- May 9, 2025
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There's plenty of defeatist attitude here, and not enough of a constructive one. Change can be hard, but that's not necessarily the case. Windows had to be learned, various software on Windows had to be learned, we all started from scratch. A new learning curve is not a problem when you consider that you can gain software independence. But there are two big questions here: (1) Why should I move away from Windows? and (2) What do I replace it with, and still be able to do what I want?
Why would anyone move away from Windows?
Clearly it's up to everyone to decide. Staying with Windows means comfort, but it also means dealing with the consequences of whatever Microsoft decides to do. Will they still provide (all) updates to Windows installations that bypassed the TPM and CPU requirements? Are the users fine with the downsides of having ads and bloat in the OS, as well as a strong uncertainty in terms of privacy? This is where people should get informed and dare to make their own decisions and live with them.
What would people switch to if they want to drop Windows?
There's MacOS, of course, on Apple computers. It's very polished, there's productivity software for the OS, but since the switched to ARM there's less choice for gaming. And with Valve's effort to bring gaming to Linux with Proton, those interested in gaming are better suited with a Linux-based OS than with MacOS.
The main issues with switching to Linux-based operating systems are:
1. lack of familiarity with the general details: partitioning, file systems, large variety of desktop environments, file managers, etc
2. lack of familiarity with the software choices for various day to day tasks
3. some hardware may be incompatible
4. not all software available for Linux has the features people need
Obviously there are advantages too, quite a few, but that's beside the point here because many of them become obvious once a user switches to Linux.
Linux Mint is a pretty solid choice for new comers because it's based on stable editions of Ubuntu and Debian, which is great for people who want the operating system to get out of the way and just work in the background. It's also great because Mint is quite conservative both on the desktop side, as well as under the hood, so that people's workflows don't get disrupted when they upgrade to a newer release, which is the case for Ubuntu and other distros.
1. Lack of familiarity with the general details
Whoever has an older PC can try Linux Mint on it. A Core 2 Duo with 4GB RAM is enough to get familiarized with how the partitioning works, how the file system has implications on dealing with running programs - like having to set the executable bit for personal scripts, AppImage software, etc - and just get accustomed with the desktop experience, the file manager, task manager, installing and uninstalling software, etc.
Alternatively, a virtual machine directly in their Windows installation can serve the same purpose to get familiarized at this level.
2. Software choices for day to day tasks
Most people don't need professional software to edit photos and videos, not even office suites, so they're the easiest to move from Windows to Linux Mint. In terms of day to day software, there are familiar choices like Firefox, Chrome, Brave, Opera, VLC Media Player, LibreOffice, TeamViewer. Other basic software, used to open archives, view images, the calculator, a plain text editor, a backup utility, and others, are available and easy to use. The discovery and installation of new software is also easy with the Software Manager - it's been part of the OS long before Microsoft even had plans to make their own store. And Updating software is a treat in Linux Mint - it even has Flatpak integration, which is really convenient.
In the case of people who want newer versions of some software, Flatpaks are an option, but external software repositories can also be added to Linux Mint, by using Software Sources - a simple user interface, no need to go to the terminal. Once added, you refresh the list of available software packages and they become visible in the Software Manager for installation, and in the Update Manager when they get updates. That's way easier and more convenient than in Windows, where you generally have to use a browser to download an executable file and install it manually if you want the latest version.
After using Mint for a few weeks, and go back to Windows, you'll notice how much more work you have to do with Windows.
3. Hardware compatibility
The Linux of today is not that of decades ago. A huge amount of hardware is supported and you can literally install Linux Mint in 10-15 minutes on some old(er) computer and start working right away, without having to install drivers. And to drive the point home, we're talking about hardware that doesn't officially qualify for Windows 11. A lot of that hardware just works with Linux Mint.
Printing and scanning in Mint is better than many people think. With many kinds of hardware all you have to do is to connect them to the computer and they just work. The very first time my sister wanted to scan documents on her EPSON multifunctional she called be because she assumed she had to install a driver and scanning software. I asked her if she connected it to the laptop. and she said yea. I told her to start "Simple Scan" (now called "Document Scanner") and click Scan. She did, the document was scanned, and she was taken aback with how simple that was.
The conclusion here is that you just have to try it on your hardware, and by default you should assume that there's no need to install drivers. If something doesn't work, Mint comes with a Driver Manager, where you would usually see recommendations if you need drivers, or you would get multiple driver choices for your hardware. Just click and install from there, no need to go on a website to download and install manually. Sure, in some cases you will have to do just that, but in most cases you can expect your hardware to just work.
4. Missing features in software
For those used to professional software, the available choices may be suboptimal and instantly off-putting. That's understandable when you have to do this and that today, or in the coming days. However, where some of these people utterly fail to give themselves a real chance is:
- learning to compromise (this can be enough sometimes)
- trying to get the remaining tasks done differently, and develop a new workflow (it can pay off to not be lazy)
- keep in touch with the communities for the software they're interested in, to learn what can be done for their needs
- support the projects of interest with donations towards developing the missing features
- rally with other professionals to financially support the projects that can become proper replacements for their work
When everything you use with a Linux-based OS is free of charge, it's absurd to ignore the amount of work that had to be done to get you to maybe 90-95% coverage in day to day needs, and complain that you can't switch because you're missing X, Y, and Z.
With very few exceptions, all the software inside a Linux-based OS is free and open source. Working with the developers to improve a specific piece of software means that all of those features become freely available in the future, and people can further enhance them. It's absolutely worth focusing on enriching the software ecosystem, instead of just complaining and going away.
You're doing yourself a favor in the long term by acknowledging that you can have a positive impact, and understanding that the people working on free and open source software have to support themselves and their families, and when some of them can rely on steady financing - even for a specific period of time, project-based -, they can allocate time to work on some missing features that are important.
---
This is not a Mint "ad". I'm a sysadmin who's had to deal with PCs going back to the MS-DOS and Win3.x days for work. I initially had a bad experience with my first Linux distro, at home, and I felt defeated (not much to tell, but I can do that in a reply if anyone is curious), so I took a break from it. Then I saw a work colleague blazing through all kinds of customizations and refinement of his Linux distro and as a sysadmin that obviously bugged me because I wanted to be more versatile than just knowing Microsoft software.
So I started distro-hopping - I tried tens of distros (non-Linux operating systems too) and used a few of them for a few months at a time, and one of them (Kurumin Linux) for over a year, and in 2007 I discovered Linux Mint (2.2, I think). For its time, it was more polished than many distros, not just visually but also in its default software choice, which caught my attention.
Later in 2007 they introduced mintInstall to make software installation easy. Mint was always more than "Ubuntu + codecs", which some people loved to joke about. Its handful of custom software made people's experience with Linux more pleasant, and less technical. And because I did plenty of technical support and I knew how even trivial tasks can be a point of failure for some people, I appreciated everything done for convenience. I even used it at different workplaces.
After dual-booting for a while at home, I ended up ditching Windows in 2009, and went exclusively with Mint, which proved itself dependable for my needs. And it's ironic that as a sysadmin I use a newbie-friendly OS. I'll take your poking, no problem. In the end, what I got was something that I very rarely had to fix in any capacity. I made a mess of it maybe twice since 2009, after I tried my luck with major upgrades not done the recommended way - because I wanted to see what happens. I've done a lot of "fighting" with Windows, so I didn't run to a comfort zone by ditching it, but I just wanted an OS that stays out of my way, so I can spend my time doing what I actually want. Not long after I ditched Windows, my wife took note and wanted to see what I'm on, and she ended up switching too some time later.
Once people start with something as simple as Mint, they can try something else too if they're curious. There are a few other interesting options for people coming from Windows, but since I haven't used any for longer than 3 months since I moved to Mint, I'll let other people tell you about them. Zorin OS comes to mind, if you want to take a look, and if you like the way MacOS looks, you might want to try elementary OS.
The main idea is that allowing yourself to learn new things you become more versatile. By starting that process at home, and getting used to what's available on a different platform, you'll be able to use that experience at work too, and get your job done even if you don't have the "perfect" software. Where many others would fail, you may very well succeed.
Not everything about switching to Linux is easy, and this is where the community can help. Try it seriously in parallel, and you'll be surprised at how many things are easily possible without much effort to learn. And in those special cases it is worth trying to overcome the difficulties and even work with the developers. Supporting them financially is only one way to help, but there's also testing, bug reporting, translating the software for others, learning to code and contributing some trivial improvement, helping out new comers once you become able to do so, and so on. I did all of those things, and more, I benefit from it every day, and so do others. You can definitely do a lot more than just whining about the missing 10%.
Why would anyone move away from Windows?
Clearly it's up to everyone to decide. Staying with Windows means comfort, but it also means dealing with the consequences of whatever Microsoft decides to do. Will they still provide (all) updates to Windows installations that bypassed the TPM and CPU requirements? Are the users fine with the downsides of having ads and bloat in the OS, as well as a strong uncertainty in terms of privacy? This is where people should get informed and dare to make their own decisions and live with them.
What would people switch to if they want to drop Windows?
There's MacOS, of course, on Apple computers. It's very polished, there's productivity software for the OS, but since the switched to ARM there's less choice for gaming. And with Valve's effort to bring gaming to Linux with Proton, those interested in gaming are better suited with a Linux-based OS than with MacOS.
The main issues with switching to Linux-based operating systems are:
1. lack of familiarity with the general details: partitioning, file systems, large variety of desktop environments, file managers, etc
2. lack of familiarity with the software choices for various day to day tasks
3. some hardware may be incompatible
4. not all software available for Linux has the features people need
Obviously there are advantages too, quite a few, but that's beside the point here because many of them become obvious once a user switches to Linux.
Linux Mint is a pretty solid choice for new comers because it's based on stable editions of Ubuntu and Debian, which is great for people who want the operating system to get out of the way and just work in the background. It's also great because Mint is quite conservative both on the desktop side, as well as under the hood, so that people's workflows don't get disrupted when they upgrade to a newer release, which is the case for Ubuntu and other distros.
1. Lack of familiarity with the general details
Whoever has an older PC can try Linux Mint on it. A Core 2 Duo with 4GB RAM is enough to get familiarized with how the partitioning works, how the file system has implications on dealing with running programs - like having to set the executable bit for personal scripts, AppImage software, etc - and just get accustomed with the desktop experience, the file manager, task manager, installing and uninstalling software, etc.
Alternatively, a virtual machine directly in their Windows installation can serve the same purpose to get familiarized at this level.
2. Software choices for day to day tasks
Most people don't need professional software to edit photos and videos, not even office suites, so they're the easiest to move from Windows to Linux Mint. In terms of day to day software, there are familiar choices like Firefox, Chrome, Brave, Opera, VLC Media Player, LibreOffice, TeamViewer. Other basic software, used to open archives, view images, the calculator, a plain text editor, a backup utility, and others, are available and easy to use. The discovery and installation of new software is also easy with the Software Manager - it's been part of the OS long before Microsoft even had plans to make their own store. And Updating software is a treat in Linux Mint - it even has Flatpak integration, which is really convenient.
In the case of people who want newer versions of some software, Flatpaks are an option, but external software repositories can also be added to Linux Mint, by using Software Sources - a simple user interface, no need to go to the terminal. Once added, you refresh the list of available software packages and they become visible in the Software Manager for installation, and in the Update Manager when they get updates. That's way easier and more convenient than in Windows, where you generally have to use a browser to download an executable file and install it manually if you want the latest version.
After using Mint for a few weeks, and go back to Windows, you'll notice how much more work you have to do with Windows.
3. Hardware compatibility
The Linux of today is not that of decades ago. A huge amount of hardware is supported and you can literally install Linux Mint in 10-15 minutes on some old(er) computer and start working right away, without having to install drivers. And to drive the point home, we're talking about hardware that doesn't officially qualify for Windows 11. A lot of that hardware just works with Linux Mint.
Printing and scanning in Mint is better than many people think. With many kinds of hardware all you have to do is to connect them to the computer and they just work. The very first time my sister wanted to scan documents on her EPSON multifunctional she called be because she assumed she had to install a driver and scanning software. I asked her if she connected it to the laptop. and she said yea. I told her to start "Simple Scan" (now called "Document Scanner") and click Scan. She did, the document was scanned, and she was taken aback with how simple that was.
The conclusion here is that you just have to try it on your hardware, and by default you should assume that there's no need to install drivers. If something doesn't work, Mint comes with a Driver Manager, where you would usually see recommendations if you need drivers, or you would get multiple driver choices for your hardware. Just click and install from there, no need to go on a website to download and install manually. Sure, in some cases you will have to do just that, but in most cases you can expect your hardware to just work.
4. Missing features in software
For those used to professional software, the available choices may be suboptimal and instantly off-putting. That's understandable when you have to do this and that today, or in the coming days. However, where some of these people utterly fail to give themselves a real chance is:
- learning to compromise (this can be enough sometimes)
- trying to get the remaining tasks done differently, and develop a new workflow (it can pay off to not be lazy)
- keep in touch with the communities for the software they're interested in, to learn what can be done for their needs
- support the projects of interest with donations towards developing the missing features
- rally with other professionals to financially support the projects that can become proper replacements for their work
When everything you use with a Linux-based OS is free of charge, it's absurd to ignore the amount of work that had to be done to get you to maybe 90-95% coverage in day to day needs, and complain that you can't switch because you're missing X, Y, and Z.
With very few exceptions, all the software inside a Linux-based OS is free and open source. Working with the developers to improve a specific piece of software means that all of those features become freely available in the future, and people can further enhance them. It's absolutely worth focusing on enriching the software ecosystem, instead of just complaining and going away.
You're doing yourself a favor in the long term by acknowledging that you can have a positive impact, and understanding that the people working on free and open source software have to support themselves and their families, and when some of them can rely on steady financing - even for a specific period of time, project-based -, they can allocate time to work on some missing features that are important.
---
This is not a Mint "ad". I'm a sysadmin who's had to deal with PCs going back to the MS-DOS and Win3.x days for work. I initially had a bad experience with my first Linux distro, at home, and I felt defeated (not much to tell, but I can do that in a reply if anyone is curious), so I took a break from it. Then I saw a work colleague blazing through all kinds of customizations and refinement of his Linux distro and as a sysadmin that obviously bugged me because I wanted to be more versatile than just knowing Microsoft software.
So I started distro-hopping - I tried tens of distros (non-Linux operating systems too) and used a few of them for a few months at a time, and one of them (Kurumin Linux) for over a year, and in 2007 I discovered Linux Mint (2.2, I think). For its time, it was more polished than many distros, not just visually but also in its default software choice, which caught my attention.
Later in 2007 they introduced mintInstall to make software installation easy. Mint was always more than "Ubuntu + codecs", which some people loved to joke about. Its handful of custom software made people's experience with Linux more pleasant, and less technical. And because I did plenty of technical support and I knew how even trivial tasks can be a point of failure for some people, I appreciated everything done for convenience. I even used it at different workplaces.
After dual-booting for a while at home, I ended up ditching Windows in 2009, and went exclusively with Mint, which proved itself dependable for my needs. And it's ironic that as a sysadmin I use a newbie-friendly OS. I'll take your poking, no problem. In the end, what I got was something that I very rarely had to fix in any capacity. I made a mess of it maybe twice since 2009, after I tried my luck with major upgrades not done the recommended way - because I wanted to see what happens. I've done a lot of "fighting" with Windows, so I didn't run to a comfort zone by ditching it, but I just wanted an OS that stays out of my way, so I can spend my time doing what I actually want. Not long after I ditched Windows, my wife took note and wanted to see what I'm on, and she ended up switching too some time later.
Once people start with something as simple as Mint, they can try something else too if they're curious. There are a few other interesting options for people coming from Windows, but since I haven't used any for longer than 3 months since I moved to Mint, I'll let other people tell you about them. Zorin OS comes to mind, if you want to take a look, and if you like the way MacOS looks, you might want to try elementary OS.
The main idea is that allowing yourself to learn new things you become more versatile. By starting that process at home, and getting used to what's available on a different platform, you'll be able to use that experience at work too, and get your job done even if you don't have the "perfect" software. Where many others would fail, you may very well succeed.
Not everything about switching to Linux is easy, and this is where the community can help. Try it seriously in parallel, and you'll be surprised at how many things are easily possible without much effort to learn. And in those special cases it is worth trying to overcome the difficulties and even work with the developers. Supporting them financially is only one way to help, but there's also testing, bug reporting, translating the software for others, learning to code and contributing some trivial improvement, helping out new comers once you become able to do so, and so on. I did all of those things, and more, I benefit from it every day, and so do others. You can definitely do a lot more than just whining about the missing 10%.
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