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

[ezst036]

Software licenses weren't meant for dual-boot PCs.

Avram,

This is pretty much exclusively a vendor problem. (Adobe, for ex.) Linux is not new, nor is Mac ownership new. Adobe refuses to fix it for single users who have multiple computers. Refusal is an entirely different context than an old licensing intent from some years ago. They are just greedy or lazy or both.

Separately,

Great review for this week so far! Thank you for minimizing as much as you can Terminal usage, or else, pairing terminal with the also corresponding GUI. It really helps to tamp down trolls who want to FUD about how nothing is Linux except typing in a bunch of commands. You're forcing them to swallow a bitter pill about Linux GUIs.

 

[bit_user]

???????
How many different versions/flavors of linux are there?

Maybe that's just what the world looks like, when you have minimal vendor lock-in. There's more freedom for people to innovate and try new things.

Besides the big ones, there are also lots of little distros that cater to specialist needs, like robotics, gaming, or realtime audio processing.

 

[bit_user]

However, I am getting a few error messages, which suggests that doing a clean install of Kubuntu might have been a good idea.

@apiltch , if you get another of those "System program problem detected" dialogs:

​

Go far enough that you can at least see which program crashed and maybe we can give you some useful advice.

I certainly wouldn't expect you'd have to do a reinstall, just to switch from Gnome to KDE. I've done it without a reinstall, but the last time I did that was quite some time ago.

So it seems that transitioning from Gnome to KDE broke my smartphone program. I use KDE Connect, which on Gnome is called GSConnect. I had to re-pair the phone under KDE and that seemed to work ok.

My default assumption (probably true in the vast majority of cases) is that they're actually different programs! That's why it didn't know about your GSConnect settings! In a few, rare cases, they might be GUI skins over the same backend, but that's probably almost never the case, any more.

What's interesting is that just because you run one desktop environment doesn't mean you can't still use programs from the other ecosystem! So, if you like GSConnect, keep using it! I'm not familiar with that program, but if it has features that integrate nicely with other Gnome apps, then they might not integrate the same way with KDE apps. In that case, you can continue using those other Gnome apps, if you wish. Just because each ecosystem likes to have its own suite of productivity and system apps doesn't mean you have to use the same ones as your desktop environment.

I run a few Gnome apps, like Gimp, gsmartcontrol, gnome-firmware, and probably a few others I can't think of, at the moment.

 

[_D_D]

New versions of Ubuntu and Fedora have dumped X11

Not sure what you mean by 'dumped'. Upgraded to Fedora 42 and still using X11, don't remember having to do anything special. Haven't tried Wayland for a long time.

 

[WaltG]

Avram, this has been an interesting exercise, with many good and useful comments following in the forum here. Thanks. Like many, I've become very unhappy with where Windows is heading....from an OS to a selling platform. So....

I've used Linux (Ubuntu) for at least a half-dozen years or so, as well as Windows forever (going back to Windows when it was nothing more than a framework for the first Excel, not a standalone product). Primary reason....performance. I am referring specifically to python (now 3.12.3) and Wolfram Mathematica, both of which I use extensively. I have found that both tools perform significantly better under Linux than under Windows (on the same physical machine, with a variant of dual-boot). Python programs will typically take 15-25% longer to run on Windows. And Mathematica benchmarks are about 15% worse on Windows. For example, here is a very simple python stats program:

start=time.time()
bdist=np.random.binomial(5, .25, size=2_000_000_000)
bins=np.bincount(bdist)
elapsed=time.time()-start

Typical run time of 29 seconds on Linux, 35 seconds on Windows. And for Windows, this is a best case, with python running in a PowerShell prompt. Worst case scenario is running the same program in a legacy Command Prompt shell with (new) power setting set to "Balanced", which then takes over 50 seconds. Setting the power to "Best Performance" will improve the Command Prompt shell to closer to the 35 second time. The governing factor here with Windows is how it assigns processors, in my case the 14700K. In the case of the PowerShell, it always assigns p-cores. For Command Prompt in Best Performance mode, p-cores. For Command prompt while in Balanced mode, e-cores, while the p-cores remain idle (go figure). Just some of the nuances of Windows task scheduling (pardon the Windows digression). But Linux consistently still trounces Windows' best performance, in my experience anyway.

In spite of the benefits, Linux certainly has had its challenges, even for someone who has been dealing with this technology for years. What should be the simplest tasks (such as installing a printer), can be difficult and frustrating, particularly if you don't want the low function default CUPS drivers, and need/want the more enhanced drivers from the manufacturers (which when you install, often tell you they are as-is and not really supported). And while Windows still has its chaotic distribution of settings between Control Panel and the new Settings scheme, Linux has been worse from release to release. Whether it's the switch from X11 to Wayland, display scaling, changes to default programs, apt to snap, other changes and churn, even a seemingly simple move to barely readable fonts in Ubuntu 24.04 (not to worry, a fix: apt install fonts-ubuntu-classic), it has not been simple. Thank goodness for all of the forums out there, although much of the advice is already out of date because of the continuing flux. I am constantly chasing things down. Granted, my experience is based on one distribution platform, but Linux is still not for the average user.

Avram, although you've had to be selective in what you try, I hope you can spend a little more time on the basics everybody has to deal with (such as printer drivers). Perhaps system backup as well. Since I am running a dual-boot type of environment, I am fortunate to be able to use Macrium to back up the EXT Linux system as well, and restore if I want to go back to an earlier config. The Linux tools to me are barely usable. I think you need more than a week! But thanks again.

PS.. You don't need Rufus to create the install USB. Just open the ISO file and copy the files to an empty formatted USB.

 

[Mr Majestyk]

Kubuntu was my choice for a Linux distro several years ago. I really liked what I saw with Plasma and was never a gnome fan, but I'm way out of the loop now and have no idea what gnome's like currently. I only needed Linux for a work project and was dual booting, but that's all a distant memory now, so longer bother with Linux as none of my photo editing stuff is available at all.

 

[GeorgeLY]

I think new users misunderstand multiple things about Linux:
1. Underneath all distros are essentially the same. The kernel and the essentials are updated for every distribution there is, just with different frequency.
2. Package manager differences are superficial - apt does not much differ from yum - they just point to different repositories. There are containerized applications with their own managers, such as snap, which have minor differences (usually).
3. If you don't like you desktop environment changing it as simple as installing a new one and changing during login. Yes they are based on different toolkits such as GTK+, Qt or Motif, but multiple toolkits peacefully co-exist.
4. Wayland is the future if you don't have NVIDIA card for which it still buggy, switching between Wayland and X11 is trivially simple during login. For common user there is almost no difference.
5. Most of the standard hardware works perfectly out of the box.
6. There are open source alternatives for almost any commercial software, which are occasionally even better.
7. WINE and Proton allow you to run 95% of windows software. In fact compatibility with old software is better. If you do not know how to setup it correctly there are apps that take care of that for you, such as Lutris for games.
8. No spying on you, almost no viruses.
9. Last but not least - entering root (that admin in Windows) password is cached for several minutes, so if you install multiple things, you do not need to enter it multiple times.

 

[JohnyFin]

My condolences for this action. How long recover after this?

 

[TerryLaze]

Maybe that's just what the world looks like, when you have minimal vendor lock-in.

I'm not saying that it's bad, I'm just saying that that's basically the definition of tribalism.

The governing factor here with Windows is how it assigns processors, in my case the 14700K. In the case of the PowerShell, it always assigns p-cores. For Command Prompt in Best Performance mode, p-cores. For Command prompt while in Balanced mode, e-cores, while the p-cores remain idle (go figure). Just some of the nuances of Windows task scheduling (pardon the Windows digression).

start /affinity 1 app.exe
Affinity mask calc
Task scheduling only does whatever generic thing if you don't tell it exactly what it's supposed to do.

Also for a long while CPUs have preferred cores, cores that will use the least voltage to reach the highest clocks, you can look them up with intel xtu or tools like cpu z.

 

[Kindaian]

I've tried to install tomtom myconnect drive (or whatever their GPS device updater is called). It installed fine and worked fine using lutris / steam, however i couldn't get it to connect to the device on linux. The device was not detected by the OS.

 

[MadocOwain]

Avram, although you've had to be selective in what you try, I hope you can spend a little more time on the basics everybody has to deal with (such as printer drivers). Perhaps system backup as well. Since I am running a dual-boot type of environment, I am fortunate to be able to use Macrium to back up the EXT Linux system as well, and restore if I want to go back to an earlier config. The Linux tools to me are barely usable. I think you need more than a week! But thanks again.

PS.. You don't need Rufus to create the install USB. Just open the ISO file and copy the files to an empty formatted USB.

I love Macrium, and one of my first tasks with Linux was to try to find some kind of replacement that "just worked". I'm still looking. I've settled on Vorta for a GUI backup/restore interface, and of course Timeshift. The restores still seem like a crap-shoot to me but at least my personal files seem reliably backed up so far. If I want to do a true image though I have to do it offline and supervise it instead of setting and forgetting for 1am runs like Macrium. The hope was to get completely off Windows 10 and use Mint exclusively but my gaming needs aren't allowing for this. I never even considered booting back to Windows to use Macrium for manual disk image backups of my Linux partitions, thanks for the suggestion!

 

[ezst036]

Maybe that's just what the world looks like, when you have minimal vendor lock-in.

I'm not saying that it's bad, I'm just saying that that's basically the definition of tribalism.

Ok. There is no way this can be accurate. I got a good laugh at this though. If vendor lock-in is the prevention for tribalism then the entire tech world needs to apologize for using the phrase "cult of mac" / "Mac cult" etc. LOL

There is no more tribalized tribe than those who are Mac cultists and its the biggest vendor lock in the tech world. There isn't anything in the Linux world like this tribe. Apple has spent years cultivating its cult-like atmosphere to the point where Apple can, yes, get its users to drop $1000(and more!) dollars every single year on a brand new phone. It is true that Linux users develop a deep sense of loyalty due to a combination of mistreatment by Microsoft and an emboldenness due to so much freedom available in the Linux world but the Cupertino Cult is on an entirely other level. The whole mac thing is "the tribe".

The Linux world is simply competitive, and nothing more, and the vast majority of the competition is very healthy. This use of the word "tribalism" is undue and clearly misplaced.

 

[salgado18]

But what's really needed is for companies like Elgato (owned by Corsair) to step up and make Linux versions of their software.

I can't comprehend why all these companies don't just hire one guy to create native apps for Linux. One is enough, if the interface is cross-compatible, and the other hardware/firmware guys are next to him. It's not expensive, and makes Linux users' lives a lot easier.

 

[herrwizo]

You might try this, looks like a more feature-complete solution than Boatswain:

https://github.com/StreamController/StreamController

They made a nice youtube video about it as well:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIJOj_6Jimk


That should do the trick.

 

[FreeBee101]

???????
How many different versions/flavors of linux are there?
That's because everybody wanted something different in the distro they made and there are enough others who think alike for all of them to be there.
It's not like they get together every so often to beat each other up, but still everybody is on a different distro because they follow that distro.

We need a super linux with all options. Or all options available on install...

 

[FreeBee101]

I can't comprehend why all these companies don't just hire one guy to create native apps for Linux. One is enough, if the interface is cross-compatible, and the other hardware/firmware guys are next to him. It's not expensive, and makes Linux users' lives a lot easier.

I get the feeling, or it sounds like, it's related to legal issues with compatability. But some companies do just make stuff and avoid stating it's compatible. Or say it's not gauranteed. That would be good for most linux users. Plus it's a way to pull their feedback in if something goes haywire.

 

[TerryLaze]

This use of the word "tribalism" is undue and clearly misplaced.

You clearly have a different definition of tribalism than the rest of the whole world, tribalism just means that you are a member of a tribe, if you want to associate that with something bad then that's your issue.
Yes, cult is a bad thing, tribe by itself is not.

We need a super linux with all options.

And then we'll have something ever bloatier than windows that will run even worse.

Or all options available on install...

Nightmare for a simple user, would be a nightmare for me.

 

[FreeBee101]

You clearly have a different definition of tribalism than the rest of the whole world, tribalism just means that you are a member of a tribe, if you want to associate that with something bad then that's your issue.
Yes, cult is a bad thing, tribe by itself is not.

And then we'll have something ever bloatier than windows that will run even worse.

Nightmare for a simple user, would be a nightmare for me.

You can simply add in a default install(s) and make it so you can change it out later.

 

[salgado18]

I get the feeling, or it sounds like, it's related to legal issues with compatability. But some companies do just make stuff and avoid stating it's compatible. Or say it's not gauranteed. That would be good for most linux users. Plus it's a way to pull their feedback in if something goes haywire.

Or maybe they don't think there's enough money to be earned by sales to Linux users to justify it. It's almost always about money, anyway.

 

[JamesJones44]

Or maybe they don't think there's enough money to be earned by sales to Linux users to justify it. It's almost always about money, anyway.

It's exactly this. In the server space there is software that is very well supported on Linux and not well supported on Windows. Take Kubernetes for example, it runs fully native on Linux and only certain features are available on Linux. It can run using WSL, but there are often issues with that setup. Parts of Kubernetes can run natively on Windows (non-control plan), but only certain features are available. Kubernetes could have a version that runs fully native and take advantage of Windows concepts without limitations, but it's not where the money is and it's not primary use case, so why invest the money?

 

[peterf28]

My condolences for this action. How long recover after this?

It takes years, decades, some ppl do not recover at all 😢

 

[bit_user]

You clearly have a different definition of tribalism than the rest of the whole world, tribalism just means that you are a member of a tribe, if you want to associate that with something bad then that's your issue.
Yes, cult is a bad thing, tribe by itself is not.

It's not merely existing in tribes. A key facet of tribalism is in-group/out-group prejudice, and it's usually what people mean when highlighting tribalistic tendencies of certain groups.

Tribalism \Trib"al*ism\, n.

The state of existing in tribes; also, tribal feeling; tribal
prejudice or exclusiveness; tribal peculiarities or
characteristics.
[1913 Webster]
​

Source: http://dict.org/bin/Dict?Form=Dict2&Database=gcide&Query=tribalism​

Wiktionary goes further:

Noun

tribalism (countable and uncountable, plural tribalisms)

1. The condition of being tribal.
2. A feeling of identity and loyalty to one's tribe.
3. The tendency among human beings to form socially cohesive groups within which there exists social pressure upon the individual to conform to either common behaviors, customs, habits, mores and/or norms, and which groups exhibit greater or lesser degrees of exclusivism.

 

[herrwizo]

Avram, you can also try Flameshot for screenshots with editing ability and time delay.

Just 'sudo apt install flameshot '. Quite powerful I love it. Later you can create custom system shortcut for it (or prtscr).

 

[TerryLaze]

It's not merely existing in tribes. A key facet of tribalism is in-group/out-group prejudice,

Which is de facto given by having chosen a distro, otherwise you would be using all of them equally, you only use one because you think that that one is the best, automatically you are prejudice against any other distro.
As I said before, it's not a "beat each other up" prejudice but it still is.

But also the word also means that it could also be only the first or it could also be only the second.
Especially if there is a semi colon separating the choices.

noun: semi-colon

1. a punctuation mark ; indicating a pause, typically between two main clauses, that is more pronounced than that indicated by a comma.

 

[66T100C]

Note to the timid - clearly you were not around for DOS, the early version of Windows GUI, nor OS/2.

Yes, there is a learning curve to switch to a Linux version, and the third party software might be different if you live in a Microsoft envelope.
But, essentials such as Firefox, VLC media, and Libre Office are the same and built in photo viewing is better than the Windows version. Windows explorer to borrow a phrase is a clear example of "enshitification" while at least the Mint version is far more functional and uncluttered.
W10 was "clunky" but W11 is intrusive and awkward to use by comparison to W7 for example. ( windows explorer has been awkward at least from XP forward) Even if you cleanse W11 of the more egregious functions it is still "clunky". Tiny 11 or creating your own streamlined version is an improvement but the data gathering remains.
To some W11 is just a new version of a SOMEWHAT familiar OS. Most don't even know what is going on beyond "I can read my mail and go shopping" so Microsoft will continue to collect "data" and sell the user information just as FB, Giggle, Apple etc do. Android/Chrome OS is undoubtedly the most egregious data collector. Switching to Apple has some benefit but it is clearly a more expensive and closed environment compared to windows.

Lemmings will stay with Microsoft but those with any computing ability will move on.