• kitnaht@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Use whatever works for you. Linux can be a pain in the ass sometimes. If your moral fiber isn’t strong enough to override your need for sanity, sometimes you just need to use what has the path of least resistance.

    If you’re using it mostly for gaming, Windows is going to be the superior choice. Microsoft has just simply ensured that lock-in. Things are certainly changing, thanks to Valve; but don’t feel afraid to try Linux out without dumping your whole life into it. Get a SBC (Single board computer) and run some Linux services on it - IRC bouncers, mail servers, buy a domain name and practice reverse proxies, virtual machines, etc.

    There is room for both…until you’ve decided that Microsoft has stepped over that line you’ve drawn in the sand; then you can convince yourself to dive headlong into Linux full-time.

    Regardless, Linux has already won. It runs the internet. It runs near every network device you own. You probably even have Linux running on something you had no idea was running it; Cameras, lower levels of consumer devices, etc. If the only bastion that Windows still has is Gaming…I think we’re doing pretty good.

    • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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      5 months ago

      “If the only bastion that Windows still has is gaming…”

      And professional environments and video editing and image editing and music production…

    • jmcs@discuss.tchncs.de
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      5 months ago

      The problem is that recall means using Windows is not a problem for Windows users anymore, it’s a problem for everyone that needs to communicate with Windows users.

    • bluewing@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      Most people are simple users, they have little interest in setting up mail servers or websites. They just want to use a computer, not work a computer. And those are the people you need to convince into giving a Linux distro or three a try - Mom and Dad, your little Brother, Auntie Sue, and Grandpa and Grandma.

      Fortunately, you can easily get a mini desktop computer from Amazon on the cheap, I picked one up for $90US last summer purely for distro hopping, and then install a distro to see if you like it or not. It’s cheap and easy. Toss in a $20US wireless keyboard and mouse combo set, and an old unused monitor, and for less than a Saturday night out, you got a rig to surf Linux distros to your heart’s content to see the power of the Linux desktop.

      In fact it’s my belief it’s these dirt cheap modestly spec’ed mini computers that should come with a Linux distro pre-installed. And not the $1000US+ laptops that Linux is currently available on from the factory. Much like Chromebooks, these cheap little computers could and should be the gateway to increased adoption of Linux for the home users.

        • bluewing@lemm.ee
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          5 months ago

          Nice! Your parents are willing to expand their horizons and don’t fear the unknown in search of something better. This old Grandpa prefers running a good distro myself.

          • ulkesh@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            Awesome!! It’s great to see people of all ages running Linux. I’ve been using it since 1999, but only dumped Windows for good recently.

    • noproblemmy@programming.dev
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      5 months ago

      I still have a computer with windows but it feels so fake. Like I’m pretending to run windows but all the time I’m using tweaks and tricks to get away from windows.

    • Stovetop@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      I am prepared to hide under a rock after this comment, but…

      Linux even powers the most widely-used consumer OS in the world. It just happens to take the form of Android.

      • Lad@reddthat.com
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        5 months ago

        That’s exactly what I’m doing right now, using both interchangeably. It works very well!

      • TipRing@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Just don’t ask for support for your dual boot not detecting Windows. God help you.

    • ulkesh@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      If you’re using it mostly for gaming, Windows is going to be the superior choice.

      From a benchmark perspective this has shown to be false in some or many areas. And outside of kernel-level cheat protection, games are continually hitting Gold on ProtonDB, which means that the list of games only working on Windows is dwindling every day.

      And now with umu-launcher, which is now baked into Lutris, the games don’t even have to run via Steam in order to make use of Proton, and especially proton-ge. Thank the Glorious Eggroll! (And thank all others who have had a hand in this Linux gaming renaissance)

      So I assert that Windows is not at all the superior choice anymore. And with Recall and other nonsense Microsoft has done, they deserve to lose all the marketshare possible — thus, I am advocating for people to switch to Linux as fast as they can. It’s a tough sell to some, for sure, but if I can get my mother to run Linux, I have a good chance to get anyone on board.

      • kitnaht@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        From a benchmark perspective this has shown to be false in some or many areas.

        A great lot of good those benchmarks are going to to when your game doesn’t run AT ALL. This is such a non-argument it’s not even funny at this point.

        It’s great to be an open source advocate, but this argument crosses the line into zealotry. It has very little basis in the reality of things.

        Do I want Microsoft to die a quick and painful death? Absolutely. Is Linux the superior choice in all situations – absolutely not.

        • ulkesh@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          I have yet to play a game in the past few years that doesn’t run perfectly thanks to Proton and the work Glorious Eggroll is doing. The only games that won’t play are the ones requiring kernel level anti cheat (which is a ridiculous requirement in the first place).

          Something tells me you haven’t tried to play games on Linux in the past few years. So I can understand your point of view given that probable inexperience. However, I have been a user of all three OSes for decades and am not a zealot, and the fact that you think I am is enough for me to not waste any more time here.

          Enjoy. I know I will, without Windows in my life now.

          • kitnaht@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            https://www.protondb.com/

            80% on Tier 3 or lower for Proton Click Play. That’s not a small number. That means a majority of games, have bugs, crashing issues, things that cause them to be unplayable or glitchy…

            So I repeat…

            A lot of good those benchmarks do when only 20% of the games are playable to the same degree…

            Great, you have success with it. But your anecdotal evidence does not make a solid claim to base things upon.

            • ulkesh@lemmy.world
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              5 months ago

              It’s always funny when people find the single metric that seems to validate their argument without looking at the rest of the picture. There are 70% Gold and Platinum which means that 70% of those being tested work on Linux.

              Yes it’s not perfect. I never once said it was. I simply said those games which have been benchmarked and compared as apples to apples are proven to run better on Linux. And somehow that triggered you into a red herring argument about the viability of Linux gaming because you think that it’s a worthless endeavor.

              But, I replied to you in your thread refuting what you said. And you clearly have the intention of being combative about it instead of saying “you know what…you’re right there is a ton of progress that has been made, but for me I’ll stick with what I know.” And let that be the end of it. So I’ll bow out of this pointless conversation.

              You do whatever you wish, I’m not interested in swaying you. We won’t agree. It’s okay. I’m sure I’ll go on living and enjoying the freedom of my choices.

              Good bye.