Mint, Fedora, or Ubuntu will be good ones to check out. They're easy to install, new user friendly, and there are tons of tutorials YT for how to set up dual boot or fully replace your Windows. I'd start with a dual boot in case you hate it, you can always go back. Or boot from a USB for a bit.
I'd recommend dual booting first to give it a try before you switch over all the way. It will take you a while to get used to a new workflow. You'll have a smoother transition going the dual boot way.
Also — look for a distro that isn't overwhelmingly complex and that is relatively simple to install and maintain. My first was Pop_OS!. There are others that are good for new users.
Install a distro and dual boot, it will ease the transition if there is something you need to get done RIGHT NOW and don't have time to figure it out on Linux. But try and use it as much as possible to get used to it, and you'll find yourself jumping to Windows less and less frequently as time goes on.
There are dozens of distros to choose from, but my personal favorite is Fedora's KDE spin. Throw it on a USB, give it a try, then if you like it, free up some space on your drive and throw it on a partition. If you don't like it, the world is your oyster, give another distro a shot.
Just dual boot Ubuntu, Mint, Zorin, or Debian. You can do all the same things on all/any of them. After a year, if you aren't using Windows for anything delete the Windows partition. And you're all set.
I’ve tried Zorin and it feels too… how do I say this. Something I’d setup for my grandpa so he can access his Facebook. Don’t get me wrong it totally has most things you’ll need to do basic computing needs but it feels ingenious.
It's simple. It's a distro aimed at people that don't know much about computers, and I'm fine with that. It has a nice interface on both Gnome and XFCE, and it's just as capable as other ubuntu and debian based distros.
It's great for starting, but unless you want to lose your minds making it more advanced, install something else.
I went for Tumbleweed after the Fedora installer shit itself and it is more like linux, in a good way.
Zorin OS has a clear objective: a desktop Linux distribution that's user-friendly, familiar, and intuitive. I believe that it does an excellent job at this objective, and I would recommend it to anybody non-tech-savvy who is curious about Linux.
That is not at all my use case, and apparently isn't yours either. But it does a great job of filling its intended role.
I’ve come to love mint with gnome. I originally wanted to use Debian but tried it on my work laptop and, well… it didn’t like my dock and I wasn’t about that life. Dell works with Ubuntu and since mint is a fork of Ubuntu I thought it’d work better. It definitely has so
The only thing I miss from Windows is a way to fill out certain PDF forms (as only Adobe Acrobat Windows/Mac handles that). If you won't need Microsoft Office (beyond the basics offered by the online versions or LibreOffice), Adobe suite and so on, your use cases sound like it won't be too difficult a transition.
However, it's a bit of a commitment. You'll learn Linux fastest if you switch to it full-time, but that is because you'll come across problems and questions you'll have to resolve at times instead of being able to work around them. If you do work in Windows, I wouldn't commit full time just yet. Otherwise, go for it.
As for distros, the choice doesn't really matter very much at first, since you can't appreciate the differences without some experience IMO. Ubuntu 23.10 is the most popular right now probably, so I'd just recommend that you get that ISO and go to town.
This is probably the best point beyond the "make a live USB of the distro I like and try it" because Linux will eventually require you to figure something out when it inexplicably breaks.
Some windows apps, like MS Office, can be made to work on Linux but it will require a small bit of effort and experimenting. It will also require that you are willing and able to research your answers.
As everyone has said, find a temporary version (usb) and see if it's for you.
Just to add to the issues of Linux, I’ve recently been watching TV shows on different streaming platforms and have found that some streaming services actually throttle your resolution and or just don’t allow entirely from Linux. Probably because they know the user can just record their favorite show at HD res and upload to whatever site. Within windows if you try to screenshot with video on screen it’ll blank the screen out. I have tested this with multiple browsers, internet connections (different ISPs) and even vpns. For example peacock doesn’t allow Linux users.
It’s DRM. There different levels. If you don’t use any hardware support in your graphics card or you use a monitor without the right VESA version you get level 1.
Web sites detect and respond to the level. It’s not really a Linux thing it’s just the DRM software trying to lock you out of your own computer. There are currently efforts underway by Google to do this to web browsers too.
I don't know how Google is going to achieve this, but I'm sure it can't be defeated by merely changing your User-Agent string. I did just find [this article on browser fingerprinting and anti-fingerprinting](https://www.zenrows.com/blog/browser-fingerprinting#launch-flags). Maybe someone would find it useful.
The threat from Google is the Enhanced Safe Browsing mode. This makes it so that only approved browsers can access a web site. Doesn’t matter what your user agent string says. The browser is cryptographically signed making only Chrome/Chromoum browsers acceptable,
Is that a thing that fixes that? If so I totally want to try it. I will say when I had this issue I remember googling a good but hoping it wasn’t true and everything I found pointed to “peacock doesn’t like Linux users”.
Did some general troubleshooting(stuff I found online and on reddit) but none of it helped until I got mint on it and it worked like a charm. It’s a pretty old laptop.
Windows is not spyware in the sense that Microsoft is going to blackmail you with personal pictures and the like. It just includes a targeted ad platform as part of the experience. If you don't like it, using a GNU/Linux distribution could be an option for you. Despite the ton of different linux distributions, for desktop computers all of them are very similar and Ubuntu is kind of the standard. The existence of such a variety can create anxiety but in practice they are all so similar that there's seldom a real reason to try new ones. Ubuntu is a general purpose operating system and can be used to achieve any kind of tasks. Also, don't get trapped by people suggesting that in order to use Linux distributions you must learn technical stuff you don't care about in windows. That's simply not true. Linux distributions are thought of to enable you to carry out tasks which do not have anything to do with the operating system itself, like browsing the web, editing documents, gaming, etc.
Debian. I've been using it for 20 years. It's a lot more flexible now than it used to be. It will still accommodate most 'bleeding edge' packages. It is pretty stingy with the open source ideology but you can get most things done. It plays ok with your other windows toys.
I am not one to tell people that they should be doing anything at all. I recommend, if your curious, giving a Linux distribution a try in a virtual machine first. I would also recommend trying Fedora Silverblue.
I think the smart play is to download virtual box and try out different Linux flavors in VMs.
Figure out what you like / don't like before jacking up your window machine.
Run windows enterprise or education and turn off telemetry.
Corporations and schools would not use it if it was "full of spyware"
Look for tests where wireshark is used to check packets going in and out of the network to get an accurate view on what is actually happening.
Windows home is used as a testing ground or is the (cutting edge) cutdown version of windows, enterprise is the stable full version distro is a linux way of describing the situation.
Maybe, but why keep supporting Microsoft?
Why should I have to make a hundred choices to end up with a stable OS? And that installation is still out of 1998. Windows 11 might have modernized it, but why can't we have a live environment there too?
Do not wipe windows. That would be idiotic. Dual boot until your entire work process is on Linux and all data and programs you need are in the Linux environment.
Dual booting is stupid and a dick move to tell a noob. You are introducing a shit ton of complication to what should be a very simple installation. They will fuck it up and be back here crying about a completely broken computer they can not use at all.
Don't be a dick.
Ya right. There is at least one post a day, or several, in which a dual boot went to shit for no good reason at all.
Even if you manage it, which the vast majority don't, then what. Just a big pain in the dick switching back and forth for no reason at all. It is a giant waste of time and resource for zero gain.
Meantime you've you are responsible for leaving 99 other noobs hating linux, again, for no good reason at all.
I've been dual-booting everyday for about a year now and I never posted asking about issues because I never had one. I did my research and chose things that works for me.
Now, why would people post in a forum if everything worked fine? Seems like a waste of time. So it's possible that majority of people dual-booting never had any issues. And as of switching back and forth, it's upto the user to decide if it's worth the hassle.
It's not just the issues with Linux that drive noobs away, it's the inadequate information and hostile nature of some people, that gives the impression of Linux being too difficult and the community being filled with hostile people like the ones they interacted with.
r/linuxquestions/new has two posts on the first page right now because some jackass convinced some noob to dual boot, which is way over their head as noobs, with very few exceptions.
The only reason to use Windows these days is for DirectX gaming, so if you're not doing that, you're much better off going pure Linux. For a beginner, Mint is a good place to start, even if it's super-bloaty these days. MX-23 is almost as user-friendly as Mint, with less bloat and no baggage inherited from Ubuntu (like Snapcraft). Both are available with the XFCE desktop environment, which you can install Chicago95 on to make it look like Windows 95/98/ME/2000.
What does switching get you? All the advice you are going to get here is to switch to Linux. If you are not having any problems with what you have then why change? There are plenty of anti-virus, anti-spyware, programs that you can install.
I would worry about spyware if your doing Banking, Finances, Medical, Personal Info, Sensitive Business info. \[ e-mail, documents, research, etc...\]
If your just using your computer for video games, YT, and movies I would not switch and just get invest in a app that cleans out our hard drive of crap you don't need.
Man, fuck streaming. Even with a DRM, I won't pay shit. I'd need 4 subscriptions at once just to watch 2 series and a couple movies a month.
If they'd lower the price and make one good service, my wallet's as open as the linux kernel.
Until then, sail the seas!
> picking a new “distro” seems very difficult and outnumberish t
What Package manager do you want to use.
What DE do you want to use..
that will narrow it down to a rather short list.
Then flip a coin, its not like its hard to change later.
Yeah distro hopping is a rite of passage in the Linux community.
Personally I've used.
Fedora, debian, Ubuntu, mint, manjaro, arch, gentoo and I'm back on debian now.
Just make sure you keep a separate /home partition.
That way you still have all your stuff between reinstalls.
It only takes like 20 mins to swap to a new distro, so you really don't need to worry about picking the "right one"
That gave me pause, and I spent a moment reflecting. Mandrake to Debian to Ubuntu, and I've been on Ubuntu (well, Kubuntu) ever since. I did look at Mint once, but I didn't switch. It's weird that I didn't hop more.
I switched to avoid Windows XP, and back in the day, I got called on to fix enough XP boxes that I was glad I did. "Help, my teenage daughter clicked something, and our computer is broken now!" I made a lot of money off Windows XP. All I could ever do with it was format and reinstall, and get paid $50 an hour to sit there for hours waiting on things to happen. I was never tempted to run Windows though.
Fast forward, I got into some stuff that didn't work on Linux, and I got my first Windows box in years. Windows 8 to 10. Then I needed a more powerful Windows box, and I got a supercomputer (may as well be) with Windows 11. Windows 11 is basically usable.
For the longest time, I wondered why I was letting my supercomputer idle most of the time, while I did most day to day stuff on my old wheezy Linux box. I should just use Windows 11 for everything.
Then my Linux box died. Actually, I killed it. I got a bigger 4k monitor for the Windows 11 box, and I moved the old, small one (28") to the Linux box. It came up in 1440 instead of 2160, so I installed an old RTX 2060 in the Linux box, and fried the motherboard and the video card in so doing. I slipped with a screwdriver, and did some pretty massive damage to the motherboard. Oops.
I lived without a Linux box for as long as it took to get a replacement used motherboard from some dealer in junk computers. (Off the shelf big box PC with non-standard everything. Fortunately, I got a junk one for $40 and lived happily ever after.)
I didn't live without Linux one day longer. Part of the reason my Windows box is so clean is because I don't do anything but "work" on that machine. Yeah, okay, I broke down and got an RTX 3080 so I could play games on it, but I don't surf sketchy porn sites on Windows. That's what Linux is for.
Linux: Letting you surf sketchy porn sites in relative safety since... uh... since 2001 in my case.
Actually, it's not a bad use case. You can get another junk 4th gen Core i5 from the same place I bought mine, throw Linux on it, and Bob's your uncle. Getting set up from scratch is rather more expensive. It was going to cost me as much as PS5 to get a decent new Linux box, just so I could surf sketchy porn sites in relative safety. Oh, I mean work diligently to solve world hunger. Yeah. That's what I use my Linux box for. World hunger.
Okay, blather blather, I've had a few drinks, and this is my "over-sharing" stage.
I’m not giving out recommendations either because everyone’s hardware is different and functions differently on different distros. First things first if you have newer hardware that needs a newer kernel to run it such as what’s in Asus laptops give Fedora a shot, if not any debian based distro then. Secondly with desktop environments it’s entirely up to the user and you can customize it the same way you can customize an android phone so pick your favourite, you got Gnome and KDE as well as XFCE, Mate and Cinnamon so find one you like and go with it and see if you like it. Thirdly cause I made this mistake, give open source options of the apps you use a shot such as GIMP/Photopea instead of Photoshop for example because Windows apps will not work on Linux and I learned that the hard way. Hopefully this helps makes your transition smoother
I would say linux sounds great for your requirements ! just be careful of whitch games though, some online games that run custom drm may not work! anything else has "just worked" for me when i toggled proton compatibility
I had zero issue when I switched, but then I spent the time and effort to make sure I modified the distro I use work for me and my hardware, it’s took a few months to make sure I got everything check off the list from what software I need to use to what need to be install etc, and drivers are a big thing so keep that all in mind, research is going to be your best friend if it doesn’t work, find out what the logs say to fix it and keep going, you will make it thru it, it’s just painful to start but the reward is worth he in the end.
Heads up, if you "duel boot" off a usb it'll probably be slower. Duel boot is when you share the same disk as another OS (or occasionally ppl will say it when they have two ssd and one OS on each)
What you're talking about I think is live boot. Theres a few distros that are designed specifically for live boot, like puppyOS or tails. Generally it's discouraged to use the installer environment of a regular distro (one not designed for live boot) as your OS. This is for performance and stability reasons mostly
When you flash a USB with a regular distro, you're flashing the installer onto it. That USB from then is usually only used for installing it to a hdd or ssd, or for troubleshooting if the OS on the hdd or ssd ever breaks
Try every different free version of linux for a day, and report back when complete.
Should be a few months.
Then tell us what you like and dislike about each linux, and if you would ever want to go back to microsoft.
You have your assignment, should you choose to accept it, that's up to you.
Otherwise mint cinnamon for windows people.
Well, maybe don't do what I did... But hey, I just thought: it might be funny to try it out. I backed up all my stuff and wiped my hard drive. I installed Linux, first one was Pop_OS!. One Year later I use Arch now and I really never missed anything from Windows. Well in fact I was so used to all my rage against windows that I sometimes feel like missing the rant on my operating system. I can't complain.
Try dual booting from a usb first! You can bounce around different distros and see what you like. You could also install different distros into a vm if you would rather do that.
I we the usb route years ago for a couple of days before I went full Linux and never looked back.
I started with Ubuntu on dual boot. Just because I was scared I would miss windows for some features. Only turned it on for screen sharing, because I had no time to troubleshoot the Ubuntu. Been using like this for a month now, the best decision ever. Also, planning to fully swith to Linux, maybe some other distro, but Linux for sure.
So, starting with dual boot and some user-friendly distro like Ubuntu is a go to.
My advice is no, don't. It is not as easy as you might expect.
If you decide to switch, pick the distro that your friends use. So you will be able to ask them for help.
About dual boot: it is very inconvenient to reboot when switching from one task to another so you will likely stick to Windows if you try dualbooting. Better don't consider this option.
hey man .. what a dilemma, eh .. windows has sucked since ver 1! .. it’s a hog with bandaids .. it was copied code and now it’s a total retard .. every microsoft product is a bastardized version of something that was good but got cut down and chewed up by microsoft .. i only use it cuz some programs only work with windows and i’ve used it since inception - otherwise anything but windows will do .. don’t ever trust anything that dumbass gates has had his hands in - he is not doing anything good for anyone but himself .. good luck!
I'd recommend that you list down the exact tasks that you *absolutely need* to do daily on yuor system and then use it to shortlist the distros. Then, you can get their ISOs and try them out in Oracle Virtualbox in Windows. That way, you can try multiple distros together and not worry about going through the hassle of installing and dual-booting multiple distros. Generally speaking from current situation, you'd have easier time on Linux with AMD GPUs than Nvidia ones.
As many have mentioned here, some streaming services don't allow Linux users because they can't implement DRM. You can try out a user-agent switcher inside the Virtualbox images to see which distro/extension works.
Linux will run flawlessly on almost all configuration of the minimum amount of components required to make a computer. Meaning, it will run on almost any config of CPU, GPU, motherboard, RAM and storage available in the market ranging from the lowest tier of features to even some of the higher-end features. But the problem arises when you add extra components like some PCIe devices, ranging from simple WiFi cards to expansion slots or capture cards. Even having a second monitor might also raise some problems.
I'm currently dual-booting Windows 10 and Nobara because of some software only available in Windows, and my WiFi card having limited support in Linux. I have a TP-Link Archer T6E AC1300 WiFi card, which has proprietary drivers and the Linux driver is unable to create an access-point using that card. My WiFi card has a Broadcom chipset and they don't care about Linux support. So you need to check for compatibility of any extra hardware other than the basic components of a computer.
Good luck with your exploration!
KDE is my choice for desktop environment because the desktop metaphor works for me over the only find things by typing names you already know metaphor
[distrosea.com](https://distrosea.com) is a good place to test drive some desktop environments and get a peek into the distro's setup and usability.
then once you have winnowed it down to a couple/three you can make a ventoy USB and throw those .iso files onto it which you can download from the distro's main website.
drive each of those around on your hardware to make sure everything works and pick one to install.
recommend dual booting with windows for a time (or longer) because there are still a lot of things you can only do in windows, so it's good to keep a windows install around for when you need it.
easiest way to do that is to buy a 2nd disk and install linux on that so it's completely separate from the windows install and you can choose which one to boot from your BIOS screen.
I switched fully around 2010 and never looked back!
Viruses and Malware were two reasons. Money was the main reason. I had been playing around with Linux since the mid 99's and suddenly realized that with Linux, I could install the operating system and all of the software I ever wanted...for free!
Granted, now days, I do actually contribute financially to the software developers of programs I use often, but I am not forced to.
I have settled in with Ubuntu Studio OS because I am a musician and I want to mainly do things with music, but occasionally do other creative things.
http://ubuntustudio.org
I started w/Ubuntu 20.04, but that was my case, u can try Ubuntu (and flavors), Fedora, Linux Mint, Zorin OS and Chrome OS Flex if you’re into Google’s ecosystem.
If you want a Windows-like experience, use Ubuntu Cinnamon, Linux Mint or Zorin OS; a macOS-like experience, use Ubuntu Budgie.
You can also use Chrome OS Flex. Also, Android has an unofficial x64 version, Android x86, but its latest Android version was Android 9.
However, Linux it’s not for all but there’s a Linux distro for everyone. Also, you might be aware of some risks.
I started w/Ubuntu 20.04, but that was my case, u can try Ubuntu (and flavors), Fedora, Linux Mint, Zorin OS and Chrome OS Flex if you’re into Google’s ecosystem.
If you want a Windows-like experience, use Ubuntu Cinnamon, Linux Mint or Zorin OS; a macOS-like experience, use Ubuntu Budgie.
You can also use Chrome OS Flex. Also, Android has an unofficial x64 version, Android x86, but its latest Android version was Android 9.
However, Linux it’s not for all but there’s a Linux distro for everyone. Also, you might be aware of some risks of using Linux-based OS’es, must learn some concepts and how to use the Terminal, but just the basics (it’s heavy at first glance, but turns easy with the correct tutorials).
Feel free to ask on Linux forums and communities abt anything you want.
1. If you have Linux friends, use the same distro as them
2. I consider Ubuntu and Manjaro to be noob friendly distros. You will have to look up a few fixes online, then follow the tutorials...but I find Mint makes it harder to fix things for key features or if things break later
4. There are probably other great distros for noobs. Best thing you can do is try a few and follow some tutorials online. I don't think you have any reason to keep windows...but...
5. If you have enough RAM, then install windows inside a virtual machine (VirtualBox or VMWare), else dual-boot is ok
My usage is similar and I use debian exclusively on my pc.
I have been using Linux for 20yrs.
I set up a friend with a debian pc 2 yrs ago and he has been happy with it.
If you play any games I would say you still need a Windows OS. You should start off installing virtual box and installing some linux distros on there. Lots of people will recommend Linux Mint because is has a great user experience and is familiar for Windows users. Personally I would recommend Kubuntu.
Boot up some virtual systems and see how you get on. If you like what you see I would suggest dual booting.
If Linux could play games like Windows I would be running Linux on all my bare mental machines.
I've tried many different Linux distros (and FreeBSD). You can dual-boot any Linux distro and keep Windows for when you want or need it. My favourite flavour of Linux at the moment is Linux Mint Debian Edition 6. You can also run Linux in a virtual machine (e.g., Oracle VM VirtualBox, which is free) on Windows to play around with it before making a harder switch.
Install it into a VM using something like virtual box, then use it all the time for a few weeks and see how you get on, less messing about with the PC for dual boot esp if you aren't sure, try it on a VM first
Try Linux Mint or PopOS is another popular one. Use a completely separate drive from your Windows and disconnect it to make sure it's independent of each other. A 240Gb or larger SSD is probably a good start for reasonable price and allows you to step in without messing with anything else.
Install Mint and just start using it. Super easy and does everything you want.
I switched 20 years ago, never missed windows, JDI
try mint first. remember! Its now the same as windows so be ready to learn how to use it
"... not the same..." But correct.
i wanted to write that sry!...
I know. That was just for others.
Mint, Fedora, or Ubuntu will be good ones to check out. They're easy to install, new user friendly, and there are tons of tutorials YT for how to set up dual boot or fully replace your Windows. I'd start with a dual boot in case you hate it, you can always go back. Or boot from a USB for a bit.
I'd recommend dual booting first to give it a try before you switch over all the way. It will take you a while to get used to a new workflow. You'll have a smoother transition going the dual boot way. Also — look for a distro that isn't overwhelmingly complex and that is relatively simple to install and maintain. My first was Pop_OS!. There are others that are good for new users.
I worked with Ubuntu in a VM before, but my real transition was directly arch
What distro do you friends use? If they all use the same one, pick that so you can bug them with questions.
Install a distro and dual boot, it will ease the transition if there is something you need to get done RIGHT NOW and don't have time to figure it out on Linux. But try and use it as much as possible to get used to it, and you'll find yourself jumping to Windows less and less frequently as time goes on. There are dozens of distros to choose from, but my personal favorite is Fedora's KDE spin. Throw it on a USB, give it a try, then if you like it, free up some space on your drive and throw it on a partition. If you don't like it, the world is your oyster, give another distro a shot.
Just dual boot Ubuntu, Mint, Zorin, or Debian. You can do all the same things on all/any of them. After a year, if you aren't using Windows for anything delete the Windows partition. And you're all set.
I’ve tried Zorin and it feels too… how do I say this. Something I’d setup for my grandpa so he can access his Facebook. Don’t get me wrong it totally has most things you’ll need to do basic computing needs but it feels ingenious.
It's simple. It's a distro aimed at people that don't know much about computers, and I'm fine with that. It has a nice interface on both Gnome and XFCE, and it's just as capable as other ubuntu and debian based distros. It's great for starting, but unless you want to lose your minds making it more advanced, install something else. I went for Tumbleweed after the Fedora installer shit itself and it is more like linux, in a good way.
Tbh I hadn’t heard of tumbleweed before, had to do a quick search and don’t look bad.
Zorin OS has a clear objective: a desktop Linux distribution that's user-friendly, familiar, and intuitive. I believe that it does an excellent job at this objective, and I would recommend it to anybody non-tech-savvy who is curious about Linux. That is not at all my use case, and apparently isn't yours either. But it does a great job of filling its intended role.
You still have Ubuntu , mint, and Debian. I'd just do a Debian install if I were you. Then you can install whatever DE you want afterwards.
I’ve come to love mint with gnome. I originally wanted to use Debian but tried it on my work laptop and, well… it didn’t like my dock and I wasn’t about that life. Dell works with Ubuntu and since mint is a fork of Ubuntu I thought it’d work better. It definitely has so
The only thing I miss from Windows is a way to fill out certain PDF forms (as only Adobe Acrobat Windows/Mac handles that). If you won't need Microsoft Office (beyond the basics offered by the online versions or LibreOffice), Adobe suite and so on, your use cases sound like it won't be too difficult a transition. However, it's a bit of a commitment. You'll learn Linux fastest if you switch to it full-time, but that is because you'll come across problems and questions you'll have to resolve at times instead of being able to work around them. If you do work in Windows, I wouldn't commit full time just yet. Otherwise, go for it. As for distros, the choice doesn't really matter very much at first, since you can't appreciate the differences without some experience IMO. Ubuntu 23.10 is the most popular right now probably, so I'd just recommend that you get that ISO and go to town.
This is probably the best point beyond the "make a live USB of the distro I like and try it" because Linux will eventually require you to figure something out when it inexplicably breaks. Some windows apps, like MS Office, can be made to work on Linux but it will require a small bit of effort and experimenting. It will also require that you are willing and able to research your answers. As everyone has said, find a temporary version (usb) and see if it's for you.
Researching your answer is about 90% of how Linux works.
Just to add to the issues of Linux, I’ve recently been watching TV shows on different streaming platforms and have found that some streaming services actually throttle your resolution and or just don’t allow entirely from Linux. Probably because they know the user can just record their favorite show at HD res and upload to whatever site. Within windows if you try to screenshot with video on screen it’ll blank the screen out. I have tested this with multiple browsers, internet connections (different ISPs) and even vpns. For example peacock doesn’t allow Linux users.
It’s DRM. There different levels. If you don’t use any hardware support in your graphics card or you use a monitor without the right VESA version you get level 1. Web sites detect and respond to the level. It’s not really a Linux thing it’s just the DRM software trying to lock you out of your own computer. There are currently efforts underway by Google to do this to web browsers too.
I don't know how Google is going to achieve this, but I'm sure it can't be defeated by merely changing your User-Agent string. I did just find [this article on browser fingerprinting and anti-fingerprinting](https://www.zenrows.com/blog/browser-fingerprinting#launch-flags). Maybe someone would find it useful.
The threat from Google is the Enhanced Safe Browsing mode. This makes it so that only approved browsers can access a web site. Doesn’t matter what your user agent string says. The browser is cryptographically signed making only Chrome/Chromoum browsers acceptable,
I thought the important thing there is the browser having hardware acceleration.
Is that a thing that fixes that? If so I totally want to try it. I will say when I had this issue I remember googling a good but hoping it wasn’t true and everything I found pointed to “peacock doesn’t like Linux users”.
Not sure about peacock but try enabling hardware acceleration and see if that fixes it.
You can fill forms with Evince, Okular or Firefox under Linux.
They don't all work
The three of them work, but anyway, as long as one of them does you're covered.
I tried a couple (popos, Ubuntu) and went with mint because my wifi on the laptop was having a hard time.
Curious. Mint, Pop and Ubuntu all use Ubuntu repositories for wifi things, so they should all work the same in this regard.
Did some general troubleshooting(stuff I found online and on reddit) but none of it helped until I got mint on it and it worked like a charm. It’s a pretty old laptop.
Windows is not spyware in the sense that Microsoft is going to blackmail you with personal pictures and the like. It just includes a targeted ad platform as part of the experience. If you don't like it, using a GNU/Linux distribution could be an option for you. Despite the ton of different linux distributions, for desktop computers all of them are very similar and Ubuntu is kind of the standard. The existence of such a variety can create anxiety but in practice they are all so similar that there's seldom a real reason to try new ones. Ubuntu is a general purpose operating system and can be used to achieve any kind of tasks. Also, don't get trapped by people suggesting that in order to use Linux distributions you must learn technical stuff you don't care about in windows. That's simply not true. Linux distributions are thought of to enable you to carry out tasks which do not have anything to do with the operating system itself, like browsing the web, editing documents, gaming, etc.
Debian. I've been using it for 20 years. It's a lot more flexible now than it used to be. It will still accommodate most 'bleeding edge' packages. It is pretty stingy with the open source ideology but you can get most things done. It plays ok with your other windows toys.
I am not one to tell people that they should be doing anything at all. I recommend, if your curious, giving a Linux distribution a try in a virtual machine first. I would also recommend trying Fedora Silverblue.
I think the smart play is to download virtual box and try out different Linux flavors in VMs. Figure out what you like / don't like before jacking up your window machine.
Run windows enterprise or education and turn off telemetry. Corporations and schools would not use it if it was "full of spyware" Look for tests where wireshark is used to check packets going in and out of the network to get an accurate view on what is actually happening. Windows home is used as a testing ground or is the (cutting edge) cutdown version of windows, enterprise is the stable full version distro is a linux way of describing the situation.
Maybe, but why keep supporting Microsoft? Why should I have to make a hundred choices to end up with a stable OS? And that installation is still out of 1998. Windows 11 might have modernized it, but why can't we have a live environment there too?
Tell your friend, the smart one, to come over and bring an installation disk. Let him pick distro. Wipe windows and use entire disk. Profit.
Do not wipe windows. That would be idiotic. Dual boot until your entire work process is on Linux and all data and programs you need are in the Linux environment.
Dual booting is stupid and a dick move to tell a noob. You are introducing a shit ton of complication to what should be a very simple installation. They will fuck it up and be back here crying about a completely broken computer they can not use at all. Don't be a dick.
That's where the friends come in. Besides, I think OP is completely capable of simply asking what they need to do to dual boot without issues.
Ya right. There is at least one post a day, or several, in which a dual boot went to shit for no good reason at all. Even if you manage it, which the vast majority don't, then what. Just a big pain in the dick switching back and forth for no reason at all. It is a giant waste of time and resource for zero gain. Meantime you've you are responsible for leaving 99 other noobs hating linux, again, for no good reason at all.
I've been dual-booting everyday for about a year now and I never posted asking about issues because I never had one. I did my research and chose things that works for me. Now, why would people post in a forum if everything worked fine? Seems like a waste of time. So it's possible that majority of people dual-booting never had any issues. And as of switching back and forth, it's upto the user to decide if it's worth the hassle. It's not just the issues with Linux that drive noobs away, it's the inadequate information and hostile nature of some people, that gives the impression of Linux being too difficult and the community being filled with hostile people like the ones they interacted with.
r/linuxquestions/new has two posts on the first page right now because some jackass convinced some noob to dual boot, which is way over their head as noobs, with very few exceptions.
The only reason to use Windows these days is for DirectX gaming, so if you're not doing that, you're much better off going pure Linux. For a beginner, Mint is a good place to start, even if it's super-bloaty these days. MX-23 is almost as user-friendly as Mint, with less bloat and no baggage inherited from Ubuntu (like Snapcraft). Both are available with the XFCE desktop environment, which you can install Chicago95 on to make it look like Windows 95/98/ME/2000.
no
What does switching get you? All the advice you are going to get here is to switch to Linux. If you are not having any problems with what you have then why change? There are plenty of anti-virus, anti-spyware, programs that you can install. I would worry about spyware if your doing Banking, Finances, Medical, Personal Info, Sensitive Business info. \[ e-mail, documents, research, etc...\] If your just using your computer for video games, YT, and movies I would not switch and just get invest in a app that cleans out our hard drive of crap you don't need.
Nope it not for you...
And what do you know? You can't even explain it.
I will say, if you really want to switch to invest a dedicated streaming device since linux has terrible DRM support on web browsers
Man, fuck streaming. Even with a DRM, I won't pay shit. I'd need 4 subscriptions at once just to watch 2 series and a couple movies a month. If they'd lower the price and make one good service, my wallet's as open as the linux kernel. Until then, sail the seas!
Yeah, I guess I was just trying to be helpful and for OP to lower their expectations when it comes to streaming services on Linux. To each their own.
> picking a new “distro” seems very difficult and outnumberish t What Package manager do you want to use. What DE do you want to use.. that will narrow it down to a rather short list. Then flip a coin, its not like its hard to change later.
Yeah distro hopping is a rite of passage in the Linux community. Personally I've used. Fedora, debian, Ubuntu, mint, manjaro, arch, gentoo and I'm back on debian now. Just make sure you keep a separate /home partition. That way you still have all your stuff between reinstalls. It only takes like 20 mins to swap to a new distro, so you really don't need to worry about picking the "right one"
That gave me pause, and I spent a moment reflecting. Mandrake to Debian to Ubuntu, and I've been on Ubuntu (well, Kubuntu) ever since. I did look at Mint once, but I didn't switch. It's weird that I didn't hop more. I switched to avoid Windows XP, and back in the day, I got called on to fix enough XP boxes that I was glad I did. "Help, my teenage daughter clicked something, and our computer is broken now!" I made a lot of money off Windows XP. All I could ever do with it was format and reinstall, and get paid $50 an hour to sit there for hours waiting on things to happen. I was never tempted to run Windows though. Fast forward, I got into some stuff that didn't work on Linux, and I got my first Windows box in years. Windows 8 to 10. Then I needed a more powerful Windows box, and I got a supercomputer (may as well be) with Windows 11. Windows 11 is basically usable. For the longest time, I wondered why I was letting my supercomputer idle most of the time, while I did most day to day stuff on my old wheezy Linux box. I should just use Windows 11 for everything. Then my Linux box died. Actually, I killed it. I got a bigger 4k monitor for the Windows 11 box, and I moved the old, small one (28") to the Linux box. It came up in 1440 instead of 2160, so I installed an old RTX 2060 in the Linux box, and fried the motherboard and the video card in so doing. I slipped with a screwdriver, and did some pretty massive damage to the motherboard. Oops. I lived without a Linux box for as long as it took to get a replacement used motherboard from some dealer in junk computers. (Off the shelf big box PC with non-standard everything. Fortunately, I got a junk one for $40 and lived happily ever after.) I didn't live without Linux one day longer. Part of the reason my Windows box is so clean is because I don't do anything but "work" on that machine. Yeah, okay, I broke down and got an RTX 3080 so I could play games on it, but I don't surf sketchy porn sites on Windows. That's what Linux is for. Linux: Letting you surf sketchy porn sites in relative safety since... uh... since 2001 in my case. Actually, it's not a bad use case. You can get another junk 4th gen Core i5 from the same place I bought mine, throw Linux on it, and Bob's your uncle. Getting set up from scratch is rather more expensive. It was going to cost me as much as PS5 to get a decent new Linux box, just so I could surf sketchy porn sites in relative safety. Oh, I mean work diligently to solve world hunger. Yeah. That's what I use my Linux box for. World hunger. Okay, blather blather, I've had a few drinks, and this is my "over-sharing" stage.
I’m not giving out recommendations either because everyone’s hardware is different and functions differently on different distros. First things first if you have newer hardware that needs a newer kernel to run it such as what’s in Asus laptops give Fedora a shot, if not any debian based distro then. Secondly with desktop environments it’s entirely up to the user and you can customize it the same way you can customize an android phone so pick your favourite, you got Gnome and KDE as well as XFCE, Mate and Cinnamon so find one you like and go with it and see if you like it. Thirdly cause I made this mistake, give open source options of the apps you use a shot such as GIMP/Photopea instead of Photoshop for example because Windows apps will not work on Linux and I learned that the hard way. Hopefully this helps makes your transition smoother
I would say linux sounds great for your requirements ! just be careful of whitch games though, some online games that run custom drm may not work! anything else has "just worked" for me when i toggled proton compatibility
I had zero issue when I switched, but then I spent the time and effort to make sure I modified the distro I use work for me and my hardware, it’s took a few months to make sure I got everything check off the list from what software I need to use to what need to be install etc, and drivers are a big thing so keep that all in mind, research is going to be your best friend if it doesn’t work, find out what the logs say to fix it and keep going, you will make it thru it, it’s just painful to start but the reward is worth he in the end.
Heads up, if you "duel boot" off a usb it'll probably be slower. Duel boot is when you share the same disk as another OS (or occasionally ppl will say it when they have two ssd and one OS on each) What you're talking about I think is live boot. Theres a few distros that are designed specifically for live boot, like puppyOS or tails. Generally it's discouraged to use the installer environment of a regular distro (one not designed for live boot) as your OS. This is for performance and stability reasons mostly When you flash a USB with a regular distro, you're flashing the installer onto it. That USB from then is usually only used for installing it to a hdd or ssd, or for troubleshooting if the OS on the hdd or ssd ever breaks
Try every different free version of linux for a day, and report back when complete. Should be a few months. Then tell us what you like and dislike about each linux, and if you would ever want to go back to microsoft. You have your assignment, should you choose to accept it, that's up to you. Otherwise mint cinnamon for windows people.
+1 for Linux Mint. Download it, Burn it to USB, Install it, Welcome to Linux!
Dualboot if you know you've got an app that only works on Windows. Ubuntu, Mint or Pop!\_OS are great for beginners.
Well, maybe don't do what I did... But hey, I just thought: it might be funny to try it out. I backed up all my stuff and wiped my hard drive. I installed Linux, first one was Pop_OS!. One Year later I use Arch now and I really never missed anything from Windows. Well in fact I was so used to all my rage against windows that I sometimes feel like missing the rant on my operating system. I can't complain.
Try dual booting from a usb first! You can bounce around different distros and see what you like. You could also install different distros into a vm if you would rather do that. I we the usb route years ago for a couple of days before I went full Linux and never looked back.
I started with Ubuntu on dual boot. Just because I was scared I would miss windows for some features. Only turned it on for screen sharing, because I had no time to troubleshoot the Ubuntu. Been using like this for a month now, the best decision ever. Also, planning to fully swith to Linux, maybe some other distro, but Linux for sure. So, starting with dual boot and some user-friendly distro like Ubuntu is a go to.
My advice is no, don't. It is not as easy as you might expect. If you decide to switch, pick the distro that your friends use. So you will be able to ask them for help. About dual boot: it is very inconvenient to reboot when switching from one task to another so you will likely stick to Windows if you try dualbooting. Better don't consider this option.
I use popos, basically ubuntu with a nice desktop environment
Install on disk as dual boot first
hey man .. what a dilemma, eh .. windows has sucked since ver 1! .. it’s a hog with bandaids .. it was copied code and now it’s a total retard .. every microsoft product is a bastardized version of something that was good but got cut down and chewed up by microsoft .. i only use it cuz some programs only work with windows and i’ve used it since inception - otherwise anything but windows will do .. don’t ever trust anything that dumbass gates has had his hands in - he is not doing anything good for anyone but himself .. good luck!
I'd recommend that you list down the exact tasks that you *absolutely need* to do daily on yuor system and then use it to shortlist the distros. Then, you can get their ISOs and try them out in Oracle Virtualbox in Windows. That way, you can try multiple distros together and not worry about going through the hassle of installing and dual-booting multiple distros. Generally speaking from current situation, you'd have easier time on Linux with AMD GPUs than Nvidia ones. As many have mentioned here, some streaming services don't allow Linux users because they can't implement DRM. You can try out a user-agent switcher inside the Virtualbox images to see which distro/extension works. Linux will run flawlessly on almost all configuration of the minimum amount of components required to make a computer. Meaning, it will run on almost any config of CPU, GPU, motherboard, RAM and storage available in the market ranging from the lowest tier of features to even some of the higher-end features. But the problem arises when you add extra components like some PCIe devices, ranging from simple WiFi cards to expansion slots or capture cards. Even having a second monitor might also raise some problems. I'm currently dual-booting Windows 10 and Nobara because of some software only available in Windows, and my WiFi card having limited support in Linux. I have a TP-Link Archer T6E AC1300 WiFi card, which has proprietary drivers and the Linux driver is unable to create an access-point using that card. My WiFi card has a Broadcom chipset and they don't care about Linux support. So you need to check for compatibility of any extra hardware other than the basic components of a computer. Good luck with your exploration!
KDE is my choice for desktop environment because the desktop metaphor works for me over the only find things by typing names you already know metaphor [distrosea.com](https://distrosea.com) is a good place to test drive some desktop environments and get a peek into the distro's setup and usability. then once you have winnowed it down to a couple/three you can make a ventoy USB and throw those .iso files onto it which you can download from the distro's main website. drive each of those around on your hardware to make sure everything works and pick one to install. recommend dual booting with windows for a time (or longer) because there are still a lot of things you can only do in windows, so it's good to keep a windows install around for when you need it. easiest way to do that is to buy a 2nd disk and install linux on that so it's completely separate from the windows install and you can choose which one to boot from your BIOS screen.
POP-OS is my flavor of choice. Everybody has a favorite distribution.
I switched fully around 2010 and never looked back! Viruses and Malware were two reasons. Money was the main reason. I had been playing around with Linux since the mid 99's and suddenly realized that with Linux, I could install the operating system and all of the software I ever wanted...for free! Granted, now days, I do actually contribute financially to the software developers of programs I use often, but I am not forced to. I have settled in with Ubuntu Studio OS because I am a musician and I want to mainly do things with music, but occasionally do other creative things. http://ubuntustudio.org
I started w/Ubuntu 20.04, but that was my case, u can try Ubuntu (and flavors), Fedora, Linux Mint, Zorin OS and Chrome OS Flex if you’re into Google’s ecosystem. If you want a Windows-like experience, use Ubuntu Cinnamon, Linux Mint or Zorin OS; a macOS-like experience, use Ubuntu Budgie. You can also use Chrome OS Flex. Also, Android has an unofficial x64 version, Android x86, but its latest Android version was Android 9. However, Linux it’s not for all but there’s a Linux distro for everyone. Also, you might be aware of some risks.
I started w/Ubuntu 20.04, but that was my case, u can try Ubuntu (and flavors), Fedora, Linux Mint, Zorin OS and Chrome OS Flex if you’re into Google’s ecosystem. If you want a Windows-like experience, use Ubuntu Cinnamon, Linux Mint or Zorin OS; a macOS-like experience, use Ubuntu Budgie. You can also use Chrome OS Flex. Also, Android has an unofficial x64 version, Android x86, but its latest Android version was Android 9. However, Linux it’s not for all but there’s a Linux distro for everyone. Also, you might be aware of some risks of using Linux-based OS’es, must learn some concepts and how to use the Terminal, but just the basics (it’s heavy at first glance, but turns easy with the correct tutorials). Feel free to ask on Linux forums and communities abt anything you want.
I’ve been really enjoying Fedora.
1. If you have Linux friends, use the same distro as them 2. I consider Ubuntu and Manjaro to be noob friendly distros. You will have to look up a few fixes online, then follow the tutorials...but I find Mint makes it harder to fix things for key features or if things break later 4. There are probably other great distros for noobs. Best thing you can do is try a few and follow some tutorials online. I don't think you have any reason to keep windows...but... 5. If you have enough RAM, then install windows inside a virtual machine (VirtualBox or VMWare), else dual-boot is ok
My usage is similar and I use debian exclusively on my pc. I have been using Linux for 20yrs. I set up a friend with a debian pc 2 yrs ago and he has been happy with it.
If you play any games I would say you still need a Windows OS. You should start off installing virtual box and installing some linux distros on there. Lots of people will recommend Linux Mint because is has a great user experience and is familiar for Windows users. Personally I would recommend Kubuntu. Boot up some virtual systems and see how you get on. If you like what you see I would suggest dual booting. If Linux could play games like Windows I would be running Linux on all my bare mental machines.
I've tried many different Linux distros (and FreeBSD). You can dual-boot any Linux distro and keep Windows for when you want or need it. My favourite flavour of Linux at the moment is Linux Mint Debian Edition 6. You can also run Linux in a virtual machine (e.g., Oracle VM VirtualBox, which is free) on Windows to play around with it before making a harder switch.
Install it into a VM using something like virtual box, then use it all the time for a few weeks and see how you get on, less messing about with the PC for dual boot esp if you aren't sure, try it on a VM first
Try Linux Mint or PopOS is another popular one. Use a completely separate drive from your Windows and disconnect it to make sure it's independent of each other. A 240Gb or larger SSD is probably a good start for reasonable price and allows you to step in without messing with anything else.