where they were working 100% since day one), even with all the HP drivers installed. Took them about a year to fix this. So even "don't need to futz around with drivers" is no longer a reason. And I think MS realizes this, seeing that recent .net things work on Linux, MSSQL Server now works on Linux (but not the studio, though). So, I guess they're just trying their damnedest to stay at least somewhat relevant. Companies are usually a bit slower to change user-facing things, so I guess MS won't go out of their way to help with the switch.
protoster 4y ago
I use Ubuntu (as stock as possible) for my media center PC, here are some reasons off the top of my head that prevent me from using desktop Linux for anything more serious: Bluetooth connection to my headset sometimes causes the entire system to hard lock, requiring physical reset. Sound sometimes goes static-y, have to reboot to fix. I had to download a third party tweaker app to disable a sound output device that I didn't want to use. Tearing of full screen video, I don't even remember how I fixed it. A notification about something called "snap store" keeps coming up and needs a command line fix to dismiss. The built-in app store keeps notifying me about a firmware update for my wireless keyboard. I'm not interested, and there is no way to dismiss it. Firefox on Linux has an obnoxious habit of refusing to open a new tab until I restart it for updates (that were installed automatically, not through the system updates app). Sure, I want my browser up-to-date, but this is not an issue on Windows where it will never force you to restart the application. I looked around why this is the way it is, and the answers were that it had to do with how Linux works. And, yeah, games.
- josephg 4y ago
  I get that staticy sound problem from time to time on linux mint. `sudo killall pulseaudiod` seems to reset it without needing a reboot.
  - noahtallen 4y ago
    All my audio problems (including this) were fixed by switching to pipewire
    - stathibus 4y ago
      This little thread already has like five different versions of "Linux works great for me, you just need to fizzbang the wagglesprocket"
- vladvasiliu 4y ago
  I'm always surprised whenever these Bluetooth issues come up. The best Bluetooth experience I've had is with Linux, by far. I have a BT keyboard (keychron), mouse (mx master 3s) and two headphones. They've all always connected instantly under Linux. The headsets can use LDAC and aptx HD, which are both unsupported under Windows but work perfectly under Linux. The mouse has noticeable lag under Windows, while under Linux it's indistinguishable from its wireless (non-BT) dongle. Installing the Logitech app and drivers doesn't change anything. The keyboard and headphones usually take a while to connect under windows. Except for the mouse, I've had these same peripherals on multiple PCs, all with Intel wireless cards, and all have exhibited the same difference in behavior between Windows and Linux. > I had to download a third party tweaker app to disable a sound output device that I didn't want to use. This is weird, I can disable any and all sound peripherals from the pulse audio control panel. I don't use ubuntu, though, so not sure what its default apps are.
stathibus 4y ago
MacOS requires that I purchase apple hardware at absurd brand markup, so that’s out. I use Linux at work because I have good IT support and I don’t rely on any windows only software. Neither are the case at home.
- Zurrrrr 4y ago
  Use a simple distro and look at WINE or OSS alternatives? What program do you really need that is Windows only?
  - stathibus 4y ago
    With great effort you can achieve a partial solution. I'm not interested in a new hobby, I want my computer to actually work without me fucking with it incessantly.
    - Zurrrrr 4y ago
      It doesn't require 'great effort' at all. Maybe 10 years ago. There's a reason numerous governments and industries have switched over. I suspect you are vastly overestimating the complexity and trouble you would face in switching.
      - stathibus 4y ago
        I already said I use Linux at work, I know exactly what I'm talking about.
        Zurrrrr 4y ago
        With your comments referring to how hard or complex you think switching would be, it doesn't seem like it. But OK.
- bowsamic 4y ago
  > at absurd brand markup The markup for Apple hardware is really not big at all. They just don't have a budget option. If you compare macbooks to really any competing device the prices are similar (and the competing device will be much worse). Same situation when comparing iPhone to flagship Android. In fact, new iPhones are often cheaper than new flagship Android phones. There was once a time where what you said is true, where a truly great Windows laptop could be had for half the price or less than a mac, and a flagship Android phone could be had for half the price or less than an iPhone, but that was in the past. Now, there is almost price parity.
GartzenDeHaes 4y ago
For me, it's Visual Studio. I'm thinking about trying a windows 8 vm with VS2019 though.
vladvasiliu 4y ago
Well, yeah. It's less of a hassle to run games on Windows. Also, in my case, photoshop and Lightroom. So, as another poster said, my solution is to have two pcs. A laptop with Linux I use basically all the time, and a desktop with an actual GPU for when I want to play or mess around with my photography. This arrangement works well enough, since for my everyday needs the iGPU is more than enough, and I would rather not lug around a 10-pound brick with a dedicated GPU. And, in my particular situation, it's actually cheaper since my desktop is a hand-me-down from work which only required a new GPU, which at the time was beefier and cheaper than what I could have had in a laptop.
bytehowl 4y ago
I have recently put Fedora with KDE on my work laptop and here are a couple of reasons off the top of my head (I believe I have come across more, but can't remember them right now) why I'm currently not considering switching from W10 on my home stuff: - I don't game that much anymore, but yeah, I hear games are still far from 100% on Linux. - There are various graphical issues linked to fractional scaling (I think), such as random lines appearing near the edges of windows or windows leaving behind lines when being dragged around, etc. - My external monitor doesn't appear to be affected by energy management settings (dimming/sleeping after some time, etc.) whatsoever. - There is no option to disable the touchpad when a mouse is connected. - Middle mouse button is paste instead of autoscroll with seemingly no global way to change it (I wonder who came up with THAT genius bit of UX). - A lot of things can still only be achieved via the terminal.
- nunodonato 4y ago
  Pasting with middle-mouse button was a thing even before auto-scroll existed! And yes, for us who grew with it, its a damn good feature, I couldn't care less for auto-scroll, but I love my middle-mouse paste :)
  - gpderetta 4y ago
    When I use Windows I'm always annoyed by the lack of advanced WM features: focus-follow-mouse, windows always on top, etc. But the thing I miss the most is the transparent copy on select and paste on mid-button. I always have to end up doing it twice.
    - dagw 4y ago
      focus-follow-mouse, windows always on top For what it's worth Windows has (had? don't know about Windows 11) both of these, but they're either buried in the registry or need Microsoft PowerToys to enable.
      - gpderetta 4y ago
        The only place I really use windows is at work, so I'm not at liberty to install additional applications unfortunately. I did manage to enable follow focus a while ago, but it didn't behave as I was used to (I don't remember the details), so I disabled it.
dagw 4y ago
Even though I've been using Linux desktops for 20 years, for me it's mostly CAD, BIM and 3D design apps still keeping me at least partially 'stuck' on windows
magicalhippo 4y ago
I have a NUC with KDE Neon on it as a second desktop. It's been pretty good so been thinking it might be time soon to switch my main over. However for years the main thing holding me back is the lack of a proper RDP alternative. And yes I've tried them all, nothing comes close to RDP on Windows. I use it all the time to connect home from work, so I can separate work from personal stuff, as well as from my laptop when I'm away. I just have Firefox installed on my laptop, RDP takes care of the rest.

I’ve given up on a one computer solution. I am currently on multiple computers. One thinkpad and an old dell optiplex run Fedora. Main desktop runs Windows. I can still ssh into my old dell optiplex from my windows desktop with its nice windows 11 power shell terminal. I can switch over to my thinkpad t490s and use Fedora with gnome (and still ssh into my dell optiplex because all of them are on the same home Internet connection and router (and same switch other than the thinkpad). One thing I’ve noticed is remmina isn’t quite the same as mstsc windows Remote Desktop but I think it is high praise that I could even get to the point of someday expecting it…

happymellon 4y ago

Honestly there is absolutely no reason to not switch to something else. Mac's have Office and Photoshop, and I haven't personally ran into any games I can't play on Linux. Shame that Microsoft haven't given Linux Office 365, because Microsoft ♥ Linux. Right?

vladvasiliu 4y ago
> Shame that Microsoft haven't given Linux Office 365, because Microsoft ♥ Linux. Right? For my basic needs, I've found that the office web apps actually work much better than the classic ones. Outlook, in particular, is much snappier. I use it daily on Firefox on Linux for work, since they're married to MS.
- happymellon 4y ago
  I use Office via the web and it suits 99% of my cases. I think the only issues have been some formatting options are hidden, I honestly don't remember them because it mostly works. It was more a cheap jab that they don't want to actually support Linux.
  - vladvasiliu 4y ago
    I think that with the move to the web and web app everything, there are fewer and fewer reasons for people to use Windows as a client OS outside of specialty software. Hell, my last two HP laptops, nothing fancy, had worse hardware support on Windows than on Linux (where they were working 100% since day one), even with all the HP drivers installed. Took them about a year to fix this. So even "don't need to futz around with drivers" is no longer a reason. And I think MS realizes this, seeing that recent .net things work on Linux, MSSQL Server now works on Linux (but not the studio, though). So, I guess they're just trying their damnedest to stay at least somewhat relevant. Companies are usually a bit slower to change user-facing things, so I guess MS won't go out of their way to help with the switch.

protoster 4y ago

I use Ubuntu (as stock as possible) for my media center PC, here are some reasons off the top of my head that prevent me from using desktop Linux for anything more serious: Bluetooth connection to my headset sometimes causes the entire system to hard lock, requiring physical reset. Sound sometimes goes static-y, have to reboot to fix. I had to download a third party tweaker app to disable a sound output device that I didn't want to use. Tearing of full screen video, I don't even remember how I fixed it. A notification about something called "snap store" keeps coming up and needs a command line fix to dismiss. The built-in app store keeps notifying me about a firmware update for my wireless keyboard. I'm not interested, and there is no way to dismiss it. Firefox on Linux has an obnoxious habit of refusing to open a new tab until I restart it for updates (that were installed automatically, not through the system updates app). Sure, I want my browser up-to-date, but this is not an issue on Windows where it will never force you to restart the application. I looked around why this is the way it is, and the answers were that it had to do with how Linux works. And, yeah, games.

josephg 4y ago
I get that staticy sound problem from time to time on linux mint. `sudo killall pulseaudiod` seems to reset it without needing a reboot.
- noahtallen 4y ago
  All my audio problems (including this) were fixed by switching to pipewire
  - stathibus 4y ago
    This little thread already has like five different versions of "Linux works great for me, you just need to fizzbang the wagglesprocket"
vladvasiliu 4y ago
I'm always surprised whenever these Bluetooth issues come up. The best Bluetooth experience I've had is with Linux, by far. I have a BT keyboard (keychron), mouse (mx master 3s) and two headphones. They've all always connected instantly under Linux. The headsets can use LDAC and aptx HD, which are both unsupported under Windows but work perfectly under Linux. The mouse has noticeable lag under Windows, while under Linux it's indistinguishable from its wireless (non-BT) dongle. Installing the Logitech app and drivers doesn't change anything. The keyboard and headphones usually take a while to connect under windows. Except for the mouse, I've had these same peripherals on multiple PCs, all with Intel wireless cards, and all have exhibited the same difference in behavior between Windows and Linux. > I had to download a third party tweaker app to disable a sound output device that I didn't want to use. This is weird, I can disable any and all sound peripherals from the pulse audio control panel. I don't use ubuntu, though, so not sure what its default apps are.

stathibus 4y ago

MacOS requires that I purchase apple hardware at absurd brand markup, so that’s out. I use Linux at work because I have good IT support and I don’t rely on any windows only software. Neither are the case at home.

Zurrrrr 4y ago
Use a simple distro and look at WINE or OSS alternatives? What program do you really need that is Windows only?
- stathibus 4y ago
  With great effort you can achieve a partial solution. I'm not interested in a new hobby, I want my computer to actually work without me fucking with it incessantly.
  - Zurrrrr 4y ago
    It doesn't require 'great effort' at all. Maybe 10 years ago. There's a reason numerous governments and industries have switched over. I suspect you are vastly overestimating the complexity and trouble you would face in switching.
    - stathibus 4y ago
      I already said I use Linux at work, I know exactly what I'm talking about.
      - Zurrrrr 4y ago
        With your comments referring to how hard or complex you think switching would be, it doesn't seem like it. But OK.
bowsamic 4y ago
> at absurd brand markup The markup for Apple hardware is really not big at all. They just don't have a budget option. If you compare macbooks to really any competing device the prices are similar (and the competing device will be much worse). Same situation when comparing iPhone to flagship Android. In fact, new iPhones are often cheaper than new flagship Android phones. There was once a time where what you said is true, where a truly great Windows laptop could be had for half the price or less than a mac, and a flagship Android phone could be had for half the price or less than an iPhone, but that was in the past. Now, there is almost price parity.

GartzenDeHaes 4y ago

For me, it's Visual Studio. I'm thinking about trying a windows 8 vm with VS2019 though.

vladvasiliu 4y ago

Well, yeah. It's less of a hassle to run games on Windows. Also, in my case, photoshop and Lightroom. So, as another poster said, my solution is to have two pcs. A laptop with Linux I use basically all the time, and a desktop with an actual GPU for when I want to play or mess around with my photography. This arrangement works well enough, since for my everyday needs the iGPU is more than enough, and I would rather not lug around a 10-pound brick with a dedicated GPU. And, in my particular situation, it's actually cheaper since my desktop is a hand-me-down from work which only required a new GPU, which at the time was beefier and cheaper than what I could have had in a laptop.

bytehowl 4y ago

I have recently put Fedora with KDE on my work laptop and here are a couple of reasons off the top of my head (I believe I have come across more, but can't remember them right now) why I'm currently not considering switching from W10 on my home stuff: - I don't game that much anymore, but yeah, I hear games are still far from 100% on Linux. - There are various graphical issues linked to fractional scaling (I think), such as random lines appearing near the edges of windows or windows leaving behind lines when being dragged around, etc. - My external monitor doesn't appear to be affected by energy management settings (dimming/sleeping after some time, etc.) whatsoever. - There is no option to disable the touchpad when a mouse is connected. - Middle mouse button is paste instead of autoscroll with seemingly no global way to change it (I wonder who came up with THAT genius bit of UX). - A lot of things can still only be achieved via the terminal.

nunodonato 4y ago
Pasting with middle-mouse button was a thing even before auto-scroll existed! And yes, for us who grew with it, its a damn good feature, I couldn't care less for auto-scroll, but I love my middle-mouse paste :)
- gpderetta 4y ago
  When I use Windows I'm always annoyed by the lack of advanced WM features: focus-follow-mouse, windows always on top, etc. But the thing I miss the most is the transparent copy on select and paste on mid-button. I always have to end up doing it twice.
  - dagw 4y ago
    focus-follow-mouse, windows always on top For what it's worth Windows has (had? don't know about Windows 11) both of these, but they're either buried in the registry or need Microsoft PowerToys to enable.
    - gpderetta 4y ago
      The only place I really use windows is at work, so I'm not at liberty to install additional applications unfortunately. I did manage to enable follow focus a while ago, but it didn't behave as I was used to (I don't remember the details), so I disabled it.

dagw 4y ago

Even though I've been using Linux desktops for 20 years, for me it's mostly CAD, BIM and 3D design apps still keeping me at least partially 'stuck' on windows

magicalhippo 4y ago

I have a NUC with KDE Neon on it as a second desktop. It's been pretty good so been thinking it might be time soon to switch my main over. However for years the main thing holding me back is the lack of a proper RDP alternative. And yes I've tried them all, nothing comes close to RDP on Windows. I use it all the time to connect home from work, so I can separate work from personal stuff, as well as from my laptop when I'm away. I just have Firefox installed on my laptop, RDP takes care of the rest.