4 ms·

A lot of people are locked-in Windows, but as Microsoft more and more ruins the OS by pushing advertisement, telemetry, slow cloud services, new versions of app

A lot of people are locked-in Windows, but as Microsoft more and more ruins the OS by pushing advertisement, telemetry, slow cloud services, new versions of apps optimized for those who don't know how to use a computer, rather than experts - there will be plenty of users switching to Linux.

bruce511 3y ago
Most users are not even aware of telemetry. Those who find the cloud services slow can just stop using them. The advertising seems to be local to the US because I've never seen it, but I expect users will ignore it just like they ignore it on TV, Google, Facebook, Twitter, on every roadside, at every mall and do on. Frankly advertising is everywhere, avoiding it doesn't seem to be a priority. I think you summed it up. Computer Experts may want to switch to Linux, and likely already have. My mom, who is 40 years a novice, cares less about any of what you listed. Her skill set is small, and her interest in changing is miles below 0. And there are 97% of the world like her and, 3% like you ;)
- borissk 3y ago
  >> Those who find the cloud services slow can just stop using them. Microsoft has made sure users can't stop using cloud services, unless they spend a ton of effort every time a new update that re-enables them is released. E.g. try to disable the web search in the Windows start menu. >> And there are 97% of the world like her and, 3% like you ;) If the 3% expert users switch away from Windows it will be the beginning of the end for Windows.
  - trimethylpurine 3y ago
    I disabled it and haven't had any issues. Use group policy, quick web search, few steps to follow.
    - borissk 3y ago
      Wait a few months and MS will probably release an update that will break your fix.
blowski 3y ago
Will 2024 be the year of Linux on the desktop? This prediction has been made pretty much every year so far this century, no reason to stop now.
- borissk 3y ago
  How did you go from "a lot of people will switch" to "the year of Linux on desktop"? Microsoft is making a lot of changes that will annoy the expert users. Stuff like a Settings app that has a single screen - e.g. one makes changes to his network setup, decides to increase the brightness of the screen - the Settings app navigates from network to screen and the user progress with network is lost.
kekebo 3y ago
WSL being a recent counter factor, as much as I don't enjoy Windows it got a lot more bearable for me since I can manage it through a Debian installation. Filesystem access, Windows program execution and running cmd.exe/powershell commands without having to open either of them removes some of the pain
- ImPleadThe5th 3y ago
  It's nice and all, but it still feels far from being a first class citizen.
pjmlp 3y ago
A common meme since Windows XP was released, on every Windows release.
taneliv 3y ago
Heavily doubt that those would make people switch. Maaaybe, if their social circle already uses Linux. However, make the next Minecraft, Fortnite or Roblox work only (or considerably better) on Linux desktop[], and you will suddenly gain a lot more new users. Some of whom will stick around, since all their other apps work the same in the browser. [] Whatever that term means, even the article makes a distinction between that and Chrome OS.
- rwiggins 3y ago
  It made me switch, anyway, recently - specifically another one of those "Oh, let's finish setting up your computer" (i.e., try to trick you into trying Edge again, probably, or set up a "Microsoft" account) with my only options being "Remind me later" or "OK" was the straw that broke the camel's back. That said, I'm far from your typical desktop user. I'm vaguely Linux sysadmin adjacent, and I ran Linux as my primary OS for many years - until one day I noticed I was mostly booted into Windows for gaming and decided to reclaim that SSD space. Gaming on Linux has come... leaps and bounds. It's actually extraordinary. Still many sharp edges, but the Steam Deck might in fact be the first spark of a revolution here. We'll see, I guess.
  - pjmlp 3y ago
    By emulating Windows, while failing to attract anyone targeting POSIX platforms to port their games into GNU/Linux, not even Android.
    - rwiggins 3y ago
      Is this where I'm supposed to say Wine Is Not an Emulator? ;-) Jokes aside, totally right, and unfortunately, in my experience it's often a better experience to run the Windows port under Wine than it is to use the native version. e.g. the native version of Tyranny is just a black box for me, but the Wine version works pretty flawlessly. I think userspace is just too unstable, and game companies probably don't want a forever-ongoing maintenance cost just to keep their old games running.
- 3y ago
NexRebular 3y ago
A lot of people are also locked-in linux if they have to use e.g. docker or kubernetes, not to mention FOSS hooked to systemd or other linux-specific technologies. Say goodbye to compatibility and portability to other systems.

bruce511 3y ago

Most users are not even aware of telemetry. Those who find the cloud services slow can just stop using them. The advertising seems to be local to the US because I've never seen it, but I expect users will ignore it just like they ignore it on TV, Google, Facebook, Twitter, on every roadside, at every mall and do on. Frankly advertising is everywhere, avoiding it doesn't seem to be a priority. I think you summed it up. Computer Experts may want to switch to Linux, and likely already have. My mom, who is 40 years a novice, cares less about any of what you listed. Her skill set is small, and her interest in changing is miles below 0. And there are 97% of the world like her and, 3% like you ;)

borissk 3y ago
>> Those who find the cloud services slow can just stop using them. Microsoft has made sure users can't stop using cloud services, unless they spend a ton of effort every time a new update that re-enables them is released. E.g. try to disable the web search in the Windows start menu. >> And there are 97% of the world like her and, 3% like you ;) If the 3% expert users switch away from Windows it will be the beginning of the end for Windows.
- trimethylpurine 3y ago
  I disabled it and haven't had any issues. Use group policy, quick web search, few steps to follow.
  - borissk 3y ago
    Wait a few months and MS will probably release an update that will break your fix.

blowski 3y ago

Will 2024 be the year of Linux on the desktop? This prediction has been made pretty much every year so far this century, no reason to stop now.

borissk 3y ago
How did you go from "a lot of people will switch" to "the year of Linux on desktop"? Microsoft is making a lot of changes that will annoy the expert users. Stuff like a Settings app that has a single screen - e.g. one makes changes to his network setup, decides to increase the brightness of the screen - the Settings app navigates from network to screen and the user progress with network is lost.

kekebo 3y ago

WSL being a recent counter factor, as much as I don't enjoy Windows it got a lot more bearable for me since I can manage it through a Debian installation. Filesystem access, Windows program execution and running cmd.exe/powershell commands without having to open either of them removes some of the pain

ImPleadThe5th 3y ago
It's nice and all, but it still feels far from being a first class citizen.

pjmlp 3y ago

A common meme since Windows XP was released, on every Windows release.

taneliv 3y ago

Heavily doubt that those would make people switch. Maaaybe, if their social circle already uses Linux. However, make the next Minecraft, Fortnite or Roblox work only (or considerably better) on Linux desktop[], and you will suddenly gain a lot more new users. Some of whom will stick around, since all their other apps work the same in the browser. [] Whatever that term means, even the article makes a distinction between that and Chrome OS.

rwiggins 3y ago
It made me switch, anyway, recently - specifically another one of those "Oh, let's finish setting up your computer" (i.e., try to trick you into trying Edge again, probably, or set up a "Microsoft" account) with my only options being "Remind me later" or "OK" was the straw that broke the camel's back. That said, I'm far from your typical desktop user. I'm vaguely Linux sysadmin adjacent, and I ran Linux as my primary OS for many years - until one day I noticed I was mostly booted into Windows for gaming and decided to reclaim that SSD space. Gaming on Linux has come... leaps and bounds. It's actually extraordinary. Still many sharp edges, but the Steam Deck might in fact be the first spark of a revolution here. We'll see, I guess.
- pjmlp 3y ago
  By emulating Windows, while failing to attract anyone targeting POSIX platforms to port their games into GNU/Linux, not even Android.
  - rwiggins 3y ago
    Is this where I'm supposed to say Wine Is Not an Emulator? ;-) Jokes aside, totally right, and unfortunately, in my experience it's often a better experience to run the Windows port under Wine than it is to use the native version. e.g. the native version of Tyranny is just a black box for me, but the Wine version works pretty flawlessly. I think userspace is just too unstable, and game companies probably don't want a forever-ongoing maintenance cost just to keep their old games running.
3y ago

NexRebular 3y ago

A lot of people are also locked-in linux if they have to use e.g. docker or kubernetes, not to mention FOSS hooked to systemd or other linux-specific technologies. Say goodbye to compatibility and portability to other systems.