Linux: The Positives (Because Being the Devil's Advocate for Myself is Fun)
I've written many negative stories about Linux recently. And I don't want to retract any of what I said. I still firmly stand by the fact that the things I mentioned are very solid reasons for the average person to avoid OSs based on the Linux kernel like the plague.
But, that being said. If you have the skills and the patience it can be rewarding. Some of the rewards have little to nothing to do with Linux specifically. But others do.
One of my few major gripes with Windows is a result of being a person who is comfortable building their own PCs. As anyone with experience in this field will tell you, Windows licensing is bloody nightmare. I have no particular intention to rip off Microsoft. I often just want to upgrade my PC and continue to use a single paid Windows license per device. But upgrading certain components automatically makes your license invalid. Like the motherboard. Which may be required to update the CPU.
Now, I'm not saying Microsoft's position is unreasonable. To protect their IP they need to enforce license uniqueness at some level. And, furthermore, to be fair to them, very few people ever update ANY components, let alone something like a motherboard.
But, as a member of that rather niche group, it does get in my way.
Fortunately, I'm not just good at hardware. I can also deal with the complexities Linux adds to my life. I'm no pro with Linux specifically. But, with time it seems as though I've finally been able to deal with all of the quirks in my desktop. I have the latest NVidia drivers up and running, programs to do the vast majority of what I need, figured out the issue with the random lock ups and even gotten most of my games up and running.
It took me several months to feel confident about this. But, I think I'm nearing a point where I could consider wiping Windows off the drive it resides on.
A large part of that is one of the aforementioned points which really has very little to do with Linux. Or rather, Linux created a hurdle, but another team has solved it. And that is gaming. It isn't perfect, but Proton + Steam are working quite well for me.
I still have some .Net coding related things I can't do in Linux. But, for the most part those tasks aren't ones I actually use all that often. I have one project which is bubbling back up, but I could run a VM for that if needed. I had debated trying to port it to .Net Core, but it is the software for my brother's business and I don't live so close to them anymore and it crosses a bunch of 3rd party libraries and a wide range of capabilities. More than likely it would require some substantial refactoring.
Another option, instead of a VM, would be to build a new machine and use the current desktop along with RDP to access Windows and just run Linux on the new machine. Then I don't need to worry about dealing with licensing for the VM.
There are still problems I face. Like, I tried Folding@Home, and my computer black screens every time. I don't really think that there will be a solution to that one. But, it certainly isn't critical to me.
In the end though, if you have the skills and the patience, then Linux can be a very good Windows replacement.
But, that being said. If you have the skills and the patience it can be rewarding. Some of the rewards have little to nothing to do with Linux specifically. But others do.
One of my few major gripes with Windows is a result of being a person who is comfortable building their own PCs. As anyone with experience in this field will tell you, Windows licensing is bloody nightmare. I have no particular intention to rip off Microsoft. I often just want to upgrade my PC and continue to use a single paid Windows license per device. But upgrading certain components automatically makes your license invalid. Like the motherboard. Which may be required to update the CPU.
Now, I'm not saying Microsoft's position is unreasonable. To protect their IP they need to enforce license uniqueness at some level. And, furthermore, to be fair to them, very few people ever update ANY components, let alone something like a motherboard.
But, as a member of that rather niche group, it does get in my way.
Fortunately, I'm not just good at hardware. I can also deal with the complexities Linux adds to my life. I'm no pro with Linux specifically. But, with time it seems as though I've finally been able to deal with all of the quirks in my desktop. I have the latest NVidia drivers up and running, programs to do the vast majority of what I need, figured out the issue with the random lock ups and even gotten most of my games up and running.
It took me several months to feel confident about this. But, I think I'm nearing a point where I could consider wiping Windows off the drive it resides on.
A large part of that is one of the aforementioned points which really has very little to do with Linux. Or rather, Linux created a hurdle, but another team has solved it. And that is gaming. It isn't perfect, but Proton + Steam are working quite well for me.
I still have some .Net coding related things I can't do in Linux. But, for the most part those tasks aren't ones I actually use all that often. I have one project which is bubbling back up, but I could run a VM for that if needed. I had debated trying to port it to .Net Core, but it is the software for my brother's business and I don't live so close to them anymore and it crosses a bunch of 3rd party libraries and a wide range of capabilities. More than likely it would require some substantial refactoring.
Another option, instead of a VM, would be to build a new machine and use the current desktop along with RDP to access Windows and just run Linux on the new machine. Then I don't need to worry about dealing with licensing for the VM.
There are still problems I face. Like, I tried Folding@Home, and my computer black screens every time. I don't really think that there will be a solution to that one. But, it certainly isn't critical to me.
In the end though, if you have the skills and the patience, then Linux can be a very good Windows replacement.
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