My week with Linux: I'm dumping Windows for Ubuntu to see how it goes

[mikiem]

You might be able to run PhotoShop under Linux using wine:

https://github.com/Gictorbit/photoshopCClinux

Thanks. I've been watching the newer methods folks have been trying to get Adobe's Creative Cloud working, and my next project will be trying WinApps -- https://github.com/winapps-org/winapps

 

[mikiem]

I have been trying Linux on and off for 20 years because I keep hearing how amazing it is and how easy it is for Windows users to switch. Sorry this is just not the case for most PC users. The GUI in Linux is only skin deep and as soon as you want to do anything not 100% mainstream then it is straight to the terminal. The amount of time I have spent typing in complex commands which only have a 50/50 chance of working is horrendous.

I have tried Ubuntu, Mint, MX, Fedora, Pop, Solus, Zorin and Manjaro. All but Mint and Zorin crashed repeatedly especially after updates and I was often unable to repair the others despite hours of research leading to a reinstall. Then a few weeks later comes another terminal crash.

I have been using computers since 1981 with my trusty ZX81 then Spectrum. When I was young I used to love programming them and fiddling around. Now that I am older I dont want to learn a new system through copious amounts of repairs and maintenance.

I get why some love the Linux system and hats off to you. But please lay off the whole Linux is better than Windows. Because it is not true for most users which is why Linux desktop usage is so small in comparison despite 30+ years of development.

There is no advantage to an average user in switching to Linux. None. And please do not mention the hardware limitations of Windows 11 because you all know fine well how incredibily easy it is to sidestep that issue. Windows 11 runs flawlessly on my ten year old PC at home. And the annonying desktop behavior can easily be mitigated by spending 5 minutes once on a third party tweaking app.

Personally, I'm lazy. And the easiest way to deal with Win10's EOL is to install Win11 -- it even gives a perceived performance boost on minimally powered hardware, e.g., Intel Atom CPUs. But... Some people won't go that route because Microsoft say's you're not supposed to, or maybe they [mistakenly] believe the Win11 hardware requirements are more than marketing BS. And Microsoft may throw more curves our way -- the increasing amount of AI gimmicks *only* for Copilot+ laptops bothers me as I wonder where their new marketing strategy is heading. And we're due for the next version of Windows, which was originally going to hit last year. Some, or maybe even most of us **may** not have a choice, whether it's this year or a few years down the road. Ideally the end of 10 will be the incentive to make Linux on the desktop easier, but if not, being functional is still better than many alternatives.

 

[Mindstab Thrull]

So I guess we know which way Avram leans in the Star Wars vs Star Trek query of the century - just look at his WiFi connection name!

 

[wpontius18]

Here's what it's like to live with Linux as my desktop OS.

My week with Linux: I'm dumping Windows for Ubuntu to see how it goes : Read more

You can configure Windows 11 to require credentials with every app that requires elevated privileges, that is how mine is setup. I use the DOD STIGS hardening checklist. Security is not meant to be convenient.

 

[dutty handz]

If you have to type in your password a dozen times a day, you're going to choose a less complex password. So maybe this is self-defeating. Anyway, it's annoying.

Because it's a system designed with security in mind first. Pleasing the everyday users is not even on the radar of being a priority.

If having to enter your password multiple times pushes you to choose a simpler password, you're clearly not ready to go full Linux, as it is the smallest of the annoyance Linux has over Windows for the day-to-day of typical users

 

[Stomx]

Windows is bad and Linux Desktop (i.e. Linux with GUI) are also bad. And Ubuntu with GUI is simply unusable. Disintegrates within 6 months and if you use it in VirtualBox it crashes worse than DOS 2.0. Only Command line based (terminal) Linux are stable. More or less Linux Mint is OK for both Desktop and terminal use.

The problem with Linux GUI is small Linux users base spread over 30 its distros. And bad business model when the Help Forums instead of push developers to fix the problem and make GUI more intuitive just help users to fix them and seems never inform devs at all collecting likes (some have 20000 and more).

How many times anyone asked for help for their Android phones installing 1000 of apps? Nobody did even ones for a decade. Most apps for Linux are just cr@p, even install and upgrade require searching, reading, trying, losing a lot of time...

Hopefully with time Android will be standard for mobiles and the Chrome OS will take over its dementia and autistic desktop and supercomputer siblings.

 

[66T100C]

Months ago installed Mint 21 and have not looked back for my main computer.
Easy transition until you need to learn new video editing software.
Still have one using (but not often) W11 and another W7 no longer connected to the internet.
The W11 has been edited to remove one drive, AI, and other intrusive functions so it is almost tolerable but as soon as I learn how to use more of the Linux software it too will become a Mint computer.

 

[das_stig]

Just look at this thread, we have people gagging to move off Windows but Linux in it's current form, as in the last 20 years or what not, is still not the answer for the general consumer user.

 

[blppt]

Windows is bad and Linux Desktop (i.e. Linux with GUI) are also bad. And Ubuntu with GUI is simply unusable. Disintegrates within 6 months and if you use it in VirtualBox it crashes worse than DOS 2.0. Only Command line based (terminal) Linux are stable. More or less Linux Mint is OK for both Desktop and terminal use.

Disagree. I've easy eclipsed 100+ day uptimes on my Ubuntu installs with daily gaming and anything else I would do on a Windows PC.

Now, yes, I have hosed my install a few times, but that was me trying to edit files I shouldn't have without understanding the syntax first.

 

[blppt]

Gnome is for Mac users, KDE is better for windows users. KDE is flexible enough for either, but out of the box it's much closer to windows than gnome is.

This.

I prefer the way Gnome looks, but I also like MacOS interface much better than Windows. But KDE is far closer to the way things work in Windows than Gnome.

 

[Grobe]

Most apps for Linux are just cr@p, even install and upgrade require searching, reading, trying, losing a lot of time...

May wonder what OS you've tried, with that negative review. Maybe an outdated ISO file that is no longer maintained.

Using Linux Fedora KDE myself, and you describe a very different world that I don't recognize.
I easily find every app I search for in Software Center.
This OS does notify the user upon discovery of updates, this including any installed app.

Sounds like MS Windows is your OS of choice, using anything other is just optional for those interested.

 

[JamesJones44]

Just look at this thread, we have people gagging to move off Windows but Linux in it's current form, as in the last 20 years or what not, is still not the answer for the general consumer user.

My personal opinion on this is that almost all of the mature Linux distros out there are heavily maintained by enterprise software solutions for servers. RedHat, Canonical (Ubuntu), SUSE, etc. Largely make their money from server side usage, not desktop. Even Debian's backers are almost all in the enterprise service/cloud space. Only recently has there been some attention for the consumer space, but even there it's more geared toward gaming than a general use desktop.

Unless a backer heavily funds continuous development of a general desktop solution for a Linux distro I don't think it will ever be on par with Windows or macOS. The likelihood of this is super small because there just isn't money to be made software wise for such a solution.

 

[mw0dcm]

I have sent the Author of this article a email about the Streamdeck NEO as it's just been added to the Boatswain application!
Booting line is don't go shooting down Linux, there's always something out there that will fit your needs.
Most users only browse the web and send emails, so it's a no brainer to move to one of the easier newbie focused distros, but if you use other apps there's a good chance there's equivalents, some with the same things as the association used on the OS you've come from and others with more or less stuff.
Associations look different, but that's not a hard one to learn and you can use Linux without the Terminal, just ask my 6 and 9 year olds! My son updates with the software updater on Linux on all 3 of their PCs.
Then there are the power users who, moan that they can't get xyz to work and then give an OS a bad write up and say to the masses that follow like sheep who only use their PCs browsing etc that Linux is terrible no software available blah blah, which isn't the case.


Anyway I wish you all the best from a users of Ubuntu that moved from Vista all those years ago, back then the Linux landscape was so much different, now it's much easier and less hassle to get things done on it.

Boatswain is here if others want to use their decks on Ubuntu and sort 6 this is from another site - https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/04/linux-app-release-roundup-april-2025

 

[dynamicreflect]

About hotkey for windows 10 or 11, there is a tool from Microsoft open source named Powertoys, which have tons of interesting utilities. It could define hotkey also remap key.

 

[LordVile]

I dumped windows as my day to day in 2018 and moved to macOS. It’s a significantly better OS in terms of being problem free and actually usable out of the box. You actually get a preinstalled office suite, video editor, DAW and you can watch H265 files without have to pay £1 for the pleasure. Still use windows for gaming but that’s about it. Imagine selling a “Pro” OS for £220 that doesn’t have basic functionally until you purchase a separate subscription.

 

[ezst036]

Unless a backer heavily funds continuous development of a general desktop solution for a Linux distro I don't think it will ever be on par with Windows or macOS. The likelihood of this is super small because there just isn't money to be made software wise for such a solution.

Valve making SteamOS?

 

[TerryLaze]

Valve making SteamOS?

Valve only has interest in making the gaming portion work as well as possible.
SteamOS will be exactly the same as what the steamdeck comes with.
What valve has done is incredibly important and has helped people to make gaming on linux a real thing but valve is not going to make the OS any more polished.
SteamOS will be the ChromeOS of gaming, just enough to get the app running and everything else runs through that one app.

 

[JeffreyP55]

Windows is bad and Linux Desktop (i.e. Linux with GUI) are also bad. And Ubuntu with GUI is simply unusable. Disintegrates within 6 months and if you use it in VirtualBox it crashes worse than DOS 2.0. Only Command line based (terminal) Linux are stable. More or less Linux Mint is OK for both Desktop and terminal use.

The problem with Linux GUI is small Linux users base spread over 30 its distros. And bad business model when the Help Forums instead of push developers to fix the problem and make GUI more intuitive just help users to fix them and seems never inform devs at all collecting likes (some have 20000 and more).

How many times anyone asked for help for their Android phones installing 1000 of apps? Nobody did even ones for a decade. Most apps for Linux are just cr@p, even install and upgrade require searching, reading, trying, losing a lot of time...

Hopefully with time Android will be standard for mobiles and the Chrome OS will take over its dementia and autistic desktop and supercomputer siblings.

I installed Ubuntu on my old windows 10 machine. Like every Distro I have tried the past 20 years, I'll pass but yet again. I am retired, do not need Ft. Knox security. Nothing Linux offers me I can say, "Hey, I need that!" I hate my S23 smartphone advertisement based POS. I have maybe two apps. When I worked for Stanford? unix, AmigaDOS, MSDOS, Windows also, didn't like the cutsie Apple OS. Stanford used the Amiga for FTP, (fast time plots.) No other computer of the day fit SLAC's bill better than an Amiga which had superior graphics of the day. Had enough. Windows is my choice for now.
I know, how do I really feel?

 

[palladin9479]

May wonder what OS you've tried, with that negative review. Maybe an outdated ISO file that is no longer maintained.

Using Linux Fedora KDE myself, and you describe a very different world that I don't recognize.
I easily find every app I search for in Software Center.
This OS does notify the user upon discovery of updates, this including any installed app.

Sounds like MS Windows is your OS of choice, using anything other is just optional for those interested.

He is correct, it really depends on the distro and program combo. "Linux" isn't an OS but a component of bigger OS that we call Distros. This is why I recommend Ubuntu to everyone who wants to "move off Windows". The built in repository and "app list" are far easier for people to work with.

Unfortunately third party software that isn't in the repo becomes problematic. In Windows there is only one way to install stuff, only one folder layout, only one registry. In Linux every Distro thinks their way is better then the rest causing installers written for one Distro to break on others. And Lord help you if you end up needing to compile some library because your Distro doesn't carry the binaries in it's repo.

 

[Keith Myers]

I've never had to compile a library. Only make an app from source if it wasn't already available in my distro Ubuntu.

 

[palladin9479]

I've never had to compile a library. Only make an app from source if it wasn't already available in my distro Ubuntu.

With Ubuntu or Fedora you are fine. The rest are hit and miss. I've had to do this several times.

Heck many years ago I had to modify openssl engine code to support padlock because CentOS didn't carry a compatible version.

 

[Rob1C]

I'm a Debian fan, since it's upstream it gets the updates first.

In any event, in addition to dual boot, you can install Windows 11 inside Linux; then you can see what's happening in the Window's window, and easily switch to it.

https://blogs.oracle.com/virtualization/post/install-microsoft-windows-11-on-virtualbox

https://www.oracle.com/virtualization/technologies/vm/downloads/virtualbox-downloads.html

There's a few virtual hosts, including a free VMWare box with most features removed; but it runs Windows.

 

[bit_user]

With Ubuntu or Fedora you are fine. The rest are hit and miss.

SUSE has a cloud-based build service, where people can make accounts and build packages for various different SuSE distros, including Enterprise Server, Leap, Tumbleweed, etc. This is much safer than downloading packages from some random place on the web, because the build happens in their standard "cleanroom environment", but that's still not the same level of assurance you get by using packages from the official repo.

This is the front-end you can use for finding packages. They also index the official builds, in case you somehow missed them in your machine's installer or want to download the sources and make your own patched build.

openSUSE Software

software.opensuse.org

I've used this several times to get either backports or packages not (yet) in the official Leap distro. On a couple occasions, I wanted an even newer version of the package than what I found, but was able to use someone else's RPM spec file as a starting point for making my own updated package.

I should mention that this was always something I needed only for software development purposes, and therefore we're talking about some rather niche packages. I'm not sure I ever resorted to something like that for packages supporting normal, day-to-day usage.

 

[palladin9479]

Ehh virtualization kinda sucks for a Desktop OS, largely because the desktop GUI isn't accelerated very well. While both VMWare Workstation and Oracle VirtualBox have some rudimentary graphics acceleration in their guest display drivers, it's clunky and isn't nearly as smooth as native. vGPU acceleration fixes this but that's not a think available to consumers (yet).

Our business users run their desktops as virtualized guests inside our datacenter and until we purchased the hardware and license for vGPU's it was nonstop complaining about how sluggish it was. Once we updated our VDI with vGPU's it was a night and day difference to our business community.

Once we have widespread support for vGPU's at the consumer level, then virtualized desktop OS's will be in a much better place.

 

[Lamarr the Strelok]

I had to laugh out loud reading about signing in all the time.As was (tactlessly) mentioned that's sorta part of linux. For whatever reason it's usually glossed over with many linux users.. I've been on about 6 different distros over the last 5 years and 99 per cent of the time I've had to enter my password to install stuff. Hell, some programs won't even OPEN without signing in with your password.
And Avram updates his progress often. Neat experiment.And how dare you criticize the steam update font?! That was cutting edge font tech from 1982 ! (probably)