Welcome • User Guide
ToS • Privacy • Canary
Donate • Bugs • License

©2025 Poal.co

262

I don't want to support microsoft and I don't want them controlling my computer.

Pros and cons of ditching them?

Any guides or tutorials or the process?

Any advice is appreciated!

I don't want to support microsoft and I don't want them controlling my computer. Pros and cons of ditching them? Any guides or tutorials or the process? Any advice is appreciated!

(post is archived)

[–] • 14 pts

Linux Mint. Its been said a few times on here already. Ive used it full time on all my home computers since 2014.

[–] • 1 pt

Linux Mint

Has (((systemd))).

[–] • 1 pt

THIS

I use and have historically loved Kubuntu. Fantastic in all regards except systemd (and maybe encroachment of flatpack). Have considered going back to Gentoo but old and lazy and kinda got spoiled by the "just works" aspects of Kubuntu. Perhaps Devuan.

Open to suggestions but, WRT original reply, AVOID systemd. There's a bad path there.

[–] • 1 pt

I've tried a lot of different distros and had enormous headaches from most of them. The 'Buntus were the least likely to break from an update, and Mint lacks a lot of stupidity the 'Buntus have begun incorporating. IDK about systemd. Care to recommend a distro that doesn't include it? Or perhaps a way to replace systemd?

[–] • 0 pt

Devuan. It's 95% Debian, just with all the systemd bullshit removed. Nearly every tutorial written for Debian will work for Devuan if the release names are changed to match, e.g. Devuan Chimaera is debian11 under the hood. I'm working on a quick howto for getting started which will go into this in detail. I've had no problems with Devuan once I got the Nvidia driver repo installed. Gaming is fine, software support is great, and everything just works.

[–] • 0 pt

There's a link ITT with 14 distros w/o it.

[–] • 0 pt

Systemd is awesome.

[–] • 0 pt

Okay (((microsoft))).

[–] • 0 pt

Maybe you're a proofreader for a magazine? Either it's vogue or guns and ammo.

[–] • 0 pt

Same, it supports all of my shitposting needs

[–] • 1 pt

User name checks out as they say on faggit

[–] • 0 pt (edited )

Good luck getting Mint to run on anything modern, especially if you have an Nvidia graphics card. Nouveau had headaches (mainly repeated system hanging) and the drivers offered up by driver manager broke the system. Good times. Filed under "shit that doesn't happen in Windows"

[–] • 0 pt

Well in all fairness my computer is 12 years old. So i wouldnt be entertaining a new one.

[–] • 8 pts

Pop!_OS https://pop.system76.com/

I've run Linux on servers for more than 20 years but continued to use Windows for my desktop PCs barbecue none of the Linux desktop environments were enough of an improvement over Windows to justify switching... until I tried Pop!_OS early this year. I booted it on a lark but within a week I'd made it my OS of choice and I have not looked back.

The only common gotchas that I'm aware of are if you have a VR rig because they only have Windows drivers, or if you play multiplayer games because of the anti-cheat software running on the servers. There are other programs that will only run on Windows but they are all relatively uncommon/highly specific so unless you are a special case chances are you'll never run into them.

I have several laptops and a tablet all running a variety of Linux distros but I only use them when I travel or work remotely and only have limited requirements for them so I don't care as much about the DE.

I have the ability to dual-boot to windows on my main PC in case I need to for legacy reasons but since switching to Pop I've only done it a couple times.

There are lots of tutorials for Pop on-line as well help via forums, so you'll never be hung out to dry. Download the ISO and boot it from a memory stick, I'm willing to bet you will be very pleasantly surprised.

If you have an further questions about Pop don't hesitate to ask.

[–] • 0 pt

Never tried Pop but will give it a spin based on your comment. I had tried enough distros to realize they are all pretty much the same. Really the biggest hurdle for most people becomes having to many choices.

[–] • 0 pt

I like Pop too.

For most things it’s Ubuntu, which is widely supported. On top of Ubuntu it has a modified Gnome Shell desktop and the modifications are actually sensible improvements. It’s still Gnome Shell, so it supports everything Gnome and Gnome Shell do. They also improve a few things under the hood; mostly for the hardware sold by System76, but some general stuff too.

[–] • 7 pts

Try a Linux Mint Live system. Boot it from a stick. Performance will suffer a little compared to a real installation. Don't forget to backup your data before installing.

[–] • 4 pts

Before we can honestly answer this, what do you use your PC for (which programs do you use)?

[–] [deleted] • 7 pts

Before we can honestly answer this, what do you use your PC for (which programs do you use)?

Seriously needed to be able to give you a good answer.

[–] • 1 pt (edited )

Mainly web browsing, social media, watching vids etc... I use Brave browser now and don't use apps, word processors, spreadsheets. Mainly just use the pc for online stuff.

Not a gamer, no intensive graphics or demanding applications.

[–] • 9 pts

Then you should find Linux straight forward.

The are different versions with different names. I have Linux Mint on one of my PCs. Super easy to use and setup and everything that you listed will work with a fresh install, including damm near every type of video file (whereas Windows wants you to buy codecs to play different file types).

[–] • 3 pts

Thanks! I'll check it out.

[–] • 1 pt

Or Google's ChromeOS Flex. Totally avoid supporting evil Microsoft. /s

[–] • 1 pt

Then what said

And when you test the live USB, check the wifi connection for a couple of minutes (browse the web) make sure it's stable and working, no driver problem, same deal with sound, make sure it works properly

And then you should be good, linux mint is the better ubuntu essentially

[–] [deleted] • 1 pt

Yeah the sound can be weird on some systems.

On this one (Mint), the sound just stops working, so I have to do a "$pulseaudio -k" every so often to get the sound back.

[–] • 1 pt

Ubuntu or rocky Linux would get my votes based upon your usage and available online support forums.

[–] • 1 pt

I have a Mint dual boot, it's good for all that stuff. I just find it a bit dumbed down even compared to windows (10 pro).

[–] [deleted] • 2 pts

With Linux, depending on your video card, you may have issues with 4K playback. Meaning it might not work at all. I've got a modern NVidia and completely up-to-date system, 4K playback does not work with proprietary driver. Wasted a weekend trying to get it going. Hit roadblocks every step of the way, as if NVidia or some other entity is intentionally preventing it. It doesn't work on browsers, it doesn't work using mpv. Just doesn't work period.

[–] • 2 pts

If you're not gaming and don't mind occasional use of the command line Linux is great. Linux has gotten MUCH better at the gaming thing tho especially after getting its own steam client. I'm using Linux Mint on an old Toshiba netbook and its ok considering its age. I do recommend Linux Mint. I switched to Mac on my desktop, at first because I got a really good deal on an iMac but honestly grew to just like Mac Os. Note that Mac Os and Android do NOT play nice with each other.

[+] [deleted] • 1 pt
[–] • 2 pts (edited )

What's with everyone suggesting distros that come pre-infested with the rootkit known as ? Go with something that chooses to follow the Unix philosophy: do one thing and do it well. I'm using Devuan, which is literally just Debian without systemd, which makes it easy to find software and tutorials as they're 99% the same. AntiX is pretty good as well, it's a bit more light-weight so it'll run better on slower PCs. so if you're not happy with one you can switch to another quite easily.

Edit: AntiX is pantifa bullshit. Didn't realise this when I used it, as I skipped past the intro page. I mean, it's still a nice distro to use, very light-weight, but it can't be trusted. If you want a light-weight system Alpine Linux might be a better choice, but it is very different in usability to Debian, so it'd probably be better on a second computer, not as a daily driver unless you're comfortable with the command-line and Linux concepts in general (which will come in time with daily Linux use).

[–] • 1 pt

This guy knows what's up. Everyone suggesting a Linux distro with systemd is suggesting you replace windows with windows.

[–] • 1 pt

Isn't Antix ran by some antifas from Greece? How can you trust it?

[–] • 1 pt

I honestly had no idea. Thanks for the heads-up, I've edited my post to add that in.

[–] • 0 pt (edited )

What's with everyone suggesting distros that come pre-infested with the rootkit known as systemd?

As if it was a real life problem...

Drivers are a real life problem

[–] • 0 pt

Any issue that Devuan has with drivers will be present in Debian as well. Devuan is 95-99% Debian under the hood, they've only removed the systemd packages and changed any that have hard dependencies on systemd libraries.

~80% of users will have no problems with just enabling the non-free repos and then installing the appropriate drivers for their card. It goes up to ~95% if the Nvidia driver repos are used, as they're more frequently updated, and are more inline with the Windows versions. They're only needed for gaming though, regular desktop use is perfectly fine with the repo versions.

[–] • 0 pt (edited )

Irrelevant

The main problem with linux is drivers, that's it

The fuckeries with systemd is just stuffs you read, that's not real life problems

And debian is sometimes a pain in the ass with its "purist" philosophy, stuffs are lacking as a result, you have to add manually... Take the distro where you don't have to do it then

[+] [deleted] • 2 pts
[–] • 1 pt

Ubuntu comes to mind.

[–] • 1 pt

Zorin OS is what I've been using. Pretty smooth transition for someone who had never used Linux or Ubuntu before. Breathed new life into a 2 year old laptop that was noticeably slowing with Windows on it. I'm o the free version, but there's also a paid version (something like $30 for lifetime license.)

I didn't go Mint specifically because of all the junk that's been put into it.

[–] • 1 pt

Really it just depends on what you do daily. As long as you don't do games Linux is fine for most people.

Load more (2 replies)