There’s things Linux excels at. There’s things Windows is better at. Hate me for saying that, but I use what’s needed and is better and quicker for the task.
I totally agree. I don’t say this to be a Linuxaboo, I only switched from windows because it started acting up and I heard it has gotten better in the gaming department. I had no reason to stay. Whatever gets the job done.
I honestly try to use Linux whenever possible as I do not like giving away too much data to Microsoft. Sometimes windows is the only option so I have a vm ready. Nowadays Linux support is at a much better place as I don’t need bare metal windows
I am intrigued by your response. I agree completely - gotta pick a right tool for a job, but in my experience Windows is only good at running software that is locked-in by a vendor. E.g. I would use Windows to develop for .NET stack. I am a software engineer, so my experience is limited like that. When you were thinking about things that Windows is right for, what examples came into you mind?
VR, online gaming, HD media consumption if you use subscriptions. Rocksmith. Personally I have an easier time spinning up AI programs on Windows over Linux. I find that video editing programs in Windows tend to be better, as well as music production especially with VSTs. Also my my music equipment, some just have not worked at all.
Progress is being made but it’s still a bit of a pain if you want most things to just open and, for the most part, mostly just works. In the last decade the Steam Deck is the only Linux install that I’ve felt actually comfortable using long term, next to Tails (for random fun, it was extremely stable for me).
I don’t mind tinkering once in a while for some things, but it’s not how I want to spend the majority of my time, which is often how I feel trying to use Linux for the same thing another OS can do. Like right now for example, a few years ago I gave up on the RasPi server and moved Plex to my gaming rig. It was far easier and less fiddling than the whole time using the Pi. But I’ve finally just transitioned my Plex server from that rig to its own server. In this case I couldn’t get a software plugin (DizqueTV) to work in Windows and I’d been wanting a separate media server again anyway.
I got DizqueTV working just fine, and Docker made it easy to scale it to beyond just media, but pretty much the rest of the server is just kicking my ass with basic things. Hardware acceleration? I’ve never seen this GPU before in my life! SSL Certs? It would be a shame if they never worked. Accessing your content outside your network? Hope you’re a network engineer that knows what you’re doing! /s a little bit but even as a tech savvy person this is how it feels sometimes. And now I’m back to fiddling with the server all the time again.
It’s genuinely so frustrating sometimes because of how extensive the knowledge is with so many ways of accomplishing the same task and so many people saying each one is more correct than the last. That’s not even to mention trying to find help about something, the only answer worth a sock is “rtfm” or the software documentation because heaven forbid you try and follow a guide online an infer based on your needs. (it can work, I also often have it simply refuse to work at a random step and the task is dead in the water).
I just want a bit of middleground between the OS needing me to tell it absolutely everything and the OS assuming it knows what I want more than I do. I’ve always wanted to like Linux more than I do but just every time I try and use it for an extended period of time I end up hating it more than I did before, just trying to get extremely basic things like permissions, or setting network settings without destroying the computer when there’s a mistake. Yes, it’s a skill issue on my part. That in itself is problematic as someone who is fairly adept at adapting.
I’m relatively tech savvy, I’m not against learning and being taught, I enjoy many of the results. But inevitably I end up despising the process it takes to get the result. Trying to get something simple done often feels like it takes more steps with less consistency. I feel like I never type as angrily as I do when I’m trying to solve an issue I come across in Linux. But despite all this I don’t actually dislike or hate Linux nor do I think that Windows is better or anything like that. Far from it. I’m at the point where I’m only using Windows because it consistently breaks less for the things I use it for.
I think that’s a big part of it too. When I use Linux I tend to push the boundaries and end up having issues. In Windows, if it works it works and if it doesn’t it doesn’t and that’s kind of the end of it. You can’t really push past it, whereas in Linux you can change the entire OS to make that one thing work. So for me I’ll tend to use Linux for projects. (I will say, another downside is that if something doesn’t work in Linux the chances of that becoming a project become very high. In my experience, until the Steam Deck at least, it was never a simple 1-3 step solution).
I mostly just am venting. I get so, so annoyed working in this damn OS lol. I tell ya, the day Linux can be used without asking a question on a forum is the year Linux gets adopted. If an open minded learner like myself wants to toss my laptop into the meat grinder I feel like the average person will not even consider the OS.
Anyway I started rambling, my point overall is that the tools for the job tend to dictate the project. I think since Windows is simpler the end results are more consistent, whereas my projects in Linux are more complicated and thus the results are less consistent. That’s not so much a Linux thing alone but a combination of it and my capabilities, but I never feel like what I learn in Linux is really effective or encouraged.
In short - if it were possible for me to only use Linux I would. If it were possible for Linux to be as simple to use as it is for web browsing and email, it’s all I would use. Alas, Linux is complicated I inevitably take on projects inside it, which I inevitably struggle with. I don’t mind not succeeding, but it can be disheartening to repeatedly hit walls preventing you from doing what you want. Ironic, since that’s how people tend to feel about Windows.
Multimedia and gaming. Almost everything runs out of the box within a minute. I often get the same results with Linux, but sometimes it takes more work and I don’t always have the time or the muse to put in the effort.
Some proprietary software only runs on Windows. Famous examples are Adobe products. There are Linux alternatives, but that’s not always an option in a corporate environment.
This is important to me: Windows generally has fewer barriers for beginners (with whom I often work). While I’ve introduced a number of people to Linux and seen success, it’s just not as easy. It may also be a matter of what people already know, which is Windows (and increasingly Android or iOS).
In my experience, updates break Windows less than Linux, but that may just be me.
Device compatibility/driver support is also better (some printers or wireless network adapters, for example). Linux is catching up, which is fantastic. But it’s still catching up.
Linux
Programming, servers and everything security related, which is huge! I don’t think we need to go into that. In line with that: I hate Microsoft’s data collection practices. Some distros collect too, but it pales in comparison to Windows.
It is free. That’s a big deal for some people, especially in poorer areas. Windows can’t compete with that. It is also a great option for companies that want to save a bit of money and go open source, although the wisdom of that is debatable in some cases.
Not so important to me, but some love that it’s a fantastically customisable system, an enthusiast’s dream.
I could go on. Feel free to disagree or agree with what I’ve said. I am curious to hear where you think I am wrong, right or simply have a preference.
Yeah to this day Windows probably still makes a better workstation OS overall. I use Linux on everything cause I like it, and everybody always expects me to tell them to switch, but I only do that if I think there’s a chance it’ll be a good experience for them.
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