For me the first step for switching to Linux is to not install Linux right away. I recommend installing as many open source apps found in Linux as possible on your Windows machine. I've completely replaced most Windows apps with their open source equivalents to make the switch easier.
This video is basically what I was telling someone yesterday. I concur, that anyone wanting to try out Linux to get an older machine (eBay/ Craigslist/ FB marketplace/ family member or friend) for about free to $150+ (recommend a Dell) and try it out for casual usage. The OS is free. The basic apps are free. Donations are optional and not mandatory.
Trying to inject new life into my vintage 2007 Dell Inspiron 1520 (upgraded to 4gb ram and T9300 2.5 ghz Core2 processor). I first tried ChromeOS Flex (linux) and found no support for the internal realtec modem or ethernet, then loaded Zorin 17 linux distrib and now at least have a 100mb ethernet connection. Spent 3 hours trying to get the realtec modem working and with all the terminal commands, it reawakened my IBM 370 console skills and presto, I have a new hobby. Won't be getting rid of my main Win11 desktop anytime soon though...
I started my journey to Linux by dual booting. I have Windows 10 and Linux Bazzite (I know, not the most starter friendly and well-established distro) on separate harddrives. When I power on the PC it boots automatically to Bazzite. So currently I'm using Linux as my default OS but I can boot into Windows whenever I absolutely need to.
To anyone contemplating switching to Linux - get yourself an external sound card, one that runs from internal firmware and is not reliant upon drivers. Linux audio out of the box is not great - the default volume is lower than it is on Windows, it often sounds muffled or tinny and in some cases, there is crackling, though this last issue is vastly improved. This isn't Linux's fault - blame Realtek, Crystal Logic, Creative Labs et al for not writing Linux drivers or sharing their technical specs with the kernel hacking community. Using an external card obviates 99% of this - I use a Creative Labs X4 and it sounds as good and beefy under Linux as it does Windows. And if you still want to run Windows then you have a superior sound card that blows away the internal Realtek thing that came on your motherboard. And before anyone tells me there is EasyEffects etc, I said "out of the box".
@@privateagent I'm happy for you. But many people do have issues with it, not sounding as good out of the box as what they expect or what they're used to from Windows. Don't take my word for it - Google for it, there's many, many problems out there that highlight this fundamental truth. Again, it's not Linux's fault - the driver writers are working with the best they can get.
Make every hardware installation “plug and play” so it will be convenient for new users. What I mean here is everyday hardware such as printers, scanners, or others.
To be honest, printers are 50/50, you either get great experience, even better than on Windows when your printer got open source drivers, if it doesn't it may be hell on earth. But to be honest, when it comes to printers, for me it was always this first one.
I made the switch on both my computers, but only on secondary SSDs. As I have grown more comfortable using it, I'm using it more. There are still some important Windows apps I haven't been able to get working, but I'm close to switching full-time.
3:23 I just plugged in usb and printer just worked. Windows laptop needed workarounds with installing cracked version of canon software and special driver. Wifi configuration on windows is terrible - windows 10 lets you manage it either in the panel in taskbar or in the depths of the settings and windows 11 just leaves you with these depths of of the settings and gnome desktop just lets you do everything in the little sub menu in the separate window from mac address to protocols of connection
I agree with with the advice to install Linux on secondary device to gain familiarity before fully committing on your primary computer. Using a computer for this purpose with decent specs is probably good advice, but I got my feet wet with a 10 year old netbook with 2 GB of RAM and and 64 GB of eMMC storage, and it was adequate to show me that Linux was a viable option. I'd also recommend that those considering the switch test-drive the Windows versions of common FOSS applications like LibreOffice, Thunderbird, GIMP, etc. to make sure they are a good fit. In my case, I'd used Firefox, LibreOffice and Thunderbird for some time before even trying Linux, so when I made the transition, I was able to use familiar applications and be productive quickly. Bonus: it's surprisingly easy to copy your app configurations for those particular apps from Windows to Linux.
Step 1 to be a Linux user. - Spends countless hours being overwhelmed with hundreds of distros. - being called an idiot for not understanding how to use the terminal. - finally finding out how to install nvidia drivers after spending 4 hours trying 100 commands - realizing your gaming keyboard isn’t compatible with Linux so now you can’t have cool rgb. - god forbid you want to do things with the UI. And being called an idiot online for trying. - you can’t play half of your favorite games. And the ones that can work require… wait for it, more troubleshooting. - being called an idiot again on threads for not being an it wizard. tldr: just use macOS or windows
Wine and PlayOnLinux are jokes when it comes to professional software - especially parametric cad tools and industry standard electronics engineering and design tools like Altium for instance. Although KiCAD is good, it is a far cry from tools like Altium simply because of the large number of models and etc files that do not exist in a format that KiCAD can handle. Ondsel/Freecad is such a bad joke that if you mention it in any kind of a professional setting, they will throw you out the window immediately. There is no usable parametric cad tool for linux really and it's sad. This also applies to things like industrial applications where funnily enough they value reliability and security - yet the the tools and everything runs on some variant of Microsoft Windows. For instance Siemens got various tools and only a couple is available for linux, meaning that most of the hardware still requires windows tools to be configured. And due to various DRM solutions, special drivers and all sorts of garbage, it is nigh impossible to get the application even installed correctly and even harder to make it barely functional.
The fundamental problem with Linux is its heavy reliance on the terminal, with the GUI always treated as an afterthought. Mark my words, Linux will never be considered a mainstream desktop operating system unless the GUI is solid and standards are established. For Linux to gain wider acceptance, it needs to offer a more user-friendly experience that can compete with other operating systems in terms of ease of use and seamless functionality. Not some 80s way to do things in command line. Here’s a hint: People have other things in their lives to do than to remember bunch of gibberish commands in their mind.
For me the first step for switching to Linux is to not install Linux right away. I recommend installing as many open source apps found in Linux as possible on your Windows machine. I've completely replaced most Windows apps with their open source equivalents to make the switch easier.
This is the way.
Also using WSL and trying distros on virtualbox helps a lot
Why'd you do that?
This video is basically what I was telling someone yesterday.
I concur, that anyone wanting to try out Linux to get an older machine (eBay/ Craigslist/ FB marketplace/ family member or friend) for about free to $150+ (recommend a Dell) and try it out for casual usage.
The OS is free. The basic apps are free. Donations are optional and not mandatory.
Trying to inject new life into my vintage 2007 Dell Inspiron 1520 (upgraded to 4gb ram and T9300 2.5 ghz Core2 processor). I first tried ChromeOS Flex (linux) and found no support for the internal realtec modem or ethernet, then loaded Zorin 17 linux distrib and now at least have a 100mb ethernet connection. Spent 3 hours trying to get the realtec modem working and with all the terminal commands, it reawakened my IBM 370 console skills and presto, I have a new hobby. Won't be getting rid of my main Win11 desktop anytime soon though...
I started my journey to Linux by dual booting. I have Windows 10 and Linux Bazzite (I know, not the most starter friendly and well-established distro) on separate harddrives. When I power on the PC it boots automatically to Bazzite. So currently I'm using Linux as my default OS but I can boot into Windows whenever I absolutely need to.
To anyone contemplating switching to Linux - get yourself an external sound card, one that runs from internal firmware and is not reliant upon drivers. Linux audio out of the box is not great - the default volume is lower than it is on Windows, it often sounds muffled or tinny and in some cases, there is crackling, though this last issue is vastly improved. This isn't Linux's fault - blame Realtek, Crystal Logic, Creative Labs et al for not writing Linux drivers or sharing their technical specs with the kernel hacking community. Using an external card obviates 99% of this - I use a Creative Labs X4 and it sounds as good and beefy under Linux as it does Windows. And if you still want to run Windows then you have a superior sound card that blows away the internal Realtek thing that came on your motherboard. And before anyone tells me there is EasyEffects etc, I said "out of the box".
Don't have issues with Audio in Linux for more than 20 years
@@privateagent I'm happy for you. But many people do have issues with it, not sounding as good out of the box as what they expect or what they're used to from Windows. Don't take my word for it - Google for it, there's many, many problems out there that highlight this fundamental truth. Again, it's not Linux's fault - the driver writers are working with the best they can get.
Make every hardware installation “plug and play” so it will be convenient for new users. What I mean here is everyday hardware such as printers, scanners, or others.
To be honest, printers are 50/50, you either get great experience, even better than on Windows when your printer got open source drivers, if it doesn't it may be hell on earth. But to be honest, when it comes to printers, for me it was always this first one.
I made the switch on both my computers, but only on secondary SSDs. As I have grown more comfortable using it, I'm using it more. There are still some important Windows apps I haven't been able to get working, but I'm close to switching full-time.
Which apps
@@privateagent Reason (Digital Audio Workstation) is the main thing. That's pretty much the last remaining app I need.
3:23 I just plugged in usb and printer just worked. Windows laptop needed workarounds with installing cracked version of canon software and special driver. Wifi configuration on windows is terrible - windows 10 lets you manage it either in the panel in taskbar or in the depths of the settings and windows 11 just leaves you with these depths of of the settings and gnome desktop just lets you do everything in the little sub menu in the separate window from mac address to protocols of connection
I agree with with the advice to install Linux on secondary device to gain familiarity before fully committing on your primary computer. Using a computer for this purpose with decent specs is probably good advice, but I got my feet wet with a 10 year old netbook with 2 GB of RAM and and 64 GB of eMMC storage, and it was adequate to show me that Linux was a viable option.
I'd also recommend that those considering the switch test-drive the Windows versions of common FOSS applications like LibreOffice, Thunderbird, GIMP, etc. to make sure they are a good fit. In my case, I'd used Firefox, LibreOffice and Thunderbird for some time before even trying Linux, so when I made the transition, I was able to use familiar applications and be productive quickly. Bonus: it's surprisingly easy to copy your app configurations for those particular apps from Windows to Linux.
First step to switch to Linux is to hate Windows and MacOS. And change your mindset for privacy and free open source software. That’s all you need.
Thanks to Zorin OS, many of that is solved.
It's pretty easy if you do *any* programming, it's basically the same thing, just googling and copying stuff
Step 1 to be a Linux user.
- Spends countless hours being overwhelmed with hundreds of distros.
- being called an idiot for not understanding how to use the terminal.
- finally finding out how to install nvidia drivers after spending 4 hours trying 100 commands
- realizing your gaming keyboard isn’t compatible with Linux so now you can’t have cool rgb.
- god forbid you want to do things with the UI. And being called an idiot online for trying.
- you can’t play half of your favorite games. And the ones that can work require… wait for it, more troubleshooting.
- being called an idiot again on threads for not being an it wizard.
tldr: just use macOS or windows
Wine and PlayOnLinux are jokes when it comes to professional software - especially parametric cad tools and industry standard electronics engineering and design tools like Altium for instance.
Although KiCAD is good, it is a far cry from tools like Altium simply because of the large number of models and etc files that do not exist in a format that KiCAD can handle.
Ondsel/Freecad is such a bad joke that if you mention it in any kind of a professional setting, they will throw you out the window immediately. There is no usable parametric cad tool for linux really and it's sad.
This also applies to things like industrial applications where funnily enough they value reliability and security - yet the the tools and everything runs on some variant of Microsoft Windows.
For instance Siemens got various tools and only a couple is available for linux, meaning that most of the hardware still requires windows tools to be configured. And due to various DRM solutions, special drivers and all sorts of garbage, it is nigh impossible to get the application even installed correctly and even harder to make it barely functional.
The fundamental problem with Linux is its heavy reliance on the terminal, with the GUI always treated as an afterthought. Mark my words, Linux will never be considered a mainstream desktop operating system unless the GUI is solid and standards are established. For Linux to gain wider acceptance, it needs to offer a more user-friendly experience that can compete with other operating systems in terms of ease of use and seamless functionality. Not some 80s way to do things in command line. Here’s a hint: People have other things in their lives to do than to remember bunch of gibberish commands in their mind.
Not really. I can do everything on the GUI without touching the console. Linux Mint here