I am waiting for SteamOS Desktop to be released before abandoning Windows. Way I figure, that is the best way to get a 'casual' Linux, without scrimping on utility. Having Valve as the distro provider would also ensure that my flavor of Linux is stable, well supported, and documented.
this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2025
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Linux is easier to use than trying to registry hack your way into a local account.
I am a Linux user, I dual boot Kubuntu and Windows.
On Friday I bought a new game on steam, checked on protondb and it is platinum, tried to launch it and it failed. I tried 4 different proton compatability modes and it failed to launch each time. While I am a sysadmin and am well capable of troubleshooting it, I really just wanted to play that game so I rebooted into windows.
If I hadn't had that other win11 SSD in my machine, I would have had to not play that game because I had no energy to troubleshoot that on a friday night after fighting with linux all day at work.
Tldr: some times Linux is a seemless as Windows, but not always, even when it is supposed to be and is for others. Even if you have that activate windows watermark.
Agree, but Linux (and Mac) both fall to the sunk time fallacy. "I've spent years learning to navigate around Windows's bullshit, so doing the same with a new OS is time I'd rather spend just using my OS!" It's bullshit and should be called out as such.
All three of the major OSes are piss easy to use. Linux, specifically if you're using Mint or Ubuntu and it's already set up. Some Linux distros (e.g. Arch) take some effort to set up, but you're rewarded for doing so by knowing more about how your computer works.
And they all have advantages. Windows is used by more people and more programs are made for it. It also has some of the best compatibility. Mac is the best "commercial" OS. It's made for humans, it's UNIX certified (though that certification is like 40 years old or something), it's not made by Microsoft, and it's used by creatives. Linux is aimed more at coders and tinkerers and people who want to really own their computer and control it at a deeper level. All of them can serve a person's needs well and they all run Firefox.
no, im a linux user. if someone doesnt want to dedicate time to adopt and learn, linux isnt "easier". even if linux was as easy as windows (idk it can even be compared tbh); its different. different requires time and effort, if someone cant do that (for any reason, this isnt a judgement), its not an easy move.
It's easier. It's also different. Sure, it takes time and effort to learn it, which Windows users have already done with Windows. That doesn't make it not easier. Windows also has ongoing costs of effort with all the shit they change, or the shit they push on you that advanced users try to fight off.
No one's saying it's easy. They're saying it's easier.
hmm fair ig
If someone is already informed enough to care about having a local account under Windows, seek out ways to circumvent the normal account procedure and feels comfortable applying edits to the registry, I think they have already excluded themselves from the category of people who are unwilling to invest time and effort to get their computer/OS running how they want.
What you wrote may apply to the general public, but not for the circumstances discussed in the post you're replying to.
willing to apply effort for windows is not the same as willing to apply effort to learn linux. the issue is mindset, wanting to exert energy on something doesnt mean wanting to exert energy on anything
You need to dedicate time to adopt and learn how to get a local account on Windows and clear out the bullshit you don't want.
I recently switched to Linux. At first I was surprised at how easy it was to set up and get working, then I was annoyed at having to look up how to do every little thing I know how to do on Windows and considered switching back.
Then I booted into Windows and in less than 10 minutes was fed up the whole OS. I realized I had to look up things just as often as I was on Linux, but in Linux it was because I didn't know where it was, where as on Windows it was actively hidden from me and fighting me every step of the way.
Windows is in no way easier, It's just the struggle you've gotten so used to fighting with every single day that you've forgotten it exists.
yea and if u think that 'switch' is not deidcated time to learn then idek. im not saying windows is easier or its bs its easier to bypass. but each step of window's bullshit for a used to user is gonna be less effort than a switch. if someone cant do that effort (for any reason), there isnt a way around it
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My wife is not technical and has no interest in adopting and learning anything.
The web works the same way regardless of the OS, and LibreOffice has all the same features as Word that she uses.
The "hard part" is choosing and upgrading hardware, and maybe installation (depending on distribution).
I mention this because I think we should evaluate these differently. With a preloaded desktop/laptop, I've had no issues with anyone that actually relates to Linux (except my BIL who was trying to build an arcade stick for gaming).
Explaining to my other BIL how to select hardware for his custom build, that took some time, as did guiding him through the installation.
im sorry but LibreOffice might have all the features of word but it certainly has a really bad user experience. i write often and libreoffice writer is difficult to say the least, not because of lack of features but a lack of most 'little things' and 'tweaks'. i can definitely see someone switching to libreoffice from word, but saying its not 'hard' is untrue or a biased take in my opinion and using both suites (more familiar with libre though lmao).
i do agree that for a mostly web based user as is commonplace nowadays, a preloaded linux thats been decently built is gonna be a significantly easy switch.
on a slight tangent, but linux for me was a way to rebuild my love for computers after windows systematically fucked things. and i really enjoy the learning process. so personally i still encourage people to spend the time in the learning process atleast a bit
i write often and libreoffice writer is difficult to say the least, not because of lack of features but a lack of most ‘little things’ and ‘tweaks’.
I think you're missing the fact that you are doing more 'expert' things than most here. The majority of the time, my wife opens a document she made once, saves as a new file (no, she's not using templates - don't get me started), and writes her invoice. She then PDFs it and sends it via email.
She does the same thing with Calc and a previously made blank "monthly calendar". Opens the blank, saves for the client, enters in the days and renames the month at the top, notes what she'll be doing for them on each day with an hour estimate, PDF and email.
That is the kind of thing most people do.
ah fuck, i did this
I was seriously considering posting it but didn't want you to think I was being a dick about it 😀
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Yeah, LibreOffice stuck with the old UI/UX for better and worse. Luckily we do have a nice selection of Office Suites in addition to them. OnlyOffice, WPS Office, Collabora, KDE Calligra, Softmaker Office… surely there's one for everyone on Linux.
Personally I like OnlyOffice.
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I don't disagree in general. However, my mom has been running Linux with a Windows XP skin for almost 8 years now without knowing she's using Linux. Literally just keeps her from running a random .exe and she does everything on a browser anyway.
In my experience, it's usually power users or basic users with very specific application requirements, who have trouble moving between operating systems. There's usually a FOSS alternative to those applications, but often requires reworking a workflow or upskilling more than they want to. But they're still basic users so it's more a speed bump than a road block.
So yeah, most people can switch to MacOS without an issue, and the vast majority of those can switch to a distro like Fedora or Ubuntu and quickly feel comfortable.
Power users get stuck in this situation where they've learned how to do advanced things in Windows, have things tweaked to support more complex and peculiar workflows, but often don't understand the actual concepts behind them. And even if they do understand the concepts, they still have to learn the alternatives in a new OS, and rebuild their workflows. Now, there's a lot more ability to learn behind the scenes about the why and how with Linux and BSD, so I'd argue they'd be better off to just suck it up and get started, and they'll be better off before long.
and i also say this as someone who is required to use windows at work. i despise windows, its so much harder for me to use windows given linux been my daily driver for a long time. im annoyed at powershell, explorer, clunky shortcut behaviors, etc just about every second im on windows. its a nightmare difficulty for me, but i also refuse to ever relearn windows stuff. i do remember a time when it wasnt annoying as fuck to use, could be nostalgia or that people just adopt.
using windows as a linux user is a nightmare. but if someone is adopted to windows, the opposite is gonna be similar no matter what.
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Well, the whole reason people have to "adopt and learn" is because M$ bought their way onto virtually every new PC sold back in the 90s, so people's first experience would be their "operating system."
Talk about leveraging anchoring bias.
I'd argue you'd have a hard time selling Windows to people if you were honest about it.
For just 145€ you get:
- an operating system that assumes you're an inept idiot
- ads in your application launcher
- a screenshot taken every minute, which gets stored outside your control and analysed by "AI"
- an invasive "assistant" that listens in on your microphone at all times
- forced to create an account to log in to "your" machine, so we can collect even more personal data
Especially when the alternative is free and let's you do whatever you want with your hardware. And if you happen to misconfigure something you get to be an adult about it and learn from your mistakes.
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I don’t think you realize just how complicated it has become to administer windows these days.
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From the devs Github
KMS38 has now been removed from the MAS script. Users are advised to use HWID or TSforge activation instead.
So you can still activate Windows through the other means in the script already. I dunno the ins n' outs, of what makes one method better than another. When I checked it seemed HWID was the first option and the one most people use anyway sooooo...
You're right, but still. Reduction of options is never good for the community.
One more reason never to install windows.
Windows has become too shitty to pay for. And now they do this.
o7
o7
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