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Thankfully I've moved away from Windows completely. Unfortunately I still need to use it at work and using it for development is a pain compared to Linux. Toda

Thankfully I've moved away from Windows completely. Unfortunately I still need to use it at work and using it for development is a pain compared to Linux. Today's Linux is not the same clunky mess it was 15 or even 10 years ago. If you don't run any strange hardware or don't require Windows-only applications (that Wine/Proton don't handle) then the experience is great.

jsheard 2y ago
The main blocker for me is still the Nvidia drivers, with Xorg itself having deal-breaker limitations that are never going to get fixed and Wayland on NV still not being quite there yet. Yeah it would be smoother sailing with an AMD card but that's a pretty big caveat when Nvidia has 78% of the market per the Steam survey.
- 20after4 2y ago
  I've been running a RTX 3060 on Debian 12 under Gnome+Wayland for quite some time now (Nearly a year I think!). It's stable enough that I rarely notice anything to complain about. Sleep and resume works, though resume is quite slow. I can play just about any game on Steam including most Windows-only titles, not to mention GPU Compute workloads. It hasn't always been smooth sailing on Linux but I haven't experienced any significant problems with this platform: - Asus Motherboard - Intel 13700k (not significantly overclocked) - 128GB DDR4 - nVidia 3060 12GB
  - jsheard 2y ago
    Most of the issues I've run into are related to multiple monitors, on both Xorg and Wayland. Xorg can't do mismatched refresh rates, or VRR at all with multiple monitors, or HDR at all. The last time I tried Wayland (with KDE) it ended up in a bizarre state where my mouse clicks were going to a different point on the screen than where the cursor was, which was fixed if I disabled one monitor but I couldn't figure out how to get both working at once. As a 4K monitor user I also need 150% DPI scaling to work properly and from what I gather fractional scaling is still very rough on Linux. Hopefully one day, I'm not happy about the direction Windows is going either. But all of the above Just Works on Windows.
    - 20after4 2y ago
      Admittedly I haven't been using a multiple monitor setup since I bought a 43" LG 4k screen. 1.5x scaling is no longer an issue though, as of the latest versions of gnome and wayland, that just works and I haven't noticed any problems with scaling at all (still requires the "tweaks" app because gnome can't be arsed to expose any power-user features in their settings ui).
- neglesaks 2y ago
  Agreed. I've always found the nvidia drivers to be a pain in the neck and a source of system instability in Linux systems and have actively avoided nvidia hardware.
  - raxxorraxor 2y ago
    Historically better compatibility of nvidia and amd hardware for Linux was changing quite often. I believe it to be hugely neglectful for hardware vendors to not invest here. The windows drivers suites is awful as well and I believe it to be vastly neglectful that they don't provide drivers for as many systems as possible. Somebody is sleeping in those orgs as they certainly would have the resources.
Thegn 2y ago
I moved to PopOS about a year ago; I've tried a few times to move to Linux and until this most recent jump I've had to move back. It's gotten a lot better than it used to be, although I have to acknowledge that it's still got some rough edges. In a vacuum I'd probably go back to Windows, but Microsoft has been actively making the Windows experience worse as well to the point that I'll deal with the occasional Linux hiccups. (Well, that, and I'm actually having FUN with my computer again...)
tracker1 2y ago
Mostly agreed. Though WSL+Docker do make Windows more tolerable for work chores. It was literally an ad in the start menu search that got me to start using Linux full time. (Insiders a couple years ago).
- deeter72 2y ago
  I use WSL for work as well and in my opnion it fits Microsoft's classic "embrace, extend, extinguish" paradigm. WSL basically prevents most from requesting from the IT dept, A full blown Linux desktop/Laptop because they will simply say "you want Linux? here have WSL, it is 100% Linux", Which it is really not, WSL's idiosyncrasies from a true Linux Desktop drives me nuts at times.
  - tracker1 2y ago
    The issue has more often been about the security tools and monitoring for Windows, along with account federation. These tend to be more broadly available and polished on Windows and Mac. I'd prefer a full Linux workstation, but if it's locked down like some Windows I've experienced, I'm not sure it's materially better. Right now I'm working in a remote, secured, locked down Windows VM... Without WSL or Docker. That sucks a lot.
  - CoolCold 2y ago
    Chances to find common language with CorpIT going higher if you will bring not just "Linux laptop" request, but request + ready to be used and proven to work tooling for good MDM, integrated into common system; way of limiting privileges (i.e. no local admin), Full Disk Encryption with TPM and other basic things.
BLKNSLVR 2y ago
Same here, I migrated to Linux a few years ago and have backhandedly enjoyed reading the continuous flow of headlines such as this one. The only thing I've needed to bit into Windows for is Android rooting programs that are Windows only. I'm a long-reformed hardcore gamer, so I can't speak to Nvidia drivers, but did recently today through Deus Ex via Steam on Linux, the setup for which was a relatively pain free experience. Edited to add: PopOS, Debian, and Ubuntu have been the flavours, with my daily driver being Pop.
ciwolsey 2y ago
Scaling is still a mess.

jsheard 2y ago

The main blocker for me is still the Nvidia drivers, with Xorg itself having deal-breaker limitations that are never going to get fixed and Wayland on NV still not being quite there yet. Yeah it would be smoother sailing with an AMD card but that's a pretty big caveat when Nvidia has 78% of the market per the Steam survey.

20after4 2y ago
I've been running a RTX 3060 on Debian 12 under Gnome+Wayland for quite some time now (Nearly a year I think!). It's stable enough that I rarely notice anything to complain about. Sleep and resume works, though resume is quite slow. I can play just about any game on Steam including most Windows-only titles, not to mention GPU Compute workloads. It hasn't always been smooth sailing on Linux but I haven't experienced any significant problems with this platform: - Asus Motherboard - Intel 13700k (not significantly overclocked) - 128GB DDR4 - nVidia 3060 12GB
- jsheard 2y ago
  Most of the issues I've run into are related to multiple monitors, on both Xorg and Wayland. Xorg can't do mismatched refresh rates, or VRR at all with multiple monitors, or HDR at all. The last time I tried Wayland (with KDE) it ended up in a bizarre state where my mouse clicks were going to a different point on the screen than where the cursor was, which was fixed if I disabled one monitor but I couldn't figure out how to get both working at once. As a 4K monitor user I also need 150% DPI scaling to work properly and from what I gather fractional scaling is still very rough on Linux. Hopefully one day, I'm not happy about the direction Windows is going either. But all of the above Just Works on Windows.
  - 20after4 2y ago
    Admittedly I haven't been using a multiple monitor setup since I bought a 43" LG 4k screen. 1.5x scaling is no longer an issue though, as of the latest versions of gnome and wayland, that just works and I haven't noticed any problems with scaling at all (still requires the "tweaks" app because gnome can't be arsed to expose any power-user features in their settings ui).
neglesaks 2y ago
Agreed. I've always found the nvidia drivers to be a pain in the neck and a source of system instability in Linux systems and have actively avoided nvidia hardware.
- raxxorraxor 2y ago
  Historically better compatibility of nvidia and amd hardware for Linux was changing quite often. I believe it to be hugely neglectful for hardware vendors to not invest here. The windows drivers suites is awful as well and I believe it to be vastly neglectful that they don't provide drivers for as many systems as possible. Somebody is sleeping in those orgs as they certainly would have the resources.

Thegn 2y ago

I moved to PopOS about a year ago; I've tried a few times to move to Linux and until this most recent jump I've had to move back. It's gotten a lot better than it used to be, although I have to acknowledge that it's still got some rough edges. In a vacuum I'd probably go back to Windows, but Microsoft has been actively making the Windows experience worse as well to the point that I'll deal with the occasional Linux hiccups. (Well, that, and I'm actually having FUN with my computer again...)

tracker1 2y ago

Mostly agreed. Though WSL+Docker do make Windows more tolerable for work chores. It was literally an ad in the start menu search that got me to start using Linux full time. (Insiders a couple years ago).

deeter72 2y ago
I use WSL for work as well and in my opnion it fits Microsoft's classic "embrace, extend, extinguish" paradigm. WSL basically prevents most from requesting from the IT dept, A full blown Linux desktop/Laptop because they will simply say "you want Linux? here have WSL, it is 100% Linux", Which it is really not, WSL's idiosyncrasies from a true Linux Desktop drives me nuts at times.
- tracker1 2y ago
  The issue has more often been about the security tools and monitoring for Windows, along with account federation. These tend to be more broadly available and polished on Windows and Mac. I'd prefer a full Linux workstation, but if it's locked down like some Windows I've experienced, I'm not sure it's materially better. Right now I'm working in a remote, secured, locked down Windows VM... Without WSL or Docker. That sucks a lot.
- CoolCold 2y ago
  Chances to find common language with CorpIT going higher if you will bring not just "Linux laptop" request, but request + ready to be used and proven to work tooling for good MDM, integrated into common system; way of limiting privileges (i.e. no local admin), Full Disk Encryption with TPM and other basic things.

BLKNSLVR 2y ago

Same here, I migrated to Linux a few years ago and have backhandedly enjoyed reading the continuous flow of headlines such as this one. The only thing I've needed to bit into Windows for is Android rooting programs that are Windows only. I'm a long-reformed hardcore gamer, so I can't speak to Nvidia drivers, but did recently today through Deus Ex via Steam on Linux, the setup for which was a relatively pain free experience. Edited to add: PopOS, Debian, and Ubuntu have been the flavours, with my daily driver being Pop.

ciwolsey 2y ago

Scaling is still a mess.