Probably like many of you i switched to Linux. I first used it in 2012 when i heard about it in School. Back then i used Ubuntu, but could not figure it out how to play my Games on CD, DVDs and Steam so i switched back to Windows.
Over the Years i often tried it out again but had various problems with it.
Now, thanks to the Trump Donald, i have a real reason to no longer use Microshaft Proudcts. Our Boycott!
So far i tried Linux Mint, KDE Neon, Kubuntu, ZorinOS, PopOS, Debian, Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu, Gnu Guix, Fedora, OpenSUSE, Arch, Antergos. That is over 10 years.
What i found out:
- i dont like gnome, i find the ui weird. xfce is too cobbled together imo and ugly, lxqt too.
- i like kde and budgie
- im currently on kubuntu and gnu guix :)
Linux is kind of hard coming from windows, but i wont switch back now. It is more than just using a OS, it is now a mindset: more independent Europa! Maybe i will even switch to OSS that is made by European Firms and Developers, afterall if i donate i want my money to stay in Europa.
Probably sitting at 16-20 years with a short windows break in the first 5 year. I run Linux distros on my main computers, but have a windows disk I kept around for gaming only. I hear Linux has gotten better with games, but I don’t mind the separation of not being able to go straight from productivity to games without a reboot.
i have read all the comments and one thing is clear: Linux is getting better and better! We all know its not like this in Windows Land!
It’s been my desktop for 30+ years now. All in all, it works.
Been using bazzite for about 6 weeks now. It was so easy to install and maintain. Sure, the computer have had a couple of hard freezes so I had to reboot but I regret nothing. Everything feels so fast and responsive. Making it look and behave as I want it to is super easy.
I use my computer for gaming, watching streams and have my kids watch cartoons every now and then on my second monitor while I play games. Everything just works. Was a bit worried about splitting the sound between different outputs but even that was easier than on windows.
Sure, there are things that isn’t perfect or needs some more thinking at times but those are my own projects and I like to thinker a bit too. If I didn’t want to tinker anything I would just go console gaming instead.
loving bazzite too for gaming and development
nixos for servers and low power laptops as well
If you get tired of having an immutable distro, try Garuda, it’s where I ended up after Bazzite. It’s been super easy and has a lot built in for gaming.
I will stay for now unless I find something that doesn’t work out for me. So far so good but I will note Garuda as another candidate.
Also using Garuda and I will stick with it. I am having issues with Wayland gaming but plan a switch of my aging 1080’s to a 9070 soonish.
Running Ubuntu 25.04 with Wayland plasma so it’ll play nice with my rig, really happy so far. My login screen doesn’t display properly for some reason but it’s the last in a list of minor problems I’ve been getting through.
Been using Linux Mint for a couple of months. I love it and I’m kicking myself for not making the switch years ago. It is exactly how an OS should be.
Been happy for a few years using EndeavourOS, arch-based newbie-friendly gaming-ready distribution. Also ships kde by default so might be something you want to look at ;)
I’ve also been using EndeavourOS for about a year and a half, it has been a wonderful experience.
Fully replaced windows for Linux now on gaming pc and dev laptop. Running mint on the game pc because I just want it to work, have arch on the laptop because it’s been hella fun to tinker with. Would NOT recommend arch if you just want a nice and simple pc experience 😅
I started out with Linux Mint which I had trouble with when I kept getting notified that I had unnecessary files in my Boot folder. I deleted the wrong files and broke my first installation. Tried ZorinOS and loved it. I decided to try Ubuntu to see what all the hype was about and didn’t like how much Snaps were pushed on me. Went back to ZorinOS and I like everything as is out of the box. I don’t care much for the Windows App Support. VirtualBox is a life saver.
I’ve settled on a few distros depending on use case and I use linux for most of my PC related stuff. I do keep a Windows partition on almost every machine though. Just for the odd github project that only supports Windows, some games or if anything happened to my Linux partition and I need to use my machine in a hurry I could still boot into that. Don’t always have a bootstick with me.
I’m right there with you regarding desktop environments. Xfce is fine for older machines but I’ve found that Kanotix (debian based distro optimised for slow hardware and live sessions that has a kde version) runs well on pretty much anything.
Also fyi Kubuntu and KDE Neon are extremely similar under the hood but kde components tend to work better with the latter, especially using wayland. Just in case you run into trouble down the line.
thx
Took an arrow to the knee back in 2008 and I haven’t been back
Some years ago, after a few failed attempts, I made the switch from Windows to Linux. I used Gentoo Linux on my computer for a few years. After that, I ended up switching to the Apple lands, and a couple of years ago back to Windows. Been thinking of switching back to Linux for a while, and thanks to the nonsense and sense that this year has brought, I am back to using Linux.
At first, I wanted to see how gaming is on Linux, and specifically on my machine. Figured the easiest way to do that is by installing Linux on an external SSD drive. I chose Linux Mint for that installation. Turns out, gaming is great on Linux nowadays. I haven’t had any issues with the few games I have played. I was chosen into a closed beta of a game, and even that game works perfectly - even though it isn’t even released yet. On Mint, I only had some audio problems outside of games.
I bought a new larger NVMe drive from Goodram IRDM (European manufacturer, btw) to install Linux on. I chose Artix, an Arch derivative, as my flavor of Linux. So far, I haven’t had any problems with it. Windows still resides on my old drive in case I happen to need it for something, but I haven’t used it after I installed Mint on that external drive.
On my 26th year, and I’m beginning to get the hang of it.
Started playing with Linux in high school about 15 years ago and have gone further and further down the rabbit hole as both Linux has become soo much better and I have become so much better at using it. Been working with Linux full time for a few years now and Windows feels so foreign and difficult too me now.
Only reason I still have Windows 10 on my gaming PC still is that I game so little that I haven’t been gaming much in the last few years.
Glad to have you here!
It’s going fine. Switched around 5 years ago, after using Apple products since the mid-80s. Switched to Mint, after trying a couple other distros. Mint ticks all the boxes for me ;)
I have no desire to move back to Apple. even though I do miss some features (Spotlight, for example) being fully in control of my computer and software is priceless. And so is my freedom to use my computer however I fancy without anyone having a word to say about that.
I still use an iPhone, though. Not much, but I do use it…
