this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2026
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This is the main reason why I said, "I'm glad I was able to leave Windows behind". As I know there are people that are held hostage or feel that they are by Windows and Microslop (by design, naturally).
As for all your questions, you can investigate them by exploring a VM or Live Session of a Linux distro that appeals to you. As a Live Session USB will allow you to play with the distro without ever installing it on your computer. It will certainly require you to change your current methods as the programs will be an approximation not a replica of the tools you're used to. The only reason why I was able to adapt is because my needs are vastly different and I don't depend on corporate applications to do anything. I already used a lot of open source software on Windows before switching to Linux.
Gaming on Linux is totally fine, there are a lot of games that might require you to do as little as changing the Proton Compatibility Layer version in order to run it. If you play a lot of games that depend on Kernel Level Anticheat, that's the one thing which will cause you a lot of problems (unless they go out of their way to support Linux). You can game on just about any Linux distro. Steam, and Heroic Game Launcher makes it easier than ever to game on Linux with their investment in Arch Linux and that work being shared on other distros.
Ultimately, this is a choice that only affects you, so I won't try to convince you. Just highlight things and let you decide in the end.
I already use Linux on my Raspberry PI (albeit CLI only), even most of my windows applications (mostly file management tools and video/audio/image processing) are open source, albeit with some notable exceptions.
I think gaming should be fine, I mostly play single player games or retro games.
I will most likely switch (also waiting on getting a new laptop to use as a test bed) because I am not moving to W11 and W10 will be difficult to use in 2-3 years. Hopefully the situation improves even more in the next 24 months or so.
Ah, it won't be much of a shock then...Depending on the distro you end up going with! I had the impression that you'd be using a lot of closed source stuff. I will concede my impression was incorrect on that matter.
It's good at the very least you have an exit plan in the works for charting the next step of your tech life. As yeah, I'd agree Windows 10 will become a more challenging thing to use as more time passes. It will get to the stage that nobody supports it and you'd need to do some serious tweaking to make it possible. Plus the lack of security updates are going to make that computer a tasty treat for those that want to turn it into a botnet. I hate that Microslop had the audacity to try and pull the trigger on the next big e-waste event, trying to force users to upgrade their stuff (for nasty corporate reasons). I think the situation is going to take a lot longer to improve at least with the current tech scene. 24 months is a hopeful estimate, but, I've been wrong before!
You'll be set for gaming, as based on how gaming looks on Linux now...It's night and day from those uncertain times while I was using Ubuntu 16.04. Like most games, even certain "unsupported" flagged games tend to work more often. It's still a slight risk, but that is what demos are for!