this post was submitted on 27 May 2024
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Unpopular Opinion

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Windows 10 EoL is fast approaching, so I thought I’d give Linux a try on some equipment that won’t be able to upgrade to Windows 11. I wanted to see if I will be able to recommend an option to anyone that asks me what they should do with their old PC.

Many years ago I switched to Gentoo Linux to get through collage. I was very anti-MS at the time. I also currently interact with Linux systems regularly although they don’t have a DE and aren’t for general workstation use.

Ubuntu: easy install. Working desktop. Had issues with getting GPU drivers. App Store had apps that would install but not work. The App Store itself kept failing to update itself with an error that it was still running. It couldn’t clear this hurdle after a reboot so I finally killed the process and manually updated from terminal. Overall, can’t recommend this to a normal user.

Mint: easy install. Switching to nvidia drivers worked without issue. App Store had issues with installing some apps due to missing dependencies that it couldn’t install. Some popular apps would install but wouldn’t run. Shutting the laptop closed results in a prompt to shutdown, but never really shuts off. Update process asks me to pick a fast source (why can’t it do this itself?)

Both: installing apps outside of their respective stores is an adventure in terminal instead of a GUI double-click. Secure boot issues. Constant prompt for password instead of a simple PIN or other form of identity verification.

Search results for basic operations require understanding that what works for Ubuntu might not work for Mint.

While I personally could work with either, I don’t see Linux taking any market share from MS or Apple when windows 10 is retired.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

It's not necessarily about asking questions or providing the right detail to someone who knows more than you though. After asking for help with the problems I'm experiencing, the answer turned out to be that the NVIDIA driver support for my hardware configuration just isnt there yet. It's not Linux's fault, but unless I spend hundreds to switch my GPU brand or start unlugging monitors, I'm stuck with Windows until Explicit Sync hits the stable release.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

also sometimes hardware drivers or other features are missing

You make a good point, and I tried to encompass that in the quoted part of my comment. Stuff like fingerprint sensors is one thing, not having your video card supported is kind of difficult to put up with, admittedly.