Comment on Microsoft is plugging more holes that let you use Windows 11 without an online account
colournoun@beehaw.org 3 weeks agoHello, friend. There will be gatekeepers in any community, but there are many Linux users willing to share their knowledge and experience with others.
I think the best way to adopt Linux is to jump in with both feet. Your productivity will take a hit for a while, but will grow as you learn how to do your daily tasks in Linux. Dual-booting is a complicated trap, and running a virtual machine is cumbersome. Buying or assembling a new machine dedicated to Linux will make switching easier. Normal internet browsing and web-based applications will generally work without problems, but you should check for any Windows-only applications that you can’t live without. Gaming on Linux is better than it ever has been, but there are some games that just won’t run on Linux. Avoid Nvidia graphics due to driver complexities.
Here are a couple of articles that might help: zdnet.com/…/thinking-about-switching-to-linux-thi… drewdevault.com/…/How-new-Linux-users-succeed.htm…
While I wouldn’t recommend Arch for a new user, their wiki has a lot of deep technical info adaptable to most distros. wiki.archlinux.org
Gaming on Linux is better than it ever has been, but there are some games that just won’t run on Linux.
Is there any way of telling which ones will and won’t run on Linux? How does running them on Linux differ from Windows?
Avoid Nvidia graphics due to driver complexities.
Well, I’m fucked if that’s the case as both my machines have Nvidia GPUs.
Protondb.com.
And no, nvidia runs pretty smooth on modern linux. I run ZorinOS with intel + nvidia and have no problem
So I’d need to check that site for every game I want to play? Presumably if there isn’t a user report for whatever distro I’m using (how do you go about choosing one? Guessing from your comment that some work better with certain components than others) the only option is to buy the game in the hope of it working whilst preparing for X hours of faffing about to get it to work?
Protondb also looks to be focused on Steam, I’m guessing it’s like MacOS where if it’s a game not on Steam then you’re shit out of luck if there isn’t a Linux specific version?
Presumably if there isn’t a user report for whatever distro I’m using
Distro is unlikely to matter, as long as you don’t pick a really obscure one. And even then, flatpaks will probably work fine.
Protondb also looks to be focused on Steam, I’m guessing it’s like MacOS where if it’s a game not on Steam then you’re shit out of luck if there isn’t a Linux specific version?
Steam is the easiest to work with and most well-supported. But there are other managers like Heroic Launcher and Lutris that can cover non-steam. Knowing whether a game can run on proton/wine outside of Steam does likely require a google search, though. Most things can be made to work as long as the game doesn’t require kernel-level anticheat (e.g. Destiny and BF6).
I’m guessing it’s like MacOS where if it’s a game not on Steam then you’re shit out of luck if there isn’t a Linux specific version?
In addition to the options hamsterkill said, I run a lot of non-Steam games through Steam without issue. I’ve even run non-game software through it.
it’s like MacOS where if it’s a game not on Steam then you’re shit out of luck if there isn’t a Linux specific version?
No it’s not. I don’t even have Steam installed & play games just fine. You can use Bottles or Lutris to run the games, I recommend Bottles. The downside is that you’ll have to learn how to use these tools. For example you’ll not only need to fiddle with settings, but also with dependency dll files. Chatgpt can sometimes help & tell you which dlls are needed by which game. (at least when I asked it about Oblivion Remaster & Horizon Zero Dawn it knew)
Lutris has the advantage of community installers where you don’t have to figure things out, but it’s annoying that they’ll force you to log into Gog Galaxy and such for your downloaded installers & Lutris may not have a force offline sandboxed mode if you don’t want the software you run to report home.
Nvidia still has its pains, but it’s certainly daily drivable now.
Is there any way of telling which ones will and won’t run on Linux?
It’s very easy, if a game doesn’t have invasive data thieving anticheat, then it will run on Linux, otherwise it won’t. Sometimes it takes some fiddling, but pretty much anything at least a month old without anti will run.
It’s very easy, if a game doesn’t have invasive data thieving anticheat, then it will run on Linux, otherwise it won’t.
Can you be clearer about this? The majority of games I play on PC are online multiplayer.
Here’s a nice list.
areweanticheatyet.com/?search=&sortOrder=desc&sor…
Online multiplayer games are the most likely to have anti cheat. EA (Battlefield) is the most visible unsupported one. They view running under any virtualization or compatibility layer as an opportunity for cheating, so they intentionally deny it. EasyAntiCheat supports running in Linux, but not all game developers enable it. The success of the Steam Deck is starting apply pressure to change this, though.
icelimit@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
That last point is why I still can’t switch. My favourite game is shit on amd/ATI.
Vodulas@beehaw.org 2 weeks ago
I disagree with colournoun. Nvidia is not complex, you just have to find distros that work better with it. I us pop_OS with a 2080 and have had zero issues. They have an Nvidia specific install option and it is super easy to install and use.
colournoun@beehaw.org 2 weeks ago
True, nvidia does work great when it’s configured properly. Those distros that have the nvidia specific install option have done the work to do the extra config and keep it up to date. My preferred distro is not one of those. If I was buying new gpu hardware, I would go with one that has a fully open source driver.
Vodulas@beehaw.org 2 weeks ago
For sure if you are already planning a hardware change, but but with the state of the world, using what you have is the only option for a lot of folks.
One of the great things about Linux is choice. I try not to discourage options, even if it is not my preference