Comment on Microsoft is bringing annoying Windows 11 Start menu ads to Windows 10
mox@lemmy.sdf.org 2 months agoSorry to hear you had a bad experience. For what it’s worth, I haven’t run into laptop problems like those you described.
You’ve reminded me that people who declare “linux isn’t ready” often make the same mistakes:
- Expecting Linux to work 100%, with no effort, on random hardware that was built specifically for Windows.
- Expecting random google results to yield good guidance on a subject that’s well understood by a tiny fraction of those who know Windows. The web is an ocean of bad advice (but there are some worthwhile islands).
- Expecting to be able to manage any new operating system as well as the one you’ve been running your life with for decades.
Proficiency with any tool takes practice. More so when you don’t have an abundance of good mentors and pre-packaged solutions for what you want to do with it. That doesn’t make the tool bad. It doesn’t mean it lacks usability. It mostly just means that you haven’t learned how to use it yet.
To anyone who is seriously considering a move away from Windows:
- Set your expectations appropriately. Linux is not a drop-in replacement for Windows. IMHO, it shouldn’t be.
- Some things that you take for granted are not universal. Much like a new language (especially your second one) even the basics are often different.
- There is a lot to learn. If you have the patience and humility to be in kindergarten again, you’ll probably do fine. If you expect to be a master quickly, you’ll probably get frustrated.
- You don’t have to tackle the whole learning curve all at once.
- A few notable Windows programs won’t run on Linux. If you have very rigid and specific software needs, like “Photoshop is the only tool that I can use to make a living”, you might consider running those in a virtual machine, or on a second system, or dual-booting. If that’s too complicated for you, then you probably shouldn’t try to force yourself into Linux. Maybe try again in a few years.
- There is more than one GUI (desktop environment) for Linux. Some look a bit like Windows. Some look more like MacOS. Others look like something you’ve never seen before. You can test drive many of them by booting from a USB “live image”. In case none of them feels quite right, most can be customized. To get started, just pick one, and know that you’re not married to it; you can always switch desktops later, without even reinstalling the OS. Your applications will still run.
- Investigate hardware before leaping into it. Linux supports a great many devices out of the box, and even more with a bit of configuration. If you have the means, you can buy a system pre-packaged for Linux, including drivers, just as most systems are for Windows. If not, chances are that you can still find or build a system that runs it well. Plan ahead.
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Thats ALL PCs.
Alright, fair enough. But then within the linux operating system, it should make those islands official sources for quality information. Make them easier to find.
mox@lemmy.sdf.org 2 months ago
Nope. (example) (example) (example)
(And if you don’t like ready-made PCs, you can always build your own.)
Heh. It would be nice to have such things handed to us on a platter, wouldn’t it?
In reality, there is no central organization in a position to speak for the whole linux ecosystem, and a great deal of the work and knowledge comes from unpaid volunteers acting on their own. Standing out from the noise is harder than you might think.
However, there are companies selling direct support, and communities focused on specific topics, and wikis run by some of the most popular linux distributions, and classes, and books, and various other good information sources.
And, even if you have no money to spend, you will eventually come across some of the community-maintained gems just by regularly dedicating time to learning. Finding good info gets easier with practice.
tyler@programming.dev 2 months ago
I’ve run Linux on custom built gaming computers. You still get all the same problems that dude is talking about. And no, forums and wikis are not a replacement for the os just working. A good analogy for Linux that a friend came up with. “Linux is a tank, it can blast through anything, you can do tons with it. But it doesn’t come with a cup holder. You decide to install one. But when you do so the shift lever doesn’t work anymore. So you move the shift knob over, now the AC doesn’t work. You fix that and now the tank won’t turn right, unless the AC is off.” You get the point.
IAmNotACat@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I switched over to Linux because I was tired of fighting Windows to make it behave the way I wanted while struggling to solve obscure issues because of meaningless error messages. I use my Linux machine for gaming/work and everything in between. The only reason I boot into Windows these days is for VSTs and Photoshop.
And I’m not suggesting that Linux just works and never has any issues, but it’s ludicrous to suggest that Linux doesn’t work in a way that Windows just does. If Windows just worked I wouldn’t have to fix stupid issues for my family and friends all the fucking time.
mox@lemmy.sdf.org 2 months ago
Actually, I don’t.
Nobody suggested that.
I get what you’re trying to express, but I also have more than a little experience to the contrary. I’m almost curious what you and your friend did that led to things breaking as you described, but it’s not important here. Obviously, your mileage may vary, as with any operating system.
In any case, some people would rather learn new things than keep suffering Microsoft’s ads, spyware, and bloat. You don’t have to be one of them.