ESET recommends Linux if your unsupported Windows 11 PC can't update from 10
neowin.net
neowin.net
Here’s some counter anecdotal evidence: my high end sound card doesn’t work with Linux Mint. Half my motherboard’s USB ports are not recognised by Linux Mint. And my brand new Apple Studio Display only partially works with Linux Mint.
All works 100% on Windows.
I’d still recommend moving away from Windows, but you must be honest that Linux OS’s still have more problems with hardware (in general). And for novice users/tech-unsavvy peeps, the amount of terminal time is still far too high.
Personally, I was only holding on to Windows for music production. But the other day I logged into Windows 11 after not having used it for a while and - whatever update had installed - it started causing audio dropouts on my 64 core machine, 128gb ram, with nvme drives and pro sound card!
That was the last straw for me. I ordered the new M4 Mac Mini Pro, which I’ll use just for music production. And continue with Linux Mint on my PC for everything else.
I’ve used Windows in one form or another since 3.1, but the amount of crap they keep loading on my machine without my permission and the generally hostile approach to users: “Let’s keep setting up your machine. Yes | Maybe Later”, let’s not. Let’s never use Windows again.
They bought a Windows laptop, for Windows things... People would rather go to Best Buy and get a new laptop than try something different.
I think if schools had their computer labs (if that's still a thing), running Ubuntu 24.04 and taught computer basics on Libreoffice, that is what people would want on their home computers, if they could go to Best Buy and buy a laptop with Ubuntu pre-installed.
Maybe over the next 5-10 years we see this change as some schools issue Chromebooks?
I think Windows is close to the end of being ubiquitous. The more Microsoft forces online features onto its users, the more those users will see Windows as that thing which launches the browser and with that the easier it will be to get people used to alternatives, especially if those alternatives offer many advantages over whatever Microsoft is peddling under the Windows moniker.
Most people bought a laptop - for computer things. Most people don't care for the OS at all. They care if they can do the stuff they want to do.
For most it is just browsing and that works mostly the same.
But if it is more than browsing, then chances are, they won't be happy with libreoffice or gimp, if they are used to microsoft office and photoshop.
Also, the main problem with linux on laptops are still drivers. Standby issues, broken keyboard backlighting, mousepad not working after resume, ...
Still, anyone who can make the transition, should make the transition.
On a more serious note, my work intranet wiki page for turning a stock Ubuntu (Kubuntu but I also allow any Ubuntu variant) box into a corporate one is getting quite short these days.
It's a lot shorter than the Windows equivalent one. They are hamstrung by the lack of a central software source.
I'll give an example of a conversation with a family member, who bought a used computer a few months ago and claimed it was "broken" (they didn't know where the power button was, and thought the charging cable was wrong (it was USB-C))
Me: "Oh, well since it's used, we should probably do a clean install. I can reinstall Windows for you if you want...but if you're interested, or I could do Linux instead. It works as well as Windows, but if your computer ever breaks, I'm not sure a technician could fix it as easily. It's got different benefits though, and would use this older hardware better."
Them: "Oh? But how could you even do that?"
Me: "Linux installs are pretty easy. As easy as Windows install."
Them: "But isn't this a Windows laptop?" (It was a ThinkPad.
Me: "No...it's just a laptop. Your laptop. You're not required to use Windows. You can use whatever you want. You own it."
Them: "But how could it have Linux if it already had Windows? I thought this was a 'Windows' laptop? Doesn't this only work with Windows?"
Me: "It can have Windows. It could also have Linux, instead. It's just what's installed right now to make the computer work. It's yours to do with as you wish."
I could kind of see a look of surprise on their face. It hadn't even occurred to them that they were permitted to install anything but Windows, because they saw it as a "Windows" laptop.
Ultimately I ended up reinstalling Windows because they were afraid of dealing with the unknown, as you mentioned.
Think about how wanky the entire IT experience really is: from phone to laptop to desktop. No one really knows what is going on: a user keeps poking at widgets until it does something.
Most people have no idea what is going on, per se, and I do recall how confusing things looked when I first discovered the concept of folders/directories. That would be the very early '80s.
I did make sure to mention that the chromebook they had at home, as well as the smartphone they were using, were both technically (kind of) Linux, which threw them for a loop! Haha. :) I try to "plant seeds" and watch if any trust/interest grows naturally with time.
Well, Microsoft certainly would like it, if this would not be the case. And some argue they tried to advance this concept with locking down the bootloader a bit.
The minor UI/UX differences between Windows and say, a distro running KDE or XFCE isn't any greater than the difference between two major Windows versions. I mean, look at Windows 11, a lot of normies were unhappy about the center oriented taskbar. And look at the mess that Windows 8 was - no start button initially, and a fullscreen start menu.
The proof in the pudding is the relative success of Chromebooks - normies buy it knowing that all they need is a browser, and they didn't need to take any big effort to learn anything new.
Actually, I think Chromebooks are a failure. Google used the wrong strategy, namely being too controlling and restrictive, with Chromebooks. This is diametrically opposite to Chrome or Android. Chrome and Android's pitch was simple, "No matter how shit your hardware is, we'll give you a good operating system/browser". It was a lost closer to the linux ethos. Chromebooks on the other hard are integrated and licensed devices that manufacturers make in collaboration with Google. They are all crap because Google's needs are different from the manufacturer's or the market's. Outside of the education sector, where there is some product market fit, they are useless trash. A waste of so much good technology.
Give me another ultramobile and rugged linux laptop for 300 bucks with touchscreen and I gladly take it. I also would consider a more expensive one, but for outdoor use, I never found a better working device than chromebooks.
Of course the OS by itself is terrible. Via VMs every app is possible, but for me I have a very simple dev device with node and chrome dev tools (in developer mode)
No they really are not.
All of them, including the thinkpads with the weird hybrid GPUs, worked out of the box with 0 immediate issues. For the thinkpads, I did all the updates and chose the proprietary Nvidia drivers, rebooted, and... Yup, no issues, the drivers work fine, I can switch power profiles and over/underclock the GPUs without any issues and without any extra software. Keyboard backlights work fine. Camera works fine. I can set up the fingerprint sensor to do fancy things like output the fingerprint to a png. WiFi has no issues.
I think most of the naysayers think it's still 2014 when these things were actually an issue.
This simply doesn't happen when you buy from an established vendor that sells computers with Linux out of the box. My suggestion these days is: even if you're going to use windows, buy a computer that comes with Linux; drivers (even windows drivers) are usually better. Use windows on a VM and only install it baremetal if performance is an issue.
Also the avaiable models are very, very limited. (which is why I use a chrome laptop when mobile)
1) No native Onenote app. Nothing else checks all the boxes I need for a note taking app - easy enough for a non techie to use, shared notebooks, mobile apps, easy formatting (i.e. no markdown, etc)
2) A bunch of things are slightly "off". Can't customize mouse scroll wheel behavior, things like sleep/wifi occasionally don't work, other things I've forgotton.
I'm resigned to de-shittifying windows 11 when I eventually replace my new desktop.
If they want to go that route and they can afford it, so what? I think the recommendation was for those who want a way to keep their current device functional.
Some people simply don't have that option. Other people may have that option, but would end up with something worse simply because their budget only allows for a hobbled machine. In the past they may have been able to resort to the second-hand market or cast off machines in order to get something much better.
Granted, most of these people are also willing to run an unsupported operating system. Perhaps a handful would be willing to jump zealously into Linux.
You can't use the web version offline, they are not a PWA, for instance.
Don’t get me started on Excel.
Business and engineering software uses Windows APIs to integrate with MS Office and Active Directory. The APIs are not portable and hard to replicate on emulation layers. The software is old so expect a huge pile of examples of Hyrum's law. So you need bug-for-bug API layer implementation to run those software elsewhere.
Migrating companies off from that software is actually harder than creating a clone of Windows.
You can also create server-side rules in the Exchange admin center if you have access.
> As detailed in the r/macgaming subreddit and at r/SteamDeck, many players who successfully got Marvel Rivals working would receive a "Penalty Issued" notice, with a violation "detected" and bans issued until 2124. Should such a ban stand, players risked entirely missing the much-prophesied Year of the Linux Desktop or Mainstream Mac Gaming, almost certain to happen at some point in that span.
For non-gaming, things are not moving fast enough. Microsoft Office and Adobe CS is still complicated to get running, if possible at all with recent versions.
1: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/01/marvel-rivals-lifts-1...
I dropped Adobe and Windows[0] because of this. I can do this because I am tech savvy, but as more technically inclined people do this, it creates incentives to make it easier for the rest.
[0]: https://www.scottrlarson.com/publications/publication-transi...
I also don't play online games so I personally don't care for anti-cheat games.
My point was about the resistance for moving to Linux in the first place.
With out-of-the-box support for the mentioned apps, we could see much more organizations/companies consider moving over to Linux.
Not having Microsoft Office is a show-stopper for many organizations and companies.
Anti-cheat is a show-stopper for many tech savy individuals who already tried making the jump.
The polishing required for the masses requires people with huge talent and years of experience to work on the software. That talent doesn't want to work for scraps. So unless a tech giant decides to hedge tens of billions against Apple and Microsoft and give it away for free like Google did with Android, we are not going to get an OS that has good OOTB experience and a thriving business grade software.
What I really think is the unacceptable thing that will hold people from using Linux permanently is the abysmal power management for laptops. I cannot get my Framework 13 to reliably last more than 24 hours with the lid closed when Windows easily lasts multiple days.
As for other stuff, the flatpak store is quite good and integrates well with KDE.
On my deb 12 machine running kde, I can do system updates and app installs from a single area. (KDE Discover app)
What I'm getting at is "instead of throwing out your old PC you can install Linux" is just a long winded way of saying "throw out your old PC" for many people. I think "here's how to keep running an old PC safely" would be more useful advice.
Chrome for example is unsupported on Windows 7 past version 109 (Jan 2023).
i have never seen "trivial to obtain" and "LTSC" in the same sentance before.
please, do elaborate
MS doesn't care about piracy at all. They'd rather let you pirate it than losing you by switching to Linux or Mac
Which is not to say most applications won't continue to run, but it wouldn't surprise me if, say, Valve stopped supporting Steam on Windows 10 in five years or so, as they did with Windows <10 last year.
Brandon, how high are they? For consumers: $30 per year. For education: $1 per year. Then $2 per year. The third year is $4.
I'm still a distro hopper. Pop_OS! and Cinnamon Mint until something better comes along.
Rank Distribution HPD
1 Mint 2509>
2 MX Linux 2187<
3 EndeavourOS 1603<
4 Debian 1268>
5 CachyOS 1177>
6 Manjaro 1141=
7 Pop!_OS 1107>
8 Ubuntu 1072=
9 Fedora 957>
10 openSUSE 705
specific distro recommendations with plasma ig are Fedora KDE Spin[1] and uBlue Aurora[2]
[1] https://fedoraproject.org/spins/ [2] https://getaurora.dev/ [2]
Also the whole "Wayland was supposed to replace X twenty years ago but a third of software doesn't work on Wayland" thing is just super embarrassing and makes me feel like the entire Linux ecosystem doesn't know what it's doing.
Over the past decade I've had far worse luck with Windows for power-management-related problems.
Wayland is indeed an embarrassment, but it adds approximately 0 value for most users, so you can just tell everyone to use X11 still and everything will just work.
(my most recent peeve stopping me from using Wayland: Firefox no longer remembers which windows belong on which virtual desktops. I don't know whose bug this would be by normal rules, but if you want to replace the entire ecosystem, you have to take responsibility to fix ALL of the bugs)
Addition: This isn't a dig at MX. I enjoyed the times I've installed it. I personally like it, although it's not my main go to distribution. Just that distrowatch's ranking isn't reflective of reality.
This has information to how they do it https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=popularity
'The DistroWatch Page Hit Ranking statistics are a light-hearted way of measuring interest in Linux distributions and other free operating systems among the visitors of this website. They correlate neither to usage nor to quality and should not be used to measure the market share of distributions. They simply show the number of times a distribution page on DistroWatch was accessed each day, nothing more.'[1]