441
Your Windows 10 PC will soon be 'junk' - users told to resist Microsoft deadline
(www.express.co.uk)
this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2023
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I'm so sick of hearing this and I use Linux on a daily basis
Installing Linux for us nerds is just something we know how to do. Asking a computer "normie" (which is, basically everyone else) to change their operating system is just not happening.
I couldn't imagine trying to step my mum through installing Linux if I stood next to her, and I wouldn't class her as stupid.
I maintain that for Linux to obtain mass adoption it either needs to be preinstalled or make it no different to install than a regular Windows program (which is damn near impossible).
I'd consider myself a nerd but still prefer Windows.
Some years ago I was in a Vocational college for IT and I had to deal with Ubuntu, Debian and Opensuse. I hated every second of it. I also had to deal with iMacs but that's another story.
I'm a computer nerd. I do tech support for everyone in the family. I keep trying Linux intermittently and end up uninstalling it and find I can't use it as a daily driver. Although the day I will be able to use it is getting closer. The Steam Deck is helping with this. Also Chat GPT is great for finding solutions for things that either require trawling though tons of online forums or getting shamed for asking.
I use Linux frequently but mostly to run network services and automation- stuff that doesn’t require day to day interaction or has its own web gui.
As far as my desktop go to it’s windows because I can boot it up, install a bunch of shit I know will work out of the box, and start working. I could do that with Linux too but it would take quite a bit of effort to maintain.
I had this same issue and what helped was go for a dual boot with windows and slowly learn how to customize things so that I can be as productive as before.
Also, steam electron helped a lot with this transition, as I didn't have excuses to not change partitions between gaming and working/studying
My opinion on Linux is that it's (only) good for lightweight computing / mobile computing.
Such as Rasperry pis and Android devices.
Just follow the handy dandy Microsoft guide to installing Linux https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/linux/install
But seriously. Yes, it's true that installing a new OS is a level of effort the average person is unlikely to want to put in. But they're going to have to start because I believe the situation this Windows monopoly is causing is far worse than it appears on the surface.
It's estimated that around half of PCs in the world won't be able to run Windows 11 https://www.computerworld.com/article/3657628/more-than-half-of-pcs-cant-upgrade-to-windows-11-report.html
Sure, a good chunk of those machines probably can't even run Windows 10. They'll still be on earlier versions of Windows, even going back as far as XP in some cases.
Because of the "latest Windows" benchmark PCs depreciate only slightly slower than bananas. Part of the reason I got into Linux as a young and poor nerd was because it could run on much older and significantly cheaper hardware. But most people and organisations aren't going to bother trying to resell their computers for the measly sum they'd get when they bite the bullet and upgrade, adding millions of still perfectly usable machines to the ever building toxic soup of e-waste and using more resources than necessary when creating new Windows compatible devices.
On top of that those who are unable or unwilling to upgrade end up with an OS full of more holes than swiss cheese that diminishes cyber security for everyone.
At this point, not switching to Linux (which is really the only viable Windows alternative) and getting the longest lifespan possible out of your hardware in a safe way is frankly irresponsible.
I think this is ultimately Microsoft being irresponsible, because most people will either stick with the then insecure Windows 10, or just buy a new device that can take Windows 11. Most would rather do either of those than install Linux, if they even know about Linux at all.
The installation has always been easy enough for me, but what I struggle with is updating drivers and installing new software. Granted, I'm not the brightest bulb in the box, so there's that. I did really like the insane variety of distros and all the needs they cater to. Like if there's something specific you need your OS to specialize in, there's probably a Linux distro for it.
Nah fam, mint's a gamechanger
I switched from Win 10 to Ubuntu this year. The Ubuntu installer was easy as hell. I'd argue easier than windows.
It got tricky when I needed the non-latest CUDA drivers for pytorch fun, but most folks won't be doing development.
Also, most folks don't install windows. They'll give it to their nerd nephew or their local Compu-Hut.
My biggest gripe is Snaps can make for confusing permission bullshit when saving files or using the clipboard, but this isnt a debate about snaps... the installer is great
Most people don't install windows or ask a family member or friend to do it for them, they buy a device that has windows already on it. The number of people who put windows on a device themselves is a miniscule fraction of windows users
You're right. Over the years, I've installed various kinds of Windows for relatives, and various Linux distros for myself and my wife. I've found, particularly in recent years, Linux is easier to install and more straightforward. Yeah, I'm an experienced user, so it's fairly easy for me and not intimidating, but I can't see a Linux installation as more difficult to install compared to Windows.
Most users, as you say, don't install an OS themselves, which applies to both Windows, Mac and Linux.
I disagree with this because for 20 years both the Ubuntu and Debian GUI installer ran like a practical joke from hell. Even Linus himself said he couldn't get it to work. Only Debian really improved while Ubuntu continues to somehow explode every time I try it
Every other distro besides hardcore ones like Gentoo and Arch have pretty basic installers that greatly outshine the crappy windows 8/10/11 setup screen.
Fedora has an auto installer tool so all you really need is a USB and not some magic funky thing called rufus.
There's even entire DE setups dedicated to looking and functioning exactly like windows to the point that the average person wouldn't even recognize nor care to know the difference.
Yes actually getting someone to replace an OS is hard no matter how easy you make it because it involves doing something unknown or new. But by the same token, we used to run DOS and install windows from floppy disks like it was no big deal back before windows owned the desktop market. Talk to anyone who was a college student in the 90s and they'll probably recognize the word UNIX, even in unrelated non CS fields.
Installing Linux has been painless for over a decade, its as easy as clicking next. You're telling me Windows users can handle all the stupid bullshit Microsoft throws at them, but a couple different icons and a different name is really gonna stop them from understanding the basic desktop metaphor that has been in use since the 90s?
They weren't talking about using linux, they meant installing it. They were referring to downloading a disk image, writing it to a flashdrive such that it's bootable, making sure your bios is set to let you boot from removable media, pressing the right key for your device to select the boot media, picking the flash drive, and then navigating the installation interface.
There are definitely places where I see folks getting stuck in that process if they're not a technical user and/or familiar with linux
I wish, but multiple Laptops with unavailable drivers, barely working trackpads, sleep issues and a few other annoyances tell me it isn't always as easy.
I haven't found many systems that Windows doesn't run
https://github.com/hakuna-m/wubiuefi
It's actually not a big lift for "normies", and I'm considering switching my parents to Linux after Win10 support ends. They don't really know how to use Windows, so I just have to pre-install a Linux that looks similar (probably Mint) and then put Firefox, Libre Office and VLC shortcuts in the same place they expect. As long as Firefox still can get them to youtube and facebook, it doesn't really matter what the rest of the OS can do. I'll have to find an alternative remote support solution though.
Yeah, you install it for them. He's talking about people installing it themselves.
RustDesk works on linux, at least they have a release for it have not tried it myself.