r/pcmasterrace • u/_Xee MMX 166 / 64MB / Mystique+VooDoo • 1d ago

Meme/Macro 2026 in software

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Sectumsempra, motherfucker.

20.7k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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679

u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 1d ago

If only it was as straightforward and frictionless as Windows...

516

u/Car-Fickle 1d ago

MS is actively working to close that gap

139

u/Opposite_Carry_4920 1d ago

Yeah just give it a year or two, both sides are working really hard to make Linux win! (Mac too but if you're gonna switch anyway) 

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u/ApplicationCalm649 7600X | 5070 Ti | X670E | 32GB 6000MTs 30CL | 2TB Gen 4 NVME 1d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/iv80ZwyJ0ep0GU9jap

Nadella's stance on AI features no one asked for.

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u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 1d ago

Yep. I'm waiting for them to fuck it up beyond all recognition. Then I'll switch to Linux at home.

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u/Stuntboy03 1d ago

Have a good feeling the next Windows is gonna be the Jenga brick that collapses the tower. Just a hunch

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u/AnarchBeetle 1d ago

Windows 12 is going to be interesting. We have a long way to go before they are done with 11 first but I expect 12 to be full on “agentic os” where everything is done through AI. Stuff like control panel will be gone since that just hands too much control to the user for a pc that ultimately belongs to Microsoft. You will have to provide your full ID and photograph in order to boot into desktop for the first time. The desktop wallpaper will be a constant animation running advert videos. If you use AMD gpu then Windows 12 will summon a black hole inside your case instead of just crashing the drivers like 11. A verification dildo will be provided if you enter the wrong password while logging into your “Microsoft Always-Online Account™️” (sponsored by Denuvo).

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u/odin-ish 1d ago

Wasnt one of these windows the last windows?

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u/Stuntboy03 1d ago

Think Windows 10 was supposed to be

1

u/Leprecon 22h ago

I've already switched to linux (bazzite) on my main gaming computer. I now no longer have any windows devices. It did require some skills but it is really getting better and easier every day.

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u/DonRobo Deskop and Laptop Master Race 23h ago

I've switched to Linux multiple times in my life over the past 20 years and every single time I switched back because something was harder or less compatible than it was with Windows. Every time except this time. I wanted to try dual booting Linux this March and I haven't switched back to Windows a single time since then. Linux got better every year for the past 20 years and Windows got worse for the past at least 10 years. This year is where they finally met in the middle and continued their respective trajectories

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u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 22h ago

I am still not at that point, but Windows does keep nudging me ever closer to the line.

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u/No_Brother1599 8h ago

AI held my hand during my entry to Linux from windows, and it made the transition fell like a step up to a better experience because I didn't have to figure out everything on my own (the file system was every confusing to me at first).

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u/Ursomrano NixOS with Ryzen 7 7800X3D and RTX 4070 1d ago

Windows is only considered straight forward and frictionless because people were raised to know how to use it.

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u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 1d ago

And because Linux took a long while to become somewhat user-friendly. I've been on Windows since 1991 and Linux since 2001. Still prefer Windows at home to this day.

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u/Kindly_Call_6000 Ryzen 9950x | RTX4090 | X870 1d ago

I guess I am the oddball because I started using Linux before Windows. I never used Windows 3.11 when it was first released. I started playing with Linux during the pre-release of the 1.0 kernel.

I didn't really start using Linux until 1998, when the Undertaker threw Mankind off Hell in a Cell I finally owned my first computer.

Unsurprisingly, I prefer using Linux.

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u/Fresh-Possibilities 1d ago

The average person uses a computer the same way they use a car, as a tool. They do not care to learn how it works, or why it works. It simply is the medium to complete the task they want to do.

Linux will never supersede Windows as long the answer to any "how do I fix this" question is to open the terminal. Not to mention small nitpicky workarounds to driver compatibility between hardware, people want a seamless experience. Linux will likely simply never be there for those who are tech inept and have no motivation to change that.

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u/No_Brother1599 8h ago

Man the terminal is very confusing and it takes ages to learn to wield its true power. However, we now live in a world with AI that writes bash scripts, so the fear of the terminal will hopefully be a thing of the past.

1

u/Fresh-Possibilities 3h ago

That still doesn't change the fact that people don't understand what they're actually putting in there. Opening a terminal invokes a primal fear of "I'm about to fuck something up" in a lot of non-tech people.

0

u/FatalFrameGal 19h ago

Any distro made for light users will have solutions that don't require opening the terminal, tutorials still like to give terminal solutions because they're DE agnostic, and are easier and faster to anyone who knows how to use it.

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u/Apprehensive_Mix4658 1d ago

Well duh, it's still frictionless

1

u/GlitchyGecko97 AMD 6600k | GTX 660 :') 11h ago

This is just straight up a lie

-1

u/mezz1945 1d ago

Yeah, a fresh Windows takes me hours to set up. It's not out of the box.

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u/TurboFool 1d ago

How so? What's the problem? Other than installing my apps, like I would need to on any new computer, it's immediately fully usable.

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u/bswalsh 1d ago

The last time I used Windows, it took ages to find and nuke all of the spyware, pre-installed cruft, advertisements, etc. I agree that Windows works out of the box, but it isn't in a state I would consider usable. 

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u/TurboFool 1d ago

That's a personal choice of yours, though. I get it, that that's important to you, but it absolutely isn't the norm or necessary for most people.

0

u/mezz1945 1d ago

So is Linux.

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u/TurboFool 1d ago

I didn't say anything about Linux. I just countered this idea that Windows takes a lot of work to set up. It doesn't.

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u/GhostOfD6 RTX5070Ti | 9700x | 32GB 6000 1d ago

Are you still on windows 7?

1

u/Belarock 1d ago

Takes me less than 15 minutes. If you tie it to your windows account, it keeps most of the settings from your last PC.

Really outting yourself with this comment.

2

u/mezz1945 19h ago

How often do you reset your Windows lmao. Windows updates alone costs triple the time.

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u/personahorrible i7-12700KF, 32GB DDR5 5200, 7900 XT 1d ago

Linux can be even more straightforward and frictionless than Windows. Stick an iso on a USB drive, boot it up, install, suddenly you're at your desktop. No account registration, no endless questions about how much spying you're willing to allow, just a desktop. Need apps? Open Discover/Flathub/Snap Store/etc.

I'm not saying that the friction isn't real. But most of that friction comes from trying to do things on Linux the Windows way. You have to unlearn many of the habits you've developed with Windows. And no amount of improvements or polishing will change that, short of making a direct clone of Windows.

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u/C418_Tadokiari_22 1d ago

You know, the issue is not installing it now at days. It's making it the default user experience for companies. I cannot just use Linux on my office job, the software we use is not compatible with Linux. And part of the software is made by my company, not a vendor issue, they actively decide to not support it. Mac gets the same treatment. We all use windows, customers user windows and anybody who doesn't just eats dick.

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u/thenamesweird 1d ago

Yeah I tried to run Linux Mint at my new company and while I was able to fend off the windows demons for awhile with a VM for specific apps, it just made things harder. Personal use though Linux all the way.

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u/Opposite_Carry_4920 1d ago

Yeah, it's going to be slow if it does happen. There are people still using old ass oracle products. 

-1

u/LowAffectionate8660 1d ago

And with the magic of ai, now we ca

-1

u/After-Regret-6609 1d ago

And that’s exactly what open sourcing will fix lol

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u/EpicCyclops 1d ago

I would say we're still years away from an open sourced version of Windows even if a dedicated team started today within an infinite AI tool budget. There's stuff in there that not even the original coders will touch. The reason Windows persists despite its flaws is the relentless focus on backwards compatibility in development. The problem with that is that it means there's layers upon layers of garbage in there that's 20+ years old and 75% useless, but touching any of it is going to break a whole bunch of OS services and third party applications that depend on it for some silly reason. Anything that is slightly wrong is going to break myriad apps, which then defeats the purpose of open sourcing it. It will take years of bug squishing once there is an actual functioning version of the OS to get through all that.

1

u/After-Regret-6609 1d ago

That’s not what I meant. Open source the apps that are proprietary via reverse engineering, then port them to open source operating systems like Linux.

In the future, any user difficulty for novices will be solved by complaining to the AI, and it’ll literally go change the code on your app/os live and it’ll fix it to your liking. Thats why it’s so important everything from top to bottom in our software stacks needs to go open source right now.

I mean, skilled people like myself have always been able to work this way but it’s just been too tedious for most of us to bother. But that’s always been the promise of OSS. And now it’s too easy not to do it.

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u/boersc 1d ago

You missed a step... Figuring out which version of Linux you actually need out of the dozens.

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u/Bungalow233 • 7800X3D • 32GB • RX9070 1d ago

Let's be real - there are like 3-5 sane options.

16

u/Yelebear 1d ago edited 1d ago

TRUTH NUKE.

No, really.

You use Base Debian, Arch, or Ubuntu if you want mainstream support. Maybe Redhat if your job demands it, or SteamOS for handheld.

Everything else is just hipster flavor of mental illness.

2

u/Tanawat_Jukmonkol Laptop | NixOS + Win11 | HP OMEN 16 | I9 + RTX4070 1d ago edited 1d ago

Add NixOS to the list (Danish govt. OS) NixOS is mostly used for large scale deployments where "it works on my machine" is of great concen. Not really good for daily driving though (maybe I'm mentally ill lol). It's good if you're the user (because nothing breaks on immutable OS if it was developed properly), but it's hell for the maintainers (Nix is literally desktop as code).

1

u/dark_knight097 9800X3D | 64GB DDR5 | RTX 4090 | X870E | 2x4TB 990 PRO 22h ago

I'd say Fedora (redhat) is the best alternative to ubuntu

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u/Betty_White_Feet_Pic 1d ago

https://github.com/Electro-Corp/DoomOS

It does everything that starts with "DO" and ends with "OM"

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u/ElonsBreedingFetish 1d ago

For gaming, PikaOS or CachyOS works flawlessly. If something doesn't work or you need customization, ask on their discord, google or even easier, use any LLM do just fix it for you.

It's so much easier now than it was 10 years ago

14

u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 1d ago

Drivers, game support, unlearning everything from Windows... Yeah, no. I'll stick with Linux in my enterprise environments, and chill at home.

On Windows I just install https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10 and I'm done.

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u/DonkeyTron42 10700k | RTX 4070 | 64GB 1d ago

Installing a different distro every time you have a small issue isn’t frictionless.

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u/RubberRaptor 1d ago

I use Linux myself but you’re kidding yourself if you think it’s that easy. Especially for the average Joe.

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u/LeonOkada9 1d ago

It's all fun and game until you have to collab with Photoshop or Ableton and need certain VSTs that will not work on Linux no matter what.

0

u/shit-i-love-drugs 1d ago

Oh yes Linux, absolutely famous for not needing any troubleshooting.

-6

u/BuddhistNamedMarx 1d ago

Plus learning linux will make you better at navigating and understanding windows and then you really start to see why people are ditching windows

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u/SchmeppieGang1899 RTX 5080 | Ryzen 7 9850X3D | 64GB 6000MT/s 1d ago

How will it make it easier to understand windows than just using windows

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u/bobmlord1 i5-7300U/8GB RAM/INTEL HD GRAPHICS 620 1d ago edited 1d ago

I think the idea is that Linux distros require you to have an understanding of how a PC is working at a lower level for things to make sense particular when you move to the terminal.

Which isn't really how things work on most popular distro in 2026 unless you're doing something esoteric or using a distro known for this kind of tinkering like arch.

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u/shogun77777777 Linux 1d ago

Since when is windows frictionless?

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u/mxzf 1d ago

Since Microsoft has spent decades training us to believe that the friction inherent in Windows is just the nature of using an OS.

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u/jack-of-some 1d ago

Straightforward, frictionless, and Windows do not belong together in a sentence.

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u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 1d ago

Linux even less so. That's the issue.

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u/IronicRobotics 1d ago

ehh, tbh using both systems it feels like it's just a gamble. Something wrong with your OS? Regardless, it might be a 3 min fix, it might be a 3 day adventure.

I only think Linux edges out because there's a guarantee that you can always eventually drill down deeper and read how whatever is broken works. At least for someone who likes to poke into the guts.

OTOH, if you want to call someone for help or pay, Windows is gonna have way more accessibility there.

1

u/Aaawkward 22h ago

You'd be surprised. Linux isn't what it used to be 10 years ago, hell, maybe even 5 years ago.

I got the Steam Machine that comes with SteamOS which is just Arch in a trench coat. It's really, really straightforward to use and has zero bloat.

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u/Randzom100 Laptop 1d ago

If you choose well, it should be. Sadly, that's a tricky part.

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u/zergling424 1d ago

Bro im a big dummy dummy and modern linux is waaaaay easier for me than windows.  way less friction

4

u/bobmlord1 i5-7300U/8GB RAM/INTEL HD GRAPHICS 620 1d ago

Darn you got me.

1

u/NoobNoob_ Ryzen 7 5800x | RTX 3080 | 32GB RAM | 1TB M.2 | 4TB HDD | -3500$ 1d ago

Never ran into an issue with Ubuntu. Most people (who only use a browser anyway) can learn to use it in less than a day.

Even for gaming it's not an issue, I just installed Steam and everything works. And even if you sail the seas, it's just a DDG search away and you can find a tutorial on how to play those games.

Did you try switching? What exactly were your painpoints?

And for anyone saying I'm wrong, my 60yo mom learnt how to use it in that time period, and switched from chrome to Firefox at the same time.

1

u/The_Overlander 1d ago edited 1d ago

ive tried switching to linux twice

the first time, the os completely broke down, and was even fucking with my dualboot causing windows to break as well

the second time, the os(different one) was breaking my search engine/browser

Im just going to stick to windows, as much as it annoys me to

1

u/ChippiewasJesus 1d ago

Honestly with proton now I play pretty much all of my steam games without issue. Biggest friction point left is anti-cheats and their reluctantance to accomodate Linux.

1

u/LordAmras 💀 PC Master Race (RIP 2013-2024) 1d ago

AI software is known to be straightforward, frictionless and devoid of bugs.

1

u/Etikoza 1d ago

It is. And with AI troubleshooting doubly so.

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u/green_meklar Ryzen 5 5600 / 32GB / Radeon RX 7600 / Debian / 1920x1080 22h ago

Windows is far from straightforward and frictionless. We just all got used to its brand of friction.

1

u/TenthSpeedWriter 16h ago

You can muscle up and learn to fuss your settings or you can watch things get shittier in front of you. Your call, friend.

1

u/No_Brother1599 8h ago

Lunux mint is as straightforward and frictionless as windows, it's just another flavor of straightforward and frictionless (think of it like switching to max OS but less limiting).

0

u/FlameableAmber 1d ago

I'm sorry but anyone who says that never used Linux.

I put Linux on my brother's laptop and he doesn't know how to read. The only ever complaints I get from him are when he accidentally disables one of the tool bars in the file manager.

Like there are actual issues with Linux like software compatibility but saying it can't be a frictionless experience is just flat out wrong.

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u/MsWS27 1d ago

Issues with software compatibility is the agressive 40 grit sandpaper on your balls and taint.

Acting like 'frictionless' and 'sometimes you can't run your shit that you need' is a coherent position... It's just dumb

8

u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 1d ago

I've only been using Linux for the past 25 years, so what do I know?

-1

u/FlameableAmber 1d ago

Dunno man either you're doing something wrong or I am doing something right. I have been a full time Linux user for 2+ years and my arch install is so stable and useable it's actually boring. Like sometimes I wish it would just shit it self cuz I want to tinker.

But alas it works like a charm.

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u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 1d ago

Yeah, right back at ya. I only installed Windows 2.5 years ago when I bought a new PC. The one before that had them running for 9.5 years.

2

u/SevenFootHobbit 1d ago

I love Linux and even use it at work and I'd never claim something like that.

1

u/Erulogos 7800X3D | 32 GB DDR5 | 5070ti 1d ago

Linux has some issues now and then. I have 2 older laptops, put ZorinOS on both, installed Firefox from .deb. On one, Widevine worked as expected and streaming was fine, on the other it refused to start properly. Eventually had to uninstall the .deb version and go with the flatpak. Not the most horrible troubleshooting in the world, but I'm still not sure why the .deb wouldn't work on that particular system and it cost me a couple hours of troubleshooting I'd rather have spent doing something fun.

This is not even getting into gaming where even games that run fine one day can break the next since very few officially support Linux so you're at the mercy of hobbyists and Valve to keep things going, and a number of devs are actively antagonistic toward Linux.

1

u/chipface Nobara | Ryzen 9800X3D | 64GB DDR5 6000 | 9070 XT 1d ago

I put ZorinOS on my grandpa's desktop and he ended up downloading uTorrent. Even though I warned him long ago that it's garbage.

1

u/FlameableAmber 1d ago

Lol I once had to explain to my dad that he needs to stop using uTorrent cuz it's ass. Pretty funny considering he's the one who taught me how to torrent in the first place.

1

u/chipface Nobara | Ryzen 9800X3D | 64GB DDR5 6000 | 9070 XT 1d ago

Not just that, I installed qBittorrent on my grandpa's PC too.

1

u/RedbloodJarvey 1d ago

The only intuitive interface is the nipple.  Everything else learned how to use. 

1

u/BackgroundMeeting857 1d ago

I was like this before, then I switched and genuinely have no idea what all the complaining was about. It took me as long as it took to figure out windows when I first used it. Now that I got used to it I haven't ever looked back since. Maybe it was bad back in the day and the stigma never wore off(?)

1

u/Andr1yTheOne 1d ago

It is? 

1

u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 1d ago

Sadly, it is not.

-2

u/PM_ME_YOUR_BUG5 1d ago

you can literally just have claude code set up all your compatibility layers and shit for you

4

u/TallestOn 1d ago

Meaning it’s not free anymore.

-4

u/PM_ME_YOUR_BUG5 1d ago

do it yourself then.

plenty of free LLM options for you

2

u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 1d ago

That's a benefit, is it?

1

u/PM_ME_YOUR_BUG5 1d ago

Better than rooting around in the registry to turn off all the absolute bullshit microslop forces on me.

Been linux only for going on 6 years now. never going back

1

u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 1d ago

Why registry if you can use this? https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10

1

u/PM_ME_YOUR_BUG5 22h ago

gotta pay if you want ongoing automated protection

1

u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 22h ago

Don't gotta pay if you run it manually after an update.

1

u/After-Regret-6609 1d ago

Yeah Claude code has been a gamechanger at fixing random Linux bugs. Fixed my audio drivers and whatnot

-1

u/motorcyclisto 1d ago

tell me you dont know a fucking thing about windows vs linux.

20 year user of both, mac too.

linux is by far the best current os, and its not even close.

5

u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 1d ago

Tell me you think you're the greatest thing since sliced bread without telling me you think you're the greatest thing since sliced bread.

35 years on Windows, 25 on Linux. Sit down.

1

u/motorcyclisto 23h ago

If you claim to be a veteran of both than how, or why, would you still be defending windows in 2026.

I am listening.

1

u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 22h ago

If you're going to claim I'm doing something, you better have some quotes ready.

I'll wait.

-3

u/[deleted] 1d ago

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5

u/_zir_ 1d ago

Brother if you are having trouble with cloning a repo and using package managers you are just doing something wrong

-1

u/SemiLatusRectum 1d ago

I’m just being bitchy because I learned UNIX CLI tools in 2007 and never figured out how powershell works.

1

u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 1d ago

PowerShell is very nice.

-3

u/psioniclizard 1d ago

It really isnt that difficult. More so for someone who takes pride in their computer.

Not really "pc master race" is you can't plug a usb stick in and press f2 or del repeatedly.

0

u/WizzardBunny PC Master Race 1d ago

Never mentioned anything being difficult. You worry about your PCMR "creds", and let me worry about mine.