How and why I switched to Linux

[@Thoroughmas]

I certainly didn't expect much attention on this video... lovely to hear from the Linux community! I'll definitely be making more Linux-related videos. (Not immediately though -- my next few videos are about games, music and demons.) Thanks all for your comments! (I haven't read them all but I will)

[@prince._]

Well, windows offers wsl🙂

[@Cypherdude1]

Hello, lifetime Win user here. Have tech question, how many partitions does Linux Mint create 1 or more, how big and what type?

[@Cypherdude1]

@lifesbutastumble Yes, Tails is a security-based Linux which boots from USB and is built for privacy.

[@Cypherdude1]

@lifesbutastumble Try reading the article on 'Top 10 Linux distributions for privacy and security' on nordvpn web and choosing one of those. I am not an expert on Linux. MS is forcing me to move.

[@Cypherdude1]

@lifesbutastumble Try reading the article on 'Top 10 Linux distributions for privacy and security' and choosing one of those. I am not an expert on Linux. Micros is forcing me to move.

[@dappermuis5002]

Lessons learned in my change over: 1. Dual boot on separate drives to avoid something going wrong and loosing both OS. Make sure to disconnect the Windows one before installing on the other drive or you may over write the Windows one. 2. Replace all apps with ones that can run of both OS, before considering changing over. Many trip up here. And why so many give up. Trying to learn and find all new apps and a new OS at the same time is not recommended. 3. Expect and accept things will be very different. This isn't Windows. 4. Be patient with things. Learning takes time. 5. Know there will be hiccups and accept that it may take time to sort. But if like me, in general the issues I had to over come was far less than the issues Windows was giving me in the end. No OS is perfect. 6. Repeat after me - Time shift is your best friend.

[@BigDogHaver]

Number 2 and 6 are suuuuper underrated tips that I don't see anywhere. Well, I guess timeshift is mentioned often, but never how to set it up, which can be difficult for new users. But switching your commonly used apps for FOSS/Multiplatform alternatives is HUGE for making your OS switch easier. Especially for applications like Firefox, which sync your settings to one account.

[@jamesschmames6416]

If we are giving out tips, in a similar vein is to always have your home directory on a separate partition or preferably on a separate drive. This way you can reinstall your OS or distro hop to your hearts content and not lose your personal data and settings (always backup of course).

[@catayloprince4772]

First. Understand that Unix and Linux has a completely different directory structure. Second. Learn CLI. Third. Learn not to screw config files. Windows system files are in one folder while other program files are in another. That's not the case with Linux. Windows has an Registry app which is easy for any intermediate user to find configs. That's not the case with Linux. As for CLI, I learned MS-DOS. Forgot all the commands. But it does mitigate the unfamiliarity of CLI. Read a book about BASH.

[@sebastiangonzales46]

Thanks for the timeshift reminder

[@marcusjohansson668]

#6, timeshift is GREAT, but remember: "TIMESHIFT IS NOT A BACKUP!!!!!" NEVER rely on only timeshift. Just like shown in the video, use a dedicated backup software on top of the timeshift:s. btrfs is also king when using timeshift, snapshots are just superior in every way for what timeshift is.

[@nERVEcenter117]

Going on 12 years of Linux use, 7 years exclusive having gotten rid of Windows. The vast majority of my games work fine, and I stopped distro hopping for Mint; it does what I want and need without any siren songs of customization. I no longer think a lot about my computers, and it's envigorating. I just do things, and the system says "Yes!".

[@Moonlight_Tide]

Big same. Tried Ubuntu like most people and hated it. Then heard of Mint because I got desperate enough to drop Windows 10 and discovered Mint in a forum. Tried it, instantly tossed my Ubuntu and Windows 10 discs in the trash, and haven't looked back. Easily dual boots with XP for my old games.

[@nealcorbett1149]

@@Moonlight_Tide The standard Mint is built on Ubuntu. I'm looking at LMDE for my daily driver. Maybe check it out depending on your hate level for Ubuntu ;)

[@JanJanJanJanJanJanJanJanJan2]

I switched over to Ubuntu back in 2006. Back then I had a very slow laptop. Nowadays I have a beast of a machine and still love it. Haven't looked back a single time.

[@UncleUncleRj]

@@Moonlight_Tide What is it about Mint that you like? Just curious, I have Pop OS which is a branch of Ubuntu (and I enjoy it so far).

[@Moonlight_Tide]

@@UncleUncleRj well, I personally am partial to xp-type os's in appearance and layout because I learned on 98se and am not really all that great at learning new interfaces. That, and I only need it to go online, play music, rip and burn stuff, and run Retroarch. While you CAN manually install stuff, it also has an app center, reminiscent of the android app store, that lists all the programs available in its associated repositories so you can just query general types of programs and it'll bring up everything related to them that's available in those repositories, and offers to install them for you, much like windows xp did.

[@estried86]

My mom doesn't know how to use a search engine, but she can use Linux Mint.

[@RoastBeefSandwich]

Low-need users are the easiest to switch to Linux. Basically teach them how to turn it on and open up the web browser and they're good.

[@SnowyRVulpix]

I forced my dad onto Linux Mint about a decade ago (Whenever Linux Mint 13 released), because his Windows install was constantly breaking. I had to reinstall Windows on a weekly basis (HOW?! I still don't know)... Switching to Mint... He barely knew how to turn on the computer, just expected it to work... and was still able to use Mint without issues.

[@scpatl4now]

@@SnowyRVulpix I can tell you how. They just click on everything when they are not sure what to do...I have witnessed it firsthand with my 83 year old mother

[@casparhughey5651]

Lie

[@eintga]

@@casparhughey5651 ? you know you can find literal grandmas giving linux tutorials on yt these days

[@Bertilfly]

I switched to Mint after not wanting to upgrade to Win 11. I never even upgraded from Win 7 to 10. I just ran an unsupported Windows 7 for ten years. Linux Mint runs my ten year-old Dell like a dream. I had upgraded the graphics card (AMD....not Nvidia) and RAM a few years ago and I was worried about not being able to run my Steam games on Linux, but after watching a few videos I gained the courage to dual boot. Then when I found out how easy that was, I found FOSS programs to do what little else I did and made the switch completely. Now I'm having fun just seeing what else I can play around with (themes, icons, applets, etc.) to make it my own. I'm no expert by any means so I heartily encourage anyone to make the switch now. I'm glad I did.

[@Wakwaw796]

steam doesn't support win7 anymore sadly. i want to learn linux later on

[@blabla-rg7ky]

... to *downgrade to Win 11 (FTFY)

[@MindCaged]

The frustrating part to me is that like 90 percent of my regular usage would work under Linux, but there's just enough stuff that doesn't that I truly /love/ using and /doesn't/ have an obvious equivalent piece of software on linux, on top of my reluctance to throw out the majority of my hard earned computing knowledge, that just keeps me reluctant to stay on linux for very long. On top of me having next to no time/energy/drive compared to when I was young and could truly get excited to learn new computer things. I feel unless I win the lottery and suddenly get a lot more free time on my hands and can recharge my mental/spiritual batteries it'll either take a /very/ long time before I can get comfortable in linux if I ever do. I mean I dislike all this windows 11 nonsense as much as anybody, but I feel stuck.

[@si4632]

Linux is the biggest load of shit you have to copy and paste acres of code just to get things running, 3 clicks of a mouse on windows 🤣

[@slendydie1267]

You did the right thing. I despise windows 10 so much.

[@sirsuse]

Windows is an advertisement machine.

[@AG-en5y]

I'm an old man and I've been reading about Linux. The only thing stopping me is that as an accountant I use Microsoft excel and I read that it does not work with the Linux mint windows. Do you know which other Linux would work well with excel and a non-steep learning curve?

[@dreamleaf6784]

​@@AG-en5y You could install Linux on a partition of the hard drive and then you both. I do wonder if you could just use an open source version of excel. Like libre office or something. You could use a windows virtual machine. Last, you can turn a lot of stuff off on windows. I have windows 11 on my laptop and I shut off a bunch of adds, data gathering stuff I didn't want, and I turned off a lot of the notifications. It's simple and works fine.

[@AG-en5y]

@@dreamleaf6784 ok thx ill try the libra app you suggested. I think it's more on principal I am switching. I actually hated windows 11 so much I got my neighbor's son to re-insert windows 10 onto my work computer. For my personal lab top I figured I'll start to learn about the Linux systems so I can make the complete switch eventually. I don't play video games so as long as the bitorrent works so I can get new movies I think ill be happy. I've been reading about the graphene phones. U should check that out

[@tilla20000]

*data funneling scheme

[@nico2082]

Linux mint cinnamon comes with its own version of office called "Libre Office" which is a good alternative. And you can install it on windows to try it out.

[@eggghead]

ok timeshift is an absolute gamechanger - thanks for putting me on

[@bobowon5450]

for me it was warpinator.

[@potato9832]

Do you guys foobar your desktop systems that often? If all your files are kept in a user directory (and backed up to alternate storage), it's rather easy to re-install and copy user files back. Linux is one of the easier OS's to install. I can't recall a time when I messed up a Linux system so bad I wished I had a restore function. However, I've messed up Windows machines lots of times and had to rely on Restore many times. If you were running web servers then I can see the need, because configuring services and their dependencies can be time consuming pain in the rear. Services spread files over several locations in the file system (/etc, /var, /opt, etc) whereas your static docs are just sitting in your account folders. For a desktop? Not seeing it here other than Windows.

[@bobowon5450]

@potato9832 what you've described is a lot more work and technical knowledge than just clicking the one button for time shift all to achieve the same result

[@eggghead]

​@@potato9832 I'm new to this and have broken things a couple of times, having a one click resolution to my idiocy is nice. Tested it out a couple times so far, works. Worth remembering this is a "how i switched to linux" video which means a lot of us here are new. Additionally having more backups can't be a bad thing, especially given how little space these take up??

[@raistraw8629]

I switched a year ago still not regretting it.

[@VA3HDL]

Same

[@dabger1516]

same, made the switch a year-ish ago, never looked back, and as a gamer i haven't had any* severely poor experiences with gaming on linux (god bless valve for making proton) as i don't really ever play big e-sport titles (which can be hit or miss where their in house anti cheat linux support is concerned) like valorant, destiny 2 (which i know uses a more generic anti cheat but the devs just never hit the checkbox for linux support) and the like, as i prefer more casual experiences and not the hyper-competitive shit with the nuclear waste levels of toxicity of their communities. the asterisk i put at the start relates to exactly ONE poor (unplayable) experience with anno 2205, which is the single most temperamental game i have ever tried to get to work on linux (still havent gotten it to get past the main menu reliable yet) and aside from that everything i've played has just worked more or less like i'd expect it to. though i still consult protondb for any launch options i may need to use for a perfect experience edit: got anno working great, turns out my key ring broke and i had to reset it

[@HxR-eSports]

Wish I had the know how. I really want to ditch Windows but I'm not very good with all this stuff. I'll do some more research into it.

[@HxR-eSports]

@@dabger1516 I'm a sim racer and this is one reason that keeps stopping me from making the switch to Linux. If the games I race in don't work or my racing wheel doesn't work then it's no good for me.

[@duckmeat4674]

​@@HxR-eSportslook up KVM pass through. It's essentially a virtual machine that uses your graphics card. But otherwise just stick to what works

[@ericb8150]

You certainly don't need to go back to Windows. You have the dual boot for both. Switch to Windows only when you need it. Over time , you will need Windows less and less. The only thing I now use window for is Adobe.

[@bassistguy]

That is what I did back in 2008 when I switched over to Linux. I dual booted Windows XP alongside Debian. I eventually moved completely away from XP and have never installed another Windows OS on any of my personal computers since.

[@victornikolov537]

You may know then that Adobe owns everything you produce using their software. They can do anything with it. Every document, every graphic, every video.

[@nimlouth]

YES! You are 100% right. Keeping windows around but choosing not to use it is very much the way to go, at one point you not only don't want to go back, you don't really need to at all. I now have 3 PCs I use. Two are laptops I revived from death by repairing/replacing some of the hardware and installing Linux on them: - one crappy netbook with MATE Mint for studying and carrying around - the other is an HP ENVY (tablet convertible) with Fedora that I use as my main PC and even tho it's pretty banged up I use it for everything, even gaming. The other PC is my OLD desktop PC with windows 10. It is uh... a pain to use now haha even tho I have windows setup as painless as possible it feels slugish compared to my other Linux PCs. I use it as a kind of home file sharing server and backup fallback computer for running specific windows apps. If windows wasn't so storage hungry with the tiny SSD I have it installed on, I would've dual booted it so I have an even SMALLER vector of windows usage haha.

[@MillyKKitty]

XdanielArt has created an image guide to all possible Adobe alternatives on different user software, which is where I found all of the above from, hoping the comment didn't get autodeleted. 😮‍💨

[@ericb8150]

@@MillyKKitty thanks. I'm workimg toward weaning myself off Adobe completely. Almost there

[@samsungtech6116]

WPS : Office suite SMplayer/Celluloid : Media player Flatpak : AppStore Cinnamon : Desktop Environment Nemo : File Manager qpdfview : PDF viewer, now Firefox can edit pdf files ... Just like home

[@oldogre5999]

I ditched firefox for LibreWolf a couple years ago, can do everything Firefox can do without all the bullshit!

[@undersquire]

@@oldogre5999 Do you use the flatpak for it on mint?

[@ArchLars]

Nice, I recommend just using MPV for the media player personally but you do you.

[@oldogre5999]

@@ArchLars What is better about MPV compared to SMplayer?

[@georgepetrakis7703]

After so many years of windows dominance, every single one desktop user is somehow "locked" to windows eco system either because of specific software or specific hardware. Power users do need to value more their privacy and security + the ability to own and control the OS (away from mega corporations) in order to make the switch and learn new apps. I made that switch years ago and I am a happy 95% Linux mint user. I still got a windows partition around because some of my work related stuff are based on windows only apps (this is not my fault, as the organization I am working for is very narrow minded). Once you make the switch you GOT TO HAVE the mentality to buy hardware that works also on Linux and NOT buy windows-only hardware. This is the only way for hardware manufacturers to get the message.

[@JohnGalanakis]

Είσαι σωστός

[@VitaliyKarpinski]

Did you try a windows vm instead of dual boot? It's very handy especially with 2 or more monitors.

[@georgepetrakis7703]

@@VitaliyKarpinski I also have a windows VM, which works fine when I need to work for example with specific MS Office files (and I am not talking about simple text). Unfortunately, when I need to work with video files (PowerDirector or Filmora) and I need 100% GPU power for rendering or other tasks, VM won't give me that, so dual booting is the only solution. Linux market share needs to seriously grow so we can have commercial software ported properly to Linux. It is the egg and the chicken problem...

[@VitaliyKarpinski]

@@georgepetrakis7703 Hi. I agree. But another option you can try is GPU Passthrough. It's easy if you have both iGPU and dGPU. Or 2 dGPU. You can disconnect and connect back your dGPU from linux host any time and use it in VM with native windows drivers directly. This way is for Linux power users mostly but it is great to avoid dual boot.

[@VitaliyKarpinski]

​@@georgepetrakis7703 I replied from mobile app but my comment disappeared somehow. Will repeat. Did you try to use GPU Passthrough? Nowadays you can disconnect you dedicated GPU from your Linux host online and pass it to your Windows VM with native windows GPU drivers installed. Then after VM shutdown the GPU will be used again by Linux. It's better to have intel or amd cpu with igpu or 2 dedicated GPUs (one cheap and one powerful). Single GPU passthrough is also possible but more complicated to implement. This short old video demonstrates how it works: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWinY5WIqNmbnKs&ab_channel=blu3bird84 Cheers =)

[@ShinyHelmet]

Whenever I buy new hardware or peripherals now, I specifically only buy things that are also Linux compatible, even if it means paying a little more. It's great knowing that your stuff wont just become an expensive paperweight when you switch into Linux.

[@desertfish74]

Indeed. Thankfully this has become a lot easier than in the past.

[@twillis449]

Canonical (developers of Ubuntu Linux) has a webpage where computers are listed on which Linux has been successfully installed. Dell and Lenovo Thinkpads are pretty well guaranteed to run Linux right out of the box.

[@suminshizzles6951]

I am only buying new games now that are also playable on linux. I dont care if i am missing out on the lastest triple A title. I am gaming less now that i am older. I play DCS and WoW on private servers despite over 150 games many of which i have not even touched yet. GTA 5? Not even touched yet.

[@CDMS_pt]

Wait for Linux Mint 22 with Pipewire as a default, maybe will solve some sound problems.

[@michaeljaques77]

I hate to be one of those people, but Pop!_OS already uses Pipewire as default. But I don't think that's all of what he was talking about. I'm a Pop!_OS users, nearly 2.5 years as my daily driver, but I do use LM (XFCE edition) on an older laptop I own because XFCE is more lightweight. Also, way to go Thomas. I switched from Windows 10 ostensibly for much the same reasons, Windows is noisy AF. I want an OS that just works, and gets out of my way. I don't need MS Office (I use Libre Office), nor do I need Adobe products, nor professional CAD software, so for me, I can switch. But I understand for some they just can't because there are some software that just necessitates bare metal MS Windows. And that's okay too.

[@TheCharlos64]

I'm still sad I can't use illustrator time to time. I switched in 2019. Originaly it required to have a GPU pass through to game. But over time, I just used it less and less until I wasn't required anymore. I upgraded to an AMD GPU to be sure duh. But I'm not sure Mint is the best choice. It still requires a lot of thinkering. Nobara in my humble opinion is the simplest. ​@@michaeljaques77

[@RenderingUser]

​@@michaeljaques77try kubuntu instead. Atleast until we get a full release of cosmic desktop and see if its great.

[@kylehennkens9578]

Have you considered Ubuntu Cinnamon? The latest LTS (24.04) has PipeWire by default

[@RenderingUser]

Why was my comment removed? And why am I still getting notifs for new comments in this thread? Yt sucks

[@keeblebrox]

I used to do remote and in-person tech support for my 75 year-old aunt, but after a decade on Linux full time I was losing the ability to fix her problems without hours of research. I installed Zorin OS for her and now our calls are just to chat and our visits are just to enjoy each other's company. It's been incredible.

[@fredmckinney8933]

Same with my father-in-law until he passed away 4 years ago at age 80.

[@PixelShade]

To be honest, I just switched from Da Vinci Resolved to kdenlive. I was also surprised of how incredibly efficient kdenlive was as you can create proxy clips. (smaller renditions of the real clips as previews when scrubbing your video project) this will even make slower laptops being able to quickly video edit 4K files. it's really just in the export phase you can tell you're on a slower computer.

[@arnoldsnodgrass2953]

But Resolve can do that too

[@intotheshred]

Why are you using OpenOffice? Libre Office is its spiritual successor as a direct fork of the project that took all the developers with it.

[@brainstormsurge154]

Ya, Libre Office is much better. As a bonus, if you need to convert text files to different format then try pandoc. It's awesome. Once had a ODT document that glitched and couldn't even read the text. Pandoc was still able to rescue it by turning it into markdown.

[@AdamDymitruk]

Yes, this is key.

[@jethro1963]

I was wondering that myself. I can't think of a reason why.

[@morlok8910]

well, maybe his job needs such old software also he has onlyoffice as a replacement of MSOffice sweet, I think

[@CabbageBloke]

He can use whatever he wants.

[@Linuxgaming2672]

I currently moved to Linux after using windows for 20 years. My channel is dedicated to Gaming on Linux now. It was really a very easy move for me.

[@motoryzen]

Awesome, I'll check your channel out later when I'm finished at work Linux Mint Cinnamon since late 2010 and 100% full-time since July 28th 2020. Cheers

[@kawaiihikari0]

what with the handful of games that will even run decently lmaoo goofy boy

[@Linuxgaming2672]

@@kawaiihikari0 I don't know if you have heard of a Steam Deck or not. Its Valves handheld, the OS is arch linux. There are a few more than a handful of games that run on Linux just fine, if not better. The only games I have issues with usually have Easy Anti Cheat.

[@motoryzen]

@@kawaiihikari0 I can't tell if you're making a sarcastic statement or if you're asking what all games will work correctly in Linux you need to go back and look at the grammar your statement and edit it so that we can understand what you were trying to say

[@craigtrish2011]

Why does every linux user need to announce to the world that they're using linux? okay like, good for you? want a medal mr hero?

[@redflameken]

If you're switching back to windows make sure to gather up your "dotfiles" These are the configuration files for some programs on linux usually found in .config or your home directory. Their names often start with a . Thus , dotfiles. Although gathering your dotfiles is usually done on a minimal system like an arch system that only uses a window manager. After you gather your dotfiles, store them somewhere, preferably github, and when you go back to Linux, you can mostly pick up where you left off.

[@codingman8056]

Welcome to linux community bro, i thought you are making dedicated videos on linux but glad to see how people are moving towards linux and embracing it's features

[@maxz69]

Which distro do you use?

[@codingman8056]

@@maxz69 I have used many distros like Zorin, Arch, Debian, Ubuntu, using Linux Mint for long time now .

[@pcpudfm]

even if you ended up returning to windows, im glad you at least tried it, most people don't even consider to try using it. Linux has been rapidly becoming more user friendly these past few years, and one day, maybe you'll have the chance to try it out again. Anyways, great video, keep it up

[@phrogtesem9410]

Even if he switches back, I don't think he's going to use Windows as a daily OS, but instead just to run the incompatible programs.

[@pcpudfm]

@lifesbutastumble what do you mean by "a computer that forgets you"

[@pcpudfm]

@lifesbutastumble what are you trying to do with that kind of desktop? it's possible i think with scripts, never really looked into it though

[@pcpudfm]

​@@phrogtesem9410this method has been talked about alot, and me and many people just don't recommend it because: 1. It feels sluggish to turn off your pc, turn it back on, boot another os, and log in just to use a few apps before switching back 2. It feels cumbersome operating an os that is just more convenient and then immediately switching back to the more technical and different os, it'll just make you think just how easy it is to use your previous os, so you don't get the feel of actually daily driving it and just immediately think that linux is just impractical, the key of switching to linux is to NOT compare it to windows, Linux and windows are two completely different beasts, and dual booting makes you do exactly that

[@1pcfred]

I've heard a number of people say they've considered trying Linux but then they never get around to actually doing it. I suppose if they can't be bothered even trying Linux they probably wouldn't be very successful running Linux anyways.

[@caseycu]

So many Linux exclusive users make very professional quality videos.

[@aa-hj2fd]

I will never go back. I don't care how much pain or what only works in Windows, Mac, etc. I am done with them. We are making full circle with technology, and at some point, society is going to put their collective foot down and say enough is enough.

[@samshort365]

A word from a veteran Vax Unix user, don't give up. There are alternatives for all of your needs and you will find that your only hinderence is familiarity bias. If drivers are an issue try Linux Mint Edge edition. I installed this on my wife's laptop and the mouse pad and wifi came back to life.

[@matteo-pu7ev]

Wow !! Ditto !! My autism just did a back flip of joy finding this !! Chatgpt, Mistral/Leo, Claude walking me terminal bash commands etc has been a game changer for me and I'm super excited and able to work through complex daunting issues that otherwise would have been shelved as disappointing failures. Appreciate you so much !!

[@johnnydee6340]

as soon as windows 10 dies ill be switching to linux as win 11 is just spyware in a massive scale

[@dank_stogie_yooooo]

Win11 is nothing compared what win12 probably will be. Integrated AI that reads and analyses everything you're doing

[@DM-rc4yu]

No you will not

[@jimtekkit]

The File Manager in Windows 11 is horribly slow. It takes at least 3 seconds to open a new window and each click takes a second to respond. Same behavior on two completely different machines. Dealing with a sluggish file manager was the final straw for me with Windows and now I'm happy after jumping ship to Linux Fedora on my main desktop.

[@n.m4497]

Moved 5 years ago. Playing all my games without problems in Steam with Proton

[@Moonlight_Tide]

Proton is what originally started me on Linux a couple years ago.

[@vladyslavstadnyk2762]

What's a good thing. But I wouldn't say it exactly "without the problem"

[@lowzyyy]

No pubg support

[@n.m4497]

@@lowzyyy don't support them then. Or you're stupid enough to give them money

[@esaedvik]

@@vladyslavstadnyk2762 A lot of games out there, not everyone plays the same games. Does 100% of games work perfectly, no. Check out Protondb if you want to know how a game might run. I'd forget about most online competitive games if you want to run Linux.

[@i-love-space390]

I have been running Kubuntu for 5 years on my older (2012 Intel i3 4Gb RAM) personal computer. I have upgraded twice to later LTS OS versions and it still works as well as it did 5 years ago and security updates can happen easily in the background, without driving my machine to its knees. I still kept Windows 11 on my business machine until last week. I decided to jump. Briefly, I flirted with keeping MS Win 11, but in order to keep security support, (a must in my field), I had to do a "feature upgrade". That feature upgrade slowed my machine down and required 3 hours to perform. That was enough for me. The next day, I backed up my data files, tested all my work processes in Linux and then jumped out of the aircraft and set my parachute on fire. Today, most of what I do is web based or have Open Source equivalents in software, which makes switching possible. I am sorry to hear you are still held hostage by your hardware drivers. It is sad. BTW, I run Zoren OS Lite on a 2011 laptop with 4 GB RAM and a Centrino processor. Linux is AMAZING for older hardware.

[@prabhabalan9838]

Absolutely Son! You are right. My son uses Linux Mint latest version in Oracle vm Virtual box from his workshop pc to lean and get to know more about Linux. And at home he is already using Linux. Linux is the future. If big tech & software gaint still ignore it then they will have to pay heavy price with lots of there customers leaving them. It's time to move on to Linux because 2024 looks great for Linux.

[@RakibHasan-hs1me]

As a new user, you must understand what distro and desktop environment is. Save you a lot hurdle.

[@chucklanman3315]

I have been on nothing but Linux since 2000. Back then it was a pain in the ass, but i stuck with it. I learned a lot. I crashed so many installs. It was all worth it in the end. Today, Linux is 100x better at hardware support / gaming.

[@fearsmasher1299]

You'd make a great Linux/FOSS/alternative tech channel.

[@munkeefun6972]

Great video! I have been contemplating making the switch for ~9 months or so. I have been locked into the windows world for years like a lot of others. Tired of the problems and intrusiveness of windows. I have also noticed the Linux community is SOOOOoooo much more accepting and open about EVERYTHING vs the windows community. Even reading through the comments here, so much good info and advice is encouraging. So glad I happened upon your channel and I will be using this long weekend to start my Linux journey. Thank you! 😁

[@BlazeGrind3r]

One word of advice...don't try to be a Linux purists. You're not going to get everything to run on Linux. My solution was to put I couldn't run in Linux in a Windows VM. There's also bottles that will work with some Windows programs. I unfortunately have the Adobe Cloud so no solutions yet for that. I like to ditch Adobe altogether but there are still some features that I like using on it.

[@munkeefun6972]

@@BlazeGrind3r Rgr that. Appreciate the advice / Info.

[@Luquinha-qf4kb]

​@@BlazeGrind3r Well... that's a you problem. Nothing i do locks me on proprietary software, so i can be a total penguin.

[@applesauceboyz3924]

Good Advice all around especially with the "Just get it running and working and leave it alone" is nice. I recently put my laptop on Garuda Dr460nized And messing with KDE Plasma 6 Has been a blast but I need to remember it's not the only thing

[@stevecraig3004]

I'm with you 100% on using Linux. I think the greatest discoveries new users make are these: 1. Linux is WAAY easier to use than MS; 2. Linux JUST WORKS(imagine that!!) Great video! Keep up the good work!

[@debashisraykarmakar836]

I have been using Linux since 2000 when widows 98 was prevelent. I used Red Hat, Fedora and Suse for daily use and networking in workstations. I never regreted for not using windows. Everything can be done just with little patience and learning with Linux.

[@ChingasoClown]

Linux is not easy to switch to for many but once you understand how it works there is no turning back , Linux will make many good obsolete computers stay out of landfill . If you do not like to be watched there is no other option. The only issue is gaming, but as Linux becomes more popular, developers will release games native to Linux

[@blabla-rg7ky]

why is gaming an issue?? I just played Subnautica, Vaporum, Legend of Grimrock, Grim Dawn, Wolcen and HOMM 3 on Linux and the only issues I've had are with Grim Dawn and only because I have a bad GPU. So it's not even Linux' fault here, I know for a fact that my video card is garbage.... so yeah, there is not a single issue with gaming on Linux. Oh, and by the way, I forgot to mention that I've played all of these games WITHOUT having Steam, GOG Galaxy, or any other nonsense client. I played the games literally ON Linux itself, without needing to install any 3rd party garbage / client, so yeah... I'd love to hear why you can't game on Linux

[@ChingasoClown]

@@blabla-rg7ky It depends what games you play, anti cheats do not work in Linux, yet

[@blabla-rg7ky]

@@ChingasoClown I don't even know what anti cheats are, I've heard of this before but I don't know what it is. I guess I'm an old fashioned dude (anti cheats weren't a thing in 90s-2000s when I played games heavily), but then again, today's games are pure garbage for the most part, so I don't think you should worry about anti cheats because you shouldn't play modern games (that's how I see it).... Anyway, gaming on Linux is 10/10 for me, so I have no complaints...

[@Vidjnjsdnjk-en6tz]

@@ChingasoClown They do. Developers don't wanna use it though.

[@the_Acaman]

​@@blabla-rg7ky anti-cheat is used for online games basically. So if you primarily play single player games you don't need to thing about it. I stopped playing online games years ago so Linux is fine for me

[@fnregistration]

0:13 Whew, that's a relief. *puts down hammer*

[@Ronald-gu3ft]

Best move I ever made, Linux is far superior.

That's a pretty bold statement and in many aspects super inaccurate. Maybe, MAYBE stability and security. That is about it. UI, scattered and terrible desktop environments, driver problems, many games and software is still not supported (as for the software, not the fault of Linux ofc), I could continue. I love Linux on my older machines and VPS, but it is BY FAR not superior to Mac or Windows in any way.

[@runesbroken]

@ Window management can be better OOTB on Linux and it's better for developers. I think Proton has made it more accessible for laymen but I agree, it's not really in the same tier as macOS or Windows. I'm lucky enough where I can get by with just Linux and macOS.

@@runesbroken agreed, I can use all and appreciate benefits of each, but let's not paint a pink garden. Linux desktops and window managements are a mess and it is more dev/devops oriented then for a use straight out of the box ;) When somebody is showing me for example a KDE UI as something great (I am a fullstack designer, mostly UI/UX), it is a joke. Since I have a similar workflow in each OS, I can tell you I can do anything on Windows that I can do on Linux and more. Package installation, keyboard launcher, window management, Linux Subsytem (actually have Ubuntu and Kali) etc. We live in a great time though, I remember my days with Internet Explorer 5 and frontend development .)

[@DCM777.]

@ The problem is you! Have fun learning Linux!>

@@DCM777. I did have fun. Nothing to learn anymore. If someone wants to spend his life versioning and updating dot files and endless distro customization with terrible UI, go for it. Or debug with Stack overflow or AI why something doesn't work. Good for old machines and servers. And I stick by that.

[@JCO2002]

I switched to Mint 5 years ago and have never looked back. My internet is via Starlink, which runs Linux, my monitor is a 4K 50" Samsung TV that runs Linux, my desktop is MInt, and my laptop is Mint. I have one app that will only work with Windows, and for that I use a VM - that doesn't allow it to access the internet (if you do allow it, you can see a backdoor in action).

[@giorgos-4515]

What do you run on that TV? Im just curious, how is that experience? Do you use it normally like a linux desktop with a TV for a monitor?

[@JCO2002]

@@giorgos-4515 Yes, I use it just as a monitor connected with a high-speed HDMI cable from the desktop (if you use a cheap one advertised as 4K, it's full of artefacts). It's great, although you have to fool around at first with font scaling, etc, to make things readable - which is probably the case for any size of 4K monitor. Easily done with Mint, though. I have a friend with a similar TV who hooked it up to a Windows machine, and he doesn't even have true 4K - just 1080 scaled up. I've tried to explain to him what's happening, but have never gotten through. With Linux, it just automatically rendered at full 4K.

[@giorgos-4515]

@@JCO2002 And for streaming services(netflix that almost all people want smart TVs for) and TV channels is the support for it ok?

[@JCO2002]

@@giorgos-4515 I assume so. If the streaming is with a desktop that can handle 4k, it should be the same (mine is 11th gen i7, 8 core/16 threads, 32 GB of RAM and RocketLake-S GT1 [UHD Graphics 750] GPU, with a HDMI 2.1 cable). But I don't stream - download torrents instead using a VPN (Surfshark cause it has a Linux GUI) so Starlink doesn't know about it. And I don't watch TV - haven't in over 15 years - everything is internet.

[@DanyTheMe]

​@@giorgos-4515 i think they just worded it wrong. Pretty sure the tv isnt running linux, but that the pc running linux is using a tv as the monitor

[@speakertwentytwo]

I love your point about the direction the internet is going - with things changing in ways the average person doesn't understand, or isn't supposed to understand, its more and more important to have a computer that works for PEOPLE, not shareholders. Ditto on the Healthy Perspective. I have used Linux exclusively for a few years now and I have mostly left my system as-is.

[@surnimistwalker8388]

Welcome to the Linux Mint club :D. I use Mint myself even though I have been using Linux since the days of Slackware in the 90s. TBH, Mint is stable, it comes boxed with about everything I need and it's mostly hassle free. I've tried stock Debian, Arch, etc... and I just like Mint because I don't have to fuss with a lot of stuff.

[@CCJ1998]

Usually what it boils down to proprietary software and proprietary gear. Fortunately only have one piece of proprietary software that keeps me dual booting and Wine is getting better at running it.

[@rennmaxbeta]

Excellent video. I have just installed and dual-booted Mint myself for similar reasons, so this is a perfect summary for my situation. You have a great speaking voice and presentation style too

[@MikeTappeiner]

I used to dule boot and I just found myself using windows almost all of the time. I decided to just get rid of windows completely and just run Linux. It has been a joy (after the huge headache of a learning curve). I think the best thing people can do is just daily drive Linux for 2 months and learn. There are some awesome noob guides on KZbin (I still use them). And if they go back to windows after 2 months they might be surprised at the restrictions of windows or might choose to have 2 dedicated systems dependent on work load.

[@seasn5553]

You saying “I love FOSS” earned my subscription. That is the stuff I love to hear.

[@GIRGHGH]

I hope device support can get better so more people can move on with no regrets.

[@BigDogHaver]

Really the biggest device Linux has problems with is Nvidia, but as of late, Nvidia has been working to improve Nouveau (FOSS nvidia gpu driver) and also implementing explicit sync on the proprietary driver on wayland, coming in driver version 555. I suspect with time, Nvidia will possibly switch to the proprietary driver being windows only, after making the FOSS driver a good alternative.

[@Redmage913]

Also, avoid Creative if using Linux. Their support is practically nonexistent, and it errors out more often than it works correctly.

[@GIRGHGH]

@@BigDogHaver I was using the term device more generally, I really meant just any peripheral electronic that interfaces with the computer. Not just the computer's components.

[@BigDogHaver]

@@GIRGHGH I assumed you were talking about PC components, because peripheral support on Linux is extraordinary. So many devices are just plug and play, despite being only advertised for windows PCs. And this is just the base linux kernel, let alone the additional support on distros like PopOS and mint.

[@1pcfred]

If it doesn't work on LInux then I don't really need it either.

[@outdoorinterests]

Yesterday we installed Mint cinnamon on both of our computers and don't regret it at all. The security and stability make it very appealing. I would not miss Microsoft at all.

[@richarddaugherty8583]

Excellent video! I'm about to make the jump because I refuse to go out and buy a new computer just to upgrade to Windows 11. I've been playing with Pi's for years and years, my laptop is Fedora, but I've decided that Mint is where I'll land. My wife is not at all technical, and as I'm a retired application developer I'm her help desk! Mint seems to make that easy while I have to fuss with Fedora. I just found out that some software needed to play MKV files isn't in Fedora 39, seems to have been dropped along the way. Tried the same video on Mint and it just works. Cheers!

[@eveenala]

Hey so I'm switching because I also don't want to buy a new computer to upgrade. I'm going to try and learn what I can until I have to switch. Since I don't have an app developer handy, what would you recommend learning so I can troubleshoot my own issues?

[@anonymousmbele6061]

I recently changed last week, and I've been quite productive since then. I haven't noticed any significant difference, but I've definitely been more productive.

[@JeanTheron-cf8zl]

That's pretty good news. Which distribution did you install?

[@MeraMadness]

I use Linux for almost my entire Life, and honestly I still don't know why people use Windows, if you are a single player gamer, Linux works just fine, if you only care about browsing the internet, you can, you can do whatever, obviously is not Windows, there is a little learning curve, but is still doable, also thank to Linux and computer in general, I learn to be "decent" in English.

[@the_Acaman]

People are afraid because "Linux is hard" is constantly thrown around. I'm looking into making the change, but I'm such a noob when it comes to this

[@nosbig98]

Another tactic to switching is to play the long game. Think carefully about the gear you buy before you buy it to make sure it is supported in Linux as a part of your overall purchase criteria, if that's a goal dow the road. That does mean some planning ahead of time, perhaps years in the future, but it's well worth it, especially knowing that Microsoft's own stance on hardware support is changing. So, the next time you need a printer, do a quick search to see if there is support. When you buy a camera, make sure that it's compatible. Stick with hardware which supports well-known and solid open standards. Again, not for everyone and not always easy, but as a Linux user for a quarter of a century, I can absolutely confirm that hardware is *way* easier to get running today than just a decade ago, and many times, it's easier. For example, most network equipment "just works". Most random video capture devices do function, and I haven't had a problem with a keyboard and mouse in decades. Please note that I use fairly standard hardware and don't need lots of the "configure extra mouse buttons" or "automate all the lights and RGB", so there are segments where the software maturity is lower and inherently more difficult.

[@i-love-space390]

I found an alternative to dual booting from a hard disk. I simply shrunk my Windows partition down to a smaller size, then I manually partitioned an installation of Kubuntu using the remaining space, with one extra wrinkle. I put /boot on a usb and set my laptop to boot from it first if it is plugged in. The only part of Linux that is on the boot USB was /boot and /etc. /usr, /home, swap, /var, and /tmp were all on separate partitions on the rest of the HD. It works great, and if I want my old Windows 7 back, I simply shutdown, remove the boot USB, and windows boots normally with no risk of corrupting the Windows boot track trying to create a dual boot HD. Since /boot and /etc do not get modified greatly during normal operation, except during security updates or software installations, I think my USB should last a long time. But for safety, I clone the USB every time I do major software updates or installations. That way, if the USB ever dies, I have a duplicate ready to restart my machine. This might work ok on newer machines, but I have only tried it on my old Windows 7 laptop from 2012. I still love Windows 7. Couldn't bear to part with it....

[@cejannuzi]

You explained quite well the important aspects of making such a shift. You communicate better than most of the people who have been using Linux for years. It's true, content creation using programs for audio and video (and the associated hardware) can be a lot more difficult on Linux, but there are a number of good content creators here on YT who use Linux successfully.

[@gil_L]

In regards to Davinci Resolve, the supported Linux OS is Rocky. Having said that, I have successfully ran it on Ubuntu with Nvida without any issues.

[@1pcfred]

I got Davinci Resolve to run on Debian. It was missing a library it needed and as soon as I installed that it just worked. Although once I installed it I never really used it. I only installed it because I met someone on IRC that couldn't get it to work. So I figured I'd give it a look to see what was going on. It looks like a really complicated program to me. I've no idea how to use it.

[@Fritzystuff]

Wow, I wasn't expecting this video to be so good. You are very articulate, easy to listen to, have a calm demeanor, have a great way of summarising things and leave some golden nuggets for us to digest as we spend some time together. Well done!

[@PremierPrep]

I run a video production and graphic design company on an all Linux pipeline! It is possible. You just have to build your setup around it, like you would with Mac

[@Thoroughmas]

That's encouraging! Do you use the more naturally Linux-compatible software along the lines of Gimp, Kdenlive etc?

[@PremierPrep]

@Thoroughmas For sure! We use DaVinvi Resolve Studio, Blender, GIMP, Krita, Inkscape, Darktable, OnlyOffice, Nextcloud, Shutter Encoder, Handbrake, and a few more. They work great!

[@mikloscsuvar6097]

This is hardcore.

[@four-en-tee]

My journey proper into Linux begins today Wish me luck

[@rorkgoose6114]

"...people, trusting people...(pause)...pros and cons." lmao loved that line.

[@anonamouse5917]

The XZ backdoor has entered the chat.

[@charlesmangum2100]

People run these power-hungry, money-grabbing Big Brothers.

[@BWGPEI]

Very well done! And I'm surprised how similar your experience has been to our own. Biggest difference - we're now retired and have a lot of time to devote to the Linux journey. Meantime Linux Mint and the Grub menu are our good friends. Be well!

[@xellaz]

You could also just get another mini-PC to run Windows and another for Linux. Most of them are cheap but can also be fairly powerful depending on how much you are willing to spend. For my set up, I have Linux installed on one mini-PC which is my daily driver and main OS and another mini-PC with Windows for work/school stuff that requires it. I also have a powerful gaming PC with a dedicated GPU running Windows that is strictly just for gaming. These are all connected to the same monitor that has a built-in KVM switch for easy switching and I also use a USB KVM switch so I can use the same mouse, keyboard, cam, and other peripherals by just a push of a button---basically I can rotate between 3 PCs without switching mouse, keyboard, etc. Another thing that made it much easier for me switching to Linux as my main OS is first finding alternatives on the apps I often use in Windows on Linux and learning how to use them. I was surprised to find quite a few that are even better than the ones I used to use in Windows. Also, all my Windows PCs are debloated with no telemetries and are heavily restricted by my hardware firewall on where they can connect to. I also don't store any sensitive data on them and if I do, they are encrypted. 😎

[@UNUSUALUSERNAME220]

MY MAN!!! I suggested almost the same exact thing! I have an $85.00 mini that I just run Mint on! My tower is still in good shape but if Microsoft does stop upgrading 10 as they are threatening to, it will become a Linux machine!

[@Thoroughmas]

Sounds like a great setup, thanks for the recommendation!

[@MohAmuza]

I began learning Linux Mint in a virtual machine last week, and I'm already enjoying it. I plan to spend more time mastering the basics before fully transitioning.❤

[@dreamrycher]

KVM is your friend. I suggest you maybe could try installing Virt-Manager and creating a Windows VM in Mint . Then you could passthrough to the VM all the peripherals you need at any given moment, so the VM would have baremetal access to that hardware. You would not need to "go back" or reboot to a different OS every time. One sore point might be about the GPU, if you only have one, and is used by the host (Mint) might be a bit complicated to configure it to passthrough to the VM (Is doable most of the time). If you have 2x GPUs (including the Integrated GPU of a proc) would make things easier.

I decided on Linux Mint about a year ago. I did the dual boot but after a couple of weeks I nuked Windows. I love it! Admit though, Davinci is still a challenge, but I’m working through it. Spot on episode , thanks!

[@brianclarke8503]

Another user's honest realization that as much as some of us may want Linux to take over the laptop/desktop market, it can't....... Without the Apps that most users are used to/need, it will remain niche.

[@darknightmike10yearsago]

A chicken and the egg scenario

[@jayden707]

I think maybe if more manufacturers sold devices running Linux or having the option to run Linux out the box more people would use it. More users would provide more of an incentive for developers to make native Linux versions of their apps. As it stands installing a new OS is a process many people don’t want to / know how to deal with and could maybe void warranty?

[@Atraeda]

Thank you for this video! I've used multiple flavors of MacOS, Windows, and Linux over the decades with side dishes ranging from DOS to using the SUSE Dev Kit to create my own distro during my mechatronics phase. After adventuring with open heart surgery, sepsis, and, of course, death, I was inspired to create a quad-boot with a Lenovo X230T, teaming with Win7, Win10, Zorin, and MacOS Mavericks. You answered/inspired/reminded me to take my Lenovo W541 or P50 and develop a team between Windows and Zorin with a savory glass of Wine. I really liked Wine with Win during my mechatronics/Maker adventuring - I didn't *have* to choose!:-) Yeah . . . I hear you about "The Driver Dilemma." Of course, there's a learning curve! I wonder, after my own "Annoyances" with Big Tech these past few years that I will get Leah's help to set up another Libreboot, probably my repurposed X230T. Thank you - I was wondering, came across your video, and you gave me the "nudge" I needed!

[@quantumangel]

The terminal isn't about "having" to use it. It's about making life way easier and making complex tasks posible.

[@motoryzen]

Well put and could not agreemore . Your comment sums it up

[@1pcfred]

Trying to follow directions explaining how to do things with a GUI is like good luck. I've done it and it's an exercise in futility. Half the time the instructions aren't even right. In the terminal I can copy paste commands. Bang, done. But I'll usually disassemble commands I don't understand to try to understand them. It's never a good idea to just blindly execute commands you find randomly on the Internet.

[@quantumangel]

​@@1pcfred just like windows; except windows doesn't really have the option of the terminal.

[@1pcfred]

@@quantumangel Windows has terminals. I've never cared for the Windows implementation personally. But I haven't used it in a long time either so I don't know what it's like today. It may have improved?

[@quantumangel]

@@1pcfred windows does have cmd and PowerShell, but, as I said, they're not really an option. - There's virtually no community documentation beyond the very basics, - Tutorials never have an easy "here's the command" method, - And the implementation is in no way anywhere near the level of bash, or any decent shell, for that matter.

[@louclawges9069]

I dumped Windows 7 cold turkey when Win 10 came out. I bought a hard drive switcher, which let me add up to 4 hard drives and I could switch from one to another. So that made leaving Windows a bit easier. I could use Windows as I had to, then just boot to Linux Mint for everything else. When I was comfortable using Linux and getting all my software switched over, I was free. I dumped Windows and never looked back. Having a hard drive switcher allows you to try different Linux flavors as well without messing up your main drive that you use, because everything has it's own hard drive and is completely independent from the other. Make is very safe.

[@jeanmichel2642]

about the dual boot: yes at the beginning it's reassuring to have this backup possible. and after a while you realize that you didn't boot on windows since months..... so you begin to think why keeping it? anyway there are now multiple ways to run windows SW on linux

[@1pcfred]

Linux can't run all Windows software.

[@AngelCopout]

Made the move to Debian yesterday. Had some hiccups but got everything set up just right now. Steam, Emudeck, Brave, torrents, etc. I'm set.

[@Masonicon]

I switch to linux with Steam Deck

[@SenorRossi70]

I came to Linux during the Corona-Crisis - I love it ! I`m on Kubuntu currently...🙂

[@Matt2010]

Be careful about dual booting with the way windows 11 is going and I'm hearing stories you might wanna stick to one of each but just take out or unplug the power to HDD that windows is on. Even me I had a weird but it had nothing to do with windows but it did have to do with secure boot. It was strange.. why I don't even want secure boot and TPM stuff on. From now on, any computer I do get hard drive or SSD out 1st and I'll boot into the uefi/BIOS and check BIOS version and generally lock it down in the way I want more then put a HDD or ssd I truly know os empty or known to be never windows install Linux on encrypted volume separate home and boot partition and home partition that's gonna be on a separate not the same boot drive. I just don't trust that OS seriously.

[@LRM12o8]

Virtual machine is the way to go, if you do need Windows! It's more convenient than dual booting, you can block bad updates, annoying new features and all telemetry and security risks by disconnecting your Windows VM from the Internet (handle downloads through a shared folder with the host) and the performance is really good, at least if you increase the size of the swap file. My swap file is 16 GB (32 GB RAM) and my Windows 10 VM runs as smooth as bare metal! (I can't speak to the gaming performance of the VM, but with Wine and Proton, the only game I need a Windows VM to play is good old Windows XP's Pinball! 😁)

[@sebastiangonzales46]

​@@LRM12o8Its the complete opposite on my experience, I find it slow on VM when I tried Mint even with a little bit of tinkering (or maybe its just my machine) Dual Boot works great for me since I use Windows rarely but an option is good when needed

[@break1146]

@@sebastiangonzales46 Did you try it with Qemu? Virtualbox is basically internet explorer lol.

[@VitaliyKarpinski]

@@sebastiangonzales46 For max performance do NOT use VirtualBox and use VirtManager or pure QEMU. Set all possible devices to VirtIO and install all drivers from VirtIO Drivers ISO. Also use a separate Thin LVM partition for space saving and snapshot ability. This will give a blazing performance, Drag N Drop from host to VM and VM desktop auto resize feature. And I also recommend 2 monitors.

[@Matt2010]

@@LRM12o8 I never will use windows and swappiness depending on Distro can also be a problem and I prefer some zram along side some swappiness. I really see no need anymore for same as RAM amount or even higher anymore for swap, especially for 16GB RAM and higher. Ubuntu's and even Linux mint default is 60 yea no thanks, I prefer 15. This is really dependent on how much RAM you have too i'd suggest either 40 or 30 maybe 20 for especially 4 GB computers. Just do cat /proc/sys/vm/swappiness to find out your default. to change, now I use MX Linux so similar to Ubuntu and Debian based, instructs for that would be sudo pico /etc/sysctl.conf and add or find, most likely gonna have to add it with vm.swappiness = x , now pico i just prefer to use, you can use your own preferred cli text editor.

[@walterpark8824]

Great points. I'm sending this to a young friend who's stuck on win. I've used Linux for years, and still use win regrettably now and then. The better Stream function might help my friend, because he has games that run best there.

[@BirdSpotter43]

My steamdeck got me interested in full linux

[@g04tn4d0]

That's a fair conclusion. An important thing to remember no matter which side of the fence you fall on is that you should be using the system that you need in order to get the hardware running that you use. It is also possible to choose the hardware first for the system that you use. But at the end of the day all that really matters is that you're getting what you need done.

[@Thoroughmas]

Mmm considering the hardware is good advice. Thanks

[@iplyrunescape305]

only with the exception that the tool you need at times (Windows) is becoming increasingly difficult to use.

[@wisteela]

Excellent video. Subscribed. Linux Mint is an excellent choice. Windows 11 is enough to make anybody switch. 😜

[@Polygarden]

I always bothered switching to Linux because it wasn't easily possible to develop games on it. There was always the need to switch back and forth between Windows and Linux, because one of the steps in your pipeline required it, be it 3D object exports, texture exports, some sound file editing etc. But within the last 5 years, it became really accessible, especially with full Vulkan, Blender and Krita support. I've been running a Linux work PC since one year and it's such a breeze, it runs so smoothly. I'm sure that the future of Linux is really bright, especially when development on Linux gains more and more traction.

[@atlantic_love]

"I'm sure that the future of Linux is really bright, especially when development on Linux gains more and more traction." Do you know how long that very thing has been said? Years and years and years. The only way Linux will really grow is both (a) there aren't other options for people to go to without spending a lot of money for an OS or giving up their privacy; and (b) there is finally some accountability in how linux distros are created and maintain. There is just too much fragmentation right now. Too many people more interested in their 15 minutes of fame creating a new distro or new app for the distros, and forking this and that, than in actually remaining with one distro or project. Dev's get bored and just drop everything, only to run off to some other linux project or just go back to Windows.

[@CFWhitman]

DaVinci Resolve is one of the programs that you generally might want to run with an NVIDIA card in Linux. As a rule of thumb, AMD works better for the general Linux desktop, AMD and NVIDIA are close to even at gaming (though AMD is always improving here), and NVIDIA is the choice for proprietary software like DaVinci Resolve. Proprietary software on Linux that involves graphics will usually be easier to set up with an NVIDIA card. In some cases much easier.

[@Thoroughmas]

Mmm that's great to know, thanks. I've been an AMD fan for many years but we gotta admit when NVIDIA is just better at something (like most video codecs)

[@1pcfred]

Nvidia has Cuda cores. A lot of software uses that.

[@Vidjnjsdnjk-en6tz]

@@1pcfred Which software has it as a necessity?

[@1pcfred]

@@Vidjnjsdnjk-en6tz necessity is a bit strong of a term. I said software uses CUDA. If CUDA is available. You're going to run into CUDA use with video rendering.

[@therealvbw]

I related massively to this. When all my games stopped working on Windows 7 I had no reason not to move over. Had some prior experience and was already using all the same free software that works on Linux. Glad to hear it worked out well for you!

[@TehKarmalizer]

I’m getting pretty fed up with Windows. I may transition altogether. My main hold ups have been familiarity and games, but the latter has gotten a lot better compared to 20 years ago.

[@soundsnags2001]

Which distro are you thinking about using?

[@TehKarmalizer]

@@soundsnags2001 not sure. Probably Pop!_OS.

[@1pcfred]

You can't get familiar if you don't start. It's not like experience is going to come in your sleep or anything like that. You actually have to run Linux to get familiar with Linux. I'm sorry but that's just how it is.

[@draoi99]

Thomas! I used to comment on your Chromebook videos. I'm delighted to see you joining the free world! I'm using a Chromebook these days but I started using Ubuntu in 2008 and these days my favourite distro would probably be Fedora with KDE.

[@Thoroughmas]

Hey great to see you again!!

[@DragoMorke]

Thank you so much for your video. Various tips in it helped me in my journey to Linux. As to going back to windows: Have you considered virtualization? Using virtual machine manager (using qemu) and PCI pass through you can remain on Linux and only use windows when you really need it. It is possible to dynamically pass through the GPU when needed but it's not easy to configure.

[@StormWarningMom]

Best program for virtualization without fussy tweaking: Boxes. This app is based on qemu and runs AMAZING and simple to run. Give it a spin and see how you like it!

[@RealRajatShahare]

Same here. Linux has evolved so much over the years that anyone can use it because of its user-friendly interface. It’s now truly amazing, which is why I also switched to Linux Fedora Workstation permanently about three months ago.

[@coinbongo4694]

Mint is a bit outdated and in my opinion looks ugly. I want to test kde neon to see how stable it is for general people. It looks very clean

[@idonotknowwhyyoutubeletsyo5893]

You can either get linux in the hundreds of other variants of ready to use distros. Or you can make your own from the base.

[@BunnyKhatri-pd8zm]

I don't think so mint with cinnamon is great for beginners or gnome based distro because kde is still unstable and overwhelming with lots of features rn i am using kde neon

[@LRM12o8]

That's why I chose Kubuntu and and Ubuntu Studio on my PCs. KDE Plasma looks and feels very intuitive coming from Windows and it's incredibly customizable too! I'm very happy with it. I tried Linux Mint (Cinnamon, I believe) on my Media PC, but the Desktop didn't scale well on my 4K TV. About half the stuff seemed unaffected by the GUI scaling setting. It also couldn't smoothly play KZbin videos over 1080p and sometimes struggled with 1080p as well, making this old 6th gen i5 mini PC barely better than the Raspberry Pi 4 it replaced. No such issues running Kubuntu 23.10 on it though!

[@LRM12o8]

@BunnyKhatri-pd8zm I'm a beginner (switched two weeks ago), I chose KDE because it looks most like Windows (pre 11) and I'm very happy. It does have an annoying bug where pinned programs disappear from the taskbar, or the taskbar disappears when I change my display configuration (which I do a lot because I have a 32:9 monitor that I often use in picture by picture mode as two 16:9 monitors), but I can work around that, no big deal. The pros far outweigh the cons for me, I like feeling right at home with my DE, rather than getting myself used to a completely different design paradigm like Ubuntu Gnome, and I really enjoy KDE's standard programs like Dolphin file explorer which is such an incredibly good explorer, I don't even want to try anything else! (And I know I can install any file explorer on any DE, but I wanna keep it as stock as possible to make it easier for me to follow tutorials and troubleshooting guides if needed. I even switched to using English as my system language, rather than my mother tongue for that same reason.)

[@BunnyKhatri-pd8zm]

@@LRM12o8 you should try gnome once, gnome extensions are so stable and i personally like gnome more. i am using kde for some other reasons

[@ronaldraygun3386]

The reason it is easier to do stuff in command line/shell, instead of a graphical interface, is because it is far easier to instruct someone which exact commands he should type in and what kind of output he should get, instead of trying to tell with screenshots where you should navigate, what menu options to use etc. Especially on Linux where even the same distro might have quite different graphical user interfaces, GNOME, XFCE, what have you. So before you can tell someone what they should do in the GUI, you'd have to know what desktop environment they are using, what graphical tools they have installed and are using, and you would have to be familiar with that same desktop environment. When you google for Linux instructions how to do something, the instructions are much clearer and shorter because usually they are just a bunch of commands in text. When you google for Windows instructions, it is quite often a web page full of screenshots which show where you should navigate in Windows, what options and menus to select etc. And even in Windows those instructions may well be different for e.g. Windows 11, 10 and especially 7, as the GUI has certainly changed between those as well.

[@roborob347]

Linux will be the operating system of the future when windows becomes the bloated ai spyware hellscape it's already well on track to becoming.

[@Ledplous]

This is an incredible video, I've moved to Linux too and I 100% agree.

[@burgwinkel]

Pretty please could you list the apps you mentioned? I tried the closed captioning to get their names correctly, but that failed. Thank you dearly. I haven't seen your vids since your Chromebook days and it's lovely to see you again.

[@Thoroughmas]

Hi! Will do when I get a chance :) Off the top of my head I mentioned LocalSend, Pika Backup, OnlyOffice, Videomass.

[@burgwinkel]

@@Thoroughmas Thank you Thomas, that's very helpful.

[@DeronJ]

​@@ThoroughmasI just came across your video. I have been using Handbrake, but I will have to check out Videomass.

[@harmzuay]

I've been off Windows for the last 3 to 4 weeks or so. I first tried Linux Mint on my desktop, then installed Debian 12 on my laptop, and now I'm running Arch + KDE Plasma 6 on my desktop. I believe that's what I'm sticking with for the foreseeable future. I couldn't resist the urge to tinker, unfortunately, and broke my system a couple of times. I just like seeing what's available now that I'm not tethered to Windows.

[@thefurrygamer1489]

Set a separate drive for Windows. Don't switch back completely.

[@motoryzen]

I definitely could not agree more. So many beginner Linux users make the mistake of a stalling whatever Linux operating system they choose in the same physical Drive Windows already lives in and it just creates the best opportunity for them to lose data on both. Especially those who haven't a clue about partitioning drives and what to look for and they also don't understand that when you do that method, grub and windows bootloader are not meant to exist on the same drive one always tries to overwrite the other and it just causes problems in the end when you're ready to get rid of Linux and go back to Windows if you've reached a dead end point or you're frustrating you just need to take a full break from it I've been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt and noticed it didn't fit and had to throw it away

[@RedVRCC]

This 100%. I dug up an old laptop that just didn't work anymore and ripped it's corrupted 320gb hard drive out, wiped it, plugged it into my PC, and put linux mint on it. I still have windows for things I need it for while linux is completely isolated so no worries about potential issues.

[@YrmiZ]

I switched 2021 and never looked back. I am a gamer and it was incredible how well everything worked. The best thing you mentioned was to stop tinkering when everything works. Linux is a rabbit hole and if you immediately start making a perfect system it eats your time.

[@andrewwojtas8486]

I only really use the command line for speed if anything

[@crwferrum3159]

This is an amazingly well put video. I started using Linux 8 years ago when I got a Chromebook and didn't had any other hardware to use. I didn't liked ChromeOS that much and it had a 15GB eMMC inside, so I couldn't really make any changes. After looking around I found out that you need to remove a write protection screw inside the motherboard and then mod the BIOS to install another OS. I started with Manjaro XFCE and got a 128GB pendrive to store things. I managed to play games and do the usual stuff in there. It was a very interesting (and sometimes frustrating) experience. Now I have a gaming setup and I dual-boot a debloated win10 for some pieces of software and games and Nobara Linux as my daily driver. Keep up the good work, Thomas!

[@BadmaashCo]

Impressive I have a Chromebook that is super slow. Thanks for your eye opening comment. I need to explore this. My Chromebook is at least 8 years old so not sure if this can be done. Any suggestions for me?

[@vibvian]

for running davinci resolve, ive found that using 18.1.4 inside a fedora distrobox works as any newer version causes the timeline ui to dissapear

[@georgepetrakis7703]

I hope davinci resolve release at some point as flatpak so we don't have to deal with those compatibility problems...

[@EugeniaLoli]

@@georgepetrakis7703 It's not possible to sandbox Resolve. It requires direct access to files and hardware to work properly.

[@esaedvik]

My recommended software list: Image viewer: XNView MP Music Player: Audacious Browser: Brave Disk Usage: FileLight or Disk Usage Analyzer KVM (share mouse and kb with multiple machines/OS': Barrier/InputLeap (X11-only) or Cursr Firewall: Portmaster Discord with working streaming: Vesktop Sharing files: Syncthing Fan/AIO/Lighting control: CoreCtrl/Coolero/OpenRGB Screenshots: Flameshot Partition manager: GParted Text editor: Kate Terminal: Tilix Task manager/resource manager: System monitor/Mission Center File manager: Dolphin

[@anotherland2462]

most of those are pretty common.

[@mariofanl1ve]

Everyone tries to recommend desktop environments that are familiar to what users used before but I will say if you're switching to linux, dont choose something that looks like the os you previously used. If it looks familiar you will expect it to work a certain way but linux isn't windows or mac so it wont work like them. If you choose something unfamiliar you have no expectation on how its used so you're more willing to learn a new way of doing things anyway.

[@duckmeat4674]

I just tell people to use gnome. Easiest de to use and it's pretty locked down so people won't be overwhelmed

[@1pcfred]

The newbies with the greatest chance of making it are the ones that can leave all of their old baggage behind. Linux is a Windows alternative not a Windows replacement. The distinction is real.

[@Happy-Hunter89]

Great video. I've been using and experimenting with Linux since 2007. Its inpressive how far things have come since then. I remember the hassle of just getting DVD codecs to work. These days, printers, cameras, tablets, hard drives, art tablets...just about anything I've plugged in just seems to work. Granted, I'm not working with much in the audio world. I still dual boot with Windows, mainly because I've yet to find a good replacement for Quicken. For 99% of everything else though, Linux rules.

[@bobowon5450]

the only reason i haven't switched my main computer to linux mint is because i have a vr headset

[@alicealysia]

So I use linux and have an old htc vive, and it was overall pretty plug and play on kubuntu 23.04. I've heard this isn't always the case though. That said, I'm unsure how well it works with headsets like the windows mixed reality headsets or the quest.

[@catherinepoloynis]

Thanks for sharing your experience, it was educational and validating of my own thoughts.

[@yungpaco]

Microsoft lost me after the article about the screenshot ai shit. Also as the other comment describes „Advertisement machine“ 😂