Side note, you could run it as a VM on proxmox and still get it to work… I think… But again network connection.

So this is a difficult question. Yes, you could use a VM if you have the hardware. The only downside is needing network connection in order to connect to it. If you are away from home that may require opening a port, or preferably a VPN.

Alternatively, I have winapps installed on my Linux laptop. Now, that is designed to run Windows as a VM within docker, podman, or libvirt. The reason I like it is that it doesn’t just use a full rdp session. Do you remember remote apps from back in the day? It is not a full rdp session, it only connects to the app you’ve launched and it appears on your Linux machine as just another window.

I understand your issue with the terminal. I think that it could be fixed with Oh-my-zsh for a personal computer. I have mine setup so I don’t have to remember the entire command, just the first letter and it shows me all matches. I was proficient with both batch and powershell, but bash scripting is even easier.

Yeah, I had given up Linux for over a decade, but Windows 11 has brought it back out… And tbh I like it better as an adult. Now I run Windows in a docker container only.

I simply didn’t see it that way. Sure, the Linux community doesn’t necessarily agree on which version is the best for new users. But we tend to agree on reliable distros which are good to get started on.

Brand New user? Unless they have a specific task that the PC needs to do, then first priority is reliability. Off the top of my head, Debian is reliable as hell, Ubuntu is about the same and fine but not my preference (very dislike snap proprietary bs that almost no one uses anyways), Fedora is a common use case and while I haven’t used their desktop in a while, I rather like the rhel based distros they are reliable but keep things a little newer than say Debian.

The point is that I disagree with you entirely. You see the choice of distributions as daunting and a scary thing. I don’t. I see the choice as freeing.

It has never mattered to me personally what version of Linux someone is using, or what path they think I should go down, I do my own research for my own purposes and come back with my own options(maybe my 90s rebel inner child still exists). Admittedly, perhaps someone needs more guidance when running away from Microslop and I could help as long as I know what package manager the distro is using.

Now, you also say that Linux isn’t mainstream already? There are entire career fields built on it, why the hell is it not considered mainstream. DevOps typically uses Linux heavily, might be as simple as an install script, or a full k8s deployment. And shoot running docker servers for backing up your files via VPN? What about 25 TB of jellyfin movies/shows. Sorry, but even if not used as a desktop, a Linux server can go a long way and do a ton of good.

Straight up, I got it confused with Pop!_OS. Although I’m too lazy to look it up, my buddy who has been using it for years mentioned looking at other options because of that reason.

Honestly, I’m with you on that one. Debian is reliable, so it send like the safest option. Personally, I use it for my seed box, and I’ve helped others set their own up to. Fedora, on the other hand, introduces package updates a little more frequently and in the long run, I think it’s more enjoyable to work on in a desktop environment.

Interesting, I would love to understand the tooling behind that.

Fair. Technically I’m running Windows in a container… But technically that is also a vm.

That is for this neat remote app fella: https://github.com/winapps-org/winapps

Makes it look like Windows applications run on Linux without using full rdp.

Actually I want to delete my comment… 22.04 is actually Pop!_OS not Mint. So I’m really dumb there, admittedly, Ubuntu spinoffs get me a little mixed up.

And the work bit, in truth, I think he could fix it by using a btrfs partition, snapper, and grub-btrfs. Build the machine to automatically take snapshots so if someone breaks it, you can fix it faster.

And yeah, ease of use is important, that was not meant as a criticism instead I pointed out a logical reason why Mint made sense.

Long story short, comment stupid, my bad.

I suggest you check out this: https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil

It is a script to remove a bunch of Microslop… I’m betting on Microsoft re-enabling it unannounced after an update though.

But I’m with you on the Linux bit…

…I use Arch btw…

Mint? Based on Ubuntu 22.04? Seems a hint dated.

No offense, I swear. But I have a buddy who has to support Mint installs for work and it honestly sounds horrible.

Then again, the ease of use is probably worth the time saved setting up Arch.

Edit: It is Pop!_OS that is based on Ubuntu 22.04 not Mint. Ubuntu spinoffs spun me through a loop.

I think that if someone (even ai) is analyzing my documents, then they are bypassing my permissions and looking despite the fact that it is supposed to be private. Basically if ai is looking at my files, I don’t care if it isn’t running locally, it is bypassing my permissions to my automated stock trading algorithms. I know security isn’t exactly Windows strength anyways, but accessing my files without my consent or knowledge is a nail in the coffin for me. Granted, you can disable it, I might point you in the direction of winutil by Chris Titus, but I would bet money that a Windows update will re enable it without consent or permission.

With an Nvidia GPU, I would recommend Nobara over Bazzite becomes it comes with the various drivers.

Ok, guys. I’m reading some of these replies which are saying the amount of outrage is out of proportion. I have to disagree with that. I don’t want an AI running on my PC that is monitoring and learning about my shit. I didn’t want that data saved even locally, let alone the monetization of that data. I don’t want to be paying for power of a device that is turning me into someone else’s paycheck.

Can you turn it off? I believe you can. But I also believe that doing it manually would be incredibly annoying since that does go with a lot of past practice. I also get it would reactivate itself after major updates, like how Edge keeps reinstalling.

Are there other solutions to my Microsoft issues, yes. Chris Titus Tech comes to mind.

But overall, the Windows ecosystem does not feel right to me anymore. Could other people still use it, yes. Am I going to stop them, not intentionally. But my Arch gaming PC runs games better than the same machine running Windows. I’ve always entertained the idea of a full switch, still have a Windows 11 dual boot and haven’t officially done it yet, but with this the moment feels right. At least for me, hopefully you can understand that.

Not if you need custom error bars on a scatter plot in Excel.

That is true, but I would define standard practice like this: ls -l = ll And ls -la = la

Doesn’t show dotfiles.

I like the la alias.

IOT Enterprise LTSC fully works for running Windows games. It just doesn’t have a lot of the bloatware. I’ve tried it and I’m dual booting with Arch.

If it is just meant as a steam machine, I recommend looking at Nobara for Nvidia GPU and Bazzite for AMD GPU. I will admit that I haven’t tested vr games yet.

Personally, I’m maining Arch and it plays most games in HDR at 4k 120Hz. My Windows is so I have access to Microsoft Office.

So, I understand this is Ian only, I will leave out NextCloud.

I would personally say Ceph. This is a storage solution meant to be spread among a bunch of different hosts. Basically, it operates on RAID 5 principles AND replicated storage.

Personal setup: single host 12 ea. 10TB HDDs.

To start, it does go ahead and generates the parity data for the storage bucket. On top of that, I am running a X2 replicated bucket. Now since I am running a single host, this data is replicated amongst OSDs(read HDDs), but in a multiple host cluster it would be replicated amongst multiple hosts instead.

One of the benefits to an array like this is that other types of services are easily implemented. NFS overall is pretty good, and it is possible to implement that through the UI or command line. I understand that Samba is not your favorite, but that is also possible. Personally, I am using Rados to connect my Apache Cloudstack hypervisor.

I will admit, it is not the easiest to set up, but using docker containers to manage storage is an interesting concept. On top of that, you can designate different HDDs to different pools, perhaps you want your solid state storage to be shared separately. Ceph is also capable of monitoring your HDDs with smartctl.

Proper installation does give you a web UI to manage it, if some one of your skill even needs it. ;)