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The ability to actually use all of the hardware I buy. Also using an external monitor without scaling issues is nice. Also not having to spend days on figurin

The ability to actually use all of the hardware I buy. Also using an external monitor without scaling issues is nice. Also not having to spend days on figuring out whether I want Linux or Unix and then which distro, window manager, audio driver, package manager, etc to use is quite nice. Being able to configure all of my hardware (including mouse scrollewheel) without resorting to writing scripts and hacks is nice. 100 percent worth dealing with extremely terrible Microsoft Windows, because the alternative is even worse in terms of usability.

nyir 2y ago
What hardware do you have issues with nowadays? I agree it used to be problematic, though lately the only remaining thing I'm struggling with is (some) printers. Then again, thankfully I haven't had to set them up on Windows either.
surgical_fire 2y ago
Without wanting to discredit your experience, I am surprised any of this is a problem. I switched to Mint around 3 years ago, and I never looked back. It was a surprisingly smooth sailing, everything worked out of the box. Nothing needed any hacks (including having an external monitor without any scaling issues, audio and video working out of the box, mouse and keyboard functining properly, etc and so forth). I had no anxiety picking distros or desktop environments, just stuck with Cinnamon and I love it ever since. What I can say, ia that my computer works as well, or maybe even better than when I did a fresh install 3 years ago. Unlike my experience with Windows where yearly fresh installs were a thing, as the computer would feel slow and sluggish over time, as if Windows deteriorated with every passing day. The only thing I needed to hack a little with on Linux was the fingerprint sensor thing. I could make it work, but it was unreliable, so I ended up disabling it. A very small price to pay.
thiago_fm 2y ago
Probably a bait comment... so here we go: Literally all of the issues you've mentioned in terms of compatibility is fixed if you buy hardware that aims to have Linux compatibility out of the box. Before you say "ah, but I didn't even need to think about it, I just bought some parts and assembled a computer." So the companies that have done it, did for you, made it "work well on Windows", think about it. But as this is the norm you think that Linux compatibility is bad, rather, it's the reverse. Those companies didn't care about Linux and that's why its compatibility is bad. There are now plenty of companies that have a real focus on providing great computers that works well in Linux, you could go for that option if you don't like to run scripts (which mostly isn't true as you have many applications to configure exactly what you complained about). And your external monitors will work well, I'm sure. Nowadays with so many PC and Laptop product lines that are great in Linux, if you aren't gaming or using applications that just doesn't exist or work in Windows or want to use the battery advantage that Mac laptops have, Windows is not a necessity. To me, it's a okay comment if you would say "I use Windows because that's what I'm comfortable using", rather than complaining about things that Linux can do well Today. Usability-wise Linux nowadays have many distros that are better, don't have all the adware or useless fluff. I use a Windows 11 at home for gaming and it's a terrible OS. I seriously can't wait until more and more games runs well on Linux so I can completely ditch it.
hulitu 2y ago
> Being able to configure all of my hardware (including mouse scrollewheel) without resorting to writing scripts and hacks is nice. Being able to use my printer without going in "Device manager" (which is hidden in windows 10 and 11) and disabling "USB power saving" is also nice.

nyir 2y ago

What hardware do you have issues with nowadays? I agree it used to be problematic, though lately the only remaining thing I'm struggling with is (some) printers. Then again, thankfully I haven't had to set them up on Windows either.

surgical_fire 2y ago

Without wanting to discredit your experience, I am surprised any of this is a problem. I switched to Mint around 3 years ago, and I never looked back. It was a surprisingly smooth sailing, everything worked out of the box. Nothing needed any hacks (including having an external monitor without any scaling issues, audio and video working out of the box, mouse and keyboard functining properly, etc and so forth). I had no anxiety picking distros or desktop environments, just stuck with Cinnamon and I love it ever since. What I can say, ia that my computer works as well, or maybe even better than when I did a fresh install 3 years ago. Unlike my experience with Windows where yearly fresh installs were a thing, as the computer would feel slow and sluggish over time, as if Windows deteriorated with every passing day. The only thing I needed to hack a little with on Linux was the fingerprint sensor thing. I could make it work, but it was unreliable, so I ended up disabling it. A very small price to pay.

thiago_fm 2y ago

Probably a bait comment... so here we go: Literally all of the issues you've mentioned in terms of compatibility is fixed if you buy hardware that aims to have Linux compatibility out of the box. Before you say "ah, but I didn't even need to think about it, I just bought some parts and assembled a computer." So the companies that have done it, did for you, made it "work well on Windows", think about it. But as this is the norm you think that Linux compatibility is bad, rather, it's the reverse. Those companies didn't care about Linux and that's why its compatibility is bad. There are now plenty of companies that have a real focus on providing great computers that works well in Linux, you could go for that option if you don't like to run scripts (which mostly isn't true as you have many applications to configure exactly what you complained about). And your external monitors will work well, I'm sure. Nowadays with so many PC and Laptop product lines that are great in Linux, if you aren't gaming or using applications that just doesn't exist or work in Windows or want to use the battery advantage that Mac laptops have, Windows is not a necessity. To me, it's a okay comment if you would say "I use Windows because that's what I'm comfortable using", rather than complaining about things that Linux can do well Today. Usability-wise Linux nowadays have many distros that are better, don't have all the adware or useless fluff. I use a Windows 11 at home for gaming and it's a terrible OS. I seriously can't wait until more and more games runs well on Linux so I can completely ditch it.

hulitu 2y ago

> Being able to configure all of my hardware (including mouse scrollewheel) without resorting to writing scripts and hacks is nice. Being able to use my printer without going in "Device manager" (which is hidden in windows 10 and 11) and disabling "USB power saving" is also nice.