So, Im Ditching Windows And Moving Fully To Linux...

[HMS_Dave]

If you fell asleep reading that headline, this thread is not for you...

So, after 26 years of using Windows im done with it. Im tired of Windows re-enabling telemetry, privacy settings and even installing crap without my guiding hand at every non-security based update amongst many other things, the issue surrounding Windows 11 and its strict hardware requirements for upgrade, essentially rendering many perfectly serviceable machines obsolete has many ethical, moral and financial implications for the end users, the icing on the cake. My system is a HP Z620 which has two 8 core E5-2690 CPU's in it and 48 GB ram. Windows 11 would consider this scrap, despite being still rather powerful and very expensive back in 2013 when new. Sure, Win 10 is still going to be fully supported until 2025 and Microsoft may well change its course on the strict requirements of its Windows 11 platform but frankly id rather walk away from clutches of Microsoft and it's ecosystem and take another option now.

I've dabbled in Linux for a number of years now, having had various distro's installed on my computer as a dual boot and have been becoming accustomed to it after a lengthy period of interest and mucking about. There are compromises, sure. But you'd be surprised how little and there is no bloatware and crap installed that you don't want that takes up resources needlessly and can slow things down.

So i've moved onto Pop!OS I've been impressed with the speed in which there are bug fixes and security patches, which are normally distributed daily. I occasionally game in between my work and family things and all that is ready to go with this distro. Everything i need for my business is all ready to go. I hope when the time comes and people find their computing device doesn't support Windows 11, they consider not throwing away perfectly good hardware and instead install a Linux operating system on it and give it a second wind. The last thing the world needs is more electronic waste, especially waste that can still serve a purpose!

 

[FrankCrank]

Yeah, when I heard about the minimum requirements I must admit to a Windows Vista deja-vu feeling. Did they learn nothing from that?

 

[DCBassman]

especially waste that isn't waste!

FTFY
I'm considering the same path. My machines are up to a decade old, and all eat W10 for breakfast. Wife's laptop running Mint the past year with pretty much zero problem.

 

[yello]

I've been on Linux for maybe 15 years now, and have settled on Mint in the last couple. And all because my PC/laptop at the time was 'under spec' for a Windows update. Sod that, I thought, I'm not buying new hardware for a software upgrade. That really is tail wagging the dog.

I've messed around with a number of flavours of Linux and have found it a rewarding learning process. I felt locked out of windows and it was 'black box' to me. I'm really pleased I made the change.

 

[Pale Rider]

If you fell asleep reading that headline, this thread is not for you...

So, after 26 years of using Windows im done with it. Im tired of Windows re-enabling telemetry, privacy settings and even installing crap without my guiding hand at every non-security based update amongst many other things, the issue surrounding Windows 11 and its strict hardware requirements for upgrade, essentially rendering many perfectly serviceable machines obsolete has many ethical, moral and financial implications for the end users, the icing on the cake. My system is a HP Z620 which has two 8 core E5-2690 CPU's in it and 48 GB ram. Windows 11 would consider this scrap, despite being still rather powerful and very expensive back in 2013 when new. Sure, Win 10 is still going to be fully supported until 2025 and Microsoft may well change its course on the strict requirements of its Windows 11 platform but frankly id rather walk away from clutches of Microsoft and it's ecosystem and take another option now.

I've dabbled in Linux for a number of years now, having had various distro's installed on my computer as a dual boot and have been becoming accustomed to it after a lengthy period of interest and mucking about. There are compromises, sure. But you'd be surprised how little and there is no bloatware and crap installed that you don't want that takes up resources needlessly and can slow things down.

So i've moved onto Pop!OS I've been impressed with the speed in which there are bug fixes and security patches, which are normally distributed daily. I occasionally game in between my work and family things and all that is ready to go with this distro. Everything i need for my business is all ready to go. I hope when the time comes and people find their computing device doesn't support Windows 11, they consider not throwing away perfectly good hardware and instead install a Linux operating system on it and give it a second wind. The last thing the world needs is more electronic waste, especially waste that can still serve a purpose!

Twenty six years of hurt, and you've only just stopped believing.

 

[si_c]

Been a Linux user for 26 years, had no problems with it aside from needing some software for work purposes that necessitates a Windows machine. Games are the only use I have these days as despite the strides made in performance/ease of use in the last decade it's still easier on Windows. For working I've exclusively used Arch and AwesomeWM since 2007 and ViM is my tool of choice.

 

[yello]

I'd guess that some things still need a windows platform because comparable/acceptable software does not yet exist in the Linux world. I've seen the gap close over the years but I'd guess a gap still exists. I have to guess because I have no experience (outside of Garmin software!) of it. I think most home user applications are covered, and a good deal more.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Hello and . I'm currently on Xubuntu, I've been on Linux for over 10 years

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I'd guess that some things still need a windows platform because comparable/acceptable software does not yet exist in the Linux world. I've seen the gap close over the years but I'd guess a gap still exists. I have to guess because I have no experience (outside of Garmin software!) of it. I think most home user applications are covered, and a good deal more.

I'm mosly internet, with a little office, photo and music, computer does that no problem, some of the catch up TV stuff doesn't work, I'd have to get technical to make them work but I don't use the services very often and my tablet can handle them.

 

[Chris S]

Even my old 32-bit laptop running Lubuntu was faster than my 64-bit laptop running Windows 10. I installed Lubuntu on my new laptop as well and haven't used Windows since.

 

[yello]

I'd have to get technical to make them work

For me, that was were the fun started! That's what I found so engaging and rewarding about Linux; I could easily drop to that level, craft solutions, sort issues out. It helped that I found that the Linux community was, generally speaking, very supportive.

Windows, on the other hand, was a minefield. "Experts" purported to know answers but you'd end up going around in circles, trying different options on menus, click click click - all to little or no avail.

With Linux, I could get 'down and dirty'; change flat file configs, amend bits of code, copy other bits of code from the web, write my own interface scripts, try out different packages, etc etc etc. Seriously, for me the change to Linux has been, above all else, fun. I spend hours dicking around with code etc, just because... something I never did with Windows.

 

[Once a Wheeler]

Good on you: give us an update post in a month or so to let us know your transition experience.

I am considering a move to Linux. What enrages me most is software such as MS Office which assumes it knows what you want to do better than you do yourself. Try deleting pre-set formats in MS Word and you will see what I mean. There may be a way to do it but I have never found it. Up to about Word 5 it was a very useful program. Since the Windows versions came along, word-processing with it has become like trying to paint a landscape wearing red-tinted lenses and a patch over one eye. As a Mac user, I have not used any MS programs on my own machines for many years now but am occasionally obliged to use them elsewhere. Mac is still good but, even there, the 'I know what you want' attitude crops up in places. Linux beckons.

 

[DCLane]

My PC's less than 2 years old; 16GB RAM, 1TB hard drive, etc. But won't run Windows 11 apparently.

I'm not swapping it so it'll have to run the current version for as long as I can. SWMBO's is about 10 years old but a lovely touch-screen all-in-1 Lenovo. That's got getting changed either.

 

[Edwardoka]

Microsoft: Windows 10 is the last Windows you'll ever need
Also Microsoft: Here's Windows 11

I've run Linux on a laptop for 10 years. Even when its hard drive failed that wasn't the end of it, as I was able to mount a RAM drive, export all my files and finish my day's work on a computer without a storage device.

If it had been Windows it would have BSOD'd and I'd have lost everything.

I may be tempted to finally make the switch for my main rig, which is only Windows because of gaming.
For those programs with no native linux binaries, Wine has come on in leaps and bounds.

 

[si_c]

My PC's less than 2 years old; 16GB RAM, 1TB hard drive, etc. But won't run Windows 11 apparently.

I'm not swapping it so it'll have to run the current version for as long as I can. SWMBO's is about 10 years old but a lovely touch-screen all-in-1 Lenovo. That's got getting changed either.

Pretty much any PC from the last four or five years should run Windows 11 no problem, there is a lot of misinformation around system requirements, particularly around TPM - which is by default disabled in most computers BIOS and will need turning on to satisfy the checks for Windows 11. This includes Intel 6000 series processors and newer and all AMD Ryzen platform chips.

Of course this will require that the BIOS has that option and some systems may not, but for the majority of people there should be no problems.

Also Windows 10 will remain supported until 2025 at least.