Ask Lemmy

I use Windows 11 as a desktop OS, mostly because it came preinstalled on the laptop, a bunch of apps run on it (Affinity, some photography stuff, Clip Studio Paint, and FL Studio mostly - and I'm aware Davinci Resolve has a linux port but installing it looked like a pain and a half), and for early part of its existence, I thought Windows 11 used to be kinda good actually. ...Bunch of really silly stuff on Microsoft's part has happened since, though, and it has made me very grumpy toward them and I think they're really busy - what do the kid say these days? - losing the plot.

I already dialed back my Xbox subscription (guys, you don't hike a price by over 100€ a year when the price was already damn high!), and already dialed back my Office subscription (yeah I don't need Copilot, thanks) and will probably cancel it altogether next time the bill is due. ...oh and my game purchases have mostly gone to Steam lately.

I use Linux (Debian variants) almost everywhere else, currently on a junk desktop PC (Debian/KDE) and Raspberry Pi 4, mostly for development stuff. I don't think there'd be a huge pain in the neck in moving to Linux again, especially since I already use a lot of open source apps (and I've generally preferred software with sensible purchase terms, etc), but it's not a huge pressing issue right now.

I was only on Windows for gaming. When Kushner / Saudi royalty bought EA, I dipped because of Kashoggi. I would like to still play bf6 and fortnite but not enough to stay on Windows.

I drew the line at Windows 10. It was bad enough. 11 was a bridge too far. I basically quit 4 months ago and wiped my last Windows machine today. I just made a post about it!

For anyone on the fence, do it!

I stopped dual booting in 2025 so there's almost no Windows usage at home now except with Winboat to use Vortex for some games on Nexus mods. I'm aware of workarounds but this is still faster and more reliable if I'm stuck using Vortex for Collections. Otherwise I'll faff around with prefixes and WINE like I did for Dragon Age Origins Mod Manager. Jackify for Wabbajack. Used LIMO too for Expedition 33.

I have: Desktop, Living Room TV PC, and an old server. They all run Linux now. x2 CachyOS and server is Debian. Server is just running BetterMC at the moment.

Stuck using Windows at work. I.T. strips most of the AI crap out and mostly uses the Office suite in Edge browser now except for Excel.

The line was...blurry? I just slowly got too fed up with telemetry, AI slop, vibe coding slowdown, ruined GUI in 11. At the same time Linux gaming was getting better and met my standards. I don't play anything requiring anti cheat anymore even when I was using Windows. Not out of principal but lack of interest. There's also a strong motivator in my life of ditching centralized American software.

I'd like to remove it but I don't have the internet abilities to get all my shit back nor any way to backup, so I'm just ignoring it until I get a new laptop and hopefully remember to put it on Linux when I get it. Presuming Linux works on niche high end laptops anyway.

If I am forced to use Windows 11, then I will begrudgingly do so (my workplace has a PC with Windows 11 installed and it's so manky). The only other place where I tolerate it is on my Xbox Series S (which might be replaced completely with a Steam Machine). The only reason why I tolerate it on my Xbox is because installing a distro would be difficult and not have any significant payoff as most distros are meant for full on PCs. With Microsoft growing to become the shittiest they can become, I am beginning to not be able to stomach the notion of even having a Microsoft account. I will deadass throw away hundreds of dollars of investment in Xbox if it means being free of Microsoft in my daily life.

Otherwise, I use Linux, have it installed on every computer that I can, also make use of Android and Open Source tools when needed in order to avoid any of their products whenever possible. I am currently transitioning as many accounts out of Outlook as possible. For the time when I choose the nuclear option.

I draw one big circle shape line around it to keep it contained.

Still looking for an alternative to FL studio. Spent lots of money on it. And I'm really just hoping they will sooner than later support Linux.

A few years ago, and Mint is great. I'll never look back.

I wish I could switch, I even tried recently(last week). But one of my hobbies is sim racing, and the main game just works extremely poorly, like 30 - 130fps, and Devs have said that they don't want to support linux so they will likely turn of the anti cheat support.

No, I can't really switch because there isn't anything equivalent that works on Linux.

As soon as that works well, or I build a 2nd PC I will switch (no I am not going to bother with dual booting cause I will just spend most of the time in windows)

The only reason I keep Windows is for Battlefield 6. Other than that, Linux for everything else and telemetry is blocked at the DNS level. (oh and I'm still running Windows 10 because 11 is a fucking nightmare)

Still on the fence about using it for work, my previous two employers let me use Linux, I'm not sure I'll be as lucky for my next job. (and macOS ergonomics seem so alien to me, plus Liquid Glass is a shit show)

Already drawn. Recently switched to linux on my work laptop. And I work with my supporting M365.

when you cant opt out of any/all ai bullshit

Gave up on Windows fully on my desktop/laptop over a year ago after running numerous Linux servers for years (starting with a Raspberry Pi in 2016). I used to dual-boot for several years, and now I have a Windows VM I keep around in case I need it for something... but in practice I don't actually need it for anything and haven't spun up the Windows VM six months or more.

It's a 365 instance on a small partition for work. I use PowerQuery a lot and found a VM slows down ETL times too much. I work at a university and can use our powerful VMs for remote researchers, but they reset workspace each day, so it's a hassle.

There's no other reason why I have a local copy still and it's always a relief to be done with it for the day.

I drew the line back with XP. Couldn’t stand the fisher price interface, and OS X was getting seriously good at the time.

I not only used, but supported Windows for many many years. I loved and used their technet subscription and was pretty much an evangelist until the whole Windows 8 debacle. This was my first glimpse that they may have lost the plot, but I had faith that such an old and established entity would undoubtedly right itself.

Windows 10 only grudgingly won me over and Windows 11 was a shot across the bow. My subconscious was already planning an exit, but yeah, when the whole fk privacy initiatives came to the fore I began actively planning. The very first day I couldn't find my files because of OneDrive and found out just how difficult it was to opt out of that? My computers started going to Linux. Their doubling down on AI simply convinced me that they have no idea what their customers want anymore. I've got one lone Surface Pro on Windows 10 that's no longer supported, and I've got a Linux NUC solution raised like the blade on a guillotine. One machine left and I say goodbye to this shitshow forever.

My work even said goodbye to Windows recently and we use Mac now. Not a huge Apple fan either but when corporations start ditching Windows as an OS? You'd think they'd take notice. Sadly their head is so far up their ass I don't know that they'll care.

In the past it has been a necessary evil for some games, but with the increased Linux support my plan is to switch as soon as I have backed up the files I need.

Its still on my wife's and step child's PCs, but not on mine. They don't seem bothered by it or don't use them enough to be inconvenienced, and I'll not force my will on their user experiences. If they mention anything about it I'll gladly help them get into bazzite as I have. So far we've all still been able to play the games we want to together. Oh and my wife has a work laptop that has to be windows but that can't be helped.