Linux Give me reasons for switching from windows to linux (Ubuntu)

I am using Windows 11 and Debian Sid extensively. I won't switch to a Linux distro as my primary driver until they allow me to watch 4K Netflix videos (DRM), have a comparable option to WinHello (which I use to unlock my devices and my password manager), and improve their security. Windows, with features like UAC, VBS, WDAC and various Exploit Protections is currently a generation ahead of any Linux distro in terms of security.

It's called Security Theatre. To help corporate C level executives sleep soundly at night because they can CYA themselves when there's a breach in their systems.
 
Hi people

I installed Ubuntu as dual boot and have been using for few days. So far I like it and will be on Linux. The command line is so insane. All updates in one command. Whoa. But no gaming on linux is the only drawback, but it is excellent for coding environment.

Thanks guys
Now do this:

Setup VirtualBox in Windows, install Ubuntu. Enable mounting of a folder from Windows in Linux VM that you installed in VirtualBox. Use that for storing your code. You can code from both Windows and Linux. You don't have to do a dual boot and keep switching. You can switch between your gaming session and coding sessions without rebooting.

This is the way.
 
Things have changed a lot these days.
Steam is there on Linux along with proton/wine which allows most games to run.
Steam deck runs on linux.

But probably RT/DLSS etc don't work yet.
Games work but nothing can run like windows. Full-fledged details and full resource capabilities, optimizations etc.
Linux/mac are just secondary when it comes to gaming.
Linux/mac were never made keeping this in mind.
Now dont mix-up consoles here.
 
Hi people

I installed Ubuntu as dual boot and have been using for few days. So far I like it and will be on Linux. The command line is so insane. All updates in one command. Whoa. But no gaming on linux is the only drawback, but it is excellent for coding environment.

Thanks guys
What do you mean by no gaming? There's Steam on Linux.

Games work but nothing can run like windows. Full-fledged details and full resource capabilities, optimizations etc.
Linux/mac are just secondary when it comes to gaming.
Linux/mac were never made keeping this in mind.
Now dont mix-up consoles here.
1080p games and in some cases 1440 games run faster on Linux (usually 5% more FPS).
 
Hi people

I installed Ubuntu as dual boot and have been using for few days. So far I like it and will be on Linux. The command line is so insane. All updates in one command. Whoa. But no gaming on linux is the only drawback, but it is excellent for coding environment.

Thanks guys
Try Lutris to install and run your games. Or Steam.

I used Lutris to install the Epic Games Client, and have used that to install and run a few games that Epic gave away, like Borderlands 2.
 
Games work but nothing can run like windows. Full-fledged details and full resource capabilities, optimizations etc.
Linux/mac are just secondary when it comes to gaming.
Linux/mac were never made keeping this in mind.
Now dont mix-up consoles here.
Native ports sometimes can be lacking, i remember Metro had missing details long long ago.

But steam/proton uses windows version of games and translates stuff - ex DX12 to vulkan etc.

From what i have played, it works pretty well. But granted i prefer to work on Linux and try not to game as much. Someone with more experience can reply.
Steam deck is on x86 and uses linux and uses proton - same as desktop Linux. So nothing to mix up.
It is the work done by valve for steam deck that has polished up wine to become actually widely usable.

Things evolve, Nothing is made with only something in mind. People work on their interests.

Anyway, Don't understand the negativity. He said we cant game, i said we can. Its not perfect but is very good now vs what it used to be.
Didn't even imagine we could get this far so soon. I used to only be able to work on Windows and game on windows and only other stuff on Linux.
Now i did some work and moved completely to Linux for work. And i believe i can play most of the games in my library on linux.

Anyway, i am no expert. OP is not interested anymore. I have said what i had to say, good day.
 
Hi people

I am into coding and my friend always suggests me to switch to ubuntu.
So far I have not had any problems with Windows 11 and want you opinions on whether to switch to linux (Ubuntu).
You can. If you want to invest time figuring out how to do things, which you already know how to on Windows. You will hit a frustration wall--and may go back. I have at times found it difficult to install libraries on Linux instances which worked easily in Windows. Example: fbprophet. We migrated a lot of prod code to Linux long back, but had to leave some pieces on Windows. Resulting in disjointed; forced changed architecture used via API. See the bigger picture, vs friends advising.
 
Talking about security and Linux. I have a question. Does Linux provide full user level hardware encryption?

See, most of instances of Linux run in Cloud today. They are hosted in virtualization platforms like proxmox for you. While using your linux instance, you can't access the data you don't have permission to. But what about those thousands of engineers working in the data warehouse? They have full physical access to storage. Can't they read into your linux instance?

Setup VirtualBox in Windows, install Ubuntu. Enable mounting of a folder from Windows in Linux VM that you installed in VirtualBox. Use that for storing your code. You can code from both Windows and Linux. You don't have to do a dual boot and keep switching. You can switch between your gaming session and coding sessions without rebooting.
Why not WSL2?

Linux can be installed from MS store like a netflix app. It runs almost as fast as native, is highly optimized and works seamlessly. MS has poured millions into giving first class citizen support to Linux. You can use linux GUI apps right from windows desktop (without having to open Linux desktop)
 
Why not WSL2?


Linux can be installed from MS store like a netflix app. It runs almost as fast as native, is highly optimized and works seamlessly. MS has poured millions into giving first class citizen support to Linux. You can use linux GUI apps right from windows desktop (without having to open Linux desktop)

I remember installing wsl2 on my Windows to get Apache Airflow. There is a learning curve, specially when mounting drives to transfer data from Win to Lin. Once the Airflow server was up, I could not ping the local host. Needed a lot of playing around. We then just put it all on an ec2 node. Simpler. But wsl2 is a good option, agree.
 
As long as you don't hate windows desktop experience (i personally don't like it) there is no need to switch and what's wrong with you and your friends have you never heard about wsl2 ?

Hi people

I installed Ubuntu as dual boot and have been using for few days. So far I like it and will be on Linux. The command line is so insane. All updates in one command. Whoa. But no gaming on linux is the only drawback, but it is excellent for coding environment.

Thanks guys
You can pretty much play all the games on Linux apart from few with kernel level anty cheats. But I agree it's not as easy as windows sometimes.

Talking about security and Linux. I have a question. Does Linux provide full user level hardware encryption?

See, most of instances of Linux run in Cloud today. They are hosted in virtualization platforms like proxmox for you. While using your linux instance, you can't access the data you don't have permission to. But what about those thousands of engineers working in the data warehouse? They have full physical access to storage. Can't they read into your linux instance?
Encryption at rest is the standard for any reputable cloud provider and most of them even provided you ablity to use your own CMK, and on top of that the os running the vm can choose to encrypt the disk too wether it's *nix or window.
 
1) Windows continues to take steps to improve security.


2) Security on Linux continues to be a concern.
I recommend OpenSuse MicroOS for those who wish to use Linux as their desktop OS. It's an immutable OS with robust SELinux policies. To run your apps, you will need to use flatpaks & containers.
Also, keep an eye on Ubuntu Core Desktop, which is set to be released next year.

There is hope for Linux security if they drop X, PulseAudio, and implement some sort of virtualization technology for the kernel, as well as whitelisting apps based on digital certificates. Microsoft and Google have shared some Proof of Concept (POC) ideas. I hope these concepts make their way into the kernel in the future.

3) I have switched from Windows 11 to ChromeOS Flex on non-gaming devices. Eventually, I plan to replace all these devices with Chromebooks/Chromeboxes. ChromeOS may not be suitable for everyone, but I appreciate the seamless integration with Android devices as well as the runtime security. I believe it is the only desktop OS that has effectively addressed all security challenges.
 
Talking about security and Linux. I have a question. Does Linux provide full user level hardware encryption?

See, most of instances of Linux run in Cloud today. They are hosted in virtualization platforms like proxmox for you. While using your linux instance, you can't access the data you don't have permission to. But what about those thousands of engineers working in the data warehouse? They have full physical access to storage. Can't they read into your linux instance?
Physical security at the data center is a topic in itself. but, few clarifications here...
1. The virtualization platforms are not "like proxmox" They are usually custom solutions based on KVM/XEN
2. "Thousands of engineers working in the data warehouse" - Usually data centers dont have 0 people working there. The people who enter data centers usually are very few.
3. Cant they read into your linux instance? NO.
 
Recent revelation
I was always suggesting ubuntu for desktop replacement on pc and laptops as I find it really stable and easy to use but I have this old dell laptop which i wanted to install linux on. Ubuntu always gives me problems with WiFi drivers. I have used ubuntu extensively in enterprise settings where the systems are connected using ethernet and never using wifi so it worked well everytime but with this particular laptop it doesnt. I kind of came to a conclusion that the NetworkManager is pile of garbage. in enterprise settings we simply used to disable it and configure networking directly so we never faced this problem but with wifi its a different set of ethernet drivers and they are badly designed (my opinion). you have to do 20 different things to connect to a network. like create a connection using one command and configure ssid with a different command and such.

So, I switched to mint linux which is also based on debian and it works flawlessly. It aggressively scans for networks and gives you notifications when you lose connectivity and works flawlessly. just like windows or macos. I am kinda loving this distribution for desktops/laptops. I still feel that they should scrap network manager and systemd.
 
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