Leslieann

Mod an Xbox or mini-ITX system into it. Bonus points if you make the buttons usable.

Unless you disable Windows updates this is only going to be a temporary solution. Major Windows updates can and often do wipe out grub and alter your UEFI settings back to booting Windows as if it was the only OS.

Never? If you play you're probably going to nuke an OS at some point and it's probably one of the fastest ways to learn. I've nuked pretty much every OS I've ever used, multiple times, and it's a very long list. For the record, what happened to Linus is actually relatively minor and easy to fix. To a Windows user it looked destroyed and to be fair on Windows or Mac it pretty much would be but if you've messed with Linux for a little while it's a simple command to fix it, just drop to console and reinstall the desktop environment, less than 2 minutes if you know the command or have something like Timeshift installed. That's part of the beauty of Linux, you can install multiple desktops or even go without a desktop entirely so losing one is not a big deal really. However, I'm not blaming Linus for not knowing that and with it being a fresh install it would be easier to just re-install and start over fresh.

You're both right on this. You have to start somewhere and it's a logical place to start, unfortunately these days too many "articles" are click bait written by people without a clue and in the case of Linux, a lot of tribalism as well. Absolutely. This is why I say it's easy to convert "average users" (not gamers), they just need a browser, text editor, printer etc... Works fantastic for parents and grandparents once setup. My mom is running an Arch based distro and she loves it, it's been so much less hassle for her than Windows ever was but don't ask her how to install it. It's good to try various OS, learn them find what is good and bad about them, then use what works best for you. Even if Linus goes back to Windows (and he will for some things) his perception of Windows will never be the same.

This. People think because they can do Windows they can use any OS, it's just not true. Windows is Windows, Linux is Unix, it's not like going from Windows 7 to Windows 10, or Windows 10 to Windows Server, it's completely different. The same goes for Mac, Haiku, BSD... They are not Windows and the skills do not carry over the way you think they will. You are no longer an expert, in fact just the opposite, you know just enough to be dangerous.

Sure there are, every major release brings changes that effect troubleshooting and tweaking. Just a few off the top of my head, the ability to delay updates was added well after release, the network icon near the clock has changed functions as to where it goes when you click at least 3 times, some of the registry edits for early Windows 10 to disable telemetry and updates will brick modern versions of Win10. The older Win10 gets the bigger this problem is. I've had numerous calls with users where I go to walk them through a fix over the phone only to find the path has changed because they have an older or newer version than the one in front of me at the time.

I have Intel, AMD and Nvidia GPUs, the biggest difference is having to install the Nvidia driver myself. Meh. That said, it can be distro dependent. Something way behind the bleeding edge (such as Mint) is (ironically) going to have more problems than something like Arch which has all the latest drivers and installers. When you started with Windows (or Mac) odds are you started with a pre-installed system and slowly over several years learned more and more to the extent you could install Windows yourself. You didn't learn it overnight. Had someone handed you a new computer and only a Windows install disk your experience would have been much closer to what it is with Linux, BSD or even Hackintosh. That is a misconception. Linus knows knows Windows, all his experience, preconceived notions and more importantly terminology is Windows based. Knowing that terminology in Windows makes finding solutions easy and fast but it's because you know the terminology that you can find answers quickly. If you ask Google "how to change spark plugs Ford Mustang" it will tell you, but if all you know is cars and gasoline engines and search up "how to change spark plugs in diesel pickup" you won't find your answer. Why? Because diesel engines use glow plugs, not spark plugs. Terminology matters to the extent that the wrong terms can be worse than using none at all and until you learn the correct terminology troubleshooting can be a nightmare.

If your requirement for switching is for Linux to be a drop in replacement for Windows it's never going to happen. You have to find what it does better than Windows and accept the things it doesn't, there's a lot of good in Linux but it takes a while to learn the ins and outs to really get the most from it and it's going to take more than a week or two. If you really want to do it, do NOT dual boot, do not give yourself an easy way back. Install it and force yourself to adapt. Dual boot and VMs are great to get accustomed to an OS and learn the basics however once you decide to switch dual booting is the fastest way to kill any attempt to convert because you always have an easy way to solve any problem by just rebooting into Windows every time you get frustrated. You can dual boot and use a VM for years, you will not get the full experience until you cut yourself off from your crutch.

You need a major brand putting advertising dollars behind it and they simply won't since they can't monetize it in ways they understand. You can have the best thing ever built by man, but without advertising dollars behind it it more than likely will die on a shelf. On the other hand people will literally buy rocks if you advertise them properly.

As others have said, it takes time to learn a new os... It's even worse for power users. You spent how many years learning how to do everything on Windows and become an expert on it, now you jump onto a new system expecting to be as much a power user and you really don't know what you're doing so you get into trouble and frustrated just as Linus did. Which beings us to the other major problem. With Linux you have option to return to Windows, it's easy to get annoyed and just say screw it and go back to Windows. The reason Windows-Mac and Mac -Windows users can change is because they just bought a new computer, they can't just easily toss the other OS on it and go back to what they know so they tough it out. Without being invested you aren't going to give it full effort to make it stick. I truly believe this is why most people fail when converting to Linux. All that said, as Luke said on WAN show, Linux gets out of the way. I don't think most people realize just how invasive Win10 has become. I don't mean spying and such, I mean just day to day interruptions. If you really want a shock, load up a fresh install of Win10 and set it up as your system currently is you'll be amazed just how much it interrupts a new user before it settles in. Better still, fire up Win7 and see how little it bugs you, it's shocking just how much Win10 is in your face making suggestions and distracting you. If you use an adblocker, going back to Windows after Linux is like disabling your adblocker.

The TPM is less an issue than people think but the whole thing is a mess because it was all last minute and rushed, we don't know because they don't know (the effect it will have). I'm really curious what's coming that caused them to rush this to market. While you have some time before it becomes mandatory the truth is if you stay with Windows you will either be pushed onto Win11 or 12 at some point or get left behind. People like to think they can just stick with what they want but at some point you will need new hardware, new direct X, new software, etc, you either get stuck with old hardware and software or you keep up. Win 8 is a great example, you can't get a lot of current gen GPUs running on Win 8 due to a lack of drivers (AMD in particular). You're fighting a losing battle. Linux is less limiting in some ways and more limited in others. You can't play the latest competitive game, your choices on what software you can get running such as photo editing and CAD are also limited but if you can get by with those choices and/or some hacks it feels great to be free of MS and Apple. If you can't handle that though stick with Win10 and keep evaluating your options, take your time but don't wait until you're forced, you don't want to be dealing with new hardware and backups all while trying to figure out a new OS. Similar or not it's just more stress in a stressful situation. If you want to do Linux start with using as much Open Source software as you can prior to switching then start looking in to what it takes to run the rest in WINE or Proton or manage it in a VM as a last resort. Easiest way to look at distros is the package manager, you can run any desktop environment (or none) on pretty much any distro, I would recommend Suse, an offshoot of Ubuntu (Pop! is good) or a distro based on Arch (Arco or Manjaro are my favorites) simply bacause they have the largest software repositories to pull from and a large user bases to get help when you need it. Once you switch you really need to force yourself to stick with it for a few months otherwise you'll just end up running back to Windows. I know it sounds odd, but even dual booting you won't really "get" Linux. It's too easy to cheat rather than take the hard road and find the answers and locate those valuable resources you need to make it really work. You'll think you're swimming in the ocean when really you're just playing in the shallow end of the pool.

Use what works best for you, I'm just glad we have viable options.

I too hated command line when I started, I thought it was archaic, but the more you use it, the better it truly gets (it's awesome). Remember, You spent years learning Windows, you aren't going to switch to Linux or Mac and be just as proficient overnight. Mac? Mac is easy, look how many switched to it! Every OS has a learning curve, you still need to find resources and compatible programs to replace those you lost as well as find your way around, so why do Mac/Windows switchers seem to have an easier time switching compared to Linux users? Easy, they're invested. They just spent how much on a computer that doesn't easily run the other OS, they have to make it work. With Linux you dip your toe, find something you don't like and then go running back to Windows. Dual booting (as well as usb sticks and virtualization) is the fastest way to make sure you find everything you hate about another operating system before running back to your comfort zone. Don't get me wrong, they're great tools, they let you dip your toe and get an understanding without going all in but that's where you need to end it because you can't really explore the pool/pond/lake without getting in the water and swimming. If you want to switch you have to go all in and not give yourself an easy way out because at some point it's going to be difficult.

It's only for the USB installer that you use Fat32, the operating system will use EXT3, EXT4, BTRFS or something else which supports 4gb+ file sizes. If it's your only stick for file transfers, reformat it after install and transfer your large files. Ventoy is handy, but it can be fickle with certain distros, Arch based distros in particular. For new people it's better to use a way you know will work rather than something inconsistent and turns them away before they even begin.

Except with Win7 you had at least somewhat of a choice in the matter, you won't here. With Win10 having automatic updates, non-commercial Win10 users will be down to low double or even single digits within 6 months after release because most will be pushed over to it, at at which point it's effectively dead to hardware/software manufacturers. People over estimate how much say they have in the Windows version they run. With forced updates, support can and likely will dry up faster for Win10 than any other version of Windows before it. Think you can hold out? Maybe, but all it takes is a game that needs a driver/firmware update and you're done. If you stick with Windows you will be stuck with the latest version, that's just how it will be from now on and you may as well get used to it.