W11 vs Linux Mint

[robblok]

3 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

My desktop is reasonably recent, did an upgrade 6 months ago when the SSD decided to go doolally. My laptop would be 8 or 9 years old.

I don't do any gaming at all, I prefer real life activity. I'm retired, so work is not an issue.

Linux does everything I want on both systems, like you why would I change? Horses for courses.

That was exactly what i meant, its personal. If it does what you want and you don't use it for business then why change.

 

I don't get it all those people saying what operating system you have to use. Too personal and depends on too many things. I just can't use it as i use it for business many programs would not work. I also play games and got a VR headset for my computer. So then its windows.

 

But really i never have long updates, also almost never any problems.

[Digitalbanana]

21 hours ago, fdsa said:

There is absolutely no point in using Linux on the home PC unless you are a programmer or a system administrator.

I have some old laptop home PCs that came with Win7 made obsolete by Microsoft. Rather than throw them out, installing Linux latest releases has brought new life to them, and they work just fine for basic stuff. The installs were very easy.

[tgw]

8 hours ago, Lacessit said:

What bugs? Linux Mint has worked trouble-free for me since the pandemic started, or thereabouts. On a desktop AND a laptop, which is a bit more than good luck.

An answer in the English language would be appreciated.

As I said, non-gaming mainstream use of Linux is fine.

90% of non-gamer users buying a machine already installed with Linux or marked compatible with Linux won't experience any issues.

 

Other users who run games, use specialized software, change hardware components, put Linux on computers that previously ran another OS, especially older computers, will likely run into driver problems and kernel bugs.

https://bugzilla.kernel.org/buglist.cgi?chfield=[Bug creation]&chfieldfrom=7d

https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/bugtrackers/linux-kernel-bugs

 

[topt]

2 hours ago, tgw said:

change hardware components, put Linux on computers that previously ran another OS, especially older computers, will likely run into driver problems and kernel bugs.

I think that may be slightly overstating the issue.

The only driver issue I had with my 2 machines was on one with a separate Nvidia graphics card and this was well documented so easy to solve. 

As others have mentioned switching to Linux on older hardware (even when updated) can give a new lease of life.

Unfortunately for me didn't stop both screens becoming less than optimal.......????

[fdsa]

23 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

But Windows is also not as bad as some people think it is.

Yep, Windows XP is a masterpiece of art, and Windows 7 is simply the best OS for home use.

But when it comes to professional work... Windows system administrators who setup the AD tell that they have nightmares.

 

17 hours ago, Lacessit said:

What bugs?

kernel bug 12309 is not resolved for 20+ years already. I've experienced it when first tried Linux circa 2006 using a HDD, I've experienced it when first consumer grade SSD appeared and the suggested solution to the bug was "switch to the SSD", and I still experience it now using a NVMe.

The kernel developers are so shy about it that they hid the bug behind the "advanced membership" wall a few years ago but you could see it in the Web Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20180709122253/https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=12309

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by fdsa

[KannikaP]

22 hours ago, Lacessit said:

My desktop is reasonably recent, did an upgrade 6 months ago when the SSD decided to go doolally. My laptop would be 8 or 9 years old.

I don't do any gaming at all, I prefer real life activity. I'm retired, so work is not an issue. Microsoft did a great marketing job to the vast majority of businesses, I'll give them that.

Linux does everything I want on both systems, like you why would I change? Horses for courses.

Which distro of Linux are you using?

[ozimoron]

10 hours ago, fdsa said:

Yep, Windows XP is a masterpiece of art, and Windows 7 is simply the best OS for home use.

But when it comes to professional work... Windows system administrators who setup the AD tell that they have nightmares.

 

kernel bug 12309 is not resolved for 20+ years already. I've experienced it when first tried Linux circa 2006 using a HDD, I've experienced it when first consumer grade SSD appeared and the suggested solution to the bug was "switch to the SSD", and I still experience it now using a NVMe.

The kernel developers are so shy about it that they hid the bug behind the "advanced membership" wall a few years ago but you could see it in the Web Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20180709122253/https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=12309

 

I'm guessing that maybe 2006 was the last time you used linux as well? I've been using an NVMe for several years now without issues. I also recently installed a graphics card which also worked out of the box with the default driver. I since changed to the nVidea 510 driver which was listed in the third party software options and had no issues with that either. In fact I haven't had a driver issue with ubuntu in about ten years.

[KannikaP]

21 hours ago, Digitalbanana said:

I have some old laptop home PCs that came with Win7 made obsolete by Microsoft. Rather than throw them out, installing Linux latest releases has brought new life to them, and they work just fine for basic stuff. The installs were very easy.

How many of these old PCs do you use at the same time?  Isn't ONE enough? LOL

[OneMoreFarang]

13 hours ago, fdsa said:

Yep, Windows XP is a masterpiece of art, and Windows 7 is simply the best OS for home use.

But when it comes to professional work... Windows system administrators who setup the AD tell that they have nightmares.

I am one of those admins and I setup a couple of ADs. No problem, just follow the MS guidelines, they are documented in detail.

[fdsa]

4 hours ago, ozimoron said:

I've been using an NVMe for several years now without issues.

...

In fact I haven't had a driver issue with ubuntu in about ten years.

It's strange that you do not recall how NVMe drives were overheating because Linux drivers with the proper power management appeared only a few years later after the NVMe devices hit the market: https://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1608.3/02787.html

I've had to make a custom heatsink myself to cool the NVMe drive a little bit.

 

Also I suppose that many happy Linux users here are using the desktop PCs rather than the laptops, else they would report much more issues with the drivers.

Speaking about Nvidia drivers for example, we the unhappy laptop users had to disable the Nvidia GPU in the BIOS because the Nvidia Optimus GPU switching technology was not working in Linux thus making the Nvidia GPU always powered up to 100% thus heating up the laptop and eating the battery in minutes. And as with the NVMe devices, the analogue software called "Bumblebee" appeared only a few years later after the Nvidia Optimus laptops appeared on the market, and it was not working well for a few more years lol.

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by fdsa

[ozimoron]

53 minutes ago, fdsa said:

It's strange that you do not recall how NVMe drives were overheating because Linux drivers with the proper power management appeared only a few years later after the NVMe devices hit the market: https://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1608.3/02787.html

I've had to make a custom heatsink myself to cool the NVMe drive a little bit.

 

Also I suppose that many happy Linux users here are using the desktop PCs rather than the laptops, else they would report much more issues with the drivers.

Speaking about Nvidia drivers for example, we the unhappy laptop users had to disable the Nvidia GPU in the BIOS because the Nvidia Optimus GPU switching technology was not working in Linux thus making the Nvidia GPU always powered up to 100% thus heating up the laptop and eating the battery in minutes. And as with the NVMe devices, the analogue software called "Bumblebee" appeared only a few years later after the Nvidia Optimus laptops appeared on the market, and it was not working well for a few more years lol.

 

Was the Nvidia Optimus problem exclusive to Linux? None of the problems you mentioned have affected me.

 

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/forums/discover/464751/problem-with-nvidia-optimus/

 

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/forums/geforce-graphics-cards/5/207358/windows-10-and-optimus/

[Stocky]

Not sure why it has to be one or the other? I use both. 

 

My work laptops are Windows 10, I use software for work that won't run on Linux. But I have two desktops that came with Windows XP, they both now happily run Linux Mint 20. One I use as a general purpose desktop for music, internet etc. The other my wife, daughters, now granddaughter use for internet, music, word processor, spreadsheets (Libre Office). Granddaughter has used it for online schooling the last two years, initially with Zoom, and this school year with Google Classroom. The Thai language support is very good, and there's little to complain about except the lack of games, though mobile phones cover that.

 

Mint isn't difficult to set up, and it's easy to use. You don't have to use the command line to do things, and drivers haven't been an issue for me. Linux is a very good way to find use for old computers that Windows upgrades have left behind.

[BigStar]

On 4/6/2022 at 5:48 PM, Stocky said:

. . . there's little to complain about except the lack of games, though mobile phones cover that.

It appears many members aren't aware of all the gaming Linux supports nowadays. Quite a lot, actually, possibly even some faves. Being Linux, there may be some fiddling around.

 

More info:

 

https://www.protondb.com/

https://linux-gaming.kwindu.eu/index.php?title=Should_you_switch_to_Linux_gaming%3F

https://reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/