Not even going down that track, I’ve been messing with Linux for 15yr and happy to say about 2yr ago switched to Linux mint daily driver and not going back. Can do everything I need to:
Work (teams, prospect mail for Outlook, zoom, etc)
Gaming (Steam and Proton make playing 95% games a reality and actually works great surprisingly)
Music Production (Bitwig - truly awesome DAW very comparable to Ableton live - no BS actually is a TRUE contender and great and stable DAW, by far the best ever used in Linux)
I tried to but it’s still too janky for my taste. Every bigger update breaks something (I am lucky if it doesn’t break the OS as a whole which happened few times). For gaming I have issues with alt-tabbing stuff that’s completely janky for ages and I find that function crucial to consider it as a gaming OS.
It’s the same all over again.
MS got a slap on their wrists with the browser choice tool they had to introduce in Windows 7.
Then everyone forgot about it and they started forcing Edge on users.
Now they get a slap on their wrist again and the same will happen in another 10 years.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s really awesome and I’m glad that EU regulations actually have a impact. But I still wish for more, more permanent and stricter anti monopoly laws.
According to Microsoft almost everything from Microsoft is cross platform, because it works in both Windows 10 and 11. That’s good enough for Microsoft to be cross platform. I’m not even kidding!
Are you a bot? This comment doesn’t even make sense. How is it stupid that Microsoft won’t shove Edge in your face anymore? Do you like all the nagging?
I’m under no illusions that Linux is a viable alternative for everyone, but if you’re just using your computer as a web terminal and light gaming system, a decent Linux system + Steam makes for a very usable option these days.
I have exactly one computer in my house that has Windows on it. It was provided by my employer, and I turn it on maybe once every two weeks or so, for special-purpose activities that can’t be done on my Linux laptop. And most of the time, for most activities my Linux laptop is the clearly superior performer - it’s not even close, despite their similar hardware specs.
I don’t think everyone should - or can - switch. But if you’ve got an old beater laptop gathering dust, try popping Ubuntu or something on it, see how it performs. See if it’s something you could legitimately switch to full or part time.
At this point in time, I only occasionally have mild issues with newest games, because Wine is a continuously developed software, and games with an annoying anticheat, such as Destiny 2 or R6 Siege. Everything else just runs, including older games, that don’t even run on Windows, or titles you had to sail the seas for
Yeah it’s great. Bottles is the best tool imo, lutris almost feels like a relic from the early days of Linux gaming, and non-steam games in steam don’t always work exactly how you might want, and aren’t so much fun. There is also heroic games launcher now which lets you add custom games and is also a very nice option if you don’t use gnome (bottles is a gnome style app so it may look out of place elsewhere). I would put some thorough research into VPNs if you torrent though because the one I used on my Linux box (expressvpn) leaked my ip at some point and I got a letter in the mail.
not OP but similar situation. My Linux desktop is just more snappy, despite being 5 years old (and the work Win11 laptop brand new). I already have customized with my shortcuts and apps. I don’t have to listen to the fan spinning up every time I open a new window (exaggerating a bit, but not much). Also I am not tied to work filters. If I want to read the news online for 5 minutes in a coffee break I don’t risk being monitored and potentially evaluated. But really, I’ve been a Windows and Linux user for 20-odd years. I’ve always found that Linux installed on the same hardware of Windows is just smoother and faster. Windows is getting so much bloatware (from MS or enterprise apps) that it doesn’t even have a fighting chance.
My comment isn’t really a viable argument but I’ve been thinking about how an advert for Linux would be:
“The top 500 supercomputers in the world run Linux, don’t you want to feel like having a supercomputer at home? Why wait? Get your Linux for free today!”
Not really to be taken seriously, but if you want a real argument and example:
My laptop is really laggy with windows 10, and it came preinstalled with it. Recently I tried dual-booting Linux and Windows, and Windows was simply too slow. I am so accustomed with Linux’s speed that I wiped Windows off it. Never again.
Depending on the situation, it actually can make huge differences.  For instance, I built my computer in 2010 it’s 13yrs old now. it can’t run windows 11 and while it can run windows 10 it runs like complete shit. Start up would take forever even on a fresh install, half the time Windows freezes just trying to get to the desktop after a fresh reboot. at idle background processes from windows would leave me running over 50% CPU usage just idling and opening anything like Firefox and Discord at the same time would jump to 100% CPU usage.
On Linux it runs just as good as the day I built it. Startup takes around 30 seconds and I can actually start working the moment I’m on the desktop, no freezing or waiting for background startup processes to finish. I currently at this moment have around 20 workspaces (aka virtual desktops) open across three monitors, within those work spaces is hundreds of tabs open in Firefox, simultaneously playing RuneScape and dwarf fortress. A bunch of terminals, SSH sessions, and other miscellaneous work stuff running. a ton of docker containers running, I also have both discord with a call going and Spotify playing in the background and I am setting at 30% CPU usage with the occasional spike to 50%. I can actually use my computer to do a ton of stuff and have power left over while windows would max out and freeze up just the start up, even on fresh installs. And it’s not just this one old computer, I can consistently see rather large performance differences going from Windows to Linux across the number of different computers. 
I’m on Fedora 38 with I3 WM and a few kde apps, originally installed as 35 and just upgraded since. Before that was arch briefly and before that was debian. 
I went with Fedora because I need my computer to work without issue when it’s time to work and on arch I spent more time tinkering and getting things working then actually working. I still think just plain Debian a solid choice and I use it on a lot of servers but as a desktop, I felt like I ran into a lot of outdated packages. With Fedora I’m getting up-to-date packages yet I have never had an update break the system.  I also prefer DNF and their repository over apt and deb files. It’s all just personal preference though. You just gotta try them all and see what you like!
I appreciate you taking the time to describe why you chose Fedora; now I’m tempted to try it, lol. I’m downloading the 38 Budgie spin now and adding it to the list. (It’ll run like shit with apps until I upgrade the RAM on my Macbook, but the minimum hardware reqs are met and I can still look at it and see what it does out of the box.) Thanks!
Good luck on your Linux journey! I’ve never tried the Bungie spin, but Fedora is a very solid distro and I bet it’ll work great. Those MacBooks with Linux are so nice! I ran a 2011 MBP with a mix of plain Debian and Ubuntu for awhile and the battery life on that thing was amazing!
Give me GOG Galaxy and Path of Exile on Linux and I would install it now. Last time I wanted to switch, I installed everything I needed, went to download GOG and remembered why I switch back last time. :(
The huge difference between FTC and EC in terms of the mandate of their operation. Whereas the Sherman Law and FTC are operating with aim to protect customers’ rights or something like that, EC anti-monopoly law is oriented just on that: fighting anti-competitive behaviour. The problem is IMHO that “customer rights” is so flexible term, that (with good support in the campaign contributions, I am sure) it is easy to persuade FTC that almost anything you do is perfectly nice. EC’s anti-monopoly mandate is on the other hand rather strict and inflexible.
Especially when you hire a former Verizon lawyer as head of the FTC, and they do their best to dismantle it from the inside, and then the next person you hire needs to spend a bunch of their time rebuilding what was torn down.
Too late, I already shoved Linux Mint into my new gaming laptop and I’m glad I felt forced to do it, I’m having my first serious dive into Linux and I’m thrilled about my newfound project!
I was so surprised over how very little knowledge you needed to have games running these days.
You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: !technology@lemmy.world
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Not even going down that track, I’ve been messing with Linux for 15yr and happy to say about 2yr ago switched to Linux mint daily driver and not going back. Can do everything I need to:
Work (teams, prospect mail for Outlook, zoom, etc)
Gaming (Steam and Proton make playing 95% games a reality and actually works great surprisingly)
Music Production (Bitwig - truly awesome DAW very comparable to Ableton live - no BS actually is a TRUE contender and great and stable DAW, by far the best ever used in Linux)
Windows 11 can suck it
I tried to but it’s still too janky for my taste. Every bigger update breaks something (I am lucky if it doesn’t break the OS as a whole which happened few times). For gaming I have issues with alt-tabbing stuff that’s completely janky for ages and I find that function crucial to consider it as a gaming OS.
Round and round and round.
It’s the same all over again. MS got a slap on their wrists with the browser choice tool they had to introduce in Windows 7.
Then everyone forgot about it and they started forcing Edge on users. Now they get a slap on their wrist again and the same will happen in another 10 years.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s really awesome and I’m glad that EU regulations actually have a impact. But I still wish for more, more permanent and stricter anti monopoly laws.
Now do cross-platform messaging next!
According to Microsoft almost everything from Microsoft is cross platform, because it works in both Windows 10 and 11. That’s good enough for Microsoft to be cross platform. I’m not even kidding!
This is good. But they need to target google and chrome next.
I started clapping with a smile and then I said, good for eu but I live in canada lol.
Goddammit, now I’m even more disappointed in the UK doing a Brexit…
Maybe because of DSA?
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Are you a bot? This comment doesn’t even make sense. How is it stupid that Microsoft won’t shove Edge in your face anymore? Do you like all the nagging?
Nope. Swiped on the wrong link to make a comment. There were two posts one above another and I must have hit the wrong one on mobile.
I’m under no illusions that Linux is a viable alternative for everyone, but if you’re just using your computer as a web terminal and light gaming system, a decent Linux system + Steam makes for a very usable option these days.
I have exactly one computer in my house that has Windows on it. It was provided by my employer, and I turn it on maybe once every two weeks or so, for special-purpose activities that can’t be done on my Linux laptop. And most of the time, for most activities my Linux laptop is the clearly superior performer - it’s not even close, despite their similar hardware specs.
I don’t think everyone should - or can - switch. But if you’ve got an old beater laptop gathering dust, try popping Ubuntu or something on it, see how it performs. See if it’s something you could legitimately switch to full or part time.
I would switch tomorrow if I didn’t play competitive CS that requires third-party anti-cheat like Faceit/ ESEA.
Which version of CS? Many of them work fine now.
CSGO. all those anti cheat clients are kernel level and only work on windows AFAIK
Is Linux still a good option for gaming if one were to not purchase games?
At this point in time, I only occasionally have mild issues with newest games, because Wine is a continuously developed software, and games with an annoying anticheat, such as Destiny 2 or R6 Siege. Everything else just runs, including older games, that don’t even run on Windows, or titles you had to sail the seas for
Take your piracy back to the piracy sub
Take your ignorance elsewhere
Yeah it’s great. Bottles is the best tool imo, lutris almost feels like a relic from the early days of Linux gaming, and non-steam games in steam don’t always work exactly how you might want, and aren’t so much fun. There is also heroic games launcher now which lets you add custom games and is also a very nice option if you don’t use gnome (bottles is a gnome style app so it may look out of place elsewhere). I would put some thorough research into VPNs if you torrent though because the one I used on my Linux box (expressvpn) leaked my ip at some point and I got a letter in the mail.
How or why does Linux have a higher performance for you?
not OP but similar situation. My Linux desktop is just more snappy, despite being 5 years old (and the work Win11 laptop brand new). I already have customized with my shortcuts and apps. I don’t have to listen to the fan spinning up every time I open a new window (exaggerating a bit, but not much). Also I am not tied to work filters. If I want to read the news online for 5 minutes in a coffee break I don’t risk being monitored and potentially evaluated. But really, I’ve been a Windows and Linux user for 20-odd years. I’ve always found that Linux installed on the same hardware of Windows is just smoother and faster. Windows is getting so much bloatware (from MS or enterprise apps) that it doesn’t even have a fighting chance.
deleted by creator
My comment isn’t really a viable argument but I’ve been thinking about how an advert for Linux would be:
“The top 500 supercomputers in the world run Linux, don’t you want to feel like having a supercomputer at home? Why wait? Get your Linux for free today!”
Not really to be taken seriously, but if you want a real argument and example:
My laptop is really laggy with windows 10, and it came preinstalled with it. Recently I tried dual-booting Linux and Windows, and Windows was simply too slow. I am so accustomed with Linux’s speed that I wiped Windows off it. Never again.
Probably just down to less stuff running in the background using up CPU cycles. I can’t imagine it makes a huge difference, but more than nothing.
Also, the file system. For the longest time windows used NTFS exclusively, which is (or was) slower than Ext4 (the most widely used on Linux).
I think MS is moving away from NTFS and are going to use a different file system in the near future (maybe even now, I don’t know anymore)
Depending on the situation, it actually can make huge differences.  For instance, I built my computer in 2010 it’s 13yrs old now. it can’t run windows 11 and while it can run windows 10 it runs like complete shit. Start up would take forever even on a fresh install, half the time Windows freezes just trying to get to the desktop after a fresh reboot. at idle background processes from windows would leave me running over 50% CPU usage just idling and opening anything like Firefox and Discord at the same time would jump to 100% CPU usage.
On Linux it runs just as good as the day I built it. Startup takes around 30 seconds and I can actually start working the moment I’m on the desktop, no freezing or waiting for background startup processes to finish. I currently at this moment have around 20 workspaces (aka virtual desktops) open across three monitors, within those work spaces is hundreds of tabs open in Firefox, simultaneously playing RuneScape and dwarf fortress. A bunch of terminals, SSH sessions, and other miscellaneous work stuff running. a ton of docker containers running, I also have both discord with a call going and Spotify playing in the background and I am setting at 30% CPU usage with the occasional spike to 50%. I can actually use my computer to do a ton of stuff and have power left over while windows would max out and freeze up just the start up, even on fresh installs. And it’s not just this one old computer, I can consistently see rather large performance differences going from Windows to Linux across the number of different computers. 
If I may ask, what distro did you settle on? I’m trying out a handful myself right now.
I’m on Fedora 38 with I3 WM and a few kde apps, originally installed as 35 and just upgraded since. Before that was arch briefly and before that was debian.  I went with Fedora because I need my computer to work without issue when it’s time to work and on arch I spent more time tinkering and getting things working then actually working. I still think just plain Debian a solid choice and I use it on a lot of servers but as a desktop, I felt like I ran into a lot of outdated packages. With Fedora I’m getting up-to-date packages yet I have never had an update break the system.  I also prefer DNF and their repository over apt and deb files. It’s all just personal preference though. You just gotta try them all and see what you like!
I appreciate you taking the time to describe why you chose Fedora; now I’m tempted to try it, lol. I’m downloading the 38 Budgie spin now and adding it to the list. (It’ll run like shit with apps until I upgrade the RAM on my Macbook, but the minimum hardware reqs are met and I can still look at it and see what it does out of the box.) Thanks!
Good luck on your Linux journey! I’ve never tried the Bungie spin, but Fedora is a very solid distro and I bet it’ll work great. Those MacBooks with Linux are so nice! I ran a 2011 MBP with a mix of plain Debian and Ubuntu for awhile and the battery life on that thing was amazing!
Give me GOG Galaxy and Path of Exile on Linux and I would install it now. Last time I wanted to switch, I installed everything I needed, went to download GOG and remembered why I switch back last time. :(
I use heroic launcher, works perfectly for me
I use Lutris to install my GOG games, Battle.NET, EA launcher, and Ubisoft Play. It’s a very simple solution.
“Microsoft forced to stop forcing Windows 11 users into Edge in EU countries”, would be a more descriptive title.
This. Current title is misleading.
But the multinational hyper-conglomerates are our friends and the most efficient use of capital!
What setting can I put in to make Windows think its in the EU?
This may or may not help you, I don’t have a Windows 11 install to try: https://www.elevenforum.com/t/change-country-or-region-geographic-location-geoid-in-windows-11.4034/
Is it just me, or does the EU legislators actually care about their citizens?
Any EU citizens that can confirm?
Hard to say but in the end my life quality is waaaaaay better after EU accession.
confirmed
The huge difference between FTC and EC in terms of the mandate of their operation. Whereas the Sherman Law and FTC are operating with aim to protect customers’ rights or something like that, EC anti-monopoly law is oriented just on that: fighting anti-competitive behaviour. The problem is IMHO that “customer rights” is so flexible term, that (with good support in the campaign contributions, I am sure) it is easy to persuade FTC that almost anything you do is perfectly nice. EC’s anti-monopoly mandate is on the other hand rather strict and inflexible.
Especially when you hire a former Verizon lawyer as head of the FTC, and they do their best to dismantle it from the inside, and then the next person you hire needs to spend a bunch of their time rebuilding what was torn down.
It’s not perfect by any means, but I’m glad to have it and can’t think of any other political organisation doing more “good”.
The ratio of helpful/shit behavior is not great, but we do have both.
Too late, I already shoved Linux Mint into my new gaming laptop and I’m glad I felt forced to do it, I’m having my first serious dive into Linux and I’m thrilled about my newfound project! I was so surprised over how very little knowledge you needed to have games running these days.
If you are having battery life problems like I was I would recomend using powertop or tlp
Thanks, it feels much better already, I will check it out!
Ha I did the same and jumped to mint also. Windows got so damn laggy such a shitty OS.