This became relevant specially after 2023
You’re in a linux loving, windows hating bubble here on Lemmy. There is no significant number of people migrating from windows to linux according to any metric we have.
Why there are a lot of people migrating from Windows to Linux these days?
Submitted 14 hours ago by ryujin470@fedia.io to [deleted]
Comments
FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au 4 hours ago
rfr_Foglia@feddit.it 1 hour ago
Linux is growing according to the data, but at a slow pace www.gamingonlinux.com/steam-tracker/#engsplitanch…
pathief@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
… But so is Windows
Bwaz@lemmy.world 4 hours ago
Copilot. Win11 working only on mew hardware. Win10 going out of support. Basic bloated operation with little concern for what users want.
JTskulk@lemmy.world 8 hours ago
The short version is 2 reasons:
- Microsoft requires Windows 11 computers to have special new hardware that not all computers have. Security updates for Windows 10 ends in 3 months. Many people are faced with a choice of buying a new computer, or installing Linux on their current one to save money. Others realize how much Windows 11 sucks shit and switch because Linux is better.
- Gaming on Linux has gotten a lot better recently. For many people, this was the main thing holding them back. Software support in general is better than ever.
HuntressHimbo@lemmy.zip 14 hours ago
There are a few different factors. I think the most is that the lifecycle for windows 10 is ending. Microsoft is pushing the upgrade, but 11 has Recall which is essentially AI spyware. Many folks are trying to push Linux instead of upgrading when support is fully cut off
vane@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
Because Valve showed people that linux is not so bad after all. Might be also that people can ask ChatGPT for help and Microsoft is financing it’s own funeral.
nemo@piefed.social 14 hours ago
Windows 10 is no longer receiving security updates
Not all machines that ran W10 are capable of running W11
W11 is full of AI integration, always-on data collection, and other no-sell bloatware
Linux is easier to use than ever and free
fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 hours ago
W11 is full of AI integration, always-on data collection, and other no-sell bloatware
Windows 10 is the exact same BS, but 10% less in your face AI. Have people really been frog boiled this badly?
psmgx@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Much of that dubious functionality can be turned off in Win10. Not so in AI heavy Win11
aGlassDarkly@piefed.social 8 hours ago
I certainly was pre-Steam Deck, religiously looking after every Windows update for how I’d have to debloat the thing. After seeing firsthand how easy the SD was, I figured even my dumb ass can manage to search for instructions. Laptop is on Nobara now. Sometimes I have problems, but they’re rarer than they were in Windows and an easy search has solved them all so far.
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Windows 10 is no longer receiving security updates
I thought it was until October?
SolidShake@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
Well this ain’t true lmao. Win 11 is almost the same as 10. I have 0 “ai integration” on my PC. I don’t even have cloud files on one drive. And the most “bloatware” are just windows apps like calendar or contacts etc which can just be uninstalled.
Linux is also not easier to use than ever, you still need to Google every day basic functions like installing programs etc and you still have to learn terminal commands. Like cool you feel that way about windows I guess but you’re spreading misinformation
BombOmOm@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
And the most “bloatware” are just windows apps
The Windows 11 Pro edition at my work had an entry for Whatsapp in the start menu after a fresh install…
This “Pro” edition had a popup ad for one of Microsoft’s games pushed as a notification. Literally a popup ad for a game in a Professional edition of the software. Something my company paid extra for.
I have 0 “ai integration” on my PC.
I’m constantly playing wack-a-mole with Copilot. It’s in Notepad by default…
Yeah, there is a reason my home PCs are all Linux Mint.
NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 13 hours ago
Linux Mint is exactly as easy to use as Windows, if not easier. In Windows you also needed to google every day basic functions, but I guess for you personally that was so long ago that you don’t remember. On Windows you also need to use the terminal for some things, like removing some of their bloatware (xbox bullshit, for example).
There are some specific points I kind of agree with you about, but I don’t agree with your general sentiment. Linux is easier to use than ever.
Reference4054@lemmy.zip 13 hours ago
Uh, he right though. If you think you have to use terminal and google for everything in Linux… that’s just nonsense. Lol
I made the change a couple years ago and Linux runs circles around Windows now and is pretty easy to use.
If you’re happy with windows, use it. I’m not going to waste any brain cycles arguing against someone else’s computer preference. But quit with the terminal and hard to use shit with Linux. That shit is about a decade outdated. I can’t even think of the last time I have needed to use terminal.
BassTurd@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
You may have disabled copilot, but it installed and integrated into the Win 11 operating system. It takes 1 update to re-enable it without your consent. If there weren’t precedent, that wouldn’t really be a valid argument, but it wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened.
Linux Mint is easier to use out of the box than any version of Windows. It is 100% usable without typing a single terminal command. If you learn apt-get, it extends functionality and is basically 1 command, which again, is optional.
To install applications it’s as simple as opening Software Manager, selecting the app, and installing. The app store is better than whatever windows has installed by a country mile.
On a fresh install it has a full libre office suite, all of the basic apps like calculator, and many others. If you don’t want that, it can be prevented at installation.
It is inherently more secure, and updates won’t revert settings or install malware like Windows updates.
Major version updates will always support old hardware. There will never be a situation like Windows 11 not supporting older hardware.
The only thing the Windows has over Linux is proprietary apps for a lot of products. For the average and most above average users, that’s irrelevant. There are options for most fields but not all. For most people, life exists in a web browser, and that works better on Linux.
SatyrSack@lemmy.sdf.org 13 hours ago
you still need to Google every day basic functions like installing programs etc
To be fair, I had to do that when I tried macOS for a while years back. That is just part of learning to use any new operating system. But after a while, once you understand the basics, you will no longer need to use a reference for the basics. Linux is no different in that regard.
you still have to learn terminal commands
The only time I use the terminal is for things that are just simpler to automate via a command line. Things that I would be using a command line to achieve if I were using Windows/macOS. The kinds of things that I do in Termux on Android.
FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au 4 hours ago
Linux is also not easier to use than ever,
Not to mention doesn’t play nicely with GPUs made by the overwhelming market leader, nvidia.
trinsec@piefed.social 13 hours ago
Linux and Windows are probably just equally as difficult to use to the average user. Might as well go Linux with less obnoxious features like copilot and recall. My dad was a Windows user for many many years, but he still knew zilch about how to solve problems in Windows. The average user would need to google anyway, no matter which OS.
And with the right distro (Linux Mint for example) you would have zero interactions with the terminal. Everything's done via the GUI, just like Windows.
I've had to interact with weird things in Windows lately which I had to google up like 'open the run programs and type in srvcmngmt.msc' or whatever that was again. Something that apparently couldn't have been done via the GUI. Great job!
For the record I am still mainly a Windows user.
FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au 4 hours ago
Windows 10 is no longer receiving security updates
hddsx@lemmy.ca 13 hours ago
Linux is free? I think you need to have a talk with the folks over at IBM about RHEL or the folks over at EQT about SLES
anothermember@feddit.uk 12 hours ago
Free as in freedom. But also free as in cost for most PC use cases. Red Hat and SUSE are mostly selling enterprise services.
TheRedSpade@lemmy.world 7 hours ago
Even the companies behind paid distros tend to release free versions. What they’re really charging for is support.
ItsComplicated@sh.itjust.works 13 hours ago
I can only answer why I dropped Windows. I wasn’t going to pay a company to force AI spyware onto my system, ignore my commands with every update that negated them, or hold my data hostage if I didn’t jump through their endless hoops; all to claim my data as theirs with their end goal being to charge me more money for accessing what is supposed to be mine in the first place!
phoenixz@lemmy.ca 11 hours ago
Pretty much this for me too, only I already switched in 2002. It really wasn’t that hard leaving windows behind, even back then
Feyd@programming.dev 11 hours ago
The fact they keep trying harder and harder to make me switch off a local account is reason enough.
Jankatarch@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
Because windows won’t do with old laptops and 3 years is apparently enough to consider a laptop old nowadays.
Supervisor194@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
For me it’s because it seems evident that Microsoft wants Windows to be saas and here’s the thing: I don’t like Windows that much. For over 20 years now, I’ve preferred Linux for server stuff and Mac for daily driver stuff, I’ve only tolerated Windows, mainly for gaming.
Since Windows 7 died (I skipped 8 altogether and reluctantly have been dealing with 10 with lots of hacks to keep it locked down), I have only been barely tolerating it - and games were the sole reason.
Well, Proton has now obliterated that, conveniently right as Microsoft has decided that what people REALLY need is for them to be 100% shit. I refuse to install 11. So I’m out.
trinsec@piefed.social 13 hours ago
Windows 10 is about to be end-of-life this October. You probably think 'just update your OS to Windows 11', but many computers are deemed unfit for Windows 11 by Microsoft.
In order to move on to Windows 11, many people, and I do really mean a ridiculously large amount of people would need to buy a new computer or laptop. In the meantime their old systems are still fit for everyday use, so there is quite a lot of e-waste coming up.
Instead of just dumping the old computers you can just put Linux on them and continue using them. Linux costs nothing, just time. So if you don't have specialized software which absolutely must have Windows, you might as well just switch to Linux and keep using your old systems which are still perfectly fine for your everyday needs.
My old gaming laptop that I still use right now is from 2018. It does have the TPM 2.0 chip that Windows 11 requires, but its CPU is like just one generation too old for it. So, what do I do? When Windows 10 stops getting its updates, throw it away? Naw man, Linux will work. You can even game on Linux just fine as the Steam Deck has proven already, so I'll just switch my sweet laptop over to Linux and continue using it as usual.
FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au 4 hours ago
So, what do I do? When Windows 10 stops getting its updates, throw it away?
Windows 10 won’t just stop working in October. As long as you’re not an idiot you can safely use Windows 10 PCs connected to the internet for the next decade.
Microsoft have also announced ways to get extended updates to it til Oct 2026 too btw.
BombOmOm@lemmy.world 3 hours ago
you can safely use Windows 10 PCs connected to the internet for the next decade.
Do not, absolutely do not, hook an OS that is no longer receiving security updates to the internet. Out-of-date machines can get pwned simply by being on a network or loading a website’s ad, no user interaction required. Vulnerabilities are discovered, never patched, and thereafter every script kiddy can get in with little effort.
shalafi@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
This is not happening in the wider world, not on any appreciable scale. Here comes lemmy:
“NOAW! People ARE switching in DROVES!”
LOL, the vast majority of people can’t spell Linux.
rfr_Foglia@feddit.it 1 hour ago
Some people are switching and the Linux user base is growing at a reasonable pace though
MushuChupacabra@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Because Microsoft insists on treating its users with contempt.
With Linux, you don’t need to replace your computer if it is capable of running Windows 10. For many, hardware upgrades are a requirement if they wish to stick with Microsoft. Installing a Linux distro will extend the life cycle of an older machine, at no cost.
That’s too much value at zero personal cost to ignore.
NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 13 hours ago
To add to what others have said, I think Steam OS is making huge waves and that’s a really strong force.
FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au 4 hours ago
On the flip side, SteamOS and the “success” of the steam deck is giving people here a false sense of “OMG THE YEAR OF LINUX IS FINALLY HERE!!!” because most people that buy a steam deck aren’t really “using linux” in the way that OP is talking about. They just bought a game console, and that game consoles OS is based on linux. There isn’t any significant increase in people running Linux on their laptops or desktop computers.
rfr_Foglia@feddit.it 1 hour ago
Isn’t it the same if people use a steam deck or a computer? More people => more support for Linux software, regardless if they use the steam deck or not
NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 2 hours ago
That’s true for a lot of people, but I truly believe a very significant number of people are being exposed to Linux this way and will stick with it long-term. It will be a while until we see that reflected in the desktop and laptop statistics.
I haven’t used SteamOS (or even seen many videos of it), but from what I’ve heard it’s not shy about being a desktop operating system. Even the Steam Deck, which is marketed as a console like you said, lets you use it in desktop mode and run any Linux software without having to jump through any hoops. This isn’t like Android which is technically Linux deep under the hood but effectively completely detached from the Linux ecosystem. SteamOS is part of the Linux desktop ecosystem, and it’s proud of it.
radix@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Win10 EOL is surely driving some people away, but it’s difficult to put a number on that. Measuring by market share is tricky and can be misleading. Steam Deck popularity may be driving increased usage, but those users aren’t necessarily migrating their main OS, just adding a new machine to the mix. But maybe “migrating” their time spent in a given OS counts? It’s messy.
lennee@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
recently switched from macos to arch linuxans ive never been so happy with an OS
spittingimage@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
The user experience. The Windows user experience just gets worse and worse while Linux gets better and better.
Kolanaki@pawb.social 12 hours ago
Because Windows 11 sucks the biggest one ever.
Crozekiel@lemmy.zip 13 hours ago
The amount of work I was spending to fight the recurring bloat of shit in Windows 10 was eating away at me for years… I had the OS drive in my computer die a little over 2 years ago, so I was having to re-install windows from scratch on a new drive, and going through the install process, see skype and one-drive horse-shit popping up - disabling both, running updates, and they pop back up again… It just killed my spirit. I went distro searching that same day. My laptop followed suit about 6 months later. MS will be very hard pressed to win me back.
Brkdncr@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Source?
deadcatbounce@reddthat.com 13 hours ago
Quite a few people have come to their senses. It’s taken thirty years but … hey … Rome not built in a day.
Blaster_M@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Because these people don’t have to run Quickbooks
The_Decryptor@aussie.zone 9 minutes ago
I switched a year ago, after trying and failing multiple times over the years whenever I gave it a try.
I find I’m a lot more willing to let issues slide though, like I’ve had some Thunar crashes which I’m cool with since there’s like 4 devs maintaining it, vs. the multi-billion dollar company working on Explorer which I expect better from. Also unsurprisingly the only actual shop-stopper issue I’ve had was with a memory leak in the Nvidia drivers, the actual FLOSS stuff has been great.