this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2024
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Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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I'm getting sick every day at this Microsoft Windows slowness and bloat. I am trying to use as much Linux VMs as possible. I feel so unproductive on Windows. I also tried installing Linux on the office laptop. The problem is that Windows is officialy supported and the Linux is DYI. Once the IT departament changes it will sync up with Windows but Linux can be broken and you are no longer able to work. Next job I want to have full Linux laptop or at least Mac.

Besides:

  • Microsoft Office
  • Active Directory
  • Some proxy and VPN bullshit Everything seems manageable and even better on Linux.

What are your experience?

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Wdym with linux can be broken?

Don't mess woth the system and go atomic. Fedora atomic kde or gnome or wm

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Wdym with linux can be broken?

Linux mint kept harassing me to install the official drivers for my wireless card, so I did. It broke my ability to use WiFi.

I told Linux while in presentation mode I did not want the screen to sleep, it took that as sleep after 5 minutes.

Every time the laptop sleeps/restarts my screen resolution is borked, half the time the correct resolutions are not available and I have to disconnect all my monitors, restart, then connect the monitors.

Most solutions I hear are use a different distro, learn command line, you should not be using Linux if you cannot fix this stuff.

That is what i mean when I say Linux can be broken.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (7 children)

Those things happen on windows as well

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[–] ikidd 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If you're on Mint still, that's X11 fucking you over. AFAIK, Mint hasn't moved to Wayland, though you might be able to install an experimental session, but I wouldn't trust it like a distro that's all-in on Wayland.

I used to contend with monitors jumping around like a jack russell terrier with X11, never keeping settings, dropping out due to ACPI. Wayland has fixed pretty much everything I had going wrong with that stuff.

Boot a live USB of some distros that default to Wayland like Fedora, and see how it reacts to screensaving, then make some choices from there.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I moved to macOS full time now.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

I like it a lot. The initial move was predicated by working in the entertainment industry and all the shows coming through our theater needed qlab.

But after that I started using it for personal use. I was unable to move my photoshop cs6 license over because I have been unable to get a copy of it in 64bit. But I have since switched to affinity. It has a steep learning curve, but I mostly use it for graphics for my shop so it does what I need it to do.

I have been using libre office since forever, that moved over with me.

Before getting my MacBook Pro I was doing most of my gaming on my ps5, so I am not missing a lot there. But most of the games I do play are available on the Mac (No Man’s Sky, FF14, Palia, mudlet, Apico, Mudborne).

When I connect a monitor it works, when I connect a TV through my 4x4 matrix it works.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Changes from the upstream can make your system nonfunctional. For example VPN for remote connection. They change something, push to Windows but on Linux you need to figure it out by yourself.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

On linux you just put the ovpn into the settings. VPN connections are built into the system

Yes, I have used systems that broke. Yes I followed bad advice and broke my system. Ever since not touching my system, that didn't happen again. If I would touch windows, I would brik windows as well.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Yeah that's another thing that Windows can break in the same way as Linux.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 22 hours ago

With an atomic system it's less likely to brick your system. You can stay in the debian world with vanillaos (I've never used it) but fedora atomic is very good. On a day to day basis you shouldn't have/use admin rights to break your system

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Yes, I use Fedora and love to break the permissions of shared Office-Documents. /s

The only thing I have learned is not to go too deep into customisation. Because people watching me using hyprland are some kind of disgusted.

I just use KDE with dark breeze theme. That's enough and nobody gets hurt.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

Trueee Just get the job done and that's all.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

Previous job: Windows, because it was a company issued laptop. Plus a lot of the company was built around the MS ecosystem.

Current job: Linux, because I got to keep the perfectly decent Dell laptop when I left. I wanted to make sure I purged everything, so it's running LMDE now. Plus, there's not much outlook and teams stuff that I have to use.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

Great! However I think you are lucky one.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I manage the few linux servers at my company. I use a windows laptop to ssh to my servers. Windows for me is fine, but I do very little on it outside of ssh or emails. However, I would never use windows outside of this.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

Not a sysadmin, but a programmer. My work machines have been:

  • 2003-2008 Windows 7
  • 2008-2011 Ubuntu
  • 2011-2019 Arch
  • 2019-2024 NixOS

Probably going to keep using NixOS. This is a very cool OS.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm currently more of an generic sysadmin than linux admin, as I do both. But the 'other stuff' at work runs around teams, office, outlook and things like that, so I'm running a win11 with WSL and it's good enough for what I need from a workstation. There's technically a policy in place that only windows workstations are supported, but I suppose I could run linux (and I have separate laptop for linux-only stuff). At the current environment it's just not worth the hassle, spesifically since I need to maintain windows servers too.

So, I have my terminals, firefox and whatever I need and I also have the mandated office-suite, malware protection/IDR/IDS by the book and in my mindset I'm using company tools for company jobs. If they take longer, could be more efficient or whatever, it's not my problem. I'll just browse my (personal) cellphone while the throbber spins on the screen and I get paid to do that.

If I switched to linux I'd need to personally take care of my system to meet specs and I wouldn't have any kind of helpdesk available should I ever need one. So it's just simpler to stick with what the company provides and if it's slow then it's not my headache and I've accepted that mindset.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Hmm that is also a nice a way to put it. However when you are slowed you can be demanded more productivity even though you cannot do anything about it. Maybe except unpaid overtime. Do you have anything for this?

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I use office 360 in the browser.
I'm not a typical sysadmin but I use linux anyway. Somehow I always found some workarounds, but I am also not the only one using Linux in our company so the IT needs to work with us to some degree.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Haha nice. I heard that office 365 is okay but for let's say 10000 rows Excel it lacks performance.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

For 10k rows you should probably use a real database anyway ;)

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (6 children)

Most tech people actually use macs, because corporations prefer them for their tech employees, while the normal employees usually use Windows. Very few corps support linux on the desktop for their admins -- even if their infrastructure is all on linux.

[–] toynbee 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I used to have a Linux laptop at work. I was even allowed to install my chosen distro. Then the IT department said "we don't really know Puppet or how to manage Linux, but we know JAMF, so you're all getting Macs now."

My job satisfaction has gone down since then. However, in more positive news, they did end up giving away the old Linux laptops to the employees when they moved office.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It is always interesting to me that companies can afford new Macs but not use old laptops for Linux.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

It’s a support question. It may cost $2k more for a Mac, but if it’s officially supported, auto patched, remote managed and they can prove it with security tools, force patching and restrict users, use standard well known tools for compliance and security monitoring/administration/etc, they will easily save thousands in corp licensing, training costs and legal costs. That $2k+ really becomes negligible.

[–] pathief 2 points 1 day ago

You wish. Most tech companies will get you the cheapest laptop they can get away with.

I remember being denied a 64bit laptop when developing a 64bit only application lol.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Most of our sysads use macOS. A few use linux but they have limited choices with distros and can only use fedora I think.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Maybe Ubunto too. Sometimes they allow you to use Linux as sys admin.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

Right, but the distros employees are allowed to use are dictated by corporate IT so they are able to control them and have the required endpoint security tools. So people who prefer linux have very limited options.

[–] bitchkat 1 points 1 day ago

Run linux in a vm on your latop and use that for 99% of your work.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Using linux hardware, pretty much one of the requirements for my job, otherwise I look elsewhere. For RDP the only downside being wayland not working with it, so you have to stay with X11.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Sometimes you can't afford to be picky but with more skills and experience I want it too. And yeah for now X11 is just better supported than Wayland.

[–] pathief 1 points 1 day ago

I use freerdp with Wayland, works OK.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I use a Windows laptop because that's what is supported by our infrastructure, our endpoint protection and our cybersecurity insurance.
Also, to help test changes before they are rolled out to users.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Understandable.

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