What are the disadvantages of replacing W10 with Linux for daily usage?

[tanjackson]

I have use Windows and Mac my whole life. I'm thinking about using Linux for daily usage. Wondering if it has any issue.

[Shimejii]

Linux is solely for people who want to tinker with software and learn coding and behind the scenes about operating systems. If you want things to just work, you will not use linux.

 

Its pretty much just that. If you like to tinker with software and back end things with your OS, you may like it. If you have 0 clue what you are doing and have 0 experience with it, hard pass on your main rig. Put it on a laptop that you can mess with.

[Needfuldoer]

Compatibility layers get close, but Linux still doesn't have 100% compatibility with Windows software (especially games).

 

Most of the "big" Linux applications have Windows ports that are kept up to date. (LibreOffice, Firefox, Blender, GiMP, VLC...) I can't think of any "Linux exclusives" which aren't system utilities that dive deep into the weeds.

 

No matter what Linux thing you pick, some Linux nerd is going to tell you you picked the wrong Linux thing. (Bootloader, desktop environment, package manager, distro...) You'll especially run into this if you have an issue and ask the Internet for advice. (And if you tinker, something will break.)

[goatedpenguin]

5 minutes ago, Shimejii said:

Linux is solely for people who want to tinker with software and learn coding and behind the scenes about operating systems. If you want things to just work, you will not use linux.

 

Its pretty much just that. If you like to tinker with software and back end things with your OS, you may like it. If you have 0 clue what you are doing and have 0 experience with it, hard pass on your main rig. Put it on a laptop that you can mess with.

I would agree with that to a degree but Oses like linux mint, zorinOS, elementaryOS just to name a few are aiming for simplicity of windows/mac users migrating to linux. I mean if you used those distros, 90% of time the inexperienced user would just install and use software from the app/flatpak/software center without ever touching the command line.

 

Responding back to OP's main question, well it depends. What do I mean by that? Most big games and apps have been ported to Linux successfully and run without any trouble however if you are using software like the adobe suite or playing games like Valorant that have a kernel level anti cheat then your better of sticking to mac or windows. What I would suggest is make a small partition on your drive(around 50-100 gb depending on how much space you have, it can go as small as 20Gb) install Linux mint and run it for a while to see how well it goes for you. Hope this helps

 

P.S when your using Linux you should often make yourself comfortable with the command line and how it works(to a degree, you don't have to know everything). It will really help and make your life better, remember anything you can do with a mouse/trackpad + GUI can be done faster with the command line + keyboard.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

59 minutes ago, tanjackson said:

I have use Windows and Mac my whole life. I'm thinking about using Linux for daily usage. Wondering if it has any issue.

You probably won't have any issues, but it wouldn't be a better experience compared to Windows or macOS either. You lose all the integration and polish of first-party applications from Microsoft and Apple that are bundled or available for their respective OS. On Linux, to fill every functionality you need, you often end up with a hodgepodge of random applications that all look, feel, and work differently.

 

Everything you hear about the rock-solid stability of Linux referencing server Linux like Debian which is different from desktop Linux. Desktop Linux can be as temperamental as modern-day Windows and macOS and just as capable of nuking itself as LTT's Linux challenge has shown. 

[goatedpenguin]

2 minutes ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

LTT's Linux challenge has shown. 

The PTSD is coming back...

[Issac Zachary]

• What apps do you use?
• What do you use the computer for?

Can you replace a 2013 Ford F150 with a 1972 VW Bus?

 

For the person who only needs it for email, web browsing and perhaps just general word processing, spreadsheets, etc, then pretty much any operating system will work.

 

If you need to run an app that is only available on Windows, then you probably would be best running it on a Windows computer.

 

I tried to use just Linux. I have way too many Windows apps that seem (or currently are) impossible to get working on Linux. But I'm a bit more of a Windows power user than you average web-surfing, Chromebook-compatible computer user.

[WereCat]

There are things one does better than the other and vice versa so depends on what you do. 

At the end of the day it will come down to whichever system will annoy you less and since you're noob in Linux you'll just be annoyed by a lot of things until you figure out at least some basics and how some stuff works. 

[ieleja]

I use Linux as main OS for about 5+ years for daily:

- remote administration,

- office, internet,

- programming,

- ...

- not gaming, except some web based titles

 

if I need (occasionally) gaming, boot Windows, for Teams and so, boot KVM with Windows

 

popular way to disappoint in Linux is get some old and weak hardware, what even Windows XP with browser run slow, put on it modern Linux with rich DE (Gnome or KDE)

 

[Sauron]

To me the main disadvantage is incompatibility with some broadly used software and some poor driver ports, especially for GPUs.

[CosmicEmotion]

Linux has only advantages as long as you keep an open mind and use apps that are actually supported on it (including Proton). I've made a whole post with all the advantages but it's enormous to repeat here. Basically the main advantages that should interest you are:

 

• Lightness
• Custom Keyboard Shortucuts
• Containerization
• Immutability
• Autotiling

 

This simple 5 things will make your life so much easier. Install something like Nobara to start out and you're good to go.

 

People saying Linux is unusable or doesn't have any advantages have no idea what they're talking about.

[xAcid9]

On 1/23/2024 at 9:47 AM, tanjackson said:

I have use Windows and Mac my whole life. I'm thinking about using Linux for daily usage. Wondering if it has any issue.

What is your "daily usage"? 

[wasab]

a lot of softwares you are used to wont be on linux

[goofyOne]

It depends what you actually use your computer for normaly.    Linux will be fine for web browsing and email, and also office applications (ie: LibreOffice).    You can usually find Linux applications for what you want to do but they may not be as polished as similar apps on MS WIndows.

 

Spreadheets, Presentations, Word Processing are all good.  Database work will be a bit more tricky .. MySQL and PostgreSQL are the main full featured databases.

 

I use Linux Mint XFCE edition with Twister UI installed.    Twister UI just enables you to easily switch the look & feel of the desktop, to look similar to Windows 95,10,11,Mac OS etc.  Link here: https://twisteros.com/twisterui.html

 

You can play some games, and also you can install Steam, but at the present not many games are written to run on Linux.

 

 

{GoofyOne's 2c worth,  which may or may not be actually worth 2c}

[Eigenvektor]

On 1/23/2024 at 2:47 AM, tanjackson said:

Wondering if it has any issue.

Every OS has issues, it largely depends on what you're trying to do and what your expectations are.

 

Windows probably has the largest collection of commercial/well known software available. So if you do anything that relies on commercial software (e.g. Photoshop), Windows will likely be your best bet. Likewise, with the exception of console exclusives, virtually any game is designed to run on Windows. However, when it comes to software development and automation with scripts, I find Windows to be the weakest option (of course, if you develop software for Windows, then you want to develop on Windows)

 

Linux has a ton of (non-commercial) software available and rather than having to search through shady websites, you can install (almost) everything directly from your chosen distribution's repositories. There are alternatives to almost anything you find on Windows, but since they are often created by volunteers rather than big companies the quality and polish can vary quite a bit. E.g. for hobby use Gimp can do pretty much anything Photoshop can, but of course it isn't the same and will take some getting used to.

 

macOS is a nice mix between the two. You can get a lot of commercial software, but you also got a powerful shell. We use macOS pretty much exclusively at work (software development company). The software selection isn't quite as big as on Windows, but the important stuff is there, and there's also some programs you might miss on other platforms.

 

I've been using Linux as my main OS for over a decade. I do keep Windows around as a dual boot option, primarily for gaming, but haven't actually booted it in months. Linux is completely fine for daily tasks such as email, web browsing and even gaming. Pretty much all of the recent games I've played work just fine, using Steam/Proton/Wine. However, that can depend a lot on what games you play. If you're into multiplayer games, you'll generally have much better luck with Windows (I play single player titles pretty much exclusively).

[RollyShed]

On 1/23/2024 at 2:54 PM, Shimejii said:

Linux is solely for people who want to tinker with software and learn coding and behind the scenes about operating systems. If you want things to just work, you will not use linux.

So why do the 50+ people I've done Linux installations for know nothing about coding and don't want to tinker with software?

 

They just want to use their computers reliably to get work done.

 

NOTE - reliably, something we've not found with Microsoft and Windows.

[Shimejii]

5 hours ago, RollyShed said:

So why do the 50+ people I've done Linux installations for know nothing about coding and don't want to tinker with software?

 

They just want to use their computers reliably to get work done.

 

NOTE - reliably, something we've not found with Microsoft and Windows.

Because if all you need is a browser and a word editor, Linux CAN work. But for pretty much most other things? You are going to have to learn a fair bit of how to use the linux operating system and by that point youve lost the vast majority of people. Since it can be quite a task for non-tech people to get an understanding of it.

 

You made one huge error in that statement which pretty much nullifies your argument in my opinion, although it can go both ways. You installed it for them, you got it up and running, you took most of the pain in the ass part out of the process. If you were to ask them to do it, id venture to say most would say nope. Same people would rather buy a whole new PC then re-install windows to fix an issue. Because its easier for them to have someone else do it for them.

[RollyShed]

1 hour ago, Shimejii said:

But for pretty much most other things?

 

You installed it for them, you got it up and running,

Such as? What other "things"?

 

Who installs Windows or Apple systems for the users? How many users know how to do that?

[E-waste]

On 1/23/2024 at 2:09 AM, ieleja said:

some old and weak hardware, what even Windows XP with browser run slow, put on it modern Linux with rich DE (Gnome or KDE)

That's what XFCE is for.  The desktop does not need a built-in file indexer or calendar, contacts, and personal info integration, which cannot easily be turned off.  I like kde for some specific themes, but I hate the forced features that make it use so much memory.  It uses 1 GB for my system, and 800 MB for the new wayland display.  That's entirely too much for a menu, clock, hidden icons, and a search tool.  So I just don't like it that much, it slows down games still, and that's been the case for over a decade, since the KDE 4 days.  I thought kde 5 would be lighter, but hopefully kde 6 will fix this issue.

 

I still have to switch to a lighter desktop like lxqt or even Windowmaker to allow for games to have more available memory, instead of the 1GB desktop moving to swap memory.

[Arokan]

I really don't know what many of you are talking about. It's like you haven't used Linux in a decade.

 

Games: Most games on Steam work out of the Box with proton, some with heavy anti-cheat won't work; check it on Protondb. For games from other platforms or disk or whatever, there's Lutris and only if you have a game where there exists no lutris-script or that's pirated is where you'd have to tinker.

 

Work: The office suite is available as web-page and libre-office isn't half bad either.

 

For nearly everything you want, there's a proper, not seldom better alternative for Linux.

 

You don't have to learn how to code or use the terminal, but most users do it and most new users will want to, because it's damn efficient and want to know what all the fuzz is about. It's pretty cool if you can work with it as well.

 

Like I always say: Linux gets only complicated if you try to do stuff you couldn't do on windows anyway. For most things there's a script somewhere on the internet you have to find, and if you start doing the tinkering, make a backup (dd is the first thing to learn here) and you've avoided any risk.

 

I'm on Debian Stable, notorious for outdated packages, together with pretty new hardware. I don't have any problems whatsoever and haven't had to open a terminal since I installed pipewire, which is very much optional, like everything else you'd need the terminal for.

 

It's not just for devs, it's really for everybody. Only advice left to give is: If you do something you don't feel secure about, open the official documentation and follow the instructions. It's also always handy to have a friend that knows his way around Linux. That's really the most helpful thing. If you don't have any, there are also this forum and reddit. There's virtually no problem you'll ever have that hasn't been solved by other people yet.

 

I'd start with Debian if you'd like to learn the art of tinkering, POP!_OS for gaming with an NVIDIA-card, Nobara for everything else and Arch if you really like pain.

[Brian McKee]

The biggest disadvantage of Linux to most users will just be the fact that Linux isn't Windows/Mac. You will have to find alternatives to some of the software you currently use. If you use proprietary hardware that isn't supported in Linux you'll either have to find a community solution or find a different hardware solution.

 

When people say Linux is for people who tinker that may have been true years ago. However, Linux today is just as capable as Windows or Mac for most workflows and even for leisure like gaming. You just must temper your expectations, you will not be able to jump into another OS and expect everything to just work or be the same. It'd be the same if you went from Windows to Mac or vice versa.

 

The good thing about Linux is despite the small userbase there usually is a solution to your problem. It just goes to show how dedicated the userbase really is.

 

I'd say historically the biggest weakness of Linux software wise is probably the artistic side. Linux lacks the Adobe suite and even with something like Davinci you're locked into specific hardware/software to get it to work exactly how you'd expect. But still, stuff like Krita/Opentoonz/Darktable/etc... still have been improving rapidly for artists, and just the fact that Davinci is available does mean more workflows are available to people.

 

I think the reason this weakness sticks out so much in people's heads is because the people most likely to report on this (youtubers/other content creators) rely on these pieces of software for their work on a daily basis.

[wasab]

On 1/22/2024 at 5:54 PM, Shimejii said:

Linux is solely for people who want to tinker with software and learn coding and behind the scenes about operating systems. If you want things to just work, you will not use linux.

 

No, regular people can use Linux too. You just need to give up on a lot of softwares you are accustom to. Good thing is web browser are often the only thing you need these days. Linux easily covers this.