this post was submitted on 13 Feb 2024
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2025 will likely be way more the year of massive e-waste than the "Year of the Linux Desktop (TM)" - but I still think it is in the realm of possible that Linux market share close to doubles into the 5 to 8 percent range.
While I already regularly use Ubuntu and Ubuntu Touch for my "infotainment" desktops, laptops and tablets - I have 3 desktops in my studio that run Windows 10 that work great for my pro audio work needs, none of which qualify for Windows 11 according to MS's "PC Health Check" app. So I've been investigating running Ubuntu Studio dual booting on one of my machines as a possible way of keeping these boxes going after Win 10 stops getting security updates. Some things look promising, but given I was not able to get the available kernel module device driver to build for my Merging Anubis (which is my main audio interface for my mastering studio) I will likely still need to get a Win 11 box in order to be able to continue my current work flow.
Or the year of grand piracy. "Someone I met" told me that while it is nearly impossible to purchase a legit copy, Windows 10 IoT LTSC is going to be supported until 2032. It is truly Windows as its meant to be without tons of bloat, telemetry, ads, and the option to decline feature updates. Scripts readily available on the web to activate the product, runs so cleanly and efficiently.
To me, this gives off the same sort of energy as "Americans will do anything to avoid using the metric system."
Getting an OS from questionable sources that MS is almost certain to be aware is not a legit copy and relying on their goodwill to in order to avoid either getting new hardware or switching to a more reliable and usually monetarily free OS.
Maybe it's that I've not been running Windows for over a decade but, I just don't get it. You're presumably going to be entrusting the OS with a Steam install and other potentially sensitive things.
Hahaha very funny analogy and also very true. Ideally, yeah you're 100% right. But in practicality, Linux/GNU is only free if you have time to spend. I do run Debian and openSUSE on some machines because there are use cases where it is unparalleled. However, there are times where you have to get hacky and pour over documentation to get it to do what you want for applications that would just work right out the gate with Windows, so the choice is obvious if you're running against a clock or lack technical skills.
Secondly yes it is sketchy but I would compare it to finding sources of information in the world of academics. All about where it comes from and if the affiliated community is trustworthy/expert enough to verify integrity.
The individual I was referring to has been using LTSC since it's launch 9 years ago and has never had a security breach (knock on wood). Their initial motivations were to avoid being part of the MS botnet and being fed up with advertising on software they'd paid for, but seeing the regression of the OS to its current state serves to confirm their sentiment.
TL;DR sometimes there's no practical choice but Windows and ltsc is the best one, if you're careful
I too do pro audio work. I don't like Windows and love Linux and have several laptops running Linux Mint, but I don't think Linux is quite where I want it to be for me to switch fully for audio work. So I consider using Windows just an occupational hazard of sorts for now.
My wife does pro audio work as well. We both got fed up of the pure trash quality of MS's updates (offline is not an option as remote sessions are sometimes needed). It got so bad that she had to comp a full session due to driver issues. So, despite loathing Apple, we bit the bullet and got a MacMini from Costco. Not quite Linux but it is unix- like and extremely stable.
For Linux, maybe check out Ardour, if you haven't yet.
for laptops, linux is king. but many use cases still don't work yet.
and since a desktop needs to be able to do so much more, it's going to be a long-ass time before i can switch.
already learning to use it though, so the switch will be as smooth as possible.
One use case that I think is going to make more people able to adopt Linux in the next couple years is mechanical CAD. FreeCAD is approaching a 1.0 release that is going to be actually adoptable, which I think may free up some folks to switch from Fusion360's drawbackware tier.
Look into the service: 0patch, they can keep your EoL win10 machines safe.
For about $30 a year I still get patches for my Win7 gaming rig