You can remove Windows completely from your life with very little effort, no matter where you live and it’s free! In the world of today there is no need whatsoever for that exploitive and in short bad OS anymore.
unless you want your programs to run
I mean some stuff is still running windows 98. What programs are you really needing to run?
Same ol Adobe and Microsoft products
God I love people that pretend switching to Linux is for everyone. They’re the same dipshits that install Mint on their grandmothers machine without asking, then get defensive when she takes issue with it.
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I want to say that there’s no way people would install Linux without consent on someone else’s machine, but people have done crazier things.
I got a good one. That mandatory garbage Cricut software.
I think almost every Microsoft product has a FOSS alternative (that works in windows usually too) if you want to get away from them. GamePass/The Xbox app/Windows store doesn’t, but that’s almost it. If there isn’t an alternative, it’s not unlikely that it’ll work through WINE. What software specifically are you looking for?
Microsoft office and games with anticheat are two big categories.
There are alternatives for office. LibreOffice, which has been around forever.
As for anti-cheat, yeah that’s up to the devs. Easy Anti-cheat supports Linux in the latest version, but it requires developers to implement it. I’ve been playing Hunt Showdown and it’s fine. Counterstrike obviously works. I’d say on average, most anti-cheat is fine. It does require actual effort on the devs though, unlike games that just run with WINE/Proton totally fine most of the time without them doing anything.
LibreOffice is great if you don’t need perfect compatibility with Microsoft office. If you do, the only good option is, well Microsoft Office.
Ableton Live with plugins is osx or windows. Windows if you want custom hardware in any meaningful sense.
Which one? apache2? mysql? php-fpm? python? ftp? smb? nodejs?
Not sure about you, but I’m using those to make my living.
This comment is so out of touch.
I work in CAD and 3D printing and I’d be completely dead in the water if I used Linux.
No fusion 360, no cura
I bet there are plenty of other apps that I rely on that are not available on Linux.
I’m not some sort of Windows fanboy either. I’m disgusted with their action in the recent years.
I run Linux on my home server, but not my main computing machine
Let’s be realistic here, your experience is not universal
To be fair, PrusaSlicer and its derivatives do have native Linux support. And you can use Onshape from the browser on Linux just fine and it is honestly really good. I do a lot of this stuff too
I’m not an expert, but I really doubt that most open source software can compete with the features and support of enterprise products. In almost every industry there are FOSS alternatives to professional software, but they mostly get ignored. If you really could pump out the same quality of work as quickly, I don’t think that most companies would forego the opportunity to save some money on licensing fees.
Well, first off I wasn’t presenting a “FOSS first” argument here. Onshape is a closed-source browser based CAD software but it works really well and I enjoy it. PrusaSlicer IS FOSS, but it is developed by the folks at Prusa who build the Prusa i3 printers - it is widely considered to be the “standard” for 3D printing slicers, better than CURA for sure.
Second off, this argument has an element of truth but kind of misses the plot. It is DEFINITELY possible for FOSS to be better and widely used and there are a couple of examples. I don’t have a ton of time right now but just for fun I’ll list a few. Blender is a great one, don’t really need to explain how good it is. Also, KiCAD is really good these days too, second only to Altium. There are many more as well!
I agree that’s it’s possible, and hopefully it gets to be more common in the future. It’s hard to compete with professional software since they often have large full-time dev and support teams, but there is a handful of examples of FOSS software that debatably outperform the competition.
Agreed, I hate how people blindly use Windows because “that’s what my shitty HP laptop shipped with”
…unless you have a machine that doesn’t run linux well.
If it’s been a while you could try again as the kernel gets updated with support for various hardware.
One of my laptops was awful with Linux but after a good while I tried reinstalling a fresh distro and it ran like a dream.
Yeah. Many of the complaints surrounding Linux and hardware are BS. But complaints about Linux running well on cutting edge hardware are often founded.
Linux devs can only stary supporting new hardware once they have access to it or to accurate specs. Often, this is only once the hardware has been released.
But 6-month old, and moreso 1-year old hardware? Generally works like a (good) dream.
This is why hardware vendors that design for Linux are so important (thanks, System 76!).
Yeah. I was thinking of a particular gaming laptop, which does run almost perfectly with the latest kernels. But it’s not all the way there yet.
As in the PC has some hardware which only has proprietary drivers from the manufacturer?
Correct.
You can run linux on just any hardware, yet somehow the capitalist still manage to fuck it up.
Or newer open source drivers that are buggy or missing features.
Sort of?
I run Visual Studio Enterprise, no, VS Code is not sufficient for some needs.
I have to edit complex PDFs in Adobe. Free, open source readers are not enough.
Even the best linux RDP or WebRTC or otherwise apps still don’t seem to provide quite the same speed as RDP into windows hosts/servers.
I have to use Teams daily across multiple orgs, and the seemingly discontinued Linux support in lieu of the less-featured browser app / PWA just doesn’t fly.
I’ve found building windows apps on Linux, while seemingly supposed to be net similar, often times do not turn out right.
Need full featured O365 to integrate with your work’s O365? No go. Closest is installing edge on Linux and using the web version, which is subpar.
I hate windows, I use Linux when I can, but to say you can remove it from your life with very little effort is a blanket statement that is just unrealistic for many. To say there is no need is just off base.
Source: I use Windows, PopOS, KDE, Mint, and that apple OS thing that I hate more than Windows.
I agree it’s very easy and takes very little force to remove windows from your life. Adopting another OS in the other hand…
Like that would fix the OS.
But can you remove Windows from Windows?
Delete system 32
Nice try, but you need permission from SYSTEM to delete system32.
You need to triforce it.
Throw a brick at Windows to brick it.
Does this also impact Apple, will they also need to allow removing Safari? If yes, is it possible that they might allow removing other things like iMessage and Apple TV?
On macOS it’s always been possible to remove built in apps. To do so now though requires disabling SIP and mounting as R/W. Then you can use something like this to remove all traces https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/
They regenerate after an update, there is also a way to remove Edge on Windows by manually running the uninstaller from the terminal with some options, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s not easy and you can’t just uninstall it like any other app.
there is also a way to remove Edge on Windows by manually running the uninstaller from the terminal with some options
Well to this statement, no. Microsoft disabled that method with the release of 22H2. Attempting to do so now does nothing. I was aware of this and it was shared on Reddit and other forums all the time until it stopped working. In fact, just six months ago people were sharing it on Reddit and realized it wasn’t working. https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/140d0y2/how_do_i_uninstall_microsoft_edge/
I do agree with the sentiment. It should be easy to uninstall these apps.
Manually removing the files is still an option 😈
I don’t understand why they won’t allow it even with the command line. People who hate Edge and want to uninstall it to free up disk space should be able to. They will never use it anyway (max accidentally).
If even MS themselves calls it “benefits”, why not enable it for all by default?
Because fuck you.
This needs to happen with Appl too. AppleTV/Safari/Messages/etc app for MacOS + SIP my ass. Its not integral and if you’ve made it so you need to unmake it so, along with other bundled crap. SIP should literally refer to that and only that in aggregate which is necessary to ensure the system is able to function, not per se function in an un-overruleable way for the maker.
Don’t forget TV brands like samsung and LG who force some apps down your throat even if you don’t want them. You can’t remove those apps. Amazon is even worse with their firetv devices, they just install apps on your behalf that you can’t remove. We don’t own anything anymore.
I give it less than a year before this goes the way of the Windows 10 start menu registry tweak.
Can you just do right click uninstall? or do you have to follow a 12 step hacker method that would cause updates to stop working until you reinstall windows again?
Windows has become the most bloated ad-infested spyware os in existance and more people are leaving it more than ever before. In just few more years, it will be a thing of the past
Reading the article, you do some registry edits to tell Windows that it’s in Europe. Then you uninstall as if you were in Europe. No word on what other consequences this might have.
If you have to tell Windows that you are in Europe then the title is nonsense.
“You too can drink alcohol even if you’re underage”… All you have to do is Lie, and get a fake ID". > Wow thanks.
This is what I want to know as well. Is it a simple process or more involved?
Debloat windows if you need to use it for work or something
A youtuber that actually devs and provides tools for the public?
What a gigachad.
Or just use Bulk Crap Uninstaller
Still waiting for that LTSC
A reminder that you own your machine. If you chose the paid-spyware OS, why complain about it?
Linux users when somebody doesn’t type out an essay to install a program
What I do to install software on my Linux PC:
Open the app store. Search. Click install. Done.
Updates are done through the same app store that I used to install it.
What I do to install software on my Windows PC:
Open my web browser. Search for the software. Pick the right website (with most software this is easy, for some software it’s not immediately clear, be careful not to download from a dodgy site). Navigate to the downloads page. Pick 64-bit Windows (not Mac!). Press download. Open file explorer. Navigate to Downloads. Find the installer exe. Double click. Go through the installer. Press next/tick/untick options. Press finish. Go back to the file explorer, delete the installer exe. Go to my desktop, delete the shortcut it has added (I hate it how every installer seems to do this!)
Updates are either done when I open the app and it does a check, which is frustrating, when I open an app I want it to open, I don’t want to see a prompt to update, OR through a separate updater app that runs at startup, making my PC sluggish at boot.
There are shortcomings in Linux, and there are things Windows does pretty well. It’s funny that you picked the thing Linux is literally the best at hands down, and Windows is the worst at, hands down. It’d be like if you complained about MacOS not being visually consistent lol
You should have picked something that Linux is genuinely bad at, like HDR support or something.
E: pictures say a thousand words. Here’s the difference:
Installing an app on Windows: https://imgur.com/a/QoLzZlk
Installing an app on Linux: https://imgur.com/a/prsi9ZW
Again, truly, I’m not here to say Windows is unusable and Linux is perfect, but of all the examples to praise windows and shit on Linux for, you chose software installation? Are you actually insane?? lmao
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I’m sorry, but the “fragmentation” of Linux distros and the number of ways to install a program on Linux are also issues.
On Linux (or at least Ubuntu), you have to manage sources to install some programs, and that is WAY too complex for an end user. Fine, you can always use the CLI or search online, but then you run into fragmentation issues. “Why is there no Ubuntu download? Do I click the RPM one?”
On Windows, yes, it’s more clicks on average, but it’s a very consistent experience across all programs. You either open up the Microsoft Store, or you Google the name of the program you want and hit “next” until it’s done. No managing sources and no deciding which file extension you need. The only issue would be deciding between 32 bit and 64 bit.
No, you search the store, pick the app, press install. The end user doesn’t care or know whether the package manager is installing a flatpak or an RPM.
It’s not like people installing Windows programs need to know whether the installer is an .exe or an .MSI file, they just know that pressing the installer they downloaded brings up an installer. They don’t need to know about the low-level packaging fundamentals.
It’s not just more clicks on average, it’s more confusion, more prone to installing non-genuine software, and still fragmented. Do I install 32 bit? 64? Arm32? Arm64?
As for there are too many ways to install a program, what nonsense is that? You’re not made to open the terminal, just as you are not made to open powershell and use Winget. You can literally use this exact same argument against windows, yet you aren’t.
Look at the pictures I linked to. One is far easier than the other, and Windows isn’t the easy one.
Uhm actually its very easy you just
Sudo apt ant sofo lror irir 8 6 9 7778 k j hofor -76
And press enter and debug your missing dependencies for the next two weeks, I mean how hard is that?
You’re so incredibly dumb. Smart people know that you should really write a script with vim and then run it. I only had to restart my computer once before saving!
I once got stuck in vim. I had to kill it. Then I uninstalled it.
I wish Nano was the default on everything. The fact that Git on Windows uses Vim is so incredibly annoying.
More like:
Search in the app store, press install.
As opposed to the absolute nightmare of finding executables on random websites, downloading them, running an installer program, pressing next a bunch of times, then deleting the installer afterwards.
App management is something Linux does very well, and Windows very poorly.
On no other OS is it the norm to do it like you’re expected to do it on Windows.
I can chat about bad points in Linux all day, I’m not blind to the faults of any of these OSes, but a Windows user saying installing software on Linux is hard really does have me giggling
E: pictures say a thousand words. Here’s the difference:
Installing an app on Windows: https://imgur.com/a/QoLzZlk
Installing an app on Linux: https://imgur.com/a/prsi9ZW
Need I say more?
E2: people still saying installing apps in Windows is easier despite photographic evidence to the contrary cannot be helped. You’ve gone too deep. Next you’ll be saying climate change isn’t real and the earth is flat lmao. The evidence is right there in front of you!
I’m afraid Linux is more complex for most regular people.
Yes, a lot of stuff is managed by a package manager (though you have to decide between 2-3 options of the same app, as one is flatpak and one is something else you’ve never come across before) and when that works, it’s great. But it’s far from comprehensive.
I’d rather press ‘next’ or ‘ok’ a few times than have to learn an entirely new and non-intuituve language and interface just to add an app or driver that is among the 20% of stuff that still won’t just work out the box.
I really don’t know where you’re getting this impression from.
I search for software. It’s there, I see an install button. I press it. You can click a drop down to pick between, say, an RPM package or a flatpak, but it’s not something a normal user would do.
Installing windows programs, as I’ve already said, is a lot more than just pressing ok. It relies on knowing what site to pick, finding the download page, picking the right installer, finding the exe you downloaded, going through the install wizard, deleting the installer after.
It’s not easier. IMO app management is the biggest weakness of Windows. There’s a reason genuinely no other OS has that as the standard way to install programs.
I don’t understand the part about learning a new language either? What? I open the app store, I search, I press install. There’s no need for multiple languages? And the interface is a lot more intuitive than finding the right download on every single website, that all look different, and going through every installer, most of which look different.
Seriously, if you were talking about idk, HDR or gaming (outside of emulation where it’s a solid Linux win) or something, I’d be agreeing with you and saying Windows is easier, despite Valve getting Linux pretty close.
But installing programs? Nah, Windows is the one that’s a complicated clusterfuck. People are just used to it so they don’t really think about it.
E: lmao you people are downvoting yet you can’t refute it. Stop simping for a $2.8tn dollar company. I’ve already proven what I’ve said is true. Me criticising an OS isn’t a personal attack lol, stop fanboying.
I’m getting this impression as someone who just installed Linux mint, because people like yourself who say there won’t be problems and it will all just work. It didn’t. There were problems, and there still are.
Even on Linux I still have to search online for info and for what app to install to meet my needs. Which also relies on knowing what site to trust, and what info you find varies hugely from helpful to incomprehensible for a beginner. Especially when there’s a hundred unfamiliar options.
The whole finding downloading and installing something on windows is straightforward for most people. Search, go to site, select, install, follow instructions. Done. I’m not sure why you’re making it sound like some frought and impenetrable nightmare. There’s also the windows app store for (like the mint package manager) about 80% of stuff.
Honestly, I don’t find the package manager much different, since I still need to search for something (to identify the right software / tool etc). And hope it’s included in the package manager. Then I’m asked to approve some dependencys that I have no way, as a beginner, of evaluating of they’re safe or not. So just click ok, and just have to trust the package manager / software (Another click) is safe. No different to me that some downloaded executable on windows.
And as for the different versions, yes, I mean why are there two or three versions of Firefox when I search in the Mint package manager? What makes flatpak ine different from the other one? How can I evaluate ? As a new user, even the descriptions don’t help.
And when I say a new language, I’m talking about having to go into the terminal (?) And enter a bunch of unfamiliar commands that I have no idea if they’re the right or safe thing to do, In order to be able to get something to work. In my case a switch pro controller and an Xbox one controller (when the pro didn’t work). Both of which just work on windows. That’s just one example, and I don’t think it’s an especially unique or niche one for someone coming from windows. Got them to work on Yuzu, but wouldn’t work with a browser for some reason.
To be clear, I’m not dissing Linux (nor you!) I just don’t believe it’s easier that Windows, nor does it yet feel ready to help a new user do fairly ‘normal’ stuff they might want to. I also recently started using a Mac, and while that was laerning curve, it was still far more novice friendly than Mint. In my experience.
I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. I didn’t mean to do that.
I’m getting this impression as someone who just installed Linux mint, because people like yourself who say there won’t be problems
Anybody who tells you you won’t experience any issues on a piece of software as large, capable, and complex as a desktop OS is lying. Don’t tell me I’m a person who’d say that, because I’m not. You will face an issue from time to time on Linux. You will face an issue from time to time on Windows. You will face an issue from time to time on MacOS.
Even on Linux I still have to search online for info and for what app to install to meet my needs. Which also relies on knowing what site to trust, and what info you find varies hugely from helpful to incomprehensible for a beginner. Especially when there’s a hundred unfamiliar options.
Applies just as much to Windows (or Mac) as it does to Linux. We aren’t born with intimate knowledge of every program ever made.
At least on Mac or Linux the app stores (that people actually use btw) have app categories and spotlights on apps to help you find good ones.
The whole finding downloading and installing something on windows is straightforward
I’m sorry but no it isn’t. You’re just used to it. There’s a difference. It’s an awful and potentially dangerous way to get software. It’s worse and it’s needlessly cumbersome and complicated.
I keep repeating this, but there is a reason nobody else follows that model.
To me, it’s a fatal flaw in Windows that Microsoft needs to sort out. I’m struggling to even sum up in words how much of a broken system it is. There’s no defending it. Even Microsoft themselves acknowledge it’s a broken system.
E: pictures say a thousand words. Here’s the difference:
Installing an app on Windows: https://imgur.com/a/QoLzZlk
Installing an app on Linux: https://imgur.com/a/prsi9ZW
Come on. Don’t try to gaslight me into thinking that’s intuitive, straightforward, or convenient. Because it isn’t. You’re lying to me and to yourself.
There’s also the windows app store
Which has barely any apps, a malware problem, and is full of open source apps uploaded by people who aren’t the original developer, charging money for them. Even the most die hard windows fans think the Windows store is bad.
And when I say a new language, I’m talking about having to go into the terminal (?) And enter a bunch of unfamiliar commands
You don’t need to use the terminal. I could make this same complaint about the command prompt, powershell, or windows terminal (why are there 3, btw, Microsoft?! Why make this needlessly confusing??) Or about having to navigate the nightmare that is the Windows Registry when something doesn’t work.
In my case a switch pro controller and an Xbox one controller (when the pro didn’t work). Both of which just work on windows.
Huh. I have the opposite experience. I plug a controlled into my Linux PC, it just works. Not the same on windows. Ironically, Microsoft’s own controllers work better on Linux than they do on Windows. And don’t get me started on using PlayStation controllers on Windows.
Tbf Microsoft wants you to rely on their store to install things. People just don’t trust it, for obvious reasons.
That’s true. And if they actually did more vetting of their app store I’d probably use it!
But right now it seems to be full of software that isn’t updated as frequently as the separate installers for some reason, missing almost all apps, or has open source apps uploaded by someone who isn’t the original developer, and charging money for it…
Even if they vetted their apps properly, I’d still not want to use it tbh. Microsoft is untrustworthy, even from a “massive corporation” perspective.
