How do you like your switch from Windows/Mac to Linux?

nChrist · Jul 16, 2019

I'm on a new computer right now, but I ran Linux on my last computer as it was dying. I found Ubuntu Linux to be quite good, and I would still be using it had my old computer survived.

_Dave_ · Jul 17, 2019

I've had quite an amazing time playing in my laptop linux sandbox.

I completely bricked my laptop three times! But the incredible thing I'm learning about the Linux community is that any question I can ask has been asked and thoroughly answered many times.

One piece of advice that I'm glad I didn't accept was that many say it isn't necessary to create a root password. I did it anyway just for grins, and I am so glad I did because the first time I bricked my machine I was able to login as root, as is required to perform commands in recovery mode. Otherwise, my only option would have been to reinstall the OS.

I'm very pleased that I have succeeded in writing a shell script to mount my desktop Windows 7 PC C drive, and a USB drive directly connected to my router that I use as a server. The script automatically runs at every reboot via a Crontab @reboot command line.

I love the terminal and the command line. I feel like a young whippersnapper enjoying computing again like i used to starting back in 1983 with my Commodore 64 and 80286 machine before Bill Gates and Steve Jobs came along and isolated users from the computing experience. Anyone remember CP/M and PC-DOS?

Wookiee · Jul 17, 2019

_Dave_ said:
One piece of advice that I'm glad I didn't accept was that many say it isn't necessary to create a root password.

Who was saying that?! That's awful advice!

_Dave_ · Jul 17, 2019

Wookiee said:
Who was saying that?! That's awful advice!

It was several times in one forum or another.

The context was they were saying that all anyone ever needs to do if they need root to change a file in Terminal is use sudo or sudo -s. And that logging in as root and changing files could do massive damage. Probably true enough if you aren't careful.

However, unless I'm wrong, I found that if you have no recourse other than starting up in recovery it means you need a root password in order to use the Root option from the recovery menu. No root password, and all you've got is a brick that needs a new OS install.

Wookiee · Jul 18, 2019

I'm not sure you can actually install a distro without setting a root account password in setup... I've never seen an option for that anyway.

By all means, don't constantly login as root when you can help it, but not having a password at all...

_Dave_ · Jul 18, 2019

Wookiee said:
I'm not sure you can actually install a distro without setting a root account password in setup... I've never seen an option for that anyway.

By all means, don't constantly login as root when you can help it, but not having a password at all...

I'm no permissions guru by any means, and I'm brand new to Linux, but my impression is that as as owner during an install everyone becomes admin with full root permissions in Terminal using sudo or sudo -s. However, that's different than logging in as "root," which requires a different, separate root password.

Distros purposely do not offer root as a user option upon install.

Like I said, I could be wrong. This is all brand new to me.

morse86 · Jul 21, 2019

Can never go back to Windows, it's no longer an operating system...it's a giant advertisement, even after paying for it, it serves advertisements and there is no way to turn it off.

Plus you're feeding Microsoft AI machine learning data.

Can't disable Windows Defender, can't disable windows updates.....you no longer own your own computer, they do.

morse86 · Jul 21, 2019

Wookiee said:
I'm not sure you can actually install a distro without setting a root account password in setup... I've never seen an option for that anyway.

By all means, don't constantly login as root when you can help it, but not having a password at all...

If you don't specify a root password, sudo is installed (at least on debian). If you enter a root pass during the install, sudo is not installed. You would login to root using "su -" and then do whatever you need as root and then exit.

nonaeroterraqueous · Jul 23, 2019

morse86 said:
Can't disable Windows Defender...

I heard they're changing the name to Microsoft Defender. I hadn't heard that it couldn't be disabled (I don't have 10, so I've never tried). Wouldn't that interfere with antivirus programs?

paul1149 · Jul 23, 2019

nonaeroterraqueous said:
I heard they're changing the name to Microsoft Defender. I hadn't heard that it couldn't be disabled (I don't have 10, so I've never tried). Wouldn't that interfere with antivirus programs?

WD can be disabled by the user in W10 in the Registry, which is how 3rd party Anti-malwares do it. I believe Windows Updates can be stopped similarly. though that's risky.

HisGraceAbounds · Jul 29, 2019

I have been using Linux since the 2.2 kernel. I recently switched to Mac and it is so much better. The Mach kernel at the heart of the BSD Mac OS is based on is far superior to anything coming out of the Linux world.

linux.poet · Dec 9, 2022

Linux is the best until you have to install a new program.

*drops mic*

There's less background processes that eat into your processing power and internet bandwidth, which means that video calls on my ancient DSL run a lot smoother. There are a lot more commands that are useful for programming, and the fact that you can't use half of your non-programming programs on the system makes it easier to focus. For CS majors, I would largely recommend buying a computer, installing Linux on it, and never booting up your windows machine for the entire semester.

But if you're a designer, musician, or serious gamer, a switch to Linux will likely cause struggles for you. Libre Office is good and Google Docs is beastly, but the Office Suite really cannot be beaten as the industry standard. (Web Designers honestly need both Windows and Linux - Windows for design programs and Linux for the complex programming side ooof.)

The improved performance comes with quirks like having to update Zoom by hand and also having to go through a complex process of having to delete kernels in /boot every so often to avoid a kernel panic. But freedom from the corporate overlords is totally worth that hassle, right?

Now go install jGrasp and Eclipse on Linux for me please. And install Tomcat too. The right way. Do it.

peaceful-forest · Dec 9, 2022

I switched to Linux back in the spring. I had Windows 10. I changed operating systems because of Windows 11. Microsoft had said that Windows 10 was going to be the last operating system they made. Apparently not. My tower was not eligible for the Windows 11 upgrade, which I'm happy about because there are things about it that I didn't like, like all the spying, the control, etc.

What I like most about Linux is the privacy and security. They're not spying on you like Google, Apple, and Microsoft. And it doesn't have the malware issues that Windows has.

It does have its downsides. For example, one of the biggest issues has been the printer. Sometimes it works normally, sometimes it's gotta be disconnected from the USB port and restarted.

JesseRaymondBassett · Dec 14, 2022

For those who use linux, what desktop environment do you prefer? Personally I prefer cinnamon over the others.

Wookiee · Dec 14, 2022

KDE or Gnome. Don't really have much time or energy for anything else.

That said, most of my Linux interactions these days are through SSH and Webmin, so it's a moot point either way.

Anthony2019 · Dec 15, 2022

I use KDE and GNOME - they are the two DE's I grew up with on Linux. If I needed a fallback, eg. a system running low on resources, then I'd probably choose XFCE.

KDE, GNOME and XFCE are the three DEs which are provided as default on my OpenSUSE installation media.

For desktop PCS, or systems where you require a lot of screen estate, then it's KDE all the way. It is by far the most flexible and customisable, and it's home-grown apps are very mature, and highly productive - especially for corporate environments or those where you have to do a lot of serious work. Take Dolphin, Kdenlive, Krita and Digikam or example - there is no software to compare to them. I don't think developments in KDE are as exciting as they are in GNOME, but for now, it is the most mature and productive of the two. Here is my current KDE set up:-

For laptops and notebooks, GNOME is probably the best DE there is and probably the most fun! It has the best workflow for touch enabled devices, with its full screen launcher, large icons and window padding. It is definitely very easy to use and ideal for newcomers to Linux. But sometimes I think its default apps, such as photo editors, media players etc are lacking in functionality and can be buggy and unstable. For GNOME to be fully usable, it relies on extensions - many of which keep breaking everytime the DE mores to a new version. I do think GNOME is the future of Linux - it's fully on board with Wayland for example - but I don't think it is there just yet.

JesseRaymondBassett · Dec 19, 2022

nonaeroterraqueous said:
From the rumors that I've read, the problem is Mint, and their strategy of testing, or basically quarantining, everything before release (in theory). This makes newer printers less compatible than the old ones, because it takes forever for the drivers to come out. I don't know how true it is. It didn't work so well on the older printer that I replaced, either (a Cannon).

nonaeroterraqueous said:
I hadn't thought of trying the printer without downloaded drivers. The information I found on their web site made it seem as though the hplip package had to be installed and updated for the printer to work. While it's true that I was able to get my previous printer to work with the native drivers, it was always a little buggy. Maybe if I get a chance I'll try printing from a live disk and see if it works.

Try using Turboprint for drivers. It costs $39 but works with a lot of drivers for many many printers.

linux.poet · Dec 22, 2022

I'm running Plasma by KDE at the moment on my kubuntu rig.

I'm thinking of converting an old Windows XP machine of mine to a Linux rig, probably some lightweight Arch-esque distro, in order to use it as an offline web server for testing purposes.

Sketcher · Dec 22, 2022

JesseBassett said:
For those who use linux, what desktop environment do you prefer? Personally I prefer cinnamon over the others.

KDE. It's surprisingly light, along with all its other niceties. Lighter than XFCE in my tests within VMs. If I want to go lighter than that, Openbox.

Sketcher · Dec 22, 2022

linux.poet said:
The improved performance comes with quirks like having to update Zoom by hand

If you're installing Zoom at all, you're doing it wrong. Join the session from the browser, no installation needed. Go to the meeting page in your browser, cancel out of the popup link, click Join In Browser on the page, and you're in.

How do you like your switch from Windows/Mac to Linux?

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