Why Shouldn't I Switch To Linux?

[alexa9]

What don't you like about Linux? I am hesitant to make the switch. Why is it worse/better than Windows or MacOS?
Thanks!

[sammiev]

Linux is not Windows and Windows is not Linux.

A lot folks here run both, either in a VM or Dual boot.

The best of both worlds for some.

[catweazel]

What don't you like about Linux? I am hesitant to make the switch. Why is it worse/better than Windows or MacOS?
Thanks!

For me, the question was the other way around. I was sick of the same old same old... being spied on by M$, malware, having to buy applications to do menial tasks, update hell, being forced to upgrade when I didn't want to, and a host of other reasons to quit Windwoes.

[whm1974]

What don't you like about Linux? I am hesitant to make the switch. Why is it worse/better than Windows or MacOS?
Thanks!

For me, the question was the other way around. I was sick of the same old same old... being spied on by M$, malware, having to buy applications to do menial tasks, update hell, being forced to upgrade when I didn't want to, and a host of other reasons to quit Windwoes.

I agree, and after being Windows free for over three years, I would have to be forced to use it now.

[catweazel]

What don't you like about Linux? I am hesitant to make the switch. Why is it worse/better than Windows or MacOS?
Thanks!

For me, the question was the other way around. I was sick of the same old same old... being spied on by M$, malware, having to buy applications to do menial tasks, update hell, being forced to upgrade when I didn't want to, and a host of other reasons to quit Windwoes.

I agree, and after being Windows free for over three years, I would have to be forced to use it now.

I think an inquisitive mind also helped. I was keen to learn something new, which at my age is a miracle.

[MintBean]

I would say the biggest contraindication is your hesitancy. As you are no doubt aware, it costs nothing and closes no doors by trying Linux, yet you are hesitant. The types most likely to succeed with Linux are those who enthusiastic to try something new and are willing to put a little effort in.

-If you're tied to iTunes or iPhone, Linux is not for you.
-If you're a heavy MS Office user and need 100% office compatibility, it's probably not for you.
(Although there are possible workarounds with various trade-offs.)
-If a lack of compatibility with any of your current peripherals is a show stopper, Linux won't be for you.
-If you expect a customer/vendor relationship in terms of technical help, Linux is not for you.
-If you're a big gamer who must have all the latest titles, Linux is not for you.

[MintBean]

For me, the question was the other way around. I was sick of the same old same old... being spied on by M$, malware, having to buy applications to do menial tasks, update hell, being forced to upgrade when I didn't want to, and a host of other reasons to quit Windwoes.

Indeed. Over time I've seen folks put off Linux by sometimes very trivial inconveniences or merely different ways of doing things to what they're used to and I'm lead to wonder if they've taken a second to weigh it against the brain-ache they're leaving behind.

[catweazel]

For me, the question was the other way around. I was sick of the same old same old... being spied on by M$, malware, having to buy applications to do menial tasks, update hell, being forced to upgrade when I didn't want to, and a host of other reasons to quit Windwoes.

Indeed. Over time I've seen folks put off Linux by sometimes very trivial inconveniences or merely different ways of doing things to what they're used to and I'm lead to wonder if they've taken a second to weigh it against the brain-ache they're leaving behind.

That's the problem, pain. The human mind cannot recall pain like it can recall a scent or a sound or a texture.

[jglen490]

What don't you like about Linux? I am hesitant to make the switch. Why is it worse/better than Windows or MacOS?
Thanks!

There is nothing I don't like about Linux. After 20 or so years of using Linux, I have no problems with it at all.

What I do have a problem with, are some Linux distributions. The ones that are hard to administer, the ones that are based on an elitist/egotistical approach to the "great unwashed masses. But I love the ones that simply work as advertised and allow the user to make choices and not have some expensive and monolithic mass of bytes and magic pushing unknown junk down my throat.

Linux, and its close cousins the BSDs, are about choices - your choices. Sure I get it, Windows doesn't put in a position of choosing, and that can be very comfortable. It also explains why a lot of people run dual boot systems, or have an OS running in a virtual machine. I get it. But I go to work everyday in a place that uses Windows and it reminds me why I love gong home at night and waking up my resting Linux box and do my business on it.

You are free to stay in Windows land, you are free to take that tentative first step and dual boot, and you are free to take a leap of faith and jump into Linux.

[Mattyboy]

I'm really struggling to find something that I don't actually like about using Linux.. but then I use both Windows and Linux the former I could spend hours ranting about just what a total pain it is using it.. I mean is not the 90's anymore why are will still having to re-boot for an age just to update?,,,Microsoft's constant habit of changing things in the ( very sarcastic ) name of 'innovation'.. I'm not a damn beta tester... whats that all about?!?...plus all the data collection.. see, look, ranting, you'll never stop me

Hey, I play games on my PC and that's it. I wouldn't use Windows otherwise.

For me using Linux is like a walk in a summer meadow, everything works I have total control... that 'other OS' just winds me up, need anger management five minutes after booting... honest.. and look I'm doing it again.

The trick to using Linux is to read up on the basics, no one is ever expected to know something from the start.. look, nice bunch of people here.. ask if you don't know. Change your buying habits, if your phone, mp3 player etc needs software that won't run on Linux, intentionally so you have to buy other products for the same vendor, then don't buy it simple. slow transition maybe but an easy one.

As my daily driver you couldn't pay me enough to stop using it.... clearly, then, a fanboy

[Jim Hauser]

The "P" in PC stands for personal.

You can run anything you can install on your computer. It is your choice...

I was a big Windows user going way back to the floppy disk days. When Microsoft dropped support for XP four years ago I decided to look around and found Linux Mint KDE. It has been an outstanding operating system on my equipment. It has never crashed on it's own, I had to help it do that. It runs 24/7 and does the things I want it to do without fail.

Granted there is a learning curve involved but for me it was refreshing and easy. If you want an OS that does all of that for you on it's own then Linux is probably not for you. If you want complete control of your system then Linux is the best bet so far.

The best thing for me about Linux Mint is the many wonderful people who contribute to this forum! I could never get that with any other OS.

But, the choice is yours...

[wutsinterweb]

The reasons you would find to not use Linux would greatly depend on you personally, the list includes the things brought up here.

If you like commercial products with glossy presentation, you might stay with Windows. If, however, you are function over form, or like form as freedom in the form of the variety of desktop environments, you will love Linux, at least you will in time.

If you aren't willing to learn how to ride a bicycle, you won't like Linux, it's similar if you really want to use it to its fullest potential. If you like phone support or want, for instance, ISPs or schools to dictate what you use, stay with Windows. Be aware that there ARE Linux versions that offer paid support for a fee similar more or less to a Windows, but it's not the license to use the software, but for support and managed updates and such.

If you search you will find your own answers, I don't like it when people reply with "dude, google is yer friend", but with that said, try searching some and you will learn even more than a self made discussion will reveal.

Most users that stick with Linux after a month or two tend to love it, but Linux is not just one thing. There are so many distros, so many DEs.

If you like to pay for software, and yes, some people do for various reasons, you might want to stick with Windows.

Search for the term "Linux is not Windows" or "Linux != Windows" and you will find websites that will clearly spell out why Linux people don't care for trying to please the Windows crowd with the illusion of equivalency. Linux is different. Yeah, it's an OS and like any personal computer OS, you can do most of the same types of things, whether you use OSX, Windows, BSD, Unix (in it's new forms), or Linux, or even some of the more/older exotic OSs, most of what you would do is the same for desktop and some workstation stuff. Gaming, some could argue that games that do run on Linux sometimes run better, but sometimes some bleeding edge features occur in DirectX which is not AFAIK open source.

Now for how I personally feel:

I made some very very tentative attempts at using Linux (Knoppix and SuSE) way back over 10 years ago and found certain challenges that kept me from feeling confident enough to move to Linux, but I really wanted to use it, I wanted to get away from Redmond and all the misery I kept experiencing with Windows. Since most Linux development, from software to drivers, is voluntary, I ran into occasions where drivers didn't work as I'd hope and even rarely back then, there weren't even drivers, and getting MP3 and DVD movies working involved extra steps, so did getting mouse features working.

Over these years things have really advanced, it's a bigger community with more developers, more volunteers, and more forums and more help and more patient experts who are willing to tolerate noobie questions from people that don't google well enough.

I love Linux, love Mint for so many reasons it would take a massive wall of text to express, here are some things:

For me, it's way way way more stable. Over the last 13 months I've not had any BSOD like experiences, and only once, a few days ago, a lock up (had to do with my Haswell processor+the current CVEs+Virtual Machine attempts with Windows+a brand new Kernel to do with the CVEs). If it weren't for how processor manufacturers handled CHIP design and kept quiet and still aren't adequately addressing the recent CVE problems (if you haven't heard, Meltdown and 2 variants of Spectre) that involve all computers/OSs/phones/tablets, there wouldn't even have been a lock up, which I quickly resolved, no fault lies with Linux's develeopers in my opinion, and the Windows updates HAVE been at times a disaster conversely.

I love the freedom of GNU and Linux. I love the "no secrets" to how it works, how to set it up, how to manage it, how to develop for it, and so on... I love all the terrific various desktop environments, trying each of them and seeing what each offers. I love all the purpose built distros (go to distrowatch and use the search tool for specific use distros), for instance, if you are a musician, there are distros for you, and so on. I love having access to free customizing apps that don't bog down my system. I love the 30% performance increase I got (YMMV). I love how RAM is managed. I love how older hardware is so well supported. I love being able to have a Win98 or a XP or a W7 or a W10 experience (once again, choose your ideal DE), without it BEING Windows. I love not having system tray AV and AM stuff using up CPU cycles and slowing me down *yes, there ARE anti-virus/malware measures, but generally there are used simply to protect Windows recipeints via email or sneaker net or such, because, yes, while viruses rarely affect Linux (but there ARE occasional other vulnerabilities, very manageable ones), a virus could pass through a linux box's stored Windows software, so we generally run AV Checks when sending off stuff we might have concerns over.

I love how well things work when they work, it's fix it and forget it, not forget it and fix it as in Windows. I love sticking it to the man (Hey, I'm an old 60's rebel) and I absolutely like to see Bill Gates and Steve Balmer and all their companions squirm, I don't consider him a good guy no matter all the charity, he still has a very dark side. I love how software is handled (most DEs include software managers repleat with an itunes like menu of software that is ready to use for you, 10's of thousands of apps of almost everything imaginable. I love how GNU and Linux Dev's think and work. I love the management and mechanics of Linux, no kludgy registry for instance, and no cryptic list of services to hassle with, yes, there are sort of analogues in LInux, after all, it IS an OS, but how it is done I think is better.

I also prefer how permissions and ownership and access is done in Linux it's perhaps one of the greatest parts of the thing.

But most of all, starting 2 Novembers ago, Computing became fun again, that's when I started doing Linux stuff in earnest.

Now, you CAN dual boot, you can, if you prefer, run a Virtual Machine, you can run multiple ones and still have Windows if you even ever find the need.

Get some 16 GB thumb drives and install some live distros on them and give them a whirl and when you find one you like, install it and give it a couple months try and then go from there.

Fun, it's a thing, it's a Linux thing.

[Hoser Rob]

I'd never tell someone they shouldn't use Linux, just that they shouldn't be too much in a hurry to yank all their Windows. Which they may well regret in the future. But I don't have any Windows anymore.

You really want to know what's wrong with Linux/Unix? These say it best I think:

https://simson.net/ref/ugh.pdf

https://itvision.altervista.org/why.lin ... rrent.html

These people seriously know their stuff, and AFAIK they're still using Unix/Linux.

[Harfud]

What don't you like about Linux? I am hesitant to make the switch. Why is it worse/better than Windows or MacOS?
Thanks!

When I quite literally couldn't stand Windows any longer I moved to Linux, I regret not doing so far earlier.

I just bit the bullet and did it despite considerable resistance from Er Ladyship because Windows was so awful.

My first Linux was Mint 13.

Today wild horses wouldn't drag me back and Er Ladyship is entirely happy using Mint.

I can't think of anything that Windows offers that I miss, can't say about Mac as I've never used it.

When I think back to my last eighteen months or so with Windows it was a total nightmare. I was losing the entire Friday after Big Tuesday to updates, scans, defrags, ensuring that intrusive M$ systems had stayed switched off, I was fighting off swathes of malware, spyware, rootkits, and when that became Microsoft themselves too it was time for pastures new.

We now use mainly Mint 18.3 but my main laptop uses LMDE as I like it, I also dabble with other distros most recently Manjaro and Fedora but those are dabblings and I regard Mint as home.

The best thing that I can commend to you is the easier life, the only bind and I mean the ONLY bind - Updating my satnav.

[Moem]

the only bind and I mean the ONLY bind - Updating my satnav.

Yeah, we had that too, but them we simply switched our Garmin over to OpenStreetmap maps and we're Windows-free ever since.

[BenTrabetere]

I know this is tangential, but the one thing I miss most since I switched to Linux is the print publications, especially the periodicals. I would be thrilled if a "Scott Kelby" for open source graphics were to step on the scene. Tutorials, blogs and YouTube pale alongside magazines like Photoshop User.

[majpooper]

I would say the biggest contraindication is your hesitancy. As you are no doubt aware, it costs nothing and closes no doors by trying Linux, yet you are hesitant. The types most likely to succeed with Linux are those who enthusiastic to try something new and are willing to put a little effort in.

-If you're tied to iTunes or iPhone, Linux is not for you.
-If you're a heavy MS Office user and need 100% office compatibility, it's probably not for you.
(Although there are possible workarounds with various trade-offs.)
-If a lack of compatibility with any of your current peripherals is a show stopper, Linux won't be for you.
-If you expect a customer/vendor relationship in terms of technical help, Linux is not for you.
-If you're a big gamer who must have all the latest titles, Linux is not for you.

I would say bean has nailed it.

The one thing I would disagree with regarding some of the others responses - and only in part - is the idea that there is a learning curve. This really depends on the user. I have installed Mint for a senior citizen who has zero computer literacy - none. All they do is use the browser and Skype -no learning curve at all other than click on the update manager daily. My wife who uses her PC to do research, shop on Amazon and use basic office apps like word and excel switched over with no learning curve, unless you consider the less than 5 min discussion explaining how to deal with file extensions between MS and Open Office a learning curve. Then there is my older brother who retired fro NASA and probably knows more about UNIX than most linux developers. Well I recommended Mint to him - he tried it - he liked it - definitely no learning curve.

[ArtGirl]

Just to add that Dukto and MegaSync are what have helped me regarding exchanging between pc/ipad.
https://pkgs.org/download/dukto for the Ubuntu 16.04 deb file for Dukto. Simple to use.
Pre-vpn, I needed to switch the firewall off (and have the Dukto app open on both pc/ipad).
Post-vpn, I use the IP option in Dukto on the pc, + app open on the ipad.
Artworks, text, etc are easy to exchange via Megasync, but youtube videos I prefer Dukto for.

[wutsinterweb]

yes indeed.

[jimallyn]

Why Shouldn't I Switch To Linux?

No reason that I can think of. I switched to Linux back in 2002, and there is nothing you could do to make me use Windows again.

It often happens that newcomers to Linux Mint comment on the forums about it. Many of them say things like: "I will never go back to Windows." Or: "I should have done this years ago!" Or "Why doesn't everybody use Linux?" And so on. Not terribly long ago, I started collecting those comments in a file I call LinuxSuccessStories. It is now up to 31 pages. I'd be happy to send it to you if you need convincing. But let me give you one Linux Success Story of my own. All the time I have been using Linux, I have been telling my family they should try it. My older brother finally asked me to install Linux on his computer about two years ago, and I was happy to do that for him. A few weeks later, I asked my brother if he could pick up a few things at Costco for me, since I don't currently have a Costco card. He said he'd be glad to. A week or two later I went over to his house to pick up the stuff he had bought for me and pay him for it. I asked how much I owed him, and his wife quickly said that I didn't owe them anything. I asked why, and she said, "Because now I don't have to listen to Dave yell at the computer."