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So what did it take for you to go to Linux?

I'm asking what big motivational factors contributed to you into going Linux full-time. I don't count minor inconveniences like 'oh, stutter lag in a game on windows' because that really could be anything in any system. I'm talking, something Windows or Microsoft has done that was so big, that made you go "fuck this, I will go Linux" and so you did.

For me, I have a mountain of reasons by this point to go to Linux. It's just piling. Recently, Windows freaked out because I changed audio devices from my USB headset from the on-board sound. It freaked out so bad, it forced me to restart because I wasn't getting sound in my headset. I did the switch because I was streaming a movie with a friend over Discord through Screen Share and I had to switch to on-board audio for that to work.

I switched back and Windows threw a fit over it. It also throws a fit when I try right-clicking in the Windows Explorer panel on the left where all the devices and folders are listed for reasons I don't even know to this day but it's been a thing for a while now.

Anytime Windows throws a toddler-tantrum fit over the tiniest things, it just makes me think of going to Linux sometimes. But it's not enough.

Windows is just thankful that currently, the only thing truly holding me back from converting is compatibility. I'm not talking with games, I'm not talking with some programs that are already supported between Windows and Linux. I'm just concerned about running everything I run on Windows and for it to run fully on a Linux distro, preferably Ubuntu.

Also I'd like to ask - what WILL it take for you to go to Linux full-time?

chaospatterns ,

As a professional software dev, I worked with pretty much every OS daily. My personal computer was a Windows, my work laptop was a Mac, and I ran my code on Linux so I was familiar with the things I liked and disliked about each. I also ran my own set of server with my websites, mail servers, and various research projects to learn and grow.

Then I decided it was time to order a new laptop and I didn’t want to go to Windows 11 because I felt Microsoft was going too much into features I didn’t want like Ads, more tracking, pushing AI. Don’t get me wrong, I like AI, but it was too much about forcing me to use it to justify their stock valuations.

I also was working on reducing my usage of big tech, setting up self hosted services like pi-hole, Home Assistant, starting to work my own Mint alternative. It just felt natural to get a Framework laptop and try running Linux on it.

I still have a Windows desktop for games and other things, I still use Mac at work. I still like the Mac for it’s power efficiency and it doesn’t get as hot. Linux has some annoyances here and there, like dbus locking up, or weird GNOME issues, or for a while my screen would artifact until set some kernel params, or the fact that my wifi card would crash and I had to replace it with an Intel card, but I’ll stick with it.

Hugin ,

Steam play. I spent nine years with linux as my main work os. Then I’d come home and game on windows. Once Steam play was mature I setup a dual boot to give it shot. I think I booted into windows twice after that.

plumbercraic ,
@plumbercraic@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

Recall

Veraxis ,

A mix of factors for me. Firstly, privacy concerns, settings reverting themselves after updates, and the looming threat of Windows 11 were I to get a new PC. Stuttery performance on my already 3 year old laptop at the time (I still use the same laptop. It is now 6 years old and still runs great with Linux). General bloat, driver problems, and instability issues.

I did not make the switch all at once, but thankfully my laptop has two NVMe slots, which made dual booting easier while I got more used to using Linux as my daily driver. Within about a year, I was booting into Windows less and less, and eventually hardly ever once I found ways to use Linux for everything I needed.

callyral ,
@callyral@pawb.social avatar

I wanted to customize Windows 10. Customizing Windows was too hard and unsafe (requiring many “bloated” third party tools).

Then, after seeing some cool themes, I realized Linux is way more customizable. So I tried Linux Mint and now I use NixOS.

mumblerfish ,

Did not want to switch from windows 98 SE to XP, so went with linux instead.

beefbot ,

What pushed me over the edge: the threat of Windows screenshotting everything I did.

Absolutely fucking not. Took it all to Ubuntu the day after I heard. Couple days later everything I need was set up & a few months later I haven’t looked back

traches ,

Started learning web development.

Kerb ,
@Kerb@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

i work in IT, so linux at work was an immediate hit for me.
It sounds weird, but doing it stuff on linux just feels kinda natural.

because of work i tried to use it at home (asside from tinkering) but it didn’t work out nearly as well for a long time.
the lack of game support meant i was mostly on windows.

but thanks to minecraft and valves linux version of dota and csgo, it evened out.
and now thanks to proton im almost 99% on linux.

i like linux for its customizability,
its centralized & unintrusive updates,
its advanced features (mdadm, btrfs, powerfull scripting), and because of the controll i have over my system.

i dislike windows because of the design since win8,
the lack of controll( bloatware just appears on my start menu, onedrive, cortana, recall),
intrusive updates (installing updates on shutdown and reboot and “all your files are encrypted exactly where you left them”),
constantly pestering me about getting the latest release,
reseting my configurations on updates,
and the ever changing labyrinth of menus when i need to fix / change something

kevincox ,
@kevincox@lemmy.ml avatar

Vista sucked so bad. I got a nice new laptop and it was constant pain. One of the real breaking points was that it would refuse to let me modify or delete some files even as superuser. If I recall correctly they weren’t even system files, maybe a separate partition or something.

I tried installing XP but there was some sort of driver issue with my CD drive. It would start installing fine, but then once it tried to reboot off of the HDD to finish the installation it couldn’t find the installation CD to finish copying things, so the install just crashed half-way done.

I installed Ubuntu on a partition, dual booted for a while. After a few months I realized that I never even used the Windows partition anymore so I wiped it.

toynbee ,

Two things coming together finalized my choice to leave Windows:

  • the ability to play almost every game on Linux thanks to Valve
  • the fact that you couldn’t create a local account during a Windows install (back when I discovered this you still technically could with some workarounds; I don’t know if you still can but you shouldn’t have to put in any effort IMHO)
JackbyDev ,

Out of all the horrible shit Windows 10 did, making my username firsl (if my name was first last) was one of the most frustrating. I literally reinstalled because I couldn’t fully change it everywhere.

toynbee , (edited )

It sounds like you already have this problem solved, but just in case:

Back when I still used Windows, the workaround was just to make sure you didn’t have a network connection when installing the OS. This could be done by unplugging the NIC during install on a physical system or by deleting the NIC in a VM (or other ways, obviously, but these were the simplest). It still took some convincing, but then you could make your username whatever you wanted.

I don’t know if that still works - it’s been years - but if you still use Windows and still have that problem, this might be worth a try.

edit: program -> problem

eldavi ,

i was a starving college student with $20 to my name and a dead windows me desktop computer that had an entire semester’s worth of school work trapped inside of it.

i had read about linux before and saw that i could buy a couple of mandrake cd’s from a magazine at circuit city for $5 or borrow $169 from someone to buy a windows xp installation disk.

i bought the magazine; installed linux; and taught myself (with google’s help) how to copy all of my school work onto a usb drive. i finished those papers using the school’s computer laboratories; and then kept on using the linux installation from then on in 2002 until now.

ElectroLisa ,
@ElectroLisa@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

At first I was tipping my toes in Ubuntu but kept coming back to Windows as I kept running into stability issues. Googling my issues very frequently kept sending me to the Arch wiki, and I thought “well if they have so much covered, why not use this distro instead”. That and 196 subreddit (rule) made me try Arch, and my experience was noticeably better. Barely any crashes and improving Proton compatibility made me use it more and more. I kept a windows install for VR and anti-cheat enabled games until late 2023.

During my transition period (both in Linux and gender lol) between 2021 and now, I kept getting comments “why are you making your life harder with Linux, just use Windows where everything works”. Well, nowadays tables have turned and now I get to say “weird it works for me on Linux”. Except VR, it’s still a mixed experience.

P4ulin_Kbana ,

(offtopic) Nice profile picture

ElectroLisa ,
@ElectroLisa@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Thanks, it’s a heavily modified VRChat avatar called Rindo, in case you’re curious :3 : booth.pm/en/items/3443188

Allero ,

Honestly? I played around with Linux for a long time inside of VM, but then I moved to a new house and got into “a new life” mood. And then I just couldn’t look back on Windows with anything but disgust.

Allero ,

Honestly? I played around with Linux for a long time inside of VM, but then I moved to a new house and got into “a new life” mood. And then I just couldn’t look back on Windows with anything but disgust.

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