This is a super random not-related-to-magick question Windows 10 is no longer supported by Microsoft and my computer is not eligible for the free Windows 11 upgrade. I’m missing a specific hardware requirement or something, but my computer runs perfectly fine.
Anyway, I have been considering swapping over to Linux instead of Windows. The problem is that I have no experience doing anything like that! I’ve installed and re-installed Windows OS on a few computers, but going from one OS to another is something I’ve never done before.
If you’ve done this, can you share some tips or your experience? I’m also just pretty tired of Windows and Microsoft in general so that definitely plays a role.
I’m pretty tech savvy so I have confidence in my ability to swap from one to the other. I’m just doing a bit of research and stuff first!
Just the useless kind of reply you don’t need: I don’t have any experience with this, either - but I share your Windows exhaustion! I think the main reason I’ve stuck with Microsoft is due to it being what various hospital systems put in physician offices that I managed. If I took work home, that made it seamless.
Good luck with this; I know you’ll get there. An option is also to let it ride for awhile. If you have good malware protection, do backups, etc, you don’t need to worry too much about MS support. I know people who are running on MS 8 with no issues!
Anyway. @dan3 seems fairly techie; maybe he’ll weigh in here.
I hear you, I decided to do the same thing a few years ago I started out with Ubuntu, but eventually started seeing worrying signs of how they were running things (snapd, Unity, generally talking down to users) and switched to Debian. I’ve been happy for them quite a few years now.
I’ve also been recommending Linux Mint if you’re starting out, or just generally prefer a graphical user interface. With Debian you might have to do a few things through the terminal (which is a useful skill to have anyway, you’ll have faster and quicker access to a lot of things that way! )
Either way I can recommend xfce as the window manager / desktop environment, it’s lightweight, stable and elegant
Wishing you a smooth transition and interesting new things to discover
EDIT: I showed this thread to my girlfriend (who her former colleagues used to call “Linux goddess” ), and with her permission I’m sharing what she said
And remember, the terminal isn’t more complicated than a magical ritual, you just have to know your invocations~
I am a geeky kind of guy and have a Linux laptop along with other OSs. I’m still on my first cup of coffee so I’ll be babbling but here is an unstructured look at my observations.
Linux tries to be Windows-like at times and I love it. I have had a version of it since Linus Torvald’s first releases. For a while, Apple’s core OS was based on Linux.
It is different enough that I would strongly urge working with it before cutting the cord with Microsoft. Almost all the different versions (there are many) offer a dual boot option. During installation, you are offered a complete wipe of your OS or to have an option pop up when you boot up to go to Linux or Windows. If you have enough disk space on your old computer, this is a great option. You will be frustrated at first because some commands are not obvious and others don’t work quite like Windows. It is like jumping into the Apple world from Microsoft and trying to figure out what works.
The good news is that most of what you use in Windows is provided as free clones in Linux. The bad news is that they don’t work quite as smoothly - but they do work.
Expect some issues when you first install it. Tweaking the WiFi drivers, learning to go to the command line (Terminal in Linux) and the commands there. Linux was initially, like DOS, a command line OS. It still holds on to that somewhat stubbornly.
Linux uses a different OS disk format so using files you made in Microsoft can be done but it is a bit fiddly. Sort of like trying to pass files made with Apple back and forth with Microsoft.
Manipulating images with the Linux apps is easy enough. Doing video is not as smooth at all.
SBCs (single board computers) use Linux because the OS footprint is quite small and with Linux you are a step closer to the hardware. SBC users laugh at Windows users. It’s a thing. SBCs can be used as everyday computers but are deal for robotic apps. I have made several robotic camera drivers to sneak up on wildlife using an SBC and Linux as the core.
Linux makes an incredibly fast and efficient network server. There are many commercial businesses using it. We converted over our school online learning to a Linux based option. Cost was 12 million.
I’ll stop now. Bottom line is don’t go straight to Linux if you’ve never played in it. It takes a while but the rewards are good. I don’t use it as my everyday OS but I don’t hesitate to fire it up if my Microsoft unit is down (that happened a couple of months ago).
I’ve considered the switch a few times, but I think deep down I might still be burned out from switching everything from Apple to Windows (albeit over a decade ago ) and have been dragging my feet. There have been some great ideas and insights shared here, so I’ll be following along and learning
Wishing you all the best with the switch to Linux - please keep us updated how it goes!
Well, after looking into it some more, I don’t think it’s the right move for me right now. I don’t have the brain space to learn a new operating system like Linux even if I’m not happy with Windows Thank you for all the insight, everyone!
Windows 10 is no longer supported by Microsoft and my computer is not eligible for the free Windows 11 upgrade. I’m missing a specific hardware requirement or something, but my computer runs perfectly fine.
so that definitely plays a role.
)
), and with her permission I’m sharing what she said 
) and have been dragging my feet. There have been some great ideas and insights shared here, so I’ll be following along and learning 
Thank you for all the insight, everyone!