[Colchester] 2021 is the year of the Linux desktop

Mon Jan 11 12:07:18 UTC 2021

You might appreciate that Mikrotik Winbox works perfectly on Linux 
thanks to WINE. It even does the MAC thing if you don't have the IP 
address. You do need to install the Microsoft fonts to make it look nice 
though.

Ubiquiti also support Linux.

On 11/01/2021 11:45, Stewart Larner via Colchester wrote:
> I never even think to use Linux as a Desktop. I think I still have 
> nightmares of the old days of Linux Desktop trying to get stuff to 
> work properly. I used OSX for many years and tbh my 2012 Macbook is 
> still running on the original updated OS.
>
> I guess what's the main thing we use a computer for these days its a 
> web browser!
>
> I might have to give it a go again.
>
> Stewart
>
>
>
> On Mon, 11 Jan 2021 at 11:27, Wayland Sothcott via Colchester 
> <colchester at mailman.lug.org.uk <mailto:colchester at mailman.lug.org.uk>> 
> wrote:
>
>     I do think you are overdue to try Mint again. When you say
>     technical knowledge and tinkering I'm trying to think of what
>     tinkering I do. There is far more tinkering to get Windows set up
>     right than there is in Linux. However there is a bit of tinkering
>     to get WINE to run seamlessly, but that almost counts as Windows.
>     Clearly WINE could be tinker free, look at PROTON in Steam.
>
>     One of the things people are familiar with in Windows is
>     downloading a file from a website and installing. This is perhaps
>     not the most intuitive thing since Microsoft have tried to move
>     people to the app store (which is like a Linux repository).
>     However plenty of websites now detect you're on Linux and give you
>     the Linux version of the download and install experience. This
>     always seems to work with Mint. For example if you go to Valve's
>     SteamPowered website it gives you the Linux install button.
>
>     The other area people seem to think does not work well in Linux is
>     peripherals and hardware. It is worth checking if Linux is
>     mentioned before buying hardware but mostly it's plug and play
>     anyway. I bought an HD webcam and plugged it in and started Zoom
>     and it worked with no tinkering. This is normal rather than the
>     exception.
>
>     Same with graphics cards, they all seem to work from the oldest to
>     the newest. No need to fetch drivers although if you want to mine
>     with a VEGA you might want to install the appropriate driver from
>     AMD. Vulkan is cross platform and is making many games cross
>     platform. Not only that but it's higher performance than
>     Microsoft's DX12.
>
>     The technical skills thing is moot since your average user's
>     Windows skills are no better than their Linux skills. It can be
>     argued that no technical skills are needed to use Linux where as
>     they are needed to use Windows these days. What is a user supposed
>     to do when facing a blue screen reboot and windows repair? This
>     will happen most times a Windows machine crashes or is powered off
>     incorrectly and often results in a system so broken only a techie
>     can get it back. This is since Windows 10. There does not seem to
>     be such a problem on Linux.
>
>     We really have had the crossing of two paths. Linux has got so
>     much better and Windows has got so much worse. For a person who
>     can't fix their own computer, Linux is the better choice.
>
>     25 years since I first used Linux on the desktop and it's now the
>     winner.
>
>
>     On 11/01/2021 10:35, James Pain via Colchester wrote:
>>     I love these xxxx is the year of the linux desktop threads. This
>>     is a great conversation to have and recap where we've gotten to.
>>
>>     It depends on the user. For 90% of computer users, I'm not
>>     convinced linux is the right choice yet. It still requires
>>     technical knowledge and tinkering despite the best efforts of
>>     some distros. This is based on my last distro-hopping session
>>     about 2 years ago. I'm overdue for another. I think Mint and
>>     Manjaro have come a long way and their first-use user experience
>>     is great, but they don't have the maturity of a distro like
>>     OpenSuse or Ubuntu. MX Linux is a new addition to the scene but
>>     had trouble running it on a VM to try it out.
>>
>>     For my use case, if I have one of my mega-privacy conscious
>>     moments and want to try and disconnect from 'The Man' as much as
>>     possible (which I go through every couple years) I'd absolutely
>>     switch out Win 10 for a linux distro. However I won't be
>>     recommending it as a desktop OS for normal users anytime soon though.
>>
>>     I'm overdue for a distro hop session. I might start a new thread
>>     on this maillist when I do.
>>
>>     James Pain
>>
>>
>>     On Mon, 11 Jan 2021 at 01:11, Wayland Sothcott via Colchester
>>     <colchester at mailman.lug.org.uk
>>     <mailto:colchester at mailman.lug.org.uk>> wrote:
>>
>>         No really this time. I know we've been saying this for 25
>>         years but two
>>         things have crossed paths.
>>
>>         Firstly Linux has got really really good. It's easy to
>>         install and use.
>>         It's very very capable. Few things even require windows any
>>         more and
>>         many that do run well under WINE or VirtualBox.
>>
>>         Secondly Windows has been getting worse at every update, some
>>         even
>>         destroy your files. It's impractical to continue on Windows 7
>>         and
>>         Windows 10 is creating more and more problems for people.
>>         With a great
>>         deal of effort it's possible to do a decent Windows install
>>         but then you
>>         find your efforts get trashed on the next update or some
>>         program refuses
>>         to run because it does not like what you did to Windows. Why
>>         is Windows
>>         10 so difficult to network? Windows XP was pretty good at this.
>>
>>         There are more and more examples where the user is delighted
>>         with Linux,
>>         Mint in my case. It still bugs me that I can't run MS Access
>>         on Linux
>>         but then it's getting easier to re-write such things. Moving
>>         the data to
>>         MySQL is a good start. You can then write a new front end
>>         whilst still
>>         using the old one.
>>
>>         Yes we are at the stage where Linux is definitely a better
>>         choice than
>>         Windows, application requirements permitting. If all your
>>         programs run
>>         on Linux then you're better off with Linux.
>>
>>         What are your thoughts on this?
>>
>>         Wayland.
>>
>>         -- 
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>>         Colchester at mailman.lug.org.uk
>>         <mailto:Colchester at mailman.lug.org.uk>
>>         https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/colchester
>>
>>
>
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