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

[TerryLaze]

Gaben will save us.

He already did as much saving as he will ever do, steamdecks do get into desktop mode if you want to.
Steam will continue to work for us in making gaming even better on linux but don't expect him to get into the (desktop) OS business.

If only these smaller and unique Linux projects just get together to pool knowledge and create a defacto distro for the masses, the year of Linux could be a reality !

The biggest hurdle for people to switch over is that you have to completely start over, either re download all of the games you have on your disk or copy them over.
Even though wine can run games from ntfs, at least in theory, but you have to reinstall them anyway for all the dependencies, and steam outright refuses to rescan games on ntfs volumes.

If you could just use all the files you already have on your disks a lot of people would switch over.

 

[Cavalier666]

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

I tried this in the last couple of weeks.
The installer for Ubuntu is every bit as dumb as the Windows installer. If there is a boot drive in a desktop with an EFI partition Linux will insist on using that unless you physically remove the Windows nVME drive or resort to Linux tools that you have no reason to trust to "temporarily" mark the Windows bootloader.
There are laptops, ahem Acer, where getting the BIOS to even recognize the Linux Bootloader is an exercise in arcane magical incantations. That is presuming you have the OCD to track down the few web pages with clues to the magic formula.
Installing Linux versions of common web downloaded Windows /MacOs programs (Zoom, browsers other than Firefox ad infinitum) is another several hour tutorial that may or may not end up in success.
Installing from distros is not all that much better an experience for the uninitiated.
If you can live with the default Firefox and Libre Office Suite, if you can get installed, then you can live in Linux as a newcomer without spending far more time on the nuts and bolts of what should be the easy parts of using the OS.
If you need a certain printer driver or other peripheral driver/software that doesn't exist, well that's an everyday macOS experience, and getting more common in Win 11.
If you need to adapt to the Linux versions of image editing programs et al: some of us think Gimp is aptly named.
You need to create a sign in account, no different than Windows, macOS, iOS or Android so there's that too.
Those who live in Linux and it works for them, wonderful, but there's a reason the market share is what it is.

 

[qxp]

I’ve been using Kubuntu on my second PC for a while now, the only annoyances I’ve found..
1, installing non repository programs: it’s a pain, decompress the tar ball, find the install script, run it.
Solution, package the thing so all you do is click on the delivery file, oops, that’s too like windows, that said there must be a way, a method to simplify the installation (I gave up trying to install the latest GIMP version at release, it wasn’t available in the repository and refused to install.. I have patience I can wait).

2, I introduced a hard drive, it displaced a drive from its mount breaking a share to my windows pc. The solution was to edit a file to force the existing and new drives to specific mount points. Not difficult but finding the information was an hour wasted.

An aside, games under Wine:
I ran Guild Wars 2 under Wine, I was seeing upto 80fps, running the Steam install and using Proton as the translation layer I saw 160+ fps and ran close to native Windows averages.

1. - this is a feature. The easy to install apps from repositories are more used and had more testing. If you are installing from tarball it probably implies a developer snapshot, and this format makes it easy to do development. (You can also pull directly from git).

Commercial software that is in tarball form will be hairy - this is just a mark of poor support.

2. - You can mount your drives on mount points of your choice. For example you can create directory /mnt/disk1 and then add a line to /etc/fstab that points to it.

It is possible to assign labels to partitions on your drives and then refer to those partitions by those labels. This way you will be able to mount regardless of how you move the drive around the system and even if you take it out and connect via usb. Example /etc/fstab line for a partition formatted with ext4:

LABEL=disk2 /mnt/disk1 ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 2

The number "2" at the end tells the system in which order to mount the disk. Usually root filesystem "/" has the number "1", so this line will tell the system to mount the partition after root partition has been mounted.

When editing /etc/fstab be careful not to disrupt existing lines or you may have problems booting. To be safe make a backup of /etc/fstab first. I like to use "vi" for editing, because by default it is read-only and you need to enter special command to change anything. The default "vi" installed on Ubuntu is quite minimal, so install package "vim" which provides a full-featured editor.

 

[bit_user]

There are laptops, ahem Acer, where getting the BIOS to even recognize the Linux Bootloader is an exercise in arcane magical incantations. That is presuming you have the OCD to track down the few web pages with clues to the magic formula.

Usually, it just amounts to disabling Secure Boot. I think UEFI solved a lot of these boot loader problems.

Installing Linux versions of common web downloaded Windows /MacOs programs (Zoom, browsers other than Firefox ad infinitum) is another several hour tutorial that may or may not end up in success.

For novice users, definitely go with an app image, flat pack, or snap. Those are simple enough. Don't bother with anything else.

Installing from distros is not all that much better an experience for the uninitiated.

If it's in the official repo or the app has a repo specifically for your distro, then it should be as straight-forward as installing any other packages.

If you can live with the default Firefox and Libre Office Suite,

Chromium is included in the repos of all the distros I've used. Chromium is the Chrome browser, but without Google's branding. It runs all Google apps just fine (youtube & google earth, for instance). Hardware-accelerated video decoding is a little better supported in Firefox, right now.

Distros also tend to include a few other web browsers, but I don't have a current list.

If you need a certain printer driver or other peripheral driver/software that doesn't exist, well that's an everyday macOS experience, and getting more common in Win 11.

I have only used a handful of printers from Linux, but configuring them (via GUI, I might add) was never a big deal.

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

Having used Linux Mint in a VM quite often, the only real things I'd say most people would miss, aside from games, are the little things, like easily creating shortcuts on the desktop, the expanded Start menu, and other niceties, as well as the odd piece of old software that WINE doesn't emulate either well or at all and doesn't have a proper alternative, like Microsoft Money, and Windows Hello like passkeys and PIN.

Basically it's the same if they went from Windows to Apple, it's nothing really that major but it does impact the experience enough to not do it for most.

 

[ezst036]

Linux is niche system for fanatics.....

Ok, boomer, a comment such as this is so 1992.

You should watch the videos where PewDiePie goes into detail about his switch from Windows to Linux.

View: https://youtu.be/pVI_smLgTY0?si=-CktYdlh-O2z4j03

 

[KraakBal]

I second Kubuntu. Been using 24.04 on my work laptop. Eager to move my main PC from Ubuntu 24.04 to Kubuntu 25.04 and experience the new KDE 6.

Always the case with Linux that some things you discover with time that you need to run, install or do to make things a lot easier.

Remember to install ubuntu-restricted-extras, and for some things like wine and winetricks install the latest version from github, not the versions that come with the OS package manager.

 

[qxp]

Having used Linux Mint in a VM quite often, the only real things I'd say most people would miss, aside from games, are the little things, like easily creating shortcuts on the desktop, the expanded Start menu, and other niceties, as well as the odd piece of old software that WINE doesn't emulate either well or at all and doesn't have a proper alternative, like Microsoft Money, and Windows Hello like passkeys and PIN.

Basically it's the same if they went from Windows to Apple, it's nothing really that major but it does impact the experience enough to not do it for most.

Try Kubuntu. All the desktop UI features, much better than either Windows or Mac. You can even customize the layout, so it looks like Windows, Mac and even older NeXT, or any mix of these. Plus some KDE-specific features.

 

[TerryLaze]

Ok, boomer, a comment such as this is so 1992.

You should watch the videos where PewDiePie goes into detail about his switch from Windows to Linux.

From the article, 4% is a niche, there is no way around that.
Having a youtuber use linux doesn't change anything about that.

There are more than a billion PCs in use and, according to StatCounter, only 71 percent of them run Windows. Among the rest, about 4 percent run Linux.

 

[sakada]

As a former distro maintainer... evil is in the executables. And a fragile user space. And drivers. And adds. And the spyware. And Canonical. One day its not fun anymore, and you start studying maths. And you find peace.

 

[palladin9479]

I'm a Gentoo masochist, so my opinion here is most definitely in the minority, but since you actually went throught the pain of watching that drive get decrypted, you can spend a weekend compiling everything, right? RIGHT?

Joking aside, try Bazzite (Fedora-clone) or whatever SteamOS (game-tuned) distro you can find that revolves around copying SteamOS and focusing on Proton, since that will definitely be a more closely-related experience to most enthusiasts that read Tom's. I could be incredibly wrong, but there's an idea as well.

KDE or Gnome for me is just preference. If you ask me, I'm still an Enlightenment troglodite; a proud one. I can do that, because Gentoo.

Regards.

Well some people just emerge better then others.

 

[palladin9479]

Honestly for most just use Ubuntu, it's Debian and pretty much everything supports it. This makes it super easy for newcomers to get direction and troubleshoot. Wine64 / winetricks and dxvk get you very close to the same level of operation.

 

[palladin9479]

He already did as much saving as he will ever do, steamdecks do get into desktop mode if you want to.
Steam will continue to work for us in making gaming even better on linux but don't expect him to get into the (desktop) OS business.

The #1 contribution from Valve to linux gaming is dxvk. When combined with environment emulators like wine64, it let's you run any DirectX game natively on linux. Proton helps make one click installs work, or just building a unique runtime environment for each program.

 

[Sam Hobbs]

I think any system running Windows should not be called a Personal Computer (PC) because Windows makes us do things their way, not our way. We need a different term, such as Microsoft Computer (MC).

I think we need a law requiring computers (sold to consumers at least) to support the use of more than one operating system, not just Windows or macOS for desktops and not just iOS or Android for smartphones. The law should require that it be possible for non-technical people to choose a different OS; technical people can install multiboot but it is not possible for non-technical people to do it. There are many details that need to be decided on, it might not be practical for the law to apply to smartphones. And instead of multiboot it might be enough if the consumer only needs to make a one-time choice of OS.

 

[Sam Hobbs]

The biggest hurdle for people to switch over is that you have to completely start over

It is possible to install GRUB with Linux and a NTFS driver for accessing NTFS files. Except Windows 11 wants us to use BitLocker (right?) and probably it is not be possible to access a NTFS filesystem using BitLocker from Linux.

 

[qxp]

I think any system running Windows should not be called a Personal Computer (PC) because Windows makes us do things their way, not our way. We need a different term, such as Microsoft Computer (MC).

I think we need a law requiring computers (sold to consumers at least) to support the use of more than one operating system, not just Windows or macOS for desktops and not just iOS or Android for smartphones. The law should require that it be possible for non-technical people to choose a different OS; technical people can install multiboot but it is not possible for non-technical people to do it. There are many details that need to be decided on, it might not be practical for the law to apply to smartphones. And instead of multiboot it might be enough if the consumer only needs to make a one-time choice of OS.

This is actually an application of "first sale" doctrine - when you buy a piece of hardware there should be a way for you to use it, without having to agree to any additional terms or having manufacturer dictate which apps you can or cannot install.

 

[qxp]

It is possible to install GRUB with Linux and a NTFS driver for accessing NTFS files. Except Windows 11 wants us to use BitLocker (right?) and probably it is not be possible to access a NTFS filesystem using BitLocker from Linux.

On a new computer, I would just advise to wipe the Windows and install Linux. If it turns out you do need Windows for some app, just install Windows in a virtual machine. Much better that way.

 

[JeffreyP55]

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

Having gone though way too many distros and yet have been happy with Linux to this day. Keep the window or dual boot, just-in-case. Windows is more suited with the rest of the consumer market. Linux if you are feeling adventurous having the need for something new.

 

[ezst036]

Looking at this messed up process to get the Thunderbolt dock to work, it is a shame that so many vendors don't push the pause button and try to be a little more thoughtful about the installation process for these devices or software products. It's like they're stuck in 1992 and have no idea KDE and GNOME even exist. Is it a secret?

Even worse are the ones that are listed (or known) that do not provide support at all when Linux is in fact a growth usage base. Especially when in many cases the devices being sold by vendors are relatively simple devices.

 

[Makaveli]

This one is easy if you play games stick to windows.

If your hardware is supported and do more than just play games Linux is a viable option.

 

[bit_user]

I second Kubuntu. Been using 24.04 on my work laptop. Eager to move my main PC from Ubuntu 24.04 to Kubuntu 25.04 and experience the new KDE 6.

I think you just have to upgrade to 25.04 and then install some kubntu metapackages. I certainly wouldn't reinstall from scratch, unless you wanted to do that for other reasons.

 

[TerryLaze]

It is possible to install GRUB with Linux and a NTFS driver for accessing NTFS files. Except Windows 11 wants us to use BitLocker (right?) and probably it is not be possible to access a NTFS filesystem using BitLocker from Linux.

Every linux distro will see ntfs drives and all the files on it without having to do anything, if it's not bitlocked.
The thing is that all the games you have on them will not run, while with windows you just let steam rescan the games and they show up again.

 

[bit_user]

As a former distro maintainer... evil is in the executables. And a fragile user space.

The "fragile userspace" is why you should always either use stuff built specifically for your distro version or run a snap/appimage/flatpack.

As a former distro maintainer, you'll appreciate that repos are meant to keep everything mutually compatible. Installing random .RPMs or .DEB packages is a path to ruin.

The flip-side of "fragile userspace" is that you can install a security update in your base OS and it automatically applies to all other affected packages that are also installed in your base OS. So, it ends up being a tradeoff. That's why I'd only use containerized executables for stuff with lots of dependencies fairly particular to it and not just use them for everything.

And drivers.

Most people really shouldn't have to worry about drivers. Yeah, if you have some particularly esoteric hardware, then you might need to build the driver. And if it should happen to be an out-of-tree driver (which is thankfully quite rare, these days), then you might trip over Linux' distinctive lack of a stable driver API.

 

[blppt]

Ubuntu is ok, but I've actually had a better experience lately with Fedora---I've hosed my Ubuntu install multiple times over the years, but have yet to do so with Fedora. And now with dnf its much closer to the convenience of apt instead of the rpm nightmares from years ago.

Plus Linus himself uses Fedora---that should tell you something.

 

[-Fran-]

Well, until you switch to Wayland?

Building stuff from sources only works for about as long as those sources are maintained. Once a package is abandoned, it tends to involve increasing amounts of work to get it building and running properly. If there are enough people still using it, there will probably be forks, but when considering something like X11 -> Wayland, this is probably not an undertaking anyone is willing to do.

The situation on Windows isn't too different, from my limited knowledge. New Windows versions add new APIs and deprecate some old ones.

Why would I use Wayland when X11 still works if you kick it hard enough? 😀

Still, neither is a bullet proof option and I still need to tinker around when the gremlins show up. It's not like I daily drive the Gentoo installation either, so I don't suffer from gremlins for what I use it for, which is just poke around and see what doesn't work. In fact, I use more SteamOS in the deck than any other distro and at work we use SuSE. Gentoo is just my guilty pleasure, I guess.

I just find it amazing how well SteamOS works as a proper independent OS. I have installed pretty much anything I've wanted in the Deck that it can run. Quite impressive, so I'm looking forward to Valve releasing SteamOS to the more general public.

GNU Linux needs someone to guide the hand and find common ground within the FOSS tribes.

Regards.