Windows 10 EoL is fast approaching, so I thought I’d give Linux a try on some equipment that won’t be able to upgrade to Windows 11. I wanted to see if I will be able to recommend an option to anyone that asks me what they should do with their old PC.
Many years ago I switched to Gentoo Linux to get through collage. I was very anti-MS at the time. I also currently interact with Linux systems regularly although they don’t have a DE and aren’t for general workstation use.
Ubuntu: easy install. Working desktop. Had issues with getting GPU drivers. App Store had apps that would install but not work. The App Store itself kept failing to update itself with an error that it was still running. It couldn’t clear this hurdle after a reboot so I finally killed the process and manually updated from terminal. Overall, can’t recommend this to a normal user.
Mint: easy install. Switching to nvidia drivers worked without issue. App Store had issues with installing some apps due to missing dependencies that it couldn’t install. Some popular apps would install but wouldn’t run. Shutting the laptop closed results in a prompt to shutdown, but never really shuts off. Update process asks me to pick a fast source (why can’t it do this itself?)
Both: installing apps outside of their respective stores is an adventure in terminal instead of a GUI double-click. Secure boot issues. Constant prompt for password instead of a simple PIN or other form of identity verification.
Search results for basic operations require understanding that what works for Ubuntu might not work for Mint.
While I personally could work with either, I don’t see Linux taking any market share from MS or Apple when windows 10 is retired.
I think there is no general answer to "Is Linux mainstream ready to replace Windows?" because the use case is so important to consider.
If you just need a PC to browse the web and consume media then Linux is absolutely fine. This should more or less apply to a large group of users that don't do anything else with their devices.
Are you a gamer? Then I'd say more or less perfectly fine but it really depends on the games you want to play. Everything with the new, invasive anti-cheat tools doesn't work (e. g. League of Legends) but smaller, single player, or many multi player games do work at the moment.
Are you a professional or are using otherwise specific software? This is the biggest hurdle I see at the moment. CAD programs for engineering are a big problem for example.
And last but not least: Are you using periphery that needs specific drivers? Printers, audio interfaces, and whatnot. Then you might be out of luck as well if you can't script.
The last two points are the only ones that would worry me when I won't have at least one windows machine lying around.
Incorrect. The answer is "No."
So Linux is fine until you need to print, use software and some other scenarios? Explain that to my niece.
your niece is using ChromeOS or Android and making fun of her uncle for still being on a desktop
Your niece sets her windows pc up herself then or how can I understand your example?
Thats the thing, setting up a windows pc is really easy for the average user Hear me out: They dont have all the expectations and knowledge about different OSses that we have so they just navigate their current system to get to where they need to be or else ask a PC-literate person. No PC-illiterate person was bithered by cortana in the setup process or the games or weather in the startmenu.
You tried Mint yourself. Wouldn't you agree that setting up mint is exactly as difficult as windows? Only thing is that people aren't accustomed to it, but it's hardly more difficult. And those pc-illiteraze users don't set up their PCs adter all I'd argue. It's the pc vendor or nephew or whoever that sets up the rig.
Only thing is that it's unfamiliar, not more difficult. But if that's the problem, then it's just ppl not wanting to adapt to anything for the sake of it.
To be honest, for a fair review I would have to define the "setup" better. For Linux Mint I had to prepare a USB to flash it and mess in the BIOS while all my Win machines came with it installed. But we dont count that I assume. Besides that the initial setup was easier/faster on LM. But then for the most people finding and installing further programms is easier on a Win machine is easier, because many things are already installed. Some things might be bloat for some people but for tech-illiterate people having they might be useful: They already have a mail client (or even two....), the whole office suit (just one login away), hardware that is compatible for sure (even the fingerprint scanner and camera for face-login), and so on. Me personally am bothered by bloat, long startup times, bloat, telemertry and so on like many tech-guys. But then I think to my grandma who opens her old Win10 laptop, then goes to set up her iron-board (for clothes, idk how thats called) because she is used to having old machines. Then she looks at the desktop and clicks the icon with the word "Mail" in it, because all she needs know is that whe wants to check her emails.
So if I set up my old laptop for her, its easier and faster to setup a fresh windows, arrange the already installed icons on the desktop and do the logins for her. With Linux Mint I would have to bother with finding a compatible mailclient. Altho its not really that big of a deal, I admit.
So my conclusion is, maybe 2025 is the year of Linux, when there is a very noob-friendly OS which has at least some "bloat" already installed.
Setup wasn’t evaluated because it’s a one time thing that a normal person wouldn’t need to deal with. It also seems unfair to compare an OS install when Windows is pre-installed.
A PC-Illiterate person does zero tinkering. They turn on their pc and it works. If distributors shipped computers with Linux, like they did with Windows, it would probably be a better solution for 90% of people who only want to browse the internet, and could care less about all the fancy bloat that windows adds.
Can you explain to my sister why she can't play DVDs on her brand new laptop that she paid a fortune for that came with windows.
She's not a complete idiot. probably average maybe slightly above-average.
She was on the verge of RMA-ing her perfectly functional DVD drive though.
Ooh in actual know this one: licensing. It costs money to commercially distribute the decoder.
thanks, that might actually explain it.
I always thought those fees were tiny vs the price of the os.
But i guess they're probably only charging dell a small amount on a pre install.
They could still put a codec pack in the store though and have the user pay a few quid for it - or whatever.
They do that for hevc but I suspect they looked at the telemetry and realized no one was using their built-in apps to play dvds? I honestly don’t have a dvd player to even test it out. my ps4/5 does a good enough job.
Because no new laptops have dvd drives? Seriously do any new laptops whatsoever still have dvd drives?
If it's an external drive I would just tell her to install VLC if the normal media play doesn't work (but I think it does work pretty well for DVDs).
She could also try searching for "windows dvd" and pick the first article she finds and at least every article I found tells you to install VLC.
Sorry i wasn't clear about my point - I'm pretty sure I could get windows to play a dvd if i really wanted to.
But all i needed to do was prove that the dvd drive wasnt broken, and a live linux mint usb did that in 3 extremely "complicated" minutes.
My actual question was more like:
" how come - if windows is so simple and so much easier to use and set up for normal users - she couldn't do something she'd been accustomed to doing for years."
The windows software centre or whatever it is was not keen to offer VLC, didn't seem to mention it, but it was very keen to tell her she could buy the film from MS store or something affilliated.
anyway, it's ok, i think the next dude has given some interesting info.
Heres how you set up windows.
Step 1, put the disk in the tray.
Step 2, click next about a jillion times without reading anything.
Step 3, maybe put in a 16 digit code or whatever on the CD.
Step 4, drink a bunch of beer as your pc does the rest for the next hour.
Step 5, open Edge (today) or Internet Explorer (up until like 10-15 years ago).
Step 6, go to facebook, because thats all this machine can do.
And thats the average windows user.
I print and use software all day.
Thank you for your bigoted take. You know very well that a) GNU/Linux can print, b) it can "use software" and c) deal with any other scenario.
How tf is that bigoted?
I was paraphrasing…
Using an awful example to showcase it as well.
Like the other dude said, your niece likely only wants to browse Instagram or tiktok.... which a fresh install of mint or Ubuntu would work perfectly for.
Your average user isn't going to go download a seperate browser, they're just going to use the one pre-installed which.... surprise surprise, means everything would work out of the box for a truly ignorant user who can't help themselves.