With the growing number of users jumping from Windows to Linux, I decided to fully take the plunge and dive deep into the Open Source ocean. A few months and several headaches later, it has proved to be the best computer-related decision I've made in over a decade (and perhaps in my entire life).

There. That’s out of the way. I recently installed Linux on my main desktop computer and work laptop, overwriting the Windows partition completely. Essentially, I deleted the primary operating system from the two computers I use the most, day in and day out, instead trusting all of my personal and work computing needs to the Open Source community. This has been a growing trend, and I hopped on the bandwagon, but for good reasons. Some of those reasons might pertain to you and convince you to finally make the jump as well. Here’s my experience.

[…]

It’s no secret that Windows 11 harvests data like a pumpkin farmer in October, and there is no easy way (and sometimes no way at all) to stop it. The operating system itself acts exactly like what was called “spyware” a decade or so ago, pulling every piece of data it can about its current user. This data includes (but is far from limited to) hardware information, specific apps and software used, usage trends, and more. With the advent of AI, Microsoft made headlines with Copilot, an artificial assistant designed to help users by capturing their data with tools like Recall.

[…]

After dealing with these issues and trying to solve them with workarounds, I dual-booted a Linux partition for a few weeks. After a Windows update (that I didn’t choose to do) wiped that partition and, consequently, the Linux installation, I decided to go whole-hog: I deleted Windows 11 and used the entire drive for Linux.

  • balsoft@lemmy.ml
    21·
    1 day ago

    Oh my, I hope she knows how to sed the release name in /etc/apt, or else it’s very out of date by now…

    • HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.orgOP
      18·
      17 hours ago

      Well, I was saying ultra-low maintenance, and most of the time, we both had much more important things to do (apart from navigating a pandemic). For example, going ice skating or trampoline jumping with her kid. And she is also not the type of person who likes yearly breaking UI changes. But as you remind me, I’ll get her another dist upgrade and browser update, so that online banking continues to work for her. That’s what you have friends for :-)

    • save_the_humans@leminal.spaceEnglish
      11·
      22 hours ago

      Wait is this how you get up to date when your system is past long term support? Had trouble updating once and couldn’t find an answer.

      Didn’t properly backup my data and lost a couple years of work doing a fresh install (school work and personal projects). Would not recommend doing backups drunk. Would recommend backing up your data regularly.

      • HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.orgOP
        4·
        18 hours ago

        Didn’t properly backup my data and lost a couple years of work doing a fresh install (school work and personal projects).

        Always put /home on a separate partition.

        Would not recommend doing backups drunk.

        I would not use the root password when drunk.

        • youmaynotknow@lemmy.zip
          4·
          12 hours ago

          I started setting /home on a separate disk, and my life is so much easier since then. While I keep regular backups, it’s been infinitely easier to move to a different distro if I feel like it without worrying about losing data.

      • ambitiousslab@feddit.ukEnglish
        9·
        22 hours ago

        Wait is this how you get up to date when your system is past long term support?

        Pretty much! You just modify the apt sources, and upgrade incrementing by each stable release until you reach current stable. Each upgrade guide has a section that points you to the guide for the previous version if your version doesn’t match.

        Would not recommend doing backups drunk.

        :D in my experience, there’s a certain amount of drink-inspired overconfidence that can be helpful, but it’s very easy to go over. I need more testing to find the exact line - it might also wrap around again if you drink more. More investigation needed :)