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People always say this, but in the last half decade I've put Linux (ubuntu varieties) on multiple desktops with near 0 additional effort needed. At most I neede

People always say this, but in the last half decade I've put Linux (ubuntu varieties) on multiple desktops with near 0 additional effort needed. At most I needed to install a proprietary Nvidia driver which was easily done without using terminal. I've spent far more time trying to decrapify Windows than getting Linux to work. Now laptops are a different matter.

oblio 4y ago
> Now laptops are a different matter. And laptops are most client PCs sold these days, people barely buy desktops anymore: https://www.canalys.com/newsroom/global-pc-market-Q4-2021 https://www.canalys.com/newsroom/global-pc-market-Q4-2021 Linux is skating where the puck has been.
- vladvasiliu 4y ago
  Meh, my latest laptops, which are your bog-standard HP enterprise models, both worked better when new under Linux than under Windows. One of them, AMD-based, "only" had some issue with the USB hub to which the webcam and light sensor are connected. It otherwise worked OK. On the OOB Windows install which came with the PC from the factory, the backlight couldn't go up all the day and was a horribly dim affair. It was fixed around a year later. It would also randomly hang when waking up from sleep. The second one, a full-Intel affair, was much more of a PITA. First off, the Windows installer didn't recognize the touchpad nor track point. It still doesn't, more than a year later! Then, once installed, there was some stupid issue with the display out via the HP dock. I'd have to do a ridiculous dance of plugging in the display via both HDMI and DP and unplugging and re-plugging the DP connector at just the right time. Then, almost a year later, Intel released a new driver that actually fixed it! But then, for a while, Windows Update wouldn't have any of that, and insisted on updating the driver to the older one with the bug. Good times. Absolutely 0 issues under Linux since day one. The only "config file fiddling" I did was actually Xorg, but that's because I insisted on remapping CAPS to Hyper and using a mac-style US layout with the win and menu keys working as level 3 shift for easier French typing. How do you even do that under windows?
  - oblio 4y ago
    > The only "config file fiddling" I did was actually Xorg, but that's because I insisted on remapping CAPS to Hyper and using a mac-style US layout with the win and menu keys working as level 3 shift for easier French typing. How do you even do that under windows? https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=102134 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=102... I've been using Linux and Windows for a long time. A lot of Linux enthusiasts are frankly uninformed about Windows power functions.
    - vladvasiliu 4y ago
      I'm familiar with this, but I didn't find a way of remapping the alt/win keys with it. The closest I've found was using alt-gr for level 3. But I don't want that, I want the key next to it to be alt-gr. I also want to have it on the left side, too. I've managed to make this work by combining that and another app that fiddled something in the registry to move super to caps and remap super to alt-gr. > A lot of Linux enthusiasts are frankly uninformed about Windows power functions. Because they're basically undiscoverable and require hours of googling. The first approach I'd found, using the remap function of PowerToys kinda worked. But it randomly stopped working and would behave as if I had the super key pressed all the time. Cue windows randomly moving around, etc.
      - oblio 4y ago
        > I'm familiar with this, but I didn't find a way of remapping the alt/win keys with it. The closest I've found was using alt-gr for level 3. But I don't want that, I want the key next to it to be alt-gr. I also want to have it on the left side, too. https://github.com/randyrants/sharpkeys/releases https://github.com/randyrants/sharpkeys/releases BIG WARNING if you do this! I've done it in the past and using other computers will just break your brain. Think working with someone else or helping relatives, etc. > Because they're basically undiscoverable and require hours of googling. Oh, so just like Linux stuff? :-p The double standards are real :-D > The first approach I'd found, using the remap function of PowerToys kinda worked. But it randomly stopped working and would behave as if I had the super key pressed all the time. Cue windows randomly moving around, etc. I've used SharpKeys and the Microsoft KLC tool in the past, after many, many failed attempts with other tools, they're quite reliable. Only a handful of apps and websites (WhatsApp web... for some reason ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) don't 100% work well with them.
happymellon 4y ago
I've installed Fedora on multiple ThinkPads and had no issues. I had a problem with an Asus, but that's because of an Nvidia embedded GPU that wasn't even supported under Windows, so it's not like this was a Linux issue. Just get a machine that supports Linux, you wouldn't complain that you can't install MacOS on your Inspiron and even with all the hacks it doesn't work right, or that Windows is struggling to boot on your Playstation.
majkinetor 4y ago
That's because _people have different usecases for OS_, not hard to imagine, right?
- another_story 4y ago
  This doesn't really make sense as you have no idea what my use cases are.
  - majkinetor 4y ago
    That really doesn't make any sense as you don't have 3rd party to develop your custom OS, but for majority of use cases.

oblio 4y ago

> Now laptops are a different matter. And laptops are most client PCs sold these days, people barely buy desktops anymore: https://www.canalys.com/newsroom/global-pc-market-Q4-2021 https://www.canalys.com/newsroom/global-pc-market-Q4-2021 Linux is skating where the puck has been.

vladvasiliu 4y ago
Meh, my latest laptops, which are your bog-standard HP enterprise models, both worked better when new under Linux than under Windows. One of them, AMD-based, "only" had some issue with the USB hub to which the webcam and light sensor are connected. It otherwise worked OK. On the OOB Windows install which came with the PC from the factory, the backlight couldn't go up all the day and was a horribly dim affair. It was fixed around a year later. It would also randomly hang when waking up from sleep. The second one, a full-Intel affair, was much more of a PITA. First off, the Windows installer didn't recognize the touchpad nor track point. It still doesn't, more than a year later! Then, once installed, there was some stupid issue with the display out via the HP dock. I'd have to do a ridiculous dance of plugging in the display via both HDMI and DP and unplugging and re-plugging the DP connector at just the right time. Then, almost a year later, Intel released a new driver that actually fixed it! But then, for a while, Windows Update wouldn't have any of that, and insisted on updating the driver to the older one with the bug. Good times. Absolutely 0 issues under Linux since day one. The only "config file fiddling" I did was actually Xorg, but that's because I insisted on remapping CAPS to Hyper and using a mac-style US layout with the win and menu keys working as level 3 shift for easier French typing. How do you even do that under windows?
- oblio 4y ago
  > The only "config file fiddling" I did was actually Xorg, but that's because I insisted on remapping CAPS to Hyper and using a mac-style US layout with the win and menu keys working as level 3 shift for easier French typing. How do you even do that under windows? https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=102134 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=102... I've been using Linux and Windows for a long time. A lot of Linux enthusiasts are frankly uninformed about Windows power functions.
  - vladvasiliu 4y ago
    I'm familiar with this, but I didn't find a way of remapping the alt/win keys with it. The closest I've found was using alt-gr for level 3. But I don't want that, I want the key next to it to be alt-gr. I also want to have it on the left side, too. I've managed to make this work by combining that and another app that fiddled something in the registry to move super to caps and remap super to alt-gr. > A lot of Linux enthusiasts are frankly uninformed about Windows power functions. Because they're basically undiscoverable and require hours of googling. The first approach I'd found, using the remap function of PowerToys kinda worked. But it randomly stopped working and would behave as if I had the super key pressed all the time. Cue windows randomly moving around, etc.
    - oblio 4y ago
      > I'm familiar with this, but I didn't find a way of remapping the alt/win keys with it. The closest I've found was using alt-gr for level 3. But I don't want that, I want the key next to it to be alt-gr. I also want to have it on the left side, too. https://github.com/randyrants/sharpkeys/releases https://github.com/randyrants/sharpkeys/releases BIG WARNING if you do this! I've done it in the past and using other computers will just break your brain. Think working with someone else or helping relatives, etc. > Because they're basically undiscoverable and require hours of googling. Oh, so just like Linux stuff? :-p The double standards are real :-D > The first approach I'd found, using the remap function of PowerToys kinda worked. But it randomly stopped working and would behave as if I had the super key pressed all the time. Cue windows randomly moving around, etc. I've used SharpKeys and the Microsoft KLC tool in the past, after many, many failed attempts with other tools, they're quite reliable. Only a handful of apps and websites (WhatsApp web... for some reason ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) don't 100% work well with them.

happymellon 4y ago

I've installed Fedora on multiple ThinkPads and had no issues. I had a problem with an Asus, but that's because of an Nvidia embedded GPU that wasn't even supported under Windows, so it's not like this was a Linux issue. Just get a machine that supports Linux, you wouldn't complain that you can't install MacOS on your Inspiron and even with all the hacks it doesn't work right, or that Windows is struggling to boot on your Playstation.

majkinetor 4y ago

That's because _people have different usecases for OS_, not hard to imagine, right?

another_story 4y ago
This doesn't really make sense as you have no idea what my use cases are.
- majkinetor 4y ago
  That really doesn't make any sense as you don't have 3rd party to develop your custom OS, but for majority of use cases.