2025 has probably been the best year for Linux that I can remember, at least from the perspective of general PC users. It’s had tons of publicity as a viable alternative to Windows, even, and perhaps especially for gaming. I switched to it myself earlier this year, but I’m back on Windows and I don’t think I’ll be switching back to Linux properly any time soon.
The Linux hype this time was precipitated by Valve’s Linux-based operating system, SteamOS, opening up for use on other handhelds than just the Steam Deck. That had been long on the cards, but it finally started seeming close at hand early on this year.
SteamOS has shown what Linux can be capable of for gaming in large part because of Proton, the compatibility layer Valve employs to translate Windows commands into ones that Linux can understand. It’s a fork of WINE tailored towards gaming, created and maintained by Valve specifically for that purpose.
Over the years, Proton has gotten so good that compatible games tend to run flawlessly. Valve has an incentive to ensure this is the case, as a great gaming experience on SteamOS via Proton makes for more Steam Deck and Steam Store sales.
The development and improvement of Proton has been a massive part of what’s made Linux distros genuinely viable for gaming. And yes, I said “distros”, plural, because any distro can use Proton, as it’s built into Steam for Linux. It’s not just a SteamOS thing.
My own recent foray into Linux was very short-lived, however. I’ve dipped into Linux many times over the course of my life, but I’ve never stuck with it, and this time I was punted back over to Windows with undue force. You can read the full story explaining why here, but the long-story-short is it just completely broke—trackpad, Wi-Fi card, the lot—while I was working away at Gamescom, and I didn’t have the time or patience to troubleshoot and fix it.
A frantic Windows install was my solution, and the experience has traumatised me enough that I’m reluctant to give Linux another go, at least not on a machine that I depend on for work. I’d experienced troubles that made me consider abandoning Linux prior to this—Nobara Linux didn’t seem to gel with my laptop’s hybrid graphics and external monitor—but my complete disaster at Gamescom solidified things.
Still, that was just my own experience, and the hype was still there for Linux as the year went on. Whether that was from influencers and publications capitalising on the hype by generating even more hype, or whether it was real enthusiasm, it doesn’t matter: it was there.
Seems like PEBCAK to me. What an embarrassing article for someone who is supposed to know about PCs for a living.
I think the author only knows about very popular games and Windows as opposed to PCs in general.
That was a lot of reading to learn that the two things were:
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He had some kind of problem with the laptop Wi-Fi driver on his new install of Ubuntu, and — pressed for time, away from home — decided that the best way to fix it was to reinstall Windows.
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He’s unwilling to give up games whose devs have chosen to make them impossible to play on Linux. It’s not clear which one he’s hooked on, but Apex Legends, to Fortnite and Valorant are mentioned.
oh my fucking god he wrote basically this same exact article when the first thing happened.
i shouldn’t know more about tech than tech journalists, this is obscene.
The first one. Away from home he decides to try one Linux distribution, something he apparently has no experience in and with not much extra time to spare? Wow, what a great reason.
The second one, yeah. If you are used to playing these games I get it. I never even got into those, so have no need to start them now.
I mean, yes, he should’ve picked a less busy period to test Linux out. But trackpad and wifi issues could come up at any time, which would be troublesome. I’ve gone weeks wihout issues, only to turn my laptop on one day and boom, touchpad doesn’t work. And some days I don’t have my mouse with me to use. And the other issue is Linux is so varied and different that a solution for one person might not work for you. That and lack of proper documentation. I have tried doing crazy shit to fix issues, only to then learn all I had to do was toggle a switch in the settings, but my distro didn’t make it obvious that’s what i should do.
(This LITERALLY is what happened with my touchpad, for some reason it disabled itself in settings after an update a while ago.)
People don’t want to spend weekends fixing their tech, and that’s understandable.
For the past month or so, I’ve been getting “RDSEED32 is broken” and it seems to be an issue with AMD’s drivers? Either way, there doesn’t appear to be a solution for me outside of getting a new CPU, but it also still boots and works so I’m not too bothered by it either.
But when updates roll around? Yeah, usually a good idea to make a backup before updating. Same is true with Windows, of course, but I already expect Windows to need a reinstall every year or so.
For the past month or so, I’ve been getting “RDSEED32 is broken” and it seems to be an issue with AMD’s drivers?
https://www.amd.com/en/resources/product-security/bulletin/amd-sb-7055.html
it sounds like the kernel is just working around a known CPU microcode bug. it would probably be using the 64-bit RDSEED operation anyway, so disabling the 32-bit option probably doesn’t actually change anything.
also, the kernel’s random number generator is very robust (especially since Jason Donenfeld, the author of Wireguard, took over its maintenance) and will work perfectly fine even in the complete absence of RDSEED CPU instructions.
Yeah that particular issue doesn’t bother me much anyway, just delays startup by a second or two.
If that’s the games he plays then he deserves Windows.
He had some kind of problem with the laptop Wi-Fi driver on his new install of Ubuntu, and — pressed for time, away from home — decided that the best way to fix it was to reinstall Windows.
Funny enough, I’ve only had that problem with Windows. Both for my Steel Legend motherboard, and a Framework laptop I setup as a gift with Windows.
Thanks. I saw the bit about the WiFi card and trackpad, but missed the games he plays.
Before I got my Steam deck I did all of my gaming on a MacBook, ps5, or switch. If it was not available on one of those platforms I never looked at it.
Even now when buying a game I lean towards those playable on Mac.
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This article is months old, right?
Meanwhile, article after article about performance benefits, usability benefits, privacy benefits of Linux…
I am sorry this one person had a bad experience with Linux on a laptop at a conference. 🤷♂️
he wrote two
at least from the perspective of general PC users.
This is a bit of a side tangent not strictly related to this article - The overwhelming vast majority of computer users are not gamers. Most people do not play videogames on a PC and whether or not a few games run or not on Linux is irrelevant to them.
What is relevant to them is productivity software, employment requirements, ease of use, and stability. And, on those particular fronts, Windows still has a noticeable advantage despite being a dumpster fire that costs money.
I acknowledge the many achievements that have been made in the world of Linux development lately and I’m so stoked to see it enter the mainstream more and more, but grow very tired of all the articles, opinion pieces, blog posts, etc saying that Linux is “ready” because it can play games - as if that is the only thing that matters.
I’ve been in his exact same spot, at APEX, but with a Windows machine. This guy is definitely an idiot if he’s blaming Linux. Things just happen at shows and you have to be prepared. Anyone who’s worked expos knows to have a backup plan for their main thing. Sounds like his main thing was taking notes during interviews. So no notepad? No pen? No bootable USB with notes saved to it? Yeah, definitely user error.
He’s also quoting Alistair Mcfarlane, a nutjob who acts like the entire world is out to get him. Not the kind of guy who’s opinion you should care about.
And his argument about battlefield 6. “It’s probably been popular with some who don’t play many other multiplayer games at all.” I cherry picked but the entire paragraph feels like he’s trying to convince himself with vague “I dunno”.
He posts that list saying people can’t branch out to try multiplayer but his own list has about 500 games that work on Linux if I’m reading it right. Certainly options to branch out to.
Guy sounds like he’s trying to convince himself he’s right, not convince others.
So the article writer is basically saying they gave up on a free OS because it doesn’t have corporate backing.
So split the difference and get a Mac. Forget what people tell you about the Mac tax, they’re $500. They’ve been $480 on sale for the holidays. That’s the M4 Mac mini. You can spec it out with more cores and more RAM, but it’s 16GB RAM, 256GB storage, and something like 8 cores. Good enough for most people, but you’ll probably want more storage. So add some, it’s got like 5 USB-C ports on it, and hubs exist. It’s also like, the size of your fist. Anyway, it’s a corporate (Apple) backed computer, and it’s not Windows. So, there. Problem solved… right?
Obviously not for Linux gaming, and Proton doesn’t exist on macOS (Crossover does which is kind of the same thing… Crossover contributes to WINE, and Proton is based on WINE), but gaming is roughly the same prospect on a Mac as it is on Linux. You gotta emulate or whatever the hell WINE is (WINE Is Not [an] Emulator) but whatever. Compatibility layer, same thing to the lay person. Which you are if you go running back to Windows after trying Linux for 5 whole minutes.
Ever since they bumped the min-spec Mac Mini to 16GB RAM, it has looked like such a great deal. The upgrades are still way too expensive (except RAM now I guess?) but base model is great.
given M$'s heinous bullshit tactics lately, i wouldn’t put it past them to pay some tech writer to take a linux build to some big public event, deliberately fuck it up, windows to the rescue, and then write an article about why linux isn’t just unstable, but downright hazardous to your job
for my own part, everything i’ve had to put up with as a linuxnoob has been 100% worth the result of flushing windows down the shitter where it belongs.
I find it hard to believe. He was using ubuntu and both his wifi and trackpad and the lot broke. I remember in the aughts when a student came in to proudly say he through th latest suse on a laptop and everything worked out of box. Yeah things can have issues but much like windows its often just an update which even with windows you have to be ready to have a physical network connection or you could be screwed with wifi. I have not seen any issues with ubuntu. Did he intentionally say to not use 3rd party drivers which is what my thought is which to blog about that afterwards without repeating using third party sounds like a hit job.
I have to run “fsck /dev/sda9” every time my Mint laptop battery dies. No idea why or how to automate that if it’s possible. The last time took like 9 hours to check everything, AND THEN told me I had to run some check again and can’t use “-y” and had to manually enter “y” for every prompt. Wtf and why? I thought Mint was the normie distro made for me.
How old is your laptop? Probably your CMOS battery.
Here’s the article where he gives his full bad experience with Linux. He was running Ubuntu when things broke, and had previously had lesser issues trying Nobara.
For me it’s my work’s dependence on MS office/outlook.
Work makes you use your own computer?
I actually use Macs as desktop/laptop at home, Linux for servers at home, and Windows at work. And each of those is the best choice for that particular task IMO. I do have the option of a Mac at work but Office is so much better on Windows that I stick to Windows and just install it with Rufus and StartAllBack to make it good. I did buy a little Surface Go to use on planes and in meetings for note taking with my own money, though.
I think what device work makes you use isn’t too important since they provide the hardware and nothing on it is private anyways regardless of the OS that is being used on it.
Work and private devices are different, since one if them is for you.
I plan on using Windows at home and Mac for college and stuff when I go. Linux, maybe to store photos I think
Yeah it all depends on your use case. For me at home, I manage my music and photos on mac, and managing my smarthome servers on linux. Mac is good for that. Office at work, Windows is good for that. Linux is the only good choice for servers IMO.
