Linux or Windows.


Does anybody know if when using Windows on a computer but not paying for anything windows related: is windows/ Bill Gates profiting from it?
Is it worth installing linux as a protest?
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in reply to Liljekonvalj

Linux Mint is the most Windows-like regarding its user interface, so that one probably requires the least learning. Ubuntu is trying to work a bit like Mac OS X, and I actually like that.

And then there are distros that don't try to be super easy but actively try to help you learn how to do the difficult things. Arch Linux is famous for that.

Ubuntu (and Linux Mint, which is actually just Ubuntu with a more Windows-like user interface) have the best app support, so that might be a factor.

in reply to Liljekonvalj

One thing to consider is market share. While one user switching from Windows to Linux won't affect it one bit, but if, say, half of European Windows users would do the switch, that would cause a meaningful dent to Windows' market share. So, while you won't directly affect that number, you do belong to some circles of people. By making the switch, you would act as an example for others and bring some knowledge and expertise on the topic (like, how easy it was, what are the downsides/upsides...). If your example leads to other people do the switch, those people also belong to some circles of peoples, and so on. It might be enough to start a small avalanche that could grow bigger and bigger.
in reply to Liljekonvalj

Based on your country microsoft will run a varying amount of ads in the OS, and as mentioned by other users: telemetry.

Is it worth installing Linux as a protest?
Depends. Switching to Linux will always come with a little bit of tinkering involved. So the answer depends on your willingness to spend some time to learn a new OS.
But it offers you the opportunity to gain some control over your machine, privacy and learn some things.

in reply to Liljekonvalj

From my experience (Linux Mint exclusively) you might need to edit config files, fiddle with drivers and packages, and compatibility software like wine, lutris etc.
ChatGPT proofed quite helpfull with most of these tasks, and there are passionate ppl on lemmy ready to help you out.

Gaming is in a great spot imo. I can run abt 90% of my steam games thanks to proton, and I was pleasently surprised that some EA games ran without the EA client.
Competetive games on the other hand are a bit of a gamble since most of them don't have an anti cheat solution for Linux and won't run.

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in reply to Liljekonvalj

@Liljekonvalj @KokusnussRitter
I just finished installing Wine (which, as the name itself says, is not a Windows emulator). If you really need to run a Windows application, Wine will do the trick for many apps you may need. So, my suggestion is: switch to Linux, find any alternative for your needs, and, in case you don't find some alternative apps, install Wine and get rid of Microsoft once for all.
You don't really need Microsoft at all.

Buy European reshared this.

in reply to Liljekonvalj

Proton kinda is that already. I mean it's not technically doing "emulation" (it's based on WINE, which literally stands for "Wine Is Not an Emulator"), but it is a reimplementation and translation layer of the Windows API, such that Windows games can run in Linux.

Anyway, it works fine (except for kernel-level anti-cheat) and has done for quite a while now.

Also, to answer your original question: absolutely you should use Linux. Everyone should, including US folks, because Windows is literally malware. Don't even run it in a VM, let alone on the bare metal machine.

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in reply to Liljekonvalj

Oh, don't worry about games. With Steam's Proton, they work like a charm (there are exceptions of coarse, but the majority does). Sometimes even better than on Windows. For non-Steam games there are options as well.

The biggest problem I've seen people struggle with when migrating from Windows to Linux is that they do things the Windows way, but this is a different operating system, so obviously it doesn't work and they get frustrated. The hardest part of switching to Linux is being able to and willing to learn how to use a computer again, but from a different perspective.

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in reply to Liljekonvalj

Just install Steam or GoG and play the games through those. Then all the configuration work is done by the Steam/GoG crew. You just buy the game, install it and play, out of the box. About a quarter of Steam's games work on Linux. The only thing I miss is something akin to Skyrim or Witcher. Factorio works and Stellaris works, so I'm happy 😀

EDIT: Ok, Steam's American. But GoG is Polish.

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in reply to Liljekonvalj

Windows is not making money on sales only. They collect data and then they sell them to data brokers. Those brokers then sell the data to advertisement agencies to serve you adds. Even if you buy just one item based on those adds (which may be unconscious choice) you have already paid. Even if you buy nothing based on adds, microsoft already got the money.

I do recommend linux but be aware of letting people to push you into something you don't want to do. Linux community can be very enthusiastic 😅. Top three to recommend are Linux Mint (most windows like design), Fedora (most stable) and Pop OS (best with nvidia gpu). Only one of these is favorite of mine but I will not tell you which, just search for them, look at screenshots and you will see what suits you.

in reply to Jrockwar

Ubuntu Linux is the most popular distribution but it uses the Gnome desktop by default, which many Windows users may find to be a stumbling block since it looks and acts nothing like the Windows desktop. The standard distribution of Linux Mint uses the Cinnamon desktop, which is much closer in look and feel to Windows, and it is based on Ubuntu so most users can benefit from the technical support of the Ubuntu community.

[Edit: corrected "Linux" to "Ubuntu Linux." thanks grue@lemmy.world.]

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in reply to anime_ted

[Ubuntu] is the most popular distribution but it uses the Gnome desktop by default, which many Windows users may find to be a stumbling block since it looks and acts nothing like the Windows desktop.


Just use Kubuntu.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of it or anything (especially because of the "snap" nonsense), but it is the easiest to get working because things like Steam officially support it.

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in reply to anime_ted

You are right about linux mint, but I want to just add that I have been adding distro with Gnome to former windows users and there were no issues with usability. And those were people that are not very technical. I think Gnome does a great job when it comes to ux. But nowadays Gnome, Cinnamon, KDE and even not yet released Cosmic are so amazing I can't believe how lucky we linux users are to have so many good choices.
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in reply to dieTasse

That's good to know and I'm happy you've had success moving users. Keep up the good work.

I think converting users to Linux tends to face three major issues:

  • A historical reputation for being hard to configure and use, even though that is generally no longer the case with mainstream distros.
  • Fear of the command line.
  • Decision paralysis due to the sheer number of options available for things like distro and desktop environment, and the fact that there are as many opinions as there are users. I'm an obvious example of this.

Technical people like me tend, I think, to appreciate the flexibility. Normals just want something that works immediately and without any fuss.

in reply to anime_ted

Thank you. Your points are... well.. on point 😁 Especially with "and the fact that there are as many opinions as there are users" maybe that's why we have so many distros.

I hope there will be more devices with linux out of the box in the future, because that is probably the number 1 enabler. We see it with steam deck, although its kinda special case. But that is a Linux device that people buy, use and often times without prior linux experience.

in reply to Jrockwar

But it is there. Both Linux Mint and Pop OS are based on Ubuntu. And these three distributions seems to be the most recommended, that I have seen.
My personal issue with ubuntu itself is that it is a little bit rough around the edges and then there is this whole snap thing. But I don't want to go into that here. It was just a recommendation and yes ubuntu is fine 😀
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in reply to Jrockwar

On Ubuntu:

lemm.ee/post/37682729

Ubuntu: despite having a huge mind-share as the beginner distro, Ubuntu suffers from it’s parent company’s policy to make Ubuntu kinda-Linux-but-not-really and a second-rate citizen compared to their Ubuntu Pro commercial product. Some of the worst takes in recent years have been pushing Snaps super agressively in order to get some “vendor-lock-in”, proprietary walled-garden ecosystem with exclusive commercial apps, forcibly installing snaps even when explicitely asking for a .deb package through apt, baking ads and nags into major software or only delivering critical security patches to Pro customers. ...


What are the problems with Ubuntu?

in reply to dieTasse

I think the most windows like desktop environment (DE) is KDE. So I try to limit my windows to
Switcher recommends to distros that use KDE by default.

So my recommendations would be:
- KDE neon (Ubuntu/Debian based)
- Fedora KDE (Fedora)
- EndeavourOS (Arch based, least noob friendly)

I would also recommend they do some poking around DistroSea

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in reply to CubitOom

I think KDE is great if you want to customize everything. But truth to be told, I think no one knows until they try. I have always seen myself a KDE guy until I had to use it longterm and then tried GNOME and found it more to my taste. I assume that is why everyone is feeling so strong about their distros and DE's, because if it really suits you, you gotta love it and you want others to find that too 😀
in reply to Liljekonvalj

During a public talk at the University of Washington in 1998, Microsoft founder Bill Gates admitted, "Although about three million computers get sold every year in China, people don't pay for the software. Someday they will, though. And as long as they're going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll get sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade."


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