the problem is always been the lack of apps not many of them run on linux and of course not regular user friendly.
Well, the 'problem' actually is that I have paid win apps I do not want to give up.... The question is always what do I want to do on my PC and which apps could do the same on Linux. If there isn't the same app for Linux I have a look for an alternative... I consider Linux as an additional OS and not as complete replacement of windows. Anyway the time I use windows has become very short...I actually only boot it when I need my paid apps.... All 'common' stuff I am doing on Linux.
Some very good points made here by Yen - thank you. I help a friend who has some fairly costly windows s/w that he uses to run his tiny office for his occupation. He has no desire to get into any newer windows versions as the older version he has does the work that he needs flawlessly. Browser requirements are the driver there - so I have just loaned him an extra notebook PC running Linux with a choice of 3 fully up to date browsers installed. Showed him in under 30 minutes all that he wanted or needed to know in order to use that. Next step in this will be making a desktop PC for him with Linux & VMWare. This way he can keep running his old windows version & using his couple of needed apps just as he does today. Way back in 1998 I was made aware of legal changes that were being put into place which threatened self-determination, privacy and even the ultimate ownership of one's personal data & files. I tried spreading the word for a while - but it fell upon deaf ears - and has since gotten fully in force. That 'scare' is the force behind SAAS - which is really a misnomer most often. Instead it should be SAAPS with the 'p' standing for 'paid'. The other driver presently is too many folks who think that handheld devices are OK for totally replacing PCs - such that the SAAS options are being used more and folks seem to merely accept that sort of stuff as being satisfactory. I do not accept that. I am typing this on MY OWN PC - which has an OS that does NOT dictate what I can & cannot do with MY PC. I also do not wish to own a 'black-boxed' car - for these very same reasons. Technology has become very sneaky & has been insinuated into places & uses that depend upon folks not caring that they are being limited, dumbed down & even watched without their overt consent in any manner. Self-determination is VERY important. Without it we are heading into a 'Brave New World'. I say no thanks to that idea & frankly I hope that I do not live long enough to see the full arrival of the fully zombified population. There are already entirely too many oblivious deadwalkers everywhere. Zombies do not have to look bloody & frightening - they can look just like our existing neighbors.
And that's the crux of the issue...the stuff I don't want to give up. Though it's getting to the point where I'm willing to take my lumps to avoid Windows. Unfortunately I bought a new laptop computer recently kind of blindly thinking I would run Windows. So I'm locked in now until I replace it. Though for sure when I replace my current machine it's going to be something *nix friendly.
@smallhagrid I think the things which have changed are profound. (IT-age) The meaning of manufacturer / producer / product, the meaning of customer / to consume and to own something....and by that the own self-perception. A product usually was a real physical object. Made from other physical objects and craftsmanship. The focus was on quality and on long-term usage. Also there was a 'repair-culture'... Things started to change since there are now virtual objects (actually either data or code) which can be sold / used / sent to make huge amount of money...and any services based on virtual goods. By that entire branches of craftsmanship / little shops were and are negatively affected. (And there's forming of monopolies of global players)...vanishing of 'consumer orientated individuality'... We are moving from solid to virtual values.....also our self-perception. Another thing is the idea of business which has also changed. From long-term to short term. From the object of trade itself to the only purpose just to make money by business. The consumer IS the product. The original product WAS something that has lost its actual purpose (something own made to satisfy the consumer's needs and that with quality and a long time - something that could be really owned by the consumer). The idea of a product of the manufacturer and the idea of a product of consumers are going apart....more and more.....but only a few of them are aware of it. Since the majority is addicted to virtual values, social media, virtual identity and does swallow what the big monopolies are releasing....we are losing the relation to privacy and other 'solid' values, solid products........and there is no healthy scrutinizing of the new products anymore.... Once there was a census..arranged by the government. People took to the streets to protest. Against data collection and for more privacy!!!! There were articles such as: There are no harmless data! Yes that was in the 80's..... Today it seems people do not even care WHO gets the personal data and what they contain... Never-mind! BTW: I am planning to get a raspberry pi to setup the pi-hole with own DNS (unbound).... Nice own project and a new toy to play....want to get rid of ads and to have control on DNS level...
I'd definitely switch on Linux if it handled 165Hz+ as good as Windows. IMHO, Microsoft is perhaps the "least" worst about data and telemetry (hi Facebook and Google). Lots of people are anti-Windows [often Linux users AFAIS on internet] , but I bet they never read "Privacy Policy" and such, because it's boring (as the result, they aren't fully aware of what Y collect and what Y doesn't collect). I use Slackware on my laptop however. If Windows hadn't existed, perhaps Wine, NodeJS, VsCode and more money for FSF wouldn't've seen the light. (Windows is platinum member , it's not nothing) Last words : I love Windows and Linux, and i'd never cease to use them. Both have strengths and issues.
Interesting comments posted before. Thanks for that, good read. The lack of value people generally put on privacy these days is a bit shocking to me. The relationship between product and consumer is a changing landscape and I don't want to give up the old ways. Not sure where it's going to end up, would be interesting to be a fly on the wall fifty years from now.
Well - Here is some stuff i use hxxp://www[dot]codeweavers[dot]com/products/ (got one time version during sale) - worth it - can run office and other apps i bought on windows without windows - they did amazing stuff with v18 first check your app if it is running hxxp://www[dot]codeweavers[dot]com/compatibility you may fiddle with wine - most polished linux i used until now (debatable with SuSE enterprise but that one is $/year) hxxp://elementary[dot]io/ Put 0$ for free download or hxxp://fra1[dot]dl[dot]elementary[dot]io/download/MTU2MDE3Njg2NA==/elementaryos-5[dot]0-stable[dot]20181016[dot]iso for direct link also you do not "have" to pay for some apps in store , just put 0$ on donation. the bad news is , you will have to update them manually. if you pay it will be on auto. -also i have windows 10 (for development) contained in GnomeBoxes without external network access. Have fun.
I’m a computer science grad and can say that these things are simple to learn in Linux if you know how to use the terminal. I love the convenience of being able to install software simply by entering terminal commands. Linux vs windows is essentially terminal vs GUI. You’re used to a GUI; you need to get used to a terminal lol
Furthermore - a note to the mods & admin here: This thread is filled with nonsense aimed at frightening folks away from even giving Linux a chance - AND IT IS PINNED. That is a horrible injustice as this thread is promoting outright lies. If it MUST be pinned, then my more open-minded thread in the Linux section ALSO should be pinned as it debunks lots of lies and fears which are being promoted by this thread. Thanks.
Well, many of us have made the effort to document how to get into Linux, Ubuntu or otherwise etc. With plenty of encouragement... But at the same time, one must critically evaluate the uneven playing filed, where drivers are frequently not done (or not done properly) for Linux flavours. And they are different for different flavours. Then, there is enormous variety of HW and it all needs different drivers without which - it's useless, unless you are well educated in tech and IT... and even then, those "How to write xyz drivers" books are frequently a few hundred pages long, heavy in jargon and presuming quite a bit of knowledge - for pros. So, a "simple" problem of installing an all-in-one printer/scanner/fax becomes a nightmare. Even if an average user manages to do something, those drivers are frequently nowhere near as good and as capable as the ones written for monopolistic Winblows... Not just drivers but apps, seemingly the same apps for both OSs, are very different, as in "not so capable under Linux", sadly and frustratingly... And so on and on... Linus himself admits it's an unwinnable game - so it is good to point out to new users or would-be-users to expect to have to learn and sometimes, depending on their HW - suffer... A way out, for most of us, "average users"? Dual boot. Linux is great, we are all thankful for it, many of us use it and appreciate it deeply but... Even the flatpack falls flat on its face, every so often, despite a "different, winning philosophy" of "each app bringing with it all it needs"... I tried it, seriously, still have it on one of our laptops but... So, if you only want Linux, better make sure your future HW will be properly covered by Linux drivers for the flavour of Linux you prefer and still expect not so capable apps, even though they seem the same as under Windows... You get more speed, sometimes, better security, good fun, sometimes frustration, not all of it is more-or-less gratis (there is not that much of truly FREE and really good SW, which is not the same as Open Source, as we know) and you get away from monopolists, closed source commercial SW, their business-s**tty attitude, away from guys who are in bed with the govs of this world, working for the benefit of those a-holes etc. etc. All good. Great, in fact! But not that easy... sadly...
Hi Gorski & thanks for sharing your thoughts here !! Frankly I've lost count of how many very different PCs I've installed Linux to - and about 99% of the time in recent years it has detected & set up all the h/w flawlessly. The main exception I have seen has been with the built-in Wifi adapters in notebook PCs - even with Linux-friendly h/w (like that sold by HP..), it has been very likely that I need to just plug in a $10 Wifi dongle that is instantly in service & call it good. The only other exception which comes to mind is the parallel port for printing - which is used so little anymore that... Who cares, really ?? When I ran into that, just changing it to USB solved that almost instantly with the printer detected & ready to use in under a minute. As you say - for those with extreme tastes in h/w - NEEDING to have the newest of everything - it could be a battle, but=> For ordinary, day-to-day users it should be enough just to get an HP machine from a box store, kill off the existing OS & add in a Linux OS. I have done this with very easy success and even have such a PC myself. Side note: One of the very WORST experiences I've ever had was with a built-for-Linux System76 notebook - it was purely a horror & I did document that to inform others of it in a thread I started here. Built for Linux. Wow. I would NEVER, ever buy or use ANYTHING from System76 after what I went through. This goes to show that in the IT world there are fakers in every corner - so let the buyer beware !!!
Google is your friend Not necessarily education, but interest. And trust me, casual computer users can pick it up easy, just as they can a programming language if there’s an interest Education is not the right word, mindset is the precise word
Also quick tip to anyone learning linux- ensure you are always within the file system in the directory after the folder with your username when entering ANY terminal command to be on the safe side - to ensure you NEVER enter commands to modify the contents or permissions of ANY of the ROOT files/directories I once accidentally recursively removed permissions for all the files with a terminal commands at the root level, this meant i lost access to mac os (mac and linux commands are the same btw, since both are linux based besides using brew to install linux packages onto a mac) and had to do a hard reset and clean install! don’t make my mistake, lmao