I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Desktop experience and “agenda-driven” OSes

  • Many commenters say Windows and macOS now feel like ad- and subscription-driven platforms, pushing cloud services, AI, and UI experiments users didn’t ask for.
  • Linux is framed as a “breath of fresh air”: fewer dark patterns, no forced accounts, no ads in the shell, and the ability to truly own and modify the system.
  • Others push back that Linux also has strong opinions (Wayland-only pushes, GNOME deprecations, systemd dependence), so it’s not entirely “whatever you want”.
  • Several long-time Linux users emphasize: modern distros are stable and require no more tinkering than Windows/macOS, with the key difference that problems are fixable by the user.

Distros, workflows, and immutability

  • Popular picks in the thread: Fedora (incl. Silverblue/Bazzite/Bluefin), Debian + KDE, Linux Mint, Kubuntu, Pop!OS/COSMIC, NixOS, CachyOS, EndeavourOS, Nobara.
  • Immutable/atomic distros (Bazzite, Silverblue, Bluefin) get praise for reliability and gaming; dev workflows often rely on containers (Docker, devcontainers, distrobox, Homebrew).
  • Some prefer classic distros because they don’t want to adapt workflows to immutability; others report container-centered dev on immutable systems “just works”.

Gaming on Linux

  • Multiple reports of “zero regrets” gaming on Linux: Steam + Proton runs most libraries well; some older games even work better than on modern Windows.
  • Pain points remain: anti‑cheat titles, edge cases like specific indie shooters, and Minecraft Bedrock (some mention MCPE Launcher or GeyserMC as workarounds).
  • Influencer coverage (e.g., Linux benchmarks on large channels) is seen as important for broader adoption.
  • GPU story: AMD generally “just works”; Nvidia is workable but still a source of sporadic issues. Some resort to GPU passthrough VMs for the last few Windows-only titles.

Hardware, laptops, battery, and drivers

  • Desktop support is described as “basically solved” if you choose friendly hardware; laptops remain trickier: sleep, Wi‑Fi, ACPI/UEFI quirks, and inconsistent battery life.
  • There’s a long, contentious subthread comparing ARM MacBooks’ exceptional battery life to Linux on x86; many argue that comparing them directly is unfair, but others say user expectations have changed.
  • Printers and scanners are still a recurring sore spot; some report flawless plug‑and‑play (often with Brother), others years of frustration.

Non‑technical users, migration, and tooling

  • Several anecdotes of parents and elderly relatives running GNOME, KDE, or Mint happily for years with minimal support, especially when machines are preinstalled or set up by someone else.
  • Common migration frictions: tax software tied to Windows, OneDrive/Office 365 and Teams in corporate environments, backup tooling, and no automatic import of Windows files during install.
  • LLMs (including Claude/Claude Code) are increasingly used to generate configs, dconf tweaks, NixOS setups, and scripting—seen as lowering the “Linux nerd” barrier.