4 ms·

It's today. I encourage you to actually try it rather than repeat an old trope.

MisterBastahrd 2y ago
No, it really isn't, and I've been working with Linux on desktops since I installed slackware from floppy disks from the back of a giant book after having used Sparcstations. Every single implementation is terrible and breaks in weird ways.
- leesalminen 2y ago
  n=1 but my mother-in-law has been rocking Mint since late 2019. It does everything she needs and hasn't had a single question about it since 2020. I apply updates when I visit her house every few months. Don't recall any issues with that, either.
  - cortesoft 2y ago
    Not everyone has a son-in-law tech admin.
    - skydhash 2y ago
      Even Apple and Microsoft have to deploy an army of customer support agents to deal with problems, but you expect Linux to be trouble free? I don't expect anyone capable of installing windows to have trouble with Mint, Elementary, or Fedora.
      - cortesoft 2y ago
        Sure, but Apple has that army of customer support agents. Maybe someone needs to create some for Linux?
        mattl 2y ago
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linuxcare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linuxcare
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- choeger 2y ago
  I'm running Linux for decades now without problems. Gaming was Windows' last bastion, but SteamOS is looking more and more attractive. So maybe I can get rid of that crapware personally.
  - ziddoap 2y ago
    >Gaming was Windows' last bastion Not by a long shot. Windows-only enterprise software (QuickBooks, SolidWorks, etc.) is the last bastion, and that bastion is going to hold for a long time.
    - talldayo 2y ago
      The customers of that particular bastion have LTSC, and enough capital to twist Microsoft's arm into including or excluding whatever features they prefer.
      - ziddoap 2y ago
        This overlooks every small and medium sized business that is locked-in to Windows some way or another. Unless they all band together, their capital is not enough to sway Microsoft at all.
    - fxtentacle 2y ago
      QuickBooks is now mostly a website, we ditched the client-side app a few years ago. But yeah, SolidWorks is notoriously flaky. It doesn't even work OK in a Windows VM. Or on any modern Laptop with discrete GPU.
      - ziddoap 2y ago
        >QuickBooks is now mostly a website, we ditched the client-side app a few years ago. QuickBooks Online is missing so many features of QuickBooks Enterprise that they probably shouldn't even share the same name. Many places I've consulted for are locked-in to Enterprise. They also conveniently void your support if you use a VM, despite VMs working fine.
- EnergyAmy 2y ago
  Everything is terrible and breaks in weird ways, including Windows. It has so many weird bugs and broken behavior that people just kind of ignore because it's "default".
- inetknght 2y ago
  I've been working with Linux on desktops, laptops, and servers for a decade. Use Mint or Fedora for distribution. Use Cinnamon or KDE for GUI. Everything pretty much just works, man. Games work -- Steam, Battle.net, Lutris, and others I am sure. Sleep works -- just as well as it does on Windows anyway. Network works -- better and easier than Windows IMO. Updates work and waaaaay better than Windows. Backups work. LibreOffice works. Browsers work. Tools work. USB thumb drives work. External USB enclosures work. CD/DVD drives work. I haven't tried blu-ray but I imagine that works too. The only things that don't work are the things that lock you in to Microsoft. Those are vanishingly small numbers of things outside of business, and in business it's mostly because of inertia.
  - skydhash 2y ago
    I'm running Sway on Fedora Asahi Remix and I've experienced fewer crashes than in macOS (and the few crashes was software I've installed, the system is rock solid). And these days, I trust Fedora and Debian's maintainers more than Big Corps. If you're only using a few apps and don't really care what the system does as long as you do your $job, macOS and windows are good. But any custom workflows and you're in a lot of pain.
  - piafraus 2y ago
    > Games work This is not a boolean. Games work, just with way less framerates.
    - tristor 2y ago
      Not necessarily. I sometimes get higher framerates on Linux via Proton than I get on Windows for the same games and same system.
- darkwater 2y ago
  I did the same (installing Slack from floppies in 1996...and failing) and I've been running Linux as my main and only desktop first and laptop then operating system for... 23 years now. Windows Millennium was the last straw for me. My family is Ubuntu-only since 10 years ago, and I have 2 daughters that only know Unity as the graphical UI for a desktop PC (well, the big one is unfortunately starting to see Windows at school).
- scblock 2y ago
  Sure, you're clearly the expert. If we're measuring experience based on the age of ancient software then I guess you win because I only started with RedHat 5.1 from a CD. But in 2024 you clearly are still the true expert and arbiter of what constitutes a working desktop OS. I mean I only use Linux on a desktop and a laptop every single day, so I probably don't really get it. But truly, Linux gives me significantly less "broken in weird ways" issues, as you say, in daily use than Windows 10 does on the same hardware. Both sometimes do stupid things, and both sometimes require stupid incantations when things go wrong (please don't pretend windows doesn't, because it absolutely does).
- twh270 2y ago
  Every complex piece of software "breaks in weird ways", that doesn't make it terrible. It will also break if you're trying to do 'weird' things it's not really designed for.

No, it really isn't, and I've been working with Linux on desktops since I installed slackware from floppy disks from the back of a giant book after having used Sparcstations. Every single implementation is terrible and breaks in weird ways.

leesalminen 2y ago
n=1 but my mother-in-law has been rocking Mint since late 2019. It does everything she needs and hasn't had a single question about it since 2020. I apply updates when I visit her house every few months. Don't recall any issues with that, either.
- cortesoft 2y ago
  Not everyone has a son-in-law tech admin.
  - skydhash 2y ago
    Even Apple and Microsoft have to deploy an army of customer support agents to deal with problems, but you expect Linux to be trouble free? I don't expect anyone capable of installing windows to have trouble with Mint, Elementary, or Fedora.
    - cortesoft 2y ago
      Sure, but Apple has that army of customer support agents. Maybe someone needs to create some for Linux?
      - mattl 2y ago
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linuxcare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linuxcare
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
choeger 2y ago
I'm running Linux for decades now without problems. Gaming was Windows' last bastion, but SteamOS is looking more and more attractive. So maybe I can get rid of that crapware personally.
- ziddoap 2y ago
  >Gaming was Windows' last bastion Not by a long shot. Windows-only enterprise software (QuickBooks, SolidWorks, etc.) is the last bastion, and that bastion is going to hold for a long time.
  - talldayo 2y ago
    The customers of that particular bastion have LTSC, and enough capital to twist Microsoft's arm into including or excluding whatever features they prefer.
    - ziddoap 2y ago
      This overlooks every small and medium sized business that is locked-in to Windows some way or another. Unless they all band together, their capital is not enough to sway Microsoft at all.
  - fxtentacle 2y ago
    QuickBooks is now mostly a website, we ditched the client-side app a few years ago. But yeah, SolidWorks is notoriously flaky. It doesn't even work OK in a Windows VM. Or on any modern Laptop with discrete GPU.
    - ziddoap 2y ago
      >QuickBooks is now mostly a website, we ditched the client-side app a few years ago. QuickBooks Online is missing so many features of QuickBooks Enterprise that they probably shouldn't even share the same name. Many places I've consulted for are locked-in to Enterprise. They also conveniently void your support if you use a VM, despite VMs working fine.
EnergyAmy 2y ago
Everything is terrible and breaks in weird ways, including Windows. It has so many weird bugs and broken behavior that people just kind of ignore because it's "default".
inetknght 2y ago
I've been working with Linux on desktops, laptops, and servers for a decade. Use Mint or Fedora for distribution. Use Cinnamon or KDE for GUI. Everything pretty much just works, man. Games work -- Steam, Battle.net, Lutris, and others I am sure. Sleep works -- just as well as it does on Windows anyway. Network works -- better and easier than Windows IMO. Updates work and waaaaay better than Windows. Backups work. LibreOffice works. Browsers work. Tools work. USB thumb drives work. External USB enclosures work. CD/DVD drives work. I haven't tried blu-ray but I imagine that works too. The only things that don't work are the things that lock you in to Microsoft. Those are vanishingly small numbers of things outside of business, and in business it's mostly because of inertia.
- skydhash 2y ago
  I'm running Sway on Fedora Asahi Remix and I've experienced fewer crashes than in macOS (and the few crashes was software I've installed, the system is rock solid). And these days, I trust Fedora and Debian's maintainers more than Big Corps. If you're only using a few apps and don't really care what the system does as long as you do your $job, macOS and windows are good. But any custom workflows and you're in a lot of pain.
- piafraus 2y ago
  > Games work This is not a boolean. Games work, just with way less framerates.
  - tristor 2y ago
    Not necessarily. I sometimes get higher framerates on Linux via Proton than I get on Windows for the same games and same system.
darkwater 2y ago
I did the same (installing Slack from floppies in 1996...and failing) and I've been running Linux as my main and only desktop first and laptop then operating system for... 23 years now. Windows Millennium was the last straw for me. My family is Ubuntu-only since 10 years ago, and I have 2 daughters that only know Unity as the graphical UI for a desktop PC (well, the big one is unfortunately starting to see Windows at school).
scblock 2y ago
Sure, you're clearly the expert. If we're measuring experience based on the age of ancient software then I guess you win because I only started with RedHat 5.1 from a CD. But in 2024 you clearly are still the true expert and arbiter of what constitutes a working desktop OS. I mean I only use Linux on a desktop and a laptop every single day, so I probably don't really get it. But truly, Linux gives me significantly less "broken in weird ways" issues, as you say, in daily use than Windows 10 does on the same hardware. Both sometimes do stupid things, and both sometimes require stupid incantations when things go wrong (please don't pretend windows doesn't, because it absolutely does).
twh270 2y ago
Every complex piece of software "breaks in weird ways", that doesn't make it terrible. It will also break if you're trying to do 'weird' things it's not really designed for.