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macOS
Arch Linux with Hyprland and no GUI apps except Firefox and Steam, I don’t even have a file manager
Are you the guy on the Linux memes made by Windows users?
no because I don’t use a Lynx browser… yet 👀
Damn, I almost have the exact same setup, but I have some GUI apps.
Windows 11, heavily modified with Group Policy Editor. No Microsoft account though.
I’d love to use Linux… But I’ve tried Mint, Ubuntu, pure Debian and Pop_OS and they all have severe issues with my hardware: from audio stuttering to dropped frames in hardware accelerated video decoding to random boot issues. Plus, some of the software I unfortunately use doesn’t support Linux. And even my game controller didn’t work correctly.
Same here. Tried so many different versions of Linux and none have been stable so back on Windows 11.
Most of the times it is not that it isn’t stable, is more that you’re trying to do thinks the Windows way but I get that learning the Linux way can be hard since most of the times it’s not obvious or intuitive.
Sorry, but no. Putting that on the users is a no-go.
I agree that Linux is generally stable - when it works (i.e. hardware well supported and the pains of installing and initial setup is gone). But the experience to get to that point is still far from polished, and that don’t usually has anything to do with user expectations on how the OS should work.
I’ve been using Linux on the desktop on and off since 1998 aproximately - way before it was “cool” - and that has always been the case - it was always “almost there, but not quite”. That’s not a knock on developers either (I’m a developer myself, just not on Linux) - Linux for server stuff is excellent and I’ve always used it for that, but user experience for desktop stuff always had wrinkles, and I understand how many user experience problems can be hard to solve for developers (who more often than not are volunteers) for many reasons, just let’s not put that on the users: things are the way they are for reasons that, at heart, often go beyond users or developers - market, business politics, etc.
I use Windows 11 – mildly modified – StartAllBack for a proper start menu and taskbar experience. I have it pretty much exactly as I want it without any annoyances.
I’m perfectly comfortable with Linux but I feel the same as you about using it on the desktop for all the same reasons.
Start11 to bring back the windows 10 start menu is the only reason I am able to keep windows 11 as a daily driver.
I am still lost on how anyone thought the abomination of the windows 11 start menu and the inability to move the start bar to the side or top was a good idea.
THANK YOU. I’M SO GLAD I FOUND THIS.
I can’t stand Windows 11’s start menu because I feel like it’s too basic up-front, and then when you search anything, it’s completely ad ridden. I’ve been using Startisback to fix this; however, I never really liked the start menu from Windows 7 and prior. The W10 start menu has always been my favorite.
There are also some method for disabling internet results in the start menu search; I will try to find the method I used tonight and share that.
Some distros, like Fedora, don’t come with proprietary codecs needed for MPEG or hardware video acceleration, due to legal or ideological reasons. Unfortunately, if you don’t know that you have to install them manually, or even how, which ones and where to find them, it does seem like Linux is being difficult on purpose. Most Flatpaks from Flathub (the apps you install on the Steam Deck) include those codecs, however, so at least for them it works out of the box.
In case anyone reading this wants to know how to install the necessary codecs on Fedora, here’s their documentation page to enable RPM Fusion.
That’s a good comment in general, leave it up so users can learn about it, but not applicable to my situation unfortunately. I had installed all proprietary codecs and drivers, and could verify within the browser that decoding was indeed using the correct format and hardware. It just dropped lots of frames, which the same hardware doesn’t on Windows.
In that case, I’m sorry you had such a struggle to use Linux with your hardware configuration 😔. I hope that you will have more luck the next time you try it 😉.
Windows 11 thats heavily modded with Windows 10 explorer and such. Also, I really hope we can have hyprland on Ubuntu.
What applications do you use to modify it, if you don’t mind me asking?
I use Arch btw
Arch btw
Fuck yeah Arch is the best (idk what I’m talking about I switch from Ubuntu like 2 days ago)
Arch linux
I’m also using Arch and nearly ashamed to say it because of all the memes.
Arch Linux (BTW)
Puts chain mail on
Sigh…
Windows. Because gaming.
Windows isn’t a bad OS. It’s not perfect but neither is Linux. I use Windows because I love .NET and because of gaming.
I develop on C# and game heavily, both things on Linux Mint.
How do you build ui apps on Linux?? If there’s a way to build aWPF app on Linux I’d definitely be stoked.
Specifically WPF there’s Avalonia. But you got MAUI, and Uno. I won’t say Mono, because…well…Mono. But there are choices.
If you tell me MAUI or Uno are better than WinUI I’d be tempted to try. I think I upset the poor Bing AI asking questions about WinUI the other day when it finally gave up and said something akin to “It seems like WinUI may not be ready for what you are trying to accomplish yet.”
Yup, gaming and at this point I’m pretty entrenched.
I’ve tried Linux multiple times and might try it again, but usually it comes down to gaming.
I tried gaming on Linux on a whim a few months ago and was blown away. Every Steam game I wanted to play worked as expected. Things have changed dramatically over the last few years.
It’s not for everyone and there are still some anti-cheat systems that reject Linux, but it’s worth trying if you prefer Linux.
Arch Linux on all computers for the last 10 years or so :)
Same, and although it’s treated me well I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone. If you’re interested in learning more about how the parts of an OS work together it’s great and you end up with a system customized to your needs and preferences but it’s also a decent number of hours of learning and work to get something comparable to what other Linux distros are out of the box.
Same. Was even using it on some servers years ago. I don’t anymore, but on CentOS on servers, then Alma Linux after the centos8 debacle, but now after recent red hat debacle it seems I’ll be replacing server OSs with debian. Arch all the way tho on workstations and laptops.
I like to spread out my distros so that I always come out on top. Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, Fedora, and centos. Some in real systems while others within VMs.
Maybe I should do this but I get frustrated since I feel like a beginner again in other distros. Have to web search for even basic things and also I don’t have that feeling that I know what’s going to happen when I change something, as I do in arch.
But sure, it’s really good to know all the major linux distros, if you can remember all the differences in your head and not get confused.
I run EndeavourOS. It’s like arch for noobs haha.
I didn’t really have to learn anything to use it, it just kind of works.
I do feel it’s somewhat pointless though since I didn’t have to learn anything, and I wouldn’t be able to fix it if it broke.
Its ok you know. :) I use arch for work and if I would manage to break it all the time, i would switch to something that gives me stability. We need to be productive on our computers and specially when they are used for work :)
Absolutely true! The problem is choice paralysis. I don’t know what to choose.
Do you do the same with your DE? lol
OK you got me there. Lol. I use gnome or derivation of it across all my systems. Ive used others before but in recent years it’s been gnome.
Windows 11. Don’t @ me, I don’t have the mental or physical energy to deal with Linux. I’ve never had a Linux install that’s had close to everything working, there’s always a device (network, sound, graphics, usb toaster) that doesn’t work and attempts to follow people’s instructions to fix it either make it worse or just do nothing.
Maybe I’m just useless or unlucky, but I’m due to die in a few decades and I don’t have time to deal with that nonsense when Windows does everything I want it to.
theres wayyy more windows 11 users than linux users but this is the one place the “enlightened pc users” cam flex their ability to navigate a command prompt
windows runs fine, plays every game, software is generally made for it, people who dont like it have a very niche issue with it which is fine
but its a good OS if you just want to use your computer like a normal human
Windows has a command prompt, and you can even install a Linux shell on it and use that if you need/want to these days. Windows Subsystem for Linux.
Windows 11 user here too. I just install WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) as an alternative as I’m too used to the Windows interface. Maybe one day I’ll fully switch.
WSL was cool but couldn’t do all the things I need
Recently switched back to Windows. I had Pop OS working pretty well with some workarounds for some of my favorite games, but taking time to get them working was draining.
that’s ok we all have our reasons to use whatever we are using. Im using windows but dual boot arch sometimes for coding because I own a 9 year old nvidia card. Fuck you nvidia ! I will switch uninstall windows as soon as I have enough money to upgrade to an amd gpu.
My entire homelab is Linux based. Still use Windows on my desktop.
I use windows 10 simply because it just works for my needs. Its just customizable enough for me and I’ve tried Linux and it’s too much effort to get everything I use working on there. I mostly use my PC for gaming anyways and then my laptop for work.
I heard a saying once, “Linux is for people who don’t value their time”
Thought it was pretty funny
I totally get that Linux is excellent, but the Linux community can be exhausting sometimes.
“It’s so easy to use these days!” is rapidly followed by “You just need to grep the package and recompile it for your kernel.”
I use Arch btw
Windows 10. I’m comfortable with it. I’m not sure what I’ll do when the times comes to move to 11 because I don’t like what I see going on over there. My main excuse was always comfort and gaming but the Steam Deck is showing me that gaming isn’t as much of a barrier as it used to be.
For me the only reason I don’t fully switch over is apps like photoshop and illustrator. There’s lots of FOSS that does the exact same function, but I’m very used to the keyboard commands and workflow of adobe so it’s hard for me to fully switch.
That said, I run Ubuntu and Fedora as daily drivers for like 95% of my daily computer needs. Just have to boot into windows every now and then for those things.
Can always run a linux distro with a windows VM in virtualbox to access those softwares when you need them.
I do the exact opposite rn but my plan is to switch them… whenever I get around to it…
Ya i totally could and tried that out in the past but it added so much extra time and complication to it all that I found it just didn’t make sense for me to work that way. Dual boot is a pain but if im doing any serious graphic design stuff I usually just boot into windows.
Photopea is amazing though and has cut down the need to dualboot by more than half for me :)
Yeah dual boot is probably also bad long term for your drives if you switch frequently enough.
I havent switched the host and guest either because of how much work will have to go into configuring so I get that too.
Just looked up photopea and that’s interesting I’ll have to try it out!
Linux Mint.
macOS Catalina
Ventura here
Currently on the Sonoma beta
Big Sur.
TempleOS
Chad OS enjoyer
Chad spoted
Peppermint OS , perfect for just working , and customise. But with the rise of asahi Linux my next computer will be a Mac. I also have a Windows AME install I’m not using just in case I need it. For phones , graphene OS . The best there is.
Fedora. I have yet to stumble upon stuff that doesn’t run. I have no problems working nor gaming so no need (or wish) for Windows.
+1 for Fedora. Red Hat’s new policy to restrict open source code though, IDK.
As far as I understand, because Fedora is upstream of RHEL, nothing in fedora gets restricted. Contribution from RH could get less over time.
macOS on a Hackintosh. It’s stable AF, and I love it. Use it for work and music production. Then I dual boot Windows 10 for games.
What’s your specs? I’m running a pretty old X99 build. The dual boot is my favourite part and when I eventually get a Mac Studio that’s what I am gonna miss the most.
B365 build here (2020 build).
I’m going to miss Hackintoshing and (same as you) dual booting when they go full ARM-only. But I’ll probably still rock this build for at least the next 3 years before upgrading to a Mac Studio or a Mac Mini.
I used to do this too, loved it. And planning on doing it again. Gonna miss it when macOS drops support for Intel.
Fedora Silverblue
My main system is a Dell Wyse 5070 Extended running Pop-OS, but its main purpose is to be small on my desktop while being just enough computer to run ThinLinc (which is like RDP for Linux). ThinLinc connects to a much more powerful VM in my Proxmox cluster that runs Debian 11, which is my “real” desktop where I spend all of my time.
However, I’m currently working on setting up a new server with a better CPU, more RAM and a Tesla P4, after which my “real” desktop will be a Nobara 38 VM (based on Fedora) with the Tesla card passed through.
I don’t think I understood a single word
Do you access your server in different places? Curious what the benefit is in remoting into your daily computer. Wouldn’t there be input lag? Can you watch videos through it?
The rack with my cluster is in a closet about 5 feet away from my desk. Performance with Thinlinc is great, video is no problem at all, no lag, even with my slow gigabit network.
Using a thin client at my desk to access multiple VMs depending on what I want to do is pretty ideal for me.
Unfortunately Windows. I want to switch to Linux, I really want it, but it’s my first PC game since like 20 years and even if the latest progress are great It’s not there yet for me.
Have you tried? Linux works really well for most games and frankly if you haven’t had a gaming PC in two decades there’s plenty of backlog to work on.
I haven’t tried, but I forgot to say that I also play on VR. I will try though.
I will say Proton is really great these days, and I get excellent performance in the games I care about. But personally, I would wait to try until they work out some problems with the new UI.
Someone reported the overlay problem back in the UI beta and Valve just… ignored it and proceeded with launch. It’s been 3 weeks and I still can’t use the overlay in my main game (Hunt Showdown) because of this. Pretty shocking tbh, I’ve never had a steam stability issue of this magnitude that wasn’t fixed within a day.
I game on Linux, there’s a huge amount that works perfectly. Some of the very latest games not so much but they suck anyway.
For a modern game that doesn’t suck, Cyberpunk is perfectly fine.
ProtonDB lists steam games with ratings for how well they work.
It’s rare I find one that doesn’t.
What distro would you suggest?
Linux mint 100%. It’s ubuntu but easier. Very nice vanilla interface. When you get the hang of ‘I can literally change anything and everything I want’ then go to Arch. I’ve been on Arch forever. It’s intimidating until you’re using it, and then it’s so basic.
Don’t fear the command line. I use it daily, for basic things. Learn how to make aliases for your bashrc. I can type ‘gpusage’ into my CLI and I’ll see all the stats for my graphics card in real time.
I bet you would be able to understand half of what’s going here already without me explaining anything:
alias gpusage=‘watch nvidia-smi’
i think people overthink this decision because of the sheer amount of competition (and perhaps snobbery) online. have a look at some, see what might work best for you, but once you learn how they work i think it’s all much for muchness. good place to start might be looking at fedora or linux mint.
i use arch btw
Gentoo with a custom tiling window manager written in x86 assembly in my free time.
Just kidding, I use Windows.
I use Arch Linux.
Debian 12
Windows10, cause I’m a basic bitch. I’ve tried to run Linux a couple times years ago, but games not running properly and me not getting over the learning curve always got in the way.
You should give it another go now then. Gaming on Linux is very good nowadays with many games supporting the OS directly (even more now thanks to SteamDeck) and there are many ways to run even games that don’t. Also, there is a lot of Linux distributions that are extremely easy to setup and maintain.
Linux Mint
Windows 10.
I don’t want to upgrade to 11 if I have to use 11’s UI
I do have a minipc with windows 11 on it. It’s ok, not great. I honestly prefer the flexibility of a Linux distro to the locked down not able to change , or find anything, of windows 11.
Gentoo
There are dozens of us! Dozens!
I Gentoo myself!
I use ArseLinux btw.
Arch Linux (no meme)
Me: ArchLinux + meme
Iusearchlinux.fyi