I’ve been seeing all these posts about Linux lately, and looking at them, I can honestly see the appeal. I’d love having so much autonomy over the OS I use, and customize it however I like, even having so many options to choose from when it comes to distros. The only thing holding me back, however, is incompatibility issues. A lot of programs I work with very often are Windows-exclusive, and alternatives supporting Linux are rare. So I guess I’m stuck with Windows, since I deem those particular programs really important.

Any advice from Linux nerds here? All constructive replies are very appreciated.

  • Skull giver
    13•2 years ago

    Try Wine. If Wine fails, maybe Bottles or Lutris. For finicky programs, I just dual boot, or find a program that accomplishes the same task.

    I don’t run into Windows dependencies much these days. It’s mostly hardware vendor stuff. Then again, I can imagine an artist not wanting to give up their (cracked copy of) Photoshop.

    If you want to run Linux full time, you can try setting up Cassowary. After some setup and configuration, it’ll connect to a virtual machine running Windows to execute Windows programs in their own Linux windows as if they were native. It’ll automatically suspend and resume the VM if you stop/start a program. The only downside is that you don’t get hardware acceleration, so it’s not a solution for games. I’ve also noticed some programs freaking the fuck out on Gnome, I think it’s a Gnome thing but I haven’t bothered looking into it.

    You could always use a nornal VM, too. In my experience, setting up a VM and then using a remote desktop client (Reminna for ineyance) to connect to it will make working with Windows programs on Linux quite pleasant.