When Windows users suddenly discover that their files have vanished from their desktops after interacting with OneDrive, the issue often stems from how Microsoft’s cloud service integrates with the operating system. The automatic, near-invisible shift to cloud-based storage has triggered strong reactions from users who find the feature unintuitive and, in some cases, destructive to their local files.
I moved one old laptop to Linux over about a year ago, and committed to an effort to actually make it do the things I wanted to do, like play games, and run Windows-only tools or find viable replacements. To say it went well is an understatement. Within a few months I had switched every computer I owned, and I’m never looking back again.
Granted, I was already quite familiar with Linux on the server side. This was not my first attempt to use Linux on the desktop, either. But it was my last, because I’m never going back to Windows ever again now.
Valve made a big move when they started their Proton project. That was a key compatibility layer for a more wide-spread adoption.
It was shocking at how fast it went from ‘you can tweak it to run most things’ to ‘I don’t even check to see if the game works anymore before I buy it’.
I just made the switch and probably for good this time, and Steam just working was a HUGE moment for me. I opened up a guide thinking I’d need it, but I just downloaded Steam, didn’t change any settings, and could start playing.
At this point, Linux is more of a “just works” experience than Windows 11 was.
I also made the switch with no plan of looking back, and the only thing was that some odd interaction between the integrated and dedicated GPU caused the Steam UI to not work. The fix was disabling “Hardware accelerated Web” something something, and I was playing shortly after downloading the first game.
Yup this was me back in early October saving an old box I wanted to keep around as a media server.
Before the month’s end all my computers are on one Linux distro or another.