In other news water is wet
this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2023
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Yeah I don't get it. Did microsoft say they would stop forcing edge on users?
For casual users that only need a web browser, a mail client and an office suite, Linux is a great replacement for Windows.
You all keep saying that, and I'm not saying I can't ultimately make the move, but there's always something that doesn't quite work as easily.
Then there's always a solution to that which isn't quite what you want and involves a lot of terminal which isn't really something casual users want.
For me this time it was OneDrive which I want to be able to use, trust, and have control over without terminal commands and a half baked GUI. I get it, fuck Microsoft, but it's already paid for and we're not moving because my wife, who is doing dome contracting work, doesn't want to mess with what she is familiar with.
doesn't want to mess with what she is familiar with
That does make change difficult.
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As much as I love Linux, I can't really suggest it to casual users because I would end up being tech support for every issue. I'd suggest it to slightly more advanced users who know the basics of troubleshooting.
I do tech support for a living. I once had a neighbor that is handicapped and she kept asking me why her computer was always asking her stuff and was rebooting 'by itself'.
Turns out she had a very old computer that was using a very basic version of Windows Home (she couldn't even change the background) and it was constantly choking and rebooting because of updates.
I installed Linux Mint on her computer and requests for support have dropped by 90%.
In fact, I have done this for a few unexperienced computer users and because they mainly just use a browser, it's much simpler for them.
When you think about all the notifications Windows is showing to its users about everything, from antivirus to OneDrive, and all the actions its prompting, it's easy to see how some very basic users may find that extremely confusing. For people like that, a stable Linux distribution will be bliss (and for the people helping them).
and the computer performed faster right?
I would guess so. I'm running Mint on 15yo hardware. Chunky laptop, and DDR3 desktop. Between Mint and a SSD, the devices perform as well as current hardware on Windows 11.
Yes but it was still a P4 running Windows 7 Home Starter so whatever modern OS would choke on that anyway. I eventually gave her an old Phenom with a triple core but with the condition that it was running Linux Mint instead of Windows.
I moved a few years ago but I'm still going to help her a few times a year to do the updates. It's very low maintenance compared to Windows.
I'm not sure requests for help with Linux would be that much more frequent than the ones I get now asking for help with Windows. The Windows UX is getting worse while the Linux UX has been getting better for a while now.
In my humble opinion I tend to disagree. I have installed Linux (Fedora 38) on a system of an absolute computer noob and up until now (2 months in) I haven't heard a single complaint or question. It's faster than Win 10 and surprisingly even more stable.
It just depends on the person. I wouldn't put my mom on Linux for example, but I would consider her a casual user.
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Problem is that if someone is casual user, he won't be able to install Linux. And windows is preinstalled almost always. And then if someone is advanced user and gamer, Linux is still much worse for that than windows
Linux is the most used operating system in the world. You probably use Linux every day. Android is Linux.
Linux can be pre-installed and it can be as simple to install for a user as windows. It can also be used without the terminal or anything else. All this just depends on which distro you use. Thats the biggest pain point for new people. They think Linux is one thing, but there are so many ways Linux can be customized and used. Finding the right one is hard, especially if you don't want to touch it and let it handle itself.
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Cool - forcing ads into the start menu, forcing edge on users. Guess like Win10 is where I leave windows forever.
I downloaded Mandrake Linux back in 1992. I've always fiddled with linux over the years but could never fulfill all my needs. But things have changed recently. I've started using ChatGPT to help me when I hit roadblocks with Linux, and it's REALLY helped work around the various barriers that have kept me from fully adopting linux. Honestly, I am looking forward to switching entirely over to Linux for my business - I'm tired of Windows. And I've been here since Win3.1!!
I haven't seen any ads, so my feelings about Windows might change at some point. But I've tried linux in the past, and there's a reason why it just doesn't get as much adoption.
First of all, linux seems to be built around the command line. I hate using the command line, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Everytime there's something to troubleshoot I have to figure out command line inputs and outputs.
Second, the annoying issues with windows are annoying, but I've learnt to figure it out. No, I don't want to set as default, no I don't want to send data, no i don't want to create a MS account. Even if I didn't figure it out, I can still change it later - sending data is annoying af and i don't like it, but it doesn't stop me from doing something. On the other hand, i encounter issues with linux that stop me from actually using the OS all the time. Everytime I do, I have to post in forums asking for help, wait 12-36 hours while using an alternate OS/workaround, and dread the inevitable use of command-line that follows.
The use of command line is literally Linux's biggest strength and why they dominate the server space. Linux servers can be run "headless" with no monitor and no Graphical User Interface. Command Line only. GUI takes so much processing power from the CPU/GPU and it eats up RAM.
Until very recently, Windows servers required much higher system specs to run the server because windows was never primarily command line. You always had to have a GUI, no headless.
MS has gone whole hog with PowerShell, their answer to Linux. They even have versions of server that run headless now.
Sorry, I just think its a little funny that your biggest complaint is the thing that made Linux so powerful and that Windows has been playing catch-up with Linux in that arena for over a decade now.
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One of many reasons I'm on Linux now and have been for years. I got tired of the bs and the increasing need fo reinstall often they forced on me....At least when I do it, it's my fault or I'm jumping distros lol
I’ve just been installing updates since 2016 for windows 10. I just fix what I break and learn from it just like on any other OS.
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Fun story: we just had the first week of uni here and over the summer all the school computers had been updated to Windows 11. During the first class then naturally all the professors were logging in to the computers for the first time. Upon opening the course syllabus, every single time, a big popup would appear on the screen about how Edge is so great and asking for analytics data permission. About half of the professors just agreed to everything fast to get it out of the way but the other half did reject it. In one case a professor was reading over the whole thing for at least 30 seconds
consent, microsoft, have you learned nothing from me too
They learned that if you're famous enough and have enough money "they let you do it" to quote our former (slight retch) President.
I much prefer having Linux forced on me in comment sections instead. Linux is the operating system I use btw.
Have you heard of our savior Firefox/LibreWolf?
He sits beside us and our Evolution email client.
Yeah, it's so inconvenient that people in online comment sections can install an operating system on my computer and force me to use it!
Yup. And this is why I have to re-set my default pdf reader out of Edge every few weeks.
I use edge and onedrive. I like my settings in a particular way. However, microsoft thinks it's okay to change the system settings every few days because in their infinite wisdom I can't use their products enough without them forcing them down my throat every chance they get.
It's gotten to a point where I change the settings via registery key, but after a few hours it reverts back
Out of curiosity, what settings are you seeing revert that quickly? That sounds like somehow you've got intune or something configured, and its periodically running a config resync.
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I have all traces of Edge completely removed from my Windows 11 install.
I'm not as techy as people around lemmy. Some time has gone by since W11 got released, what do you think of it?
I just dipped my toe in the last few days or so. It's missing some QoL that existed in previous versions.
I run 3 monitors. My center one is my primary display with the other 2 just being extra real estate. I wanted my taskbar to be on the left monitor and out of the way. On W10, you'd unlock the taskbar, drag it to the monitor you wanted it, then lock it up again.
W11 will either let you have it on all of your monitors or only your primary monitor. I don't want all my stuff opening on a secondary monitor by default.
I know it's petty, but it's frustrating to have an easy feature stripped
Wanting good usability isn't petty
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I'm using an Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 as my personal laptop and have been contemplating switching it over to Linux for a while now.
It's sporting an AMD Ryzen 5900HS and Nvidia RTX 3060 variant and very use steam for most of my games which I'm thinking wouldn't pose too many issue based on what I read here often.
My core concerns are:
- Gaming is the biggest worry as my last experience with Ubuntu a few years ago was extremely frustrating with poor drivers, okay performance, and frequently requiring game specific fixes
- I sometimes require Microsoft Office (collaborative documents for freelance design work).
- I would very much like the Logitech Options+ companion software to work well or an alternative with the ability to set custom actions for all the buttons on my MX Master 3
Besides those:
- This machine's reliance on its vendor software like Armory Crate etc. to perform well; an issue I've recently tackled by switching over to GHelper which unfortunately isn't available for Linux
- I see Opensuse and Fedora recommended as plug and play with this machine and other distros requiring compiling and troubleshooting to work well; most cases quote much worse battery life than Windows and the need for multiple tools and command line fixes to achieve processor boost disabling and graphic switching
- I sometimes use trainers in single player mode for games that my friends play (which I couldn't afford or didn't have time for when they started) so I can catch up with their progress and play together with them; I haven't seen anything specific about trainers like those from Fling working with Linux
Can anyone advise me regarding a good distro and whether I should go ahead with the switch considering the issues outlined above?
Thank you for your time and attention reading all that.
tl;dr: I want to switch to Linux but don't know which distro or how stable it would be for my Asus G14 with gaming and portable battery life as the primary concerns.
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Why not fedora? I use it with nvidia and everything works just fine. Sure you have to install nvidia drivers but that's quite literally one line to command line and you're set. Fedora nowadays let's you get closed source repos on installation
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https://nobaraproject.org/ There is really no reason not to try. You can just try a bootable USB first to see if Linux works for you and your hardware config. It's a great way to test things and determine what distro and desktop environment works for you.
I've been using Piper for my logitech mouse: https://flathub.org/apps/org.freedesktop.Piper
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