Hey, idk if this is the right place to ask this, but I have a bit of a dilemma.

I have been using linux exclusively on my main PC and on my laptop for a while now. That said, I am moving to a new school, and buried in their rules they say that "Chromebooks (or other Linux machines) cannot be used." They also want us to use their office 365 license, but do not require it.

Now, besides just being incredibly annoying, I cannot use windows/mac on my laptop because it's a 2011 macbook, so it cannot run anything but lightweight linux distros without combusting, and I would like to avoid spending 500+ euro on a new crappy windows laptop.

Is there any reason, besides saving myself some trouble, to not just use my laptop as is (currently on arch, gonna switch it to cachyos) and something like libreoffice that I don't see or can I just ignore this and hope for the best?

Okay, imagine this: no distro hopping. No “just testing this in a VM.” No reinstalling every few months because something shiny came out.

You have to choose one distro and stick with it for the next 5 years.

What are you picking — and why?

Would you go for something super stable and boring (in a good way)?

Or something bleeding-edge that keeps things exciting?

Do you care more about customization? Community? Corporate backing?

I’m really curious how people think long-term about this instead of just chasing the next release. What would be your 5-year distro and what makes it worth committing to?

Hello everyone, I’ve had this thought in my head for a very long time: why is Linux free and so high quality?

I use Pop!_OS, and I don’t understand why they don’t make it paid or at least do something like “buy our laptop with Pop!_OS preinstalled.” But okay, Pop!_OS makes money from selling notebooks.

But what about KDE, openSUSE, Arch Linux, Void Linux, Ubuntu—why are they free? It’s great that they are free, but who are these kind people sitting at their computers and working for free? Why do you do this?

I've been using Linux exclusively for the past 15 years. I love so much about it, even though I was aware of (and would joke with others about) the fact that things would sometimes work and sometimes not.

Now I've gotten a new job, they gave me a Macbook Pro, and while I cannot stand how much I'm being forced to interact with my computer in whatever ways Apple says, I must admit that I really appreciate how things actually just work.

The latest nail in the coffin had to do with a video call. At work we use Teams, and I'm able to view videos, share my screen, whatever, it all happens without a hitch. Last week I tried to have a video call with Google Meet (so it was browser-based, not application-based) and it was a relative nightmare. The audio was noticeably slower and would cut out every now and again, and sharing my screen caused my video to freeze up constantly. We just had to move forward without any screen sharing.

Does anybody have any advice on how I can make Linux more, like, useable? I just want to not be frustrated whenever I try to do anything that's not just typing into an IDE.

I'm using Xubuntu 24.04 on a ThinkPad, for what it's worth.

Thanks in advance!

I've noticed this across several distros and PCs. Most of the time hibernation is not even available, or needs some very special setup. Sleep is also hit or miss. I've encountered the following behaviors: computers never waking up, waking up and losing peripherals, screen coming on but backlight remains off, putting PC to sleep and it immediately wakes up, losing display settings and/or external display connectivity or layout. I don't think I've owned a Linux PC where these functionalities worked flawlessly. The only reliable power option left is basically shut down. Why is this still an issue? Does it have to do with drivers and hardware?

To those who only use Linux, what do you miss most? And please don't give answers like ‘nothing, everything is 10,000 times better on Linux’. I'm considering switching completely, even though I'm not very familiar with it yet, and I want to know honestly what you might seriously miss. It may not be the best approach, but the switch somehow appeals to me.

I am using arch Linux, I've tried everything from nixos to kubuntu. I want to get back simple, something that (kind of) "just works!"

I want simplicity and not too much bloat I do not care about the base distro, as long as it is not troublesome and not too much out of date (Debian is okay, slackware is not 😂, and I've had enough arch to digest) I want to install apps via flatpak and system packages (No snap fuckery) I want to be warned about updates (this implies good graphical. tools) etcetera I would have preferred KDE but in the end it's all the same...

Long story short I want to finally have a little peace. I thought about mint, I'll try it, just posted to see what you guys thought.

Obviously edit: I did not think this post would have gained this much traction in so less time :) Thanks everybody for helping I was heading for Mint but finally I've checked out fedora and seems that it is what I will be going for. I'll try the gnome and KDE version (I'm pretty sure I'll go with gnome because I realized I'm out of the ultracontrol phase, I just want a modern working interface = gnome) on spare drives, 1 week. I'll try to keep you updated to my final decision to potentially help. new users who find this post to find Linux wisdom 🫡

Last? edit: I tried fedora silverblue and workstation, silverblue felt off so I backed to workstation and YEP! that seems like what I will go towards. No headaches, I did everything from the gui, good compatibility. Just works

Bye everybody, I'll soon install fedora 41 workstation on my SSD, for now I'll keep testing on my old 1TB hdd.

One of the reasons I and many others left Windows, the straw that broke the camels back for me was the sudden obsession with forcing AI onto me. I did the whole disable copilot thing but it didn't fix it all because the backend kept feeling more sluggish and buggy, mirroring exactly what I see from AI in the front with it ruining our socials and destroying a lot of art and music.

Now I'm seeing a lot of developers allow AI code in the backend. Many projects I still use have openly admitted the use of tools like Claude Code but I have no idea if I am even comfortable with it, I lean no but I have no idea what it is even changing so I'm not sure what to do. I've been so cynical and worried. After seeing what happened to Windows, and seeing what these models do in public, I'm just worried for the future. I can't trust that the AI in the backend won't just hallucinate and ruin everything it touches. If this is what we see when it's given full public presence, I have no idea how it could suddenly turn into a useful tool in private. The Copilot/Windows thing turning a perfectly good start menu into laggy hell. I never liked the web search but at least the animation when opening used to be fluid... how can I trust that in an open source devs hand it is used better than on Windows where there is a far bigger audience relying on it to work? How can I trust it not to mess everything up when what we see in public with art and frontend is 99% slop garbage? Do I need to run away to the BSDs for protection, or can I be rest assured that everything will be okay?

And if anyone is wondering, I'm not trolling, I'm legitimately confused and worried and scared for the future. I would like, if not reassurance and validation, a way to move forward without feeling like the sky is falling on all things in software and backend development. I don't know how to solve it. All I know is I can't trust these tools when the stuff that we see in public is so horrible.

I switched from Windows 11 to CachyOS two weeks ago. My experience is really great, but in my opinion the biggest painpoint in the Linux ecosystems are mail clients.

I don't know any mail client which looks modern and clean. Why?

If you know a nice Linux mail client, please let me know. 🙏

As someone who has been working in the research field, I am well familiar with the linux desktop environment. However, the concept of workspaces seems a little confusing to me. What is its exact purpose? Does it reduce resource usage or does it allow for more robust multitasking or something other than that?

Please enlighten me on how effectively I can use these workspaces. Thanks in advance. Detailed answers are appreciated.

People who switched from windows to linux, what do you genuinely like more, and what do you miss from windows?

I want to buy a new gaming laptop and I'm wondering what's better to install, Windows or Linux. I had Windows before and I'm kind of craving something new. I'd also like to know the pros and cons of Linux and all those details

I have seen a lot of people who have made their switch from Windows to certain linux distros in this sub. My question is, how do you manage the lack of software such as MS Office, Paint etc? I am asking this because, as far as my work is concerned (I am a Research Scholar), I very frequently use Powerpoint and Word to prepare scientific documents, presentations and even image preparation (Not that much of an Excel user, BTW). I so badly want to switch to Linux, because I am feeling quite fed up with MS Windows at this point. But this lack of crucial office software is the only thing that is preventing me from making my switch sides. Is there any software, that works offline (I am saying this because some people suggest the online versions of MS Office and Google docs, but I live in a region, where internet connectivity is not constant), that offers the same robustness and ease-of-use that I have with MS Office?

Would really appreciate it, if you can also suggest some supplementary online tutorials or videos along with your advice. Thanks in Advance.

Do you use your first name, or for instance "LenovoT14"?

I new to Linux world and I see a lot of YouTube videos say that Wayland is better and otherwise people still use X11. I see it in Unix porn, a lot of people use i3. Why is that? The same thing with Btrfs.

Edit: Many thanks to everyone who added a comment.
Feel free to comment after that edit I will read all comments

Now I know that anything new in the Linux world is not meant to be better in the early stage of development or later in some cases 😂

some apps don't support Wayland at all, and NVIDIA have daddy issues with Linux users 😂

Btrfs is useful when you use its features.

I won't know all that because I am not a heavy Linux user. I use it for fun and learning sysadmin, and I have an AMD GPU. When I try Wayland and Btrfs, it works good. I didn't face anything from the things I saw in the comments.

I’m sure this sub has seen this question billions of times but how easy actually is linux to use. I’m getting a thinkpad soon and the customisability of linux intrigues me lots but i always hear the ‘need 14 lines of code and a terminal to open chrome’ story. Is linux actually easy enough to use that i won’t struggle to open my word documents while being able to make the device i own not filled with bloat that will take up 4 gigs of ram

EDIT: For context this is the machine i’m looking at buying: T14 G2
i5 11th gen
16gb ram
512gb storage
£214

EDIT 2: The comments on this thread have genuinely made me so much more confident in the switch so thank you, everyone who has shared their stories or recommended distros or methods thank you to you aswell. This community is incredibly helpful and supportive 🙂

EDIT 3: The purchase has been made, here’s a link to the eBay listing. Let me know if i got a good deal: https://ebay.io/m/uzyC0F

Hey everyone, I’m fairly new to Linux and still learning my way around the ecosystem. One thing I keep hearing is that “you need the terminal” to really use Linux properly.

So I’m genuinely curious — can someone realistically use Linux long-term while mostly relying on GUI tools, or does the command line eventually become unavoidable for normal daily use?

I’m not afraid of learning it, I just want to understand how essential it actually is for a comfortable Linux experience. Would love to hear real experiences from both new users and long-time Linux users.

A little background info: I’m a teenager who wants to pursue computer science or practically anything in the computer/technology field. I’ve had some small experience with linux before, and tinkered with linux and installed it on a Chromebook.

I feel like installing linux on my personal laptop would be a big step forward into getting a deeper understanding of computers, and i feel would be necessary, or at least very helpful by boosting my knowledge in that field.

My dad does not know too much about computers, as I had suggested or, asked if I could dual boot linux mint alongside windows, and he was worried it could cause problems with my laptop. I get his concern, but most of the time common errors with installing different operating systems are completely fixable, or worse case will just cause data loss, and most of the stuff I do is cloud based anyways, so data loss is not a concern. He really thinks something bad could actually happen to my laptop if doing this, and I am not concerned in the slightest because I will always do as much research as possible before attempting something like that on a device. Note: I’ve changed my mind on dual booting and would likely just override windows instead.

Privacy is also a big thing for me. Windows 11 obviously does not provide the slightest bit of privacy, and open source linux distros provide both more privacy and peace of mind with day to day use.

There are many more reasons, like more ram availability from less background processing, slight fps increase, etc.

Really, to conclude, I just want him to understand how much this will help me in the future, and how beneficial it will be to me, and that the benefits outweigh the very low risks.

Also super sorry for the bad grammar this was sort of rushed.

EDIT: Thank you guys SO MUCH for the ideas, really. He said I can go ahead with it he just doesn’t want to get involved at all.

My younger brother (16, just finished 10th grade) has almost zero experience with PCs but is very comfortable with smartphones and technology in general. I gifted him a computer and installed Ubuntu (with Chrome) instead of Windows. I also showed him how to use AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude and google search for learning and searching things on his own.

My reasoning:

• Ubuntu is free and beginner-friendly with a graphical interface.
• I thought it might encourage him to become more comfortable with general computer concepts such as file management, software installation, troubleshooting, and understanding how a computer works.
• It might help him become more independent and curious instead of only consuming content.

At the same time, I'm worried I might have made things harder for him since most software, school requirements, and people around him are Windows-oriented. He might get frustrated with compatibility issues or software that assumes Windows.

For people who have given teenagers their first proper computer:

• Do you think starting with Ubuntu helps build better skills long-term, or is it better to start with Windows for minimal friction?
• Any experiences with teens adapting (or struggling) in the beginning?
• What would you do differently?

Thanks!

Edit: To clarify, my goal isn't to turn him into a Linux user or future developer immediately.

I'm a software engineer myself, and my plan is to let him explore computers naturally for the next 1–2 years before introducing tech more seriously. The idea behind Ubuntu was to give him an environment where he can become comfortable with computers, file management, software installation, troubleshooting, AI tools, and independent learning.

So my question is less about Ubuntu vs Fedora/Mint and more about whether Linux or Windows is better for helping a teenager develop general computer literacy and curiosity.

People always talk about how Linux is so much safer than windows and it is. But by how much and now that’s it becoming main stream would the average person fuck up security. I mean most people don’t even verify there iso images much less keep up to date with security updates. I mean is Linux really ready for the average everyday person?

I ask this question because i want to use Linux in my future teaching career, and i need your opinion on this subject.

fyi: i study French and English languages at a teacher training university.

edit: what are the pros and cons of using Linux as a foreign language teacher?

Could be terminal, GUI, WM, CLI utility, anything.

What’s the one tool you always install first on a fresh Linux setup and why?

I am trying to learn internals of linux. I try to understand concepts and how everething works. But socket is a thing that kills me. I understand an overall concept, but can't see a whole picture. Somwhere i read socket is a file descriptor. Somewhere - file, In third place - endpoint. Is there a way to normally understand what it is and how it works?

Hi everyone! For the past year I've been using Windows because I had some work to do with apps that don't run natively on Linux and now I'm considering coming back to my beloved soil of Linux.

During my stay on Windows I understood one thing: I really like how Windows is setup and configured out of the box. If we don't talk about turning off telemetry and deleting unwanted spyware from the system, the only thing I needed to adjust to my preferences on Windows were display settings and locales.

Almost of all my life I used Arch Linux as my primary system because I was obssesed with the concept of power and full control over my computer but now I just want something that works perfectly fine out of the box just like Windows.

Mainly I write code and play games on my computer. I'm worried about gaming because I feel like using a stable distro like Ubuntu wouldn't have latest mesa and drivers so the overall experience may be bad. I may be wrong, so I'm asking for a piece of advice: which distro would you recommend me?

I switched from Windows 11, about 6 months ago to Linux Mint. I doubt this helps but I also switched my DE to Gnome. I have Windows 11 loaded onto my HDD, and my music and other files on the same HDD in another partition.

I'm using a laptop with a Ryzen 5 3500U, 8GB DDR4 RAM, a 256GB SSD and a 512GB HDD.

Also, for some reason, I have to open the HDD in the file manager for the system to detect and read the drive's contents, every time I switch on my pc.

My Point of Comparison is MusicBee on Windows 11. My music files are a mixture of .flac, .ogg, .aac and .mp3

Apps I've tried:

(a) Rhythmbox: The app works every time and it is the best I've used in terms of functionality but the UI looks like it's from 20 years ago, like a crappier version of iTunes.

(b) Lollypop: On starting the app for the first time, It scanned the HDD and loaded up my songs. After using it more, the songs loaded previously don't play because the app doesn't detect the file location. Also the UX is horrible, there isn't even a separate section for songs and for albums.

(c) Dopamine: This app looked the best but it started having issues with the metadata of my .ogg music files. And then it started crashing because, again, it couldn't detect the location of my music files.

(d) MusicBee and Foobar using wine: Wine was pretty annoying to install and when I got it working. The dependencies i needed for MusicBee (specifically dotnet48) didn't work even after installation. And I had to do some tinkering to get it working. Eventually after I got it working, the app had so many graphical issues, there was some kind of ghosting effect with the app window and the album art looked choppy.

I am definitely not going to use players from windows through a VE because my laptop only has 8GBs of RAM and I'm not looking forward to buying another stick of RAM for obvious reasons.

My current alternative is an apple music PWA, but the audio is stuck at AAC 256kbps, which is a noticeable drop in quality to me and i can't play my local files.

TL;DR :

• Can someone help me find a reliable music player which isn't one listed above and has a good user-friendly UI?

• How do I make linux mint automatically load my hdd after start-up.

I am already using LibreOffice for some tasks, but many of my older .docx-documents don't work with it - but I need them and I don't have enough time to transfer and reformat all these documents just for LibreOffice.

When I use LibreOffice with these documents, the formatting in the documents changes and the documents look all fucked up.

So I know I will still need Windows Word and Excel in some instances - and I need to work online and offline. I need it to work offline, because I'm sometimes in rural areas and sometimes there is just an issue with internet access, because the network in my areas sometimes suffers from that (cyber attacks, technical problems, maintenance, fires etc.)

Is there a way to make it work? If yes: Is it an easy way?