A few years ago, and Mint is great. I'll never look back.
this post was submitted on 12 Jan 2026
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Any of these things comes to mind:
- Not respecting my configuration.
- Updates taking hours and then having to boot safe mode to repair after said update.
- Having to constantly fight spyware.
- The feeling that my computer is not my own.
- Stupid design decisions.
- Feeling like an unpaid tester for an anti-consumer company.
If it does not work on linux, I don't buy it. I'm sick of Microsoft. They feel like abusers.
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I stopped using Windows on my own machines many years ago. It was probably about the time when the games I was playing ran well enough, so dual booting was just taking up space I could use.
I drew the line fifty years ago, with Bill Gates’ Open Letter to Hobbyists.
I've never seen an EMR that runs on Linux and if I did I'd have to find an employer willing to run it.
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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)
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.
Not familiar with it personally, but I know it gets used on Linux. I've seen a friend of mine play with it once back when it was still called FruityLoops on Windows a decade ago, but I've never personally had it.
There will be a little bit of a hassle initially, a dash of typing in the console, (which shouldn't scare you, but some people freak out if their screen has to look like the 80s, even if just for a minute-even if they are 80s/90s kids) but it seems like it works fine once you get it set up.
I don't know anyone using it personally but going by mentions of it and several pages showing directions to get it running (via Wine) seems to indicate it works.
Anyone familiar with it can add more info, I'm just going by the fact that directions to install it exist.
Wine will help run a bunch of things that are Windows-only. It's not perfect and doesn't work with everything, but FL studio seems to be one it does (based on what I see- again I'd wait to see if someone who uses it chimes in).
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I had installed a dualboot setup but all programs I use worked natively on linux by luck so I just used that.
I forgot there was windows in my laptop over time until the distrohopping phase when I saw a partition taking up half my space and mounted it out of curiosity.
I draw one big circle shape line around it to keep it contained.
I was building myself a new computer from scratch and I had a friend whose laptop I would borrow on occasion that had win 11 on it.
Knowing how bad win11 was and knowing I'd have to pay yet another $100+ to be graced with the garbage on my system, I decided to partition an old laptop and play around on mint for a minute. The rest, they say, is history.
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 recently did the unthinkable. I sold my Xbox Series X and let the existing GamePass Ultimate multi year subscription just go to waste.
Got a Playstation 5 Pro and I’m happy with gaming again. Feels good and exciting to pick up a controller these days.
I'm glad your happy with this move.
Personally, I despite Sony as well, they aren't a great company (I lump them in with Microsoft) because of the corpo bullshit they've tried to pull but angry gamers made them back down. Their insecure PSN and constant breeches+down time that I was reading about made me real nervous to even consider them as well. You had to make a change and this was your choice because there are so few console makers to choose from.
I agree about companies being bad actors. Sony, just like Microsoft, has done shit that was anti-consumer in the past.
However, outside of Nazi support, I can’t keep boycotting every damned company. I simply support what I think is good behavior.
In Sony’s case, they’ve targeted me as a gamer and Microsoft has targeted me as a perpetual cash machine with diminishing returns. It’s a win/win for me.
I have no brand loyalty and will go where my wants are met. In Sony’s case, I finally got what was promised — and never delivered — at the start of this console generation: 60+ FPS gameplay at 4K with Ray Tracing. The Playstation 5 Pro is still overpriced but it was so worth it to me. I miss functions like Quick Resume but not as much as I thought I would.
NOTE: I didn’t use AI for my response. I’ve been using the em-dash before Google existed and I ain’t quitting.
To me, if Sony has tried in recent memory, they'll do it again. They already have an aggressive walled garden approach that is meant to trap users (much like Apple). I can't realistically support that kind of behavior, until they make the majority of their games multi-platform (like Microsoft has) and PSN absolutely not necessary on other platforms with better online integration and authentication support...They can kick rocks.
While Sony did fulfill promises of hardware capabilities for console, it comes with a spoonful of poison.
I'm also not very brand loyal, so I will flit between competitors to see what's good (if they don't have shitty practices). Valve, while flawed in some respects has kept me in their ecosystem the longest. With the support for Linux and making gaming a better experience on my preferred OS...I do use them the most for my gaming needs these days. Which is why I will be buying a Steam Machine, as my needs are met on their platform.
Quick Resume is nice, but, I often never utilized it because I just shut down a game instead of resuming from where I was. It had some quirks, but it is fairly solid.
"NOTE: I didn’t use AI for my response. I’ve been using the em-dash before Google existed and I ain’t quitting." Eh? I don't think I ever implied you were a clanker lover and used one to make a response. The other trademarks of generated responses aren't present in your reply to me. I suppose you were trying to ward off other users in this case...
Lmao. The AI note was to head off the silly commenter that was sure to show up and make the accusation. It was not really directed at you.
As for what we want from our gaming company’s products, I think we differ and that’s ok. I am enjoying the PlayStation 5 exclusives and I think I want it to stay that way. I at least want games that are developed with Sony’s/Microsoft’s consoles in mind before worrying about porting for others’ enjoyment.
To be clear, I don’t want to have some weird fanboy bragging rights; I just want games to push a system to its max before worrying about making it work on others’. In fact, I think that’s what’s holding back the Series consoles. My opinion of the Xbox Series S is in the gutter.
To be as abrasive as possible, that system is a scourge of console gaming evolution and is a well-marketed piece of junk. Games notoriously get delayed to accommodate that horrid thing not being able to keep up with what I consider basic requirements in console gaming.
In fairness and to be as least abrasive as possible, I absolutely love the Xbox Series X. I think it did everything right except keeping the baseline promise of 4K/60 with Ray Tracing. However, that’s also a problem the base PlayStation 5 faces so it’s not that big a deal when comparing.
I’m not a PC gamer and I don’t want unnecessary complications with my down time so I stick to console. More power to all my friends that cross-platform game with me but holy shit I cannot even think of having to deal with the random issues that plague them. If my console has a rare hiccup (I think my last time was some 5 years ago) I simply reboot it and I’m back to my game in a minute or so. Maybe the rumored next-gen Microsoft machine that embraces steam will make me a convert but I don’t see how unless they aggressively address the convenience factor(s) I feel good back PC gaming.
That last point is probably why I prefer Apple over android or other competing OS/platforms. I just want the thing to work as advertised and I will push its limits as far as I’m allowed. Where others see it as a negative I see only positive things. I want it smooth and I want it to work without seeing the gears behind the shiny paint working overtime to make the magic happen. When it fails to meet my expectations I’ll move on.
Tech should always work for me instead of the other way around. That’s my personal approach to it all and it’s kept me happy so far.
This got long. I’m sorry.
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I have Windows 10 for games, but it's firewalled so hard that it can't check for updates or do any of its other shady stuff. I can't even install components like WSL, because that works through svchost, the single executable doing too much.
I'm using Simplewall for that. The prohibitions for MS shenanigans are a couple checkboxes in the menu.
When they forced me to go to Windows 11, even though my computer, technically could’ve ran windows 11, it was just missing a certain component on the motherboard so wouldn’t install. I told them to piss off, and I switched over to Linux. (Mint Linux)
I may end up running windows in a VM so I can back up my NAS to BackBlaze for cheap.
I dumped windows on my desktop about 18 months ago because there was no way I was going to use windows 11. My stepson has been using ChimeraOS for about 2 years without issue. And my server was switched to FreeNAS (now TrueNAS) in 2015.
I've drawn the line when my files were eaten by their cloud, and also because fuck monopolies and yadwleeyaddeeyada.
Drawn the line but haven't stepped over: I have one laptop and can't really afford a new one. What if I brick it installing Linux? I really really really really want to, haven't dared yet.
you cant brick computer just by installing operating system. That happens if bios breaks but mostly there is no reason to mess with that.
The main thing I think is a valid fear is losing things necessary to reinstall Windows in case of emergency.
With 11, they tie it to MS account which makes a reinstall easier. Some devices, I think it’s tied to the hardware though? That’s actually something I’d like to learn more about so people doing Linux tryouts have a safety net.
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Search [your laptop model] linux and see what other people have experienced. IME it's almost always painless unless you just happen to have a proprietary wifi chip or something that devs are still reverse engineering.
Now, you can just buy premade. Ubuntu and Pop!, mostly. With that, the hardware will be compatible out of the box. Mainstreaming capacity is here.
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Windows 11 was my line. I wasn't going to use an os to advertise at me, I spend too much time blocking ads already. Linux Mint has been a clear upgrade, it was more than time to switch.
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!
10 was great actually. If you went from 10 to 11 like I had to for work, you know it day one. 11 just sucks donkey dick hard.
Work laptop that is assigned to me and controlled by the corporation. Anything personal is Linux.
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 probably wouldn't have a giant picture window in front of the toilet.
when you cant opt out of any/all ai bullshit