Moving To Linux

[Jonj1611]

Found an install guide so hopefully fairly straight forward now : https://discovery.endeavouros.com/gr...efind/2021/03/

[Saracen999]

After my little rant (again) about Start menu, centre-alignment etc a few posts back, I've just seen a W11 "Zinc" preview which, among quite a lot more, has an option to allow the user to go back to left-align, not centre-align.

MS do it again. Try to shove this stuff on us only to reverse about half of it a version or two later.

The guy presenting the feature preview video immediately moved his back to left-align "because he prefers it".

The irony is that it was Dave Plummer at Dave's Garage .... the guy that wrote a lot of the Start menu stuff for MS in the first place. Task Manager too.

I will admit to finding it kinda funny that even the guy that designed this stuff prefers it tat way too. Of course, he seems happy with the menu at the bottom, and I want mine at the top, and no sign MS have done that yet. Maybe next week.


On a more serious note, there's a long interview, and a bunch of short videos of single topic extracts, between him and Dave Cutler (the mind beind Windows) that is VERY interesting if the behind-the-scenes stuff floats your boat. Like why XP was so buggy and the utterly cavalier attitude to security in the "consumer" products group, as opposed to the server OS team. Wow!

[Percy1983]

I am confused with the centre/left align, I have been running 11 for a long time and and updated machines at different times and in all cases one of the first things I have done is align left and its just been a couple of clicks I can't remember a time I couldn't do this unless it was the first couple of months after release as i didn't upgrade straight away.

In short I have aligned left and changed one registry entry (for the right click options) and after these 2 steps I forget its 11 as I still have machines on 10 and 11 and don't even notice a difference when changing between them.

[Jonj1611]

You can move it back to the left under personalisation > Taskbar > Taskbar Behaviours > Taskbar Alignment

I watched the video of Dave's Garage where he was talking about when he wrote task manager and was going through the source code. Was a fascinating insight

[Jonj1611]

Well that's the fun thing about Linux, can always try something different so had a change and now using Fedora 39. So far so good

[DanceswithUnix]

Well that's the fun thing about Linux, can always try something different so had a change and now using Fedora 39. So far so good

That's my favourite distro, partly as I'm used to it and partly as it tends to stay quite up to date (and I like shiny new toys).

I don't like the default download though, I find Gnome desktop horrid to use. I always go for the KDE spin instead.

Still on Fedora 38 here, 39 is *really* new and I make a living on this machine so I usually leave it a few weeks before upgrading to let the dust settle

[Jonj1611]

I couldn't get on with the desktop. Currenly installing Nobora OS which is based off Fedora and has its customisations to the Gnome desktop. I liked Fedora for the short time I used it but trying to find the right fit for me. Seem to be doing a lot of distro hopping at the moment.

[DanceswithUnix]

I couldn't get on with the desktop. Currenly installing Nobora OS which is based off Fedora and has its customisations to the Gnome desktop. I liked Fedora for the short time I used it but trying to find the right fit for me. Seem to be doing a lot of distro hopping at the moment.

As I said, if it is the default Fedora Gnome then I can see why. Can't stand it myself.

But there are alternatives, which can be installed as default. The KDE Plasma one should feel quite familiar, I think Windows 7 stole quite a few of it's best features from the KDE of the day but Plasma has kept that sort of feel:

https://fedoraproject.org/spins/

You can install lots of desktops on Fedora, and just choose which one you want at the login screen. I think I have Gnome, XFCE and Plasma here but can't remember as I only ever use the KDE Plasma

I see one of the spins is a more classic feel Gnome, which might be more usable if you must have Gnome.

[Jonj1611]

Yes I installed it, didn't really like gnome in the end so I am using KDE Plasma which I much prefer over gnome to be honest.

And find it a lot more easier to change window colours amongst other things. Just fits better anyway.

I can see why people get confused with linux with so many distros, desktop environments and everything else. I imagine it much like a car, they all have the same engine(kernel), its just everything bolted to it thats different.

Anyway hoping this is the one I stick with so I can finally move everything over from windows.

[Jonj1611]

After my little rant (again) about Start menu, centre-alignment etc a few posts back, I've just seen a W11 "Zinc" preview which, among quite a lot more, has an option to allow the user to go back to left-align, not centre-align.

MS do it again. Try to shove this stuff on us only to reverse about half of it a version or two later.

The guy presenting the feature preview video immediately moved his back to left-align "because he prefers it".

The irony is that it was Dave Plummer at Dave's Garage .... the guy that wrote a lot of the Start menu stuff for MS in the first place. Task Manager too.

I will admit to finding it kinda funny that even the guy that designed this stuff prefers it tat way too. Of course, he seems happy with the menu at the bottom, and I want mine at the top, and no sign MS have done that yet. Maybe next week.


On a more serious note, there's a long interview, and a bunch of short videos of single topic extracts, between him and Dave Cutler (the mind beind Windows) that is VERY interesting if the behind-the-scenes stuff floats your boat. Like why XP was so buggy and the utterly cavalier attitude to security in the "consumer" products group, as opposed to the server OS team. Wow!

This will cheer you up no end :

[Jonj1611]

And back to Fedora due to Nobara having some odd issues. Won't keep updating this but yeah its been fun so far

[jimborae]

I'm sort of going through the same journey atm but only due to having an old Dell Chromebook 13 7310 that was too good to bin and needing a windows or linux laptop to do things that are too janky on my main Chromebook. Currently giving Mint a spin at the moment and it appears to be working really well for me. So far everything is working perfectly including my Outlook email via Thunderbird.

[Jonj1611]

What with news Windows 12 is going to be even worse than Windows 11 on embedded everything I am glad I am making the move now

[Jonj1611]

Though Hexus font looks well messed up in Firefox

[Jonj1611]

So a quick update. As I said didn't want to keep updating everytime I changed distro so over the past 10 days or so have been trying various distros and have finally settled on Opensuse Tumbleweed with KDE. Had some quirky issues but overall it's where I am at.

Also interestingly I ran the Blender 4 benchmark for Linux and in Windows. Here are the results on a i7-13700K with 32GB DDR5 Ram at 6000Mhz

Linux (Opensuse)

Samples Per Minute :

monster : 232.208209
junkshop : 149.332608
classroom : 114.031247

Windows 11

Samples Per Minute :

monster : 171.453487
junkshop : 117.349744
classroom : 87.264556

[Saracen999]

This will cheer you up no end :

it kinda does cheer me up, in a funny (in both senses of the word) way.

Why? first, it's hilarious and I did enjoy his version of how MS allegedly came up with this alleged wheeze. It would xplain a fair bit, if true.

Second, he's right in that it does make a good case for a Linux switch and, yes, even a switch to Apple. Yes, I have issues with Apple too. That's a whole other thing BUT, were MS to actually be so monumentally <bleep>ing stupid as to try to force Co-pilot on everyone (and I do NOT put that possibility as beyond them) then, [B]even for me[B] Apple starts to look ever more appealing. I do, after all, already have an iPad. It's not that big a stretch to go Macbook Pro. Or just use the iPad more. For much of what I do, web-surfing, Youtube 9and Rumble, etc), email .... the iPad is eminently capable.

And I can then just keep the Win10 (or 11 if I ever go that far) for the stuff requiring Win-specific software. Some of that i could migrate though in some cases it'll mean switching software too (like my geealogy software). In others, just stay W10 indefinitely, EOL in 2025 or not. I just disconnect it from the internet, entirely.

I'm at the point where I can disassociate from Windows entirely, other than my offline version, which I can easily just freeze in it's current state. It'll run everything I really need, as it is today. Any cn de-MS entirely, time I wish to, or need to. I'm long retired, so no need to worry about accounts software, or about compatibility with client data. Some of the hardware I'm still supporting I don't really need any longer. And I migrated a lot of stuff off Windows during Win 8. Do i actually need MS, for anything? Actually, no. I can manage without, pretty easily.

I do note though, that he somehow went from a theory that MS "may" replace Start with Co-Pilot, to an assertive MS "is" doing it? Really? Maybe, but I doubt even MS are daft enough to try to force it. Offer it, encourage it, push it, for sure. Force it? The thought of the furore when that happens make me almost titter in anticipation of watching the resulting fuster-cluck.