Windows 10 is close to being dead now, with support ending this year. So why not try out Linux? Instead of getting a whole new system and having to deal with the increasing amount of AI junk and adverts in Windows 11.
As far as I can tell it’s mostly the TPM requirement and pushing more ads / AI nonsense.
You can easily avoid the latter by using the LTSC IoT version. I just bought a new (second hand) computer for TPM (my old one was very due for an upgrade).
With the IoT version it’s absolutely fine. Definitely an improvement over Windows 10. The only issue I’ve noticed is it doesn’t come with Windows Game bar or some nonsense so after you run games you’ll get a random dialog about there not being an app available to handle ms-gamelink URLs or something. You can just ignore it. I might fix it one day.
Pro version, install with English UK language and throwaway email account, disable the crap in the settings once install is completed, takes less time than to fiddle with Linux to make it work like you want it to…
As long as everything works the way it should, sure, I installed it less than a year ago and it wasn’t smooth. Just managing the fact that my computer was plugged to a monitor and a 65" TV was a pain in the ass if I didn’t want to have to fiddle with display settings every time I switched from one to the other, which isn’t an issue on Windows…
That’s a bit of an esoteric setup connected to a monitor and tv so i imagine it would take some extra finagling to set up. Maybe there is some sofware thay could help?
Only one to make setting up a keyboard shortcut easier (which is also needed on Windows, although the program is easier to use), but with which it was impossible to make it adjust the scaling properly, I had to settle for everything being way too big on my monitor so it would be correct on the TV.
Just the fact that you have to fuck around with the terminal to do stuff that should be fairly basic (like changing the download or documents folder location, which is just a change done in the folder’s properties on Windows) kinda ruins the experience and is a big security flaw as it teaches users to just input whatever some stranger tells them to input in the terminal.
As far as I can tell it’s mostly the TPM requirement and pushing more ads / AI nonsense.
You can easily avoid the latter by using the LTSC IoT version. I just bought a new (second hand) computer for TPM (my old one was very due for an upgrade).
With the IoT version it’s absolutely fine. Definitely an improvement over Windows 10. The only issue I’ve noticed is it doesn’t come with Windows Game bar or some nonsense so after you run games you’ll get a random dialog about there not being an app available to handle ms-gamelink URLs or something. You can just ignore it. I might fix it one day.
Pro version, install with English UK language and throwaway email account, disable the crap in the settings once install is completed, takes less time than to fiddle with Linux to make it work like you want it to…
Sounds like a lot more fiddling then just going to linux
After spending a day making my wifi antenna work on Mint (when it’s supposedly compatible out of the box?), no, it’s not.
The last time i installed mint in like 2013 it took less than 45 miinutes. I’m sure in 2025 it’s a much more of a smooth experience.
As long as everything works the way it should, sure, I installed it less than a year ago and it wasn’t smooth. Just managing the fact that my computer was plugged to a monitor and a 65" TV was a pain in the ass if I didn’t want to have to fiddle with display settings every time I switched from one to the other, which isn’t an issue on Windows…
That’s a bit of an esoteric setup connected to a monitor and tv so i imagine it would take some extra finagling to set up. Maybe there is some sofware thay could help?
Only one to make setting up a keyboard shortcut easier (which is also needed on Windows, although the program is easier to use), but with which it was impossible to make it adjust the scaling properly, I had to settle for everything being way too big on my monitor so it would be correct on the TV.
Just the fact that you have to fuck around with the terminal to do stuff that should be fairly basic (like changing the download or documents folder location, which is just a change done in the folder’s properties on Windows) kinda ruins the experience and is a big security flaw as it teaches users to just input whatever some stranger tells them to input in the terminal.
Windows is definitely security nightmare. I hate that i have to “just trust” that it isn’t doing sonething spyware like under the hood.