The simple fact is there will always be that one little thing that stops windows users fron switching. If 99.999999% of all windows software worked on Linux windows users would say “well ill switch when that extra 0.000001% works”. The fact is when Windows users come to Linux they dont want Linux, they want Windows but not made by Microsoft and the fact is Linux is not that. I would take that one step forward and say that when Windows 10 goes EOL half of people wont care and the other half will get new computers, the amount of people who switch to Linux will be statistically insignificant.
“well ill switch when that extra 0.000001% works”.
I am well past the point in my personal life where if it doesn’t work on Linux, or in many cases isn’t FOSS itself, it just doesn’t exist to me. I can be motivated to learn new programs when it feels like there’s a good purpose behind it.
I’m in my 40s so maybe it’s combination of “I’m too old for Windows’ shit” and “I’m not too old to learn a few new tricks.”
The fact is when Windows users come to Linux they dont want Linux, they want Windows but not made by Microsoft and the fact is Linux is not that.
Linux Mint Cinnamon may not be that, but it is very close.
My parents mentioned the windows end of life message to me a few weeks ago, and I think I’m going to try mint for them. As far as I know they basically need a file explorer to copy photos from SD cards, and of course a web browser.
Sadly the vast majority of people (even most Linux users) dont understand the benefits of FOSS. Thats why I love organizations like the FSF, EFF, and OSI. However, the sad truth is most people simply do not care.
Statistically insignificant is one way to put it, but I would argue it is somewhat significant. Just perhaps not to the extent we’d like to see. What I’ll be watching for is the major uptick in viruses, malware and ransomware infecting that one half of users that will stay on win10 without a care in the world.
I was in a meeting today with a few people where we were discussing what direction we want a part of a European government to go in for tech. Getting rid of USA companies and on-boarding open-source solutions. The main issue, as usual, are the users. They’re so used to the M365 suite they won’t accept anything else.
Apart from the fact that most open-source solutions don’t cover the stack Microsoft delivers, IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS.
We need more guidance from the EU to start producing viable alternatives.
The whole stack is the issue. E-mail, VM’s, office 365, cloud management, powerBI, copilot, it’s one beautiful ecosystem. There is simply no viable alternative at the moment. It will need to be created.
Of course one can always replace office 365 with libreoffice, but after that it gets more difficult.
Personally I think the opposite is better, we need more people telling Windows users “hey if you’re going to Linux expecting Windows just use Windows”. The simple fact is Linux is not a Windows replacement because Linux is fundamentally not Windows. For Linux users like me thats absolutely incredible (we dont want Windows but OSS), but for people who love Windows less so. Linux desktops look different (especially Gnome), Linux software works differently, the terminal is completely different on Linux (its not needed to use Linux but its so powerful that learning it is reccomend), there are installation files (DEB and RPM) but on Linux most people use software repos, and fundamentally the mindset behind Linux is vastly different from Windows.
I have a bad professional habit of treating windows machines like Linux, abusing PS Sessions like its SSH, downloading everything via winget, and generally trying to do as much of my admin work without popping open RDP as I can. Sometimes that works super well, and sometimes it throws me for a loop. But most importantly, it opens certain doors that remain shut for folks who insist on always RDPing in and using the GUI
I tried to use language a Windows user might understand, obviously not since nobody packages installers for Linux like Windows (because installers suck)
It is very dangerous downloading and installing random packages. It introduces instability since the package manager maintains the entire system and untested packages can create all sorts of issues.
Best to use native packages that have been tested upstream. If that isn’t possible you want to use some sort of sandbox that can be easily blown away and created. (A container)
I get where you are coming from but it is best to encourage good practices.
One of us, one of us! Hahaha. I think at the core of it we care about other people and don’t want to see them be stuck in a privacy nightmare with no way to escape… and they paid for that experience. But yes, I also support people doing what they like, I sincerely mean that.
The simple fact is there will always be that one little thing that stops windows users fron switching. If 99.999999% of all windows software worked on Linux windows users would say “well ill switch when that extra 0.000001% works”. The fact is when Windows users come to Linux they dont want Linux, they want Windows but not made by Microsoft and the fact is Linux is not that. I would take that one step forward and say that when Windows 10 goes EOL half of people wont care and the other half will get new computers, the amount of people who switch to Linux will be statistically insignificant.
I am well past the point in my personal life where if it doesn’t work on Linux, or in many cases isn’t FOSS itself, it just doesn’t exist to me. I can be motivated to learn new programs when it feels like there’s a good purpose behind it.
I’m in my 40s so maybe it’s combination of “I’m too old for Windows’ shit” and “I’m not too old to learn a few new tricks.”
Linux Mint Cinnamon may not be that, but it is very close.
My parents mentioned the windows end of life message to me a few weeks ago, and I think I’m going to try mint for them. As far as I know they basically need a file explorer to copy photos from SD cards, and of course a web browser.
Sadly the vast majority of people (even most Linux users) dont understand the benefits of FOSS. Thats why I love organizations like the FSF, EFF, and OSI. However, the sad truth is most people simply do not care.
Sad but true. I switched to Linux mint for private use.
Statistically insignificant is one way to put it, but I would argue it is somewhat significant. Just perhaps not to the extent we’d like to see. What I’ll be watching for is the major uptick in viruses, malware and ransomware infecting that one half of users that will stay on win10 without a care in the world.
I think there will be a big jump in Europeans switching to Linux because of America going to hell at least.
I was in a meeting today with a few people where we were discussing what direction we want a part of a European government to go in for tech. Getting rid of USA companies and on-boarding open-source solutions. The main issue, as usual, are the users. They’re so used to the M365 suite they won’t accept anything else.
Apart from the fact that most open-source solutions don’t cover the stack Microsoft delivers, IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS.
We need more guidance from the EU to start producing viable alternatives.
Ubuntu supports AD authentication out of the box, so for users whose duties primarily occur in a web browser that rapidly becomes a vary viable option
The whole stack is the issue. E-mail, VM’s, office 365, cloud management, powerBI, copilot, it’s one beautiful ecosystem. There is simply no viable alternative at the moment. It will need to be created.
Of course one can always replace office 365 with libreoffice, but after that it gets more difficult.
Honestly I don’t really see why some Linux users are pushing so hard for everyone to move to Linux. Use whatever floats your boat.
Personally I think the opposite is better, we need more people telling Windows users “hey if you’re going to Linux expecting Windows just use Windows”. The simple fact is Linux is not a Windows replacement because Linux is fundamentally not Windows. For Linux users like me thats absolutely incredible (we dont want Windows but OSS), but for people who love Windows less so. Linux desktops look different (especially Gnome), Linux software works differently, the terminal is completely different on Linux (its not needed to use Linux but its so powerful that learning it is reccomend), there are installation files (DEB and RPM) but on Linux most people use software repos, and fundamentally the mindset behind Linux is vastly different from Windows.
I have a bad professional habit of treating windows machines like Linux, abusing PS Sessions like its SSH, downloading everything via winget, and generally trying to do as much of my admin work without popping open RDP as I can. Sometimes that works super well, and sometimes it throws me for a loop. But most importantly, it opens certain doors that remain shut for folks who insist on always RDPing in and using the GUI
Downloading a package is not a “installation file.”
Other than that you are spot on
I tried to use language a Windows user might understand, obviously not since nobody packages installers for Linux like Windows (because installers suck)
It is very dangerous downloading and installing random packages. It introduces instability since the package manager maintains the entire system and untested packages can create all sorts of issues.
Best to use native packages that have been tested upstream. If that isn’t possible you want to use some sort of sandbox that can be easily blown away and created. (A container)
I get where you are coming from but it is best to encourage good practices.
Ok I could only install native packages from the offical repo or I can install tons of packages from the AUR :3
(I use Arch btw)
You can use the AUR in a container. You could install podman or you could even setup a environment with bubblewrap.
One of us, one of us! Hahaha. I think at the core of it we care about other people and don’t want to see them be stuck in a privacy nightmare with no way to escape… and they paid for that experience. But yes, I also support people doing what they like, I sincerely mean that.
Working in IT also changes your perspective as well. It all boils down to ain’t nobody got time for that