Windows 10 or Ubuntu?

[RustyZombie]

Just wondering if I should bother buying Windows 10.

 

I don't game.  Most of the programs I use I'm not attached to or have Linux versions.  I am attached to foobar2000, but I can switch to something else as long as I can get bit perfect audio.  I like Exact Audio Copy as my CD ripper, and it seems all the features I use on it work in Wine.  However, there doesn't seem to be a Linux based video player that upscales DVD's as well as Potplayer or MPC-BE/MPC-HC.

 

I'm not worried about Windows 10's spying.  I don't do anything illegal, and I don't suffer from the illusion that I'm special enough for Microsoft to actively snoop through my computer. 

 

I would expect more of a learning curve with Ubuntu, and possibly a few unforeseen headaches.  I don't see my computer needs changing significantly in the future.

 

So, do you guys think that there is enough of a reason for me to buy Windows 10?

[StackUnderflow]

If you go to university or knows someone in university (or knows someone with a .edu email), a Windows key is free via the software catalog at the school or dreamspark. Ubuntu has VLC IIRC.

 

If you wanna use ubuntu, learning how to use the command line would be best.

[Xarvz]

Just wondering if I should bother buying Windows 10.

 

I don't game.  Most of the programs I use I'm not attached to or have Linux versions.  I am attached to foobar2000, but I can switch to something else as long as I can get bit perfect audio.  I like Exact Audio Copy as my CD ripper, and it seems all the features I use on it work in Wine.  However, there doesn't seem to be a Linux based video player that upscales DVD's as well as Potplayer or MPC-BE/MPC-HC.

 

I'm not worried about Windows 10's spying.  I don't do anything illegal, and I don't suffer from the illusion that I'm special enough for Microsoft to actively snoop through my computer. 

 

I would expect more of a learning curve with Ubuntu, and possibly a few unforeseen headaches.  I don't see my computer needs changing significantly in the future.

 

So, do you guys think that there is enough of a reason for me to buy Windows 10?

Do you not have windows 7/8? You won't need to buy 10 then.

[manikyath]

for future reference: if you're doing it for the spying, ubuntu is the wrong distro to go for.

 

and honestly, wine does fairly decently. my biggest issue on linux right now are the audio drivers.

[Satlen]

As for your video player you should check out https://mpv.io/

[RustyZombie]

If you go to university or knows someone in university (or knows someone with a .edu email), a Windows key is free via the software catalog at the school or dreamspark. Ubuntu has VLC IIRC.

 

If you wanna use ubuntu, learning how to use the command line would be best.

 

I'm no longer in college.  I am familiar with VLC, but it doesn't have good enough picture quality for me.

Do you not have windows 7/8? You won't need to buy 10 then.

I have Windows 7 on this 7 year old laptop I'm using to post this.

 

I'm going to be building a desktop to replace this laptop, hence why I would need to buy a separate Windows license.

[StackUnderflow]

I'm no longer in college.  I am familiar with VLC, but it doesn't have good enough picture quality for me.

I have Windows 7 on this 7 year old laptop I'm using to post this.

 

I'm going to be building a desktop to replace this laptop, hence why I would need to buy a separate Windows license.

 

I don't think you need to be in college, as long as you have access to a .edu email.

[d3sl91]

Just wondering if I should bother buying Windows 10.

 

I don't game.  Most of the programs I use I'm not attached to or have Linux versions.  I am attached to foobar2000, but I can switch to something else as long as I can get bit perfect audio.  I like Exact Audio Copy as my CD ripper, and it seems all the features I use on it work in Wine.  However, there doesn't seem to be a Linux based video player that upscales DVD's as well as Potplayer or MPC-BE/MPC-HC.

 

I'm not worried about Windows 10's spying.  I don't do anything illegal, and I don't suffer from the illusion that I'm special enough for Microsoft to actively snoop through my computer. 

 

I would expect more of a learning curve with Ubuntu, and possibly a few unforeseen headaches.  I don't see my computer needs changing significantly in the future.

 

So, do you guys think that there is enough of a reason for me to buy Windows 10?

 

Ubuntu is fine. It does the job. Do a test install and make sure all the drivers work - I always switch back because after several days of troubleshooting, and then dealing with "better than thou" linux forums... i still cant listen to music (and now, I rely heavily on windows programs). 

 

Windows 10 will "just work" and have better support. So, if that is important to you - spend the $120 and get windows. 

[Xarvz]

I'm no longer in college.  I am familiar with VLC, but it doesn't have good enough picture quality for me.

I have Windows 7 on this 7 year old laptop I'm using to post this.

 

I'm going to be building a desktop to replace this laptop, hence why I would need to buy a separate Windows license.

Well it's pretty much do you want to put the effort in to learn stuff you may or may not really care about or be useful to you. Privacy isn't really a factor for an OS unless you wanna do some illegal shit on tor. People who care about windows 10 privacy don't really know enough about it to begin with.

 

Edit: Oem windows 10 keys can be got for very cheap on Reddit or kinguin, though that's a one time use thing I think just like your key on the laptop.

[RustyZombie]

As for your video player you should check out https://mpv.io/

 

Thank you for the suggestion.  I will have to check it out.

 

I don't think you need to be in college, as long as you have access to a .edu email.

 

I'm 30.  I don't think I could remember the login info, assuming it still existed.  But thanks for the suggestion.

[RustyZombie]

Ubuntu is fine. It does the job. Do a test install and make sure all the drivers work - I always switch back because after several days of troubleshooting, and then dealing with "better than thou" linux forums... i still cant listen to music (and now, I rely heavily on windows programs). 

 

Windows 10 will "just work" and have better support. So, if that is important to you - spend the $120 and get windows. 

 

That is one thing I was worried about.  At a certain point the $ is cheaper than the time spent trying to make it work.

 

Privacy isn't really a factor for an OS unless you wanna do some illegal shit on tor. People who care about windows 10 privacy don't really know enough about it to begin with.

 

I figured the issue was overblown.  I know most OS's already collect information, as well as browsers, ISP's, and most of the sites you visit.  Even if it was true, the worse thing they could find out is how much I like Highschool DxD. 

[Xarvz]

That is one thing I was worried about.  At a certain point the $ is cheaper than the time spent trying to make it work.

If you care about money I guess this could work http://www.kinguin.net/category/19429/windows-10-professional-oem-key/

 

Note: it would only be a 1 time use key, as far as I can tell. So if you plan on upgrading your motherboard you will need a new key. Also I've never bought from this site, be sure to use Paypal. Also you could buy it off reddit with paypal https://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftsoftwareswap/

[RustyZombie]

If you care about money I guess this could work http://www.kinguin.net/category/19429/windows-10-professional-oem-key/

 

Note: it would only be a 1 time use key, as far as I can tell. So if you plan on upgrading your motherboard you will need a new key. Also I've never bought from this site, be sure to use Paypal. Also you could buy it off reddit with paypal https://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftsoftwareswap/

 

That is another thing I was wondering.  So it's the motherboard that the license is tied to?

[Xarvz]

That is another thing I was wondering.  So it's the motherboard that the license is tied to?

They said the motherboard or OS drive to me. I think it's just the motherboard unless you have an extra partition on your OS drive for recovery like some retail PC's and laptops have.

[RustyZombie]

If you wanna use ubuntu, learning how to use the command line would be best.

 

 

At a certain point the $ is cheaper than the time spent trying to make it work.

 

I just took a look at what the Linux command line is like.  Between learning that, other possible unforeseen headaches, and my familiarity with Windows, I think the $ is worth it to me for the time I'll save.

 

Thanks for the help everyone. 

[weez]

Ubuntu is easy to try so give it a try and see if its for you. Ive used it and like it and if I didnt game it would be my main os

[IAmAndre]

I've been using Linux for about 5 years now, and I can confirm you that it's the best choice. I don't know where to start... Basically you can do literally anything Windows allows you to, but without having to pay a license key, with a better user interface (you can choose the window manager that suits you best) and with less security issues. As you mentioned, there is an alternative for pretty much any Windows software (which may or may not be as good but hey it's free most of the times). It has been mentioned in the previous replies that you would be better off if you knew how to use the command line, well that's false, especially if you're using Ubuntu since Canonical has been doing a great job so far to lose this image of "OS for nerds".

However, I personnaly don't like Ubuntu's default window manager (Unity). I would suggest you to try Debian, which is basically the same thing, but still open-source (Ubuntu has been acquired by Canonical so it's become commercial).

[Kiyuubi]

Ubuntu, but if you get the version with Unity you'll have to remove the Amazon spyware.

For a video player MPV is pretty good. I prefer it over MPC-HC.

Also, you should be worried about any type of spying. Having "nothing to hide" is not an excuse. Everyone has something to hide whether you know it or not.

Yes, it is unlikely someone is personally looking at your info, but that doesn't mean it isn't being processed by servers to find something that pops out to warrant personal inspection.

FOSS is the future.

[d3sl91]

I just took a look at what the Linux command line is like.  Between learning that, other possible unforeseen headaches, and my familiarity with Windows, I think the $ is worth it to me for the time I'll save.

 

Thanks for the help everyone. 

 

If you buy a retail copy ($120 from Microsoft directly) you can use it on another motherboard if needed.

 

OEM (~$100) is tied to one motherboard (you can generally get it re-activated though by calling). Most "grey market" keys are OEM or similar. Grey market is basically anything other than a major reseller (Newegg, Best Buy, Direct from MS, etc). These keys are technically being sold illegally, and microsoft will probably not help you out much if anything goes south.

[AMDisTheBEST]

Linux Mint is my favorite OS

[Burusutazu]

Try Ubuntu, learning the command line is not necessary, but it will help you in the long run. The whole "Amazon spyware" is overblown and can be switched off in the privacy settings. In Ubuntu 16.04 it will be off by default.

[RustyZombie]

It seems I called this one too early.

 

I already knew that Windows 10 will eventually have forced updates.  The more I think about it, the less comfortable I am with the idea of the OS changing into something different after I buy it, or the fact that I don't have control over what they do with the OS on my computer.

 

I was under the false notion that I needed to learn how to use the command line to use Linux.  I should have read up more.  I did watch some Ubuntu tutorials on YouTube, and I have to say the way they arrange everything makes a lot more sense.  And I've never used anything but Windows.

 

I checked out MPV, and its video quality is equal to that of MPC-BE, my preferred video player.  From the instructions, it seems that MPV supports bit perfect audio, which is also important to me.  I just can't figure out how to change any of the settings.  :huh:

 

From what I read, it sounds like the most common issue that newcomers to Linux face is getting the drivers to work properly.  Just how common is that issue, and how hard is it to remedy?

[sycc90]

Even if you could get the Windows license for free I'd still recommend going for Linux. The only reason I still have Windows is for games (I use a VM for that though) but you said you don't do that, so yeah...

Ubuntu is a great choice if you just want it to work out of the box, I second the recommendation for Linux Mint though. It's pretty much a spinoff from Ubuntu, so the compatibility is great and either should work perfectly for you and your needs.

 

I've never had any issues with Linux and drivers... the only place I know some people do have issues is the wireless adapter (for laptops mostly), although my netbook and my sister's notebook didn't have any problem with it, they were running Crunchbang and Linux Mint respectively.

 

Just grab a live image and try it out. If it works there then you know drivers won't be an issue!

 

Cheers and good luck!

-- Sycc

[Kc7vwc]

Ive been debating ubuntu just for the simplicity. Win10 comes with more junk I don't want then a Dell machine! (I've installed it twice since launch)

But sadly most of my games don't support Linux, and I couldn't get wine or play-on-linux to work either ...

[sycc90]

Ive been debating ubuntu just for the simplicity. Win10 comes with more junk I don't want then a Dell machine! (I've installed it twice since launch)

But sadly most of my games don't support Linux, and I couldn't get wine or play-on-linux to work either ...

 

Well, if you have a good enough cpu and the necessary hardware you can always run Windows in a VM... pretty much like they did on their "virtualized gaming build", although without the proprietary (and paid) software =)

I've been doing this for a long time and have never looked back. Does it have some sort of impact in game performance? Yes. Is it noticeable? Depends on how good your cpu is, personally I get a 10-20% reduced performance on the most demanding games, but just never having to boot back into Windows whatsoever makes it soooo worth it, I'd happily give away even more performance just for this.

 

OTOH, Ubuntu comes with its own share of junk though... maybe you should consider Linux Mint.

 

Cheers!

-- Sycc