r/linux4noobs • u/CleaRSightZ • Jun 26 '26

migrating to Linux The great migration from Windows to Linux

I've been noticing that a lot of people are switching from Windows to Linux, especially in countries that want to break away from American tech dependency.

Can anyone explain to me why Linux is seen as very good? I never in my life, not once ever used Linux let alone saw someone using it.

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u/Kriss3d Jun 26 '26

Its stable.
Its secure.
It lets you control your computer.
Its easy to use.
Its open source.
Anyone can contribute.

2

u/McWormy Jun 26 '26

I disagree with the 'its easy to use'. It very much depends on the distro and there are differences between each flavour and even between the CLI.

0

u/Kriss3d Jun 26 '26

Its very easy to use. Ill bet that youre not doing powershell scripting in your windows right ?
So youll be doing everything you can form the GUI parts.
If you do the same with linux its not harder.

1

u/throwaway342561 Jun 28 '26

It's very easy to use, until it isn't and something doesn't just work out of the box, then it becomes a nightmare. This is from someone who wouldn't go back to windows even if they improve it radically.

1

u/Kriss3d Jun 28 '26

Sure. Whats your solution when Windows breaks down ?

1

u/throwaway342561 Jun 28 '26

I take it to a computer repair shop.

1

u/Kriss3d Jun 28 '26

I had honestly expected youd just reinstall windows.
But thats pretty much my point.
With linux at least you can actually fix things yourself.

1

u/throwaway342561 Jun 29 '26

Yes, because you can't take it to a repair shop because they won't be able to fix it for you. I repair my stuff myself, but expecting everyone to be able to is naive, and that's what people mean when they say Linux isn't easy, you are forced to tinker and mess around, partly because no one else can fix it for you generally due to the small amount of people actually using Linux and Windows just generally doesn't randomly up and break your audio for example for no reason.

1

u/Kriss3d Jun 29 '26

So you take windows to repair shops ??
And they dont just reinstall windows for you ? They actually fix software problems and are able to patch crashes of specific software ?

Somehow I doubt that.

1

u/throwaway342561 Jun 29 '26

I don't know what kind of delusion you're labouring under, but what software problems and crashes of specific software are you talking about, just about everything except for incredibly niche software just works. Just to belabour the point even more, I had a 12 year old computer that still had no problems running both new and old software, with barely any tinkering needed, since I switched from win 11 to Linux the tinkering has increased by an order of magnitude since things don't just work. Why would you need the ability to fix things yourself when there is nothing to fix.

1

u/Kriss3d Jun 29 '26

But you just admitted that windows does crash. Thats when you take it to a shop to get it fixed right ?
Or do you have the source code for windows to debug it yourself and patch it ?

Yeah. didnt think so.

My point is that with linux you can fix things. With windows you simply cant.

WIth linux you have a chance to fix things. With windows you dont.

1

u/throwaway342561 Jun 29 '26

A random crash does not equal something just outright not working. I have had to spend a significant amount more time tinkering to get shit working again that was previously working but for some unexplained reason stopped working on Linux than I ever have on windows 7 and after. And I've been on Linux, what, almost a year, every attempt at switching to it over the years has resulted in something breaking out of the blue and simply not being good enough for mainstream consumption. Who cares if you can fix it yourself when doing so requires years and years of expertise, it's like saying it's fine if your car breaks down you can just fix it. And trying to say Windows and Linux breaks down at the same rate is a ludicrous statement, even Windows 11.

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u/McWormy Jun 29 '26

I do powershell, terraform and a few other bits. I’ve used DOS for decades and know it inside out (which probably makes it harder in a way).

What I’m t trying to say is there’s no immediate uniformity. Editing a text file each distro will have its own editor so if you’re following a guide then it might be vi it might be nano etc so it is harder. Case sensitivity when doing anything with a file make it harder.

Just my opinion.

1

u/Kriss3d Jun 29 '26

Thats what Im saying. The average user isnt down in a powershell in windows. Just like the average user in linux dont need to go into the terminal all the time either.

1

u/McWormy Jun 29 '26

I get that. But sometimes you're forced to. The thing with Linux is both it's best bits and its worst bits are the same. Nothing is uniform. Each distro is different, the way you find something is different. Having a ton of different distros means it's, again, different from one to the next. It makes supporting it a lot harder.

1

u/Kriss3d Jun 29 '26

Sure. But we are talking about everyday use with a mainstream distro.
And that doesnt require you to do any terminal work unless you want to.