Installed mint on an older computer I had so my oldest daughter could have a pc for school. She has had zero problems using it.
Comment on "You should probably just throw it away"
sanguinepar@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Ugh. I’m going to have to seriously look at Linux, aren’t I?
Absolutely no idea where to start with that, nor whether any of the software I need for work (or indeed anything else) is compatible, not how I’m going to find the time to learn all this.
Bleugh 😔
Pofski@lemmy.world 1 week ago
tias@discuss.tchncs.de 1 week ago
Ubuntu is the typical go-to replacement for Windows as it’s arguably more plug-and-play than other distros.
alternativeto.net is a great place to find Linux alternatives to the software you use. Many products already work on Linux without switching, but some areas might be more difficult. For example depending on your needs you might not find a great drop-in replacement for Photoshop.
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 1 week ago
you might not find a great drop-in replacement for Photoshop.
I’m not a photoshop user, so maybe I’m just being dumb and not getting it, but…isn’t that gimp? I remember that one because the program name “gimp” made me laugh first time I heard it. It’s like a BDSM thing, and then you’re like “Oh, it’s photoshop? My mind went a totally different direction…”
xor@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 week ago
GIMP is really powerful, but goddamn its UX is abysmal, unfortunately
Crashumbc@lemmy.world 1 week ago
This describes, many Linux software suites…
Most of the people devoting time to foss projects are uber technical geeks that at best consider UX design an after thought if they consider it at all.
TBH it’s probably one of the biggest things holding Linux back today.
tias@discuss.tchncs.de 1 week ago
Yes, there are certainly alternatives and there are several with a better UI than GIMP (see Krita and Pixel). But I know there are specific tools and workflows that are missing. Partly it’s probably a matter of finding new ways of accomplishing your goal.
andros_rex@lemmy.world 1 week ago
The name is so stupid, and it is straight up a reference to the character in Pulp Fiction.
Pulp Fiction came out in 1994, GIMP in 1998. “Gimps” as we understand them came entirely from the scene in the movie - like yeah, full bondage suits have always existed but the term “gimp” and that style were invented for the movie (and then became a real thing later).
sanguinepar@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Ah, thanks, that looks a useful site.
Sadly, this is my work as well as personal PC, and Photoshop and Premiere are more or less essential for me. I know there’s Photopea, which can handle PSD files, so that would probably do to replace PS, but not sure about Prem.
Happy to try something else, but it’s finding the time to learn everything again that’s my real issue.
Still though, that’s a great resource, so thanks 👍
tias@discuss.tchncs.de 1 week ago
I mean Adobe is a piece of shit company and if there’s any way you can ditch them, do it. If you can’t, I get it. In that case a Mac is probably the easier way out.
AnAustralianPhotographer@lemmy.world 1 week ago
If nowhere else, make a post on NoStupidQuestions and I’m sure there’s a few people that will help. I made a reply here suggesting raspberry pi os as a good starting point. No command line skills needed and quite a bit of software is available free from Debian (Linux which raspi os is created from).
The user interface is similar with a start menu etc.
If you’ve got a spare PC, I’d use it as a guinea pig system first before moving onto the main system.
sanguinepar@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Thanks, good advice. Will do a bit of research myself first I think.
Sadly no spare PC to try it on at the moment. I do have a laptop running Plex, but don’t really want to mess with that right now.
Maybe I can buy a cheap one to have a play around with first.
Cheers, much appreciated 👍
Irelephant@lemm.ee 1 week ago
Its only 32-bit.
Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 1 week ago
Oof 32-bit support is becoming less and less on all OSes these days. Debian still has 32 bit releases at least
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 1 week ago
Debian is dropping support in the future
Opinionhaver@feddit.uk 1 week ago
The Linux community here on Lemmy is extremely helpful but as a complete novice I’ve found ChatGPT to be quite useful tool for this as well. I can ask it how to do something and if I run into trouble I can just take a picture of the terminal window and it’ll tell me where the issue is.
People would probably advice not to insert code into terminal, given by an LLM that you don’t even understand but the alternative is to put that same blind faith onto a stranger on a messaging board. In my experience the options are either to do that or not use Linux at all - unless you first spend few years learning it all yourself.
sanguinepar@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Oh ok, cool - although I’ve actually never used Chat GPT either (I sound like a total luddite here, I know!)
Thanks for the tip though, will keep it in mind 👍
swelter_spark@reddthat.com 1 week ago
Most distros have official forums, and may have sections specifically for people using Linux for the first time, which can also be great sources of information.
Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
Is your hardware not W11 compatible or you just don’t want to upgrade? Because you can just install and choose English UK during installation and that will solve most issues…
Lv_InSaNe_vL@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Or if you just use Rufus there’s a checkbox you can select to disable the TPM check, and disable the “force online account” thing too.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 1 week ago
Rufus is flagged as malware by Microsoft
Lv_InSaNe_vL@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Really? Ive never been notified of it. And I just checked on my work laptop too
tabularasa@lemmy.ca 1 week ago
More people need to see this comment.
sanguinepar@lemmy.world 1 week ago
It’s compatible, but I don’t want to go to W11. Plus, I’ve been thinking for a while that I should check out Linux, but just never have the time.
swampdownloader@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 week ago
What does UK change?
Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
Different laws, Microsoft is more limited in what they can push to UK users. Works with any European countries really…
sanguinepar@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Ah, I’m actually in the UK, so maybe this is good news for me! :-)
0x0@programming.dev 1 week ago
Linux Mint is one of the most recommended for newbies.
You can use a live CD/USB to try it out without installing.
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Mint, Zorin, and Ubuntu are the ones I always hear.
nevermind@lemm.ee 1 week ago
By newbie do you mean people who don’t know anything about computers ie me?
maniclucky@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Yes. It’s probably the friendliest Linux distro. But there’s still a learning curve so don’t go in thinking it’s as plug and play as Windows.
Source: Tech savvy guy that changed over recently
peterg@mstdn.plus 1 week ago
@maniclucky @nevermind
Linux is indeed the friendliest of the Linux distros but one still needs at least a bit of experience with installing OS. The fundamental problem with Windows is that it comes pre installed on everything and most people had never needed to install an OS.
@nevermind, you need to find a friend who's done it or someone online willing to walk you though it. It's not very difficult but if you've never done it it could be a bit weird.
nevermind@lemm.ee 1 week ago
Thanks!
I won’t even ask what plug and play means…
StopTouchingYourPhone@lemmy.world 1 week ago
idk if this is going to help or not, but I’ve had Mint on every machine since 2010. If this laptop I’m using were a car, I’d say I’ve learned to change a tire and I’ve learned where to go for answers to problems as they come up, but that’s it. I remember being worried I’d bork everything the first install, but instructions are absolutely For Dummies (thank fuck). Easier than putting an Ikea desk together imo.
Tried changing distros a few times to see what the fuss was, but I actually just don’t care, and that’s ok. You don’t have to care about everything. I also buy the same jeans all the time and no one gaf about that.
Though if you DO enjoy shopping around (or find you’re intrigued by the possibilities and want to play) here’s one place to get a lay of the land that’s been a cool, helpful hub over the years that even I find accessible, and that’s saying something.
Anecdotal: I’ve never been locked out of anything to do with work that I couldn’t find an easy work-around for (the MS threat). It’s nbd.
0x0@programming.dev 1 week ago
I’d mean people who don’t know linux in particular but are marginally tech-savy.
Mint has been described as “the distro your granny can use” (and some do), but it does require some knowledge to at least install it — but it’s nothing a tutorial somewhere won’t help with, it’s a low bar.
sanguinepar@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Ah, interesting - that could definitely be an option, thanks 👍
SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 1 week ago
What’s a CD?
0x0@programming.dev 1 week ago
It’s like a vinyl record, but fancier.
SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Waaaaay less fancy