Microsoft announces vague changes to the default web browser setting for Windows Insider. Nothing but wishful thinking. Still force-opens web links in Edge.
You all keep saying that, and I’m not saying I can’t ultimately make the move, but there’s always something that doesn’t quite work as easily.
Then there’s always a solution to that which isn’t quite what you want and involves a lot of terminal which isn’t really something casual users want.
For me this time it was OneDrive which I want to be able to use, trust, and have control over without terminal commands and a half baked GUI. I get it, fuck Microsoft, but it’s already paid for and we’re not moving because my wife, who is doing dome contracting work, doesn’t want to mess with what she is familiar with.
There is also the issue that if you want to work together with other companies who use 365, they often want you to send them files in Office formats. Yes, you can also make Office 365 work on Linux, but at that point people already don’t want to try it out anymore.
Personally I just tried Linux Mint for a short period and there is a lot to love. But I’m doing a huge personal project in which I’m reorganizing tens of thousands of photos which I want to store in OneDrive and backup on a drive. Currently I’m just more familiar with Windows and I understand how OneDrive works (instead of something like rclone on Linux). After I’m done I’m going to reinstall Mint or something similar on my secondary SSD and try to set up OneDrive in a satisfying way.
Ironically I’m biting the hand that feeds me as I work as a lowcode developer using Microsoft Dynamics/Power Platform. But still, Microsoft can eat a bag of sweaty sausages for what they’ve done with privacy, bloat, annoying restrictions in Windows 10/11.
Linux is great for the most basic users who only need a Facebook machine, and for the ultimate tinkerers who care about kernel versions.
In the middle there’s the “advanced Windows user” who knows enough about computers to modify obscure settings, but not enough to debug driver issues. For those users, Linux is absolutely terrible. They try to alter the DNS server preference settings and get thrown into the world of obscure config files, systemd-versus-initV, command line editors and kernel command line arguments.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Linux needs more GUIs for managing complex settings. Windows does all the things Linux does through Powershell and registry settings, but Windows also provides a point-and-click interface for the people who don’t care about learning how to find grep cat xarg.
As for cloud stuff, Onedrive is an unfortunate fit. Google Drive is integrated into my desktop environment. All I needed to do was log in using username/password, and all at once my mail/contacts/calendar/files appeared into the built-in apps. The same is true for some other cloud providers. It’s really just Onedrive, and I agree with you that it’s a pain.
The biggest issue with Linux is that proprietary software doesn’t work most of the time, without annoying workarounds. There are usually alternatives or wizards available, but it takes some Googling to find those.
I believe Zorin is trying to do build a Linux that Windows users can use. It has built-in integration with Wine and is designed to look like Windows. I don’t know if it’s a fit for you, but it’s worth looking at a few screenshots for.
As for your wife, she’s probably right to not break her professional workflow. You can always dual-boot your PC if you want to give Linux another go.
You all keep saying that, and I’m not saying I can’t ultimately make the move, but there’s always something that doesn’t quite work as easily.
Then there’s always a solution to that which isn’t quite what you want and involves a lot of terminal which isn’t really something casual users want.
For me this time it was OneDrive which I want to be able to use, trust, and have control over without terminal commands and a half baked GUI. I get it, fuck Microsoft, but it’s already paid for and we’re not moving because my wife, who is doing dome contracting work, doesn’t want to mess with what she is familiar with.
That does make change difficult.
Incredibly so.
There is also the issue that if you want to work together with other companies who use 365, they often want you to send them files in Office formats. Yes, you can also make Office 365 work on Linux, but at that point people already don’t want to try it out anymore.
Personally I just tried Linux Mint for a short period and there is a lot to love. But I’m doing a huge personal project in which I’m reorganizing tens of thousands of photos which I want to store in OneDrive and backup on a drive. Currently I’m just more familiar with Windows and I understand how OneDrive works (instead of something like rclone on Linux). After I’m done I’m going to reinstall Mint or something similar on my secondary SSD and try to set up OneDrive in a satisfying way.
Ironically I’m biting the hand that feeds me as I work as a lowcode developer using Microsoft Dynamics/Power Platform. But still, Microsoft can eat a bag of sweaty sausages for what they’ve done with privacy, bloat, annoying restrictions in Windows 10/11.
Linux is great for the most basic users who only need a Facebook machine, and for the ultimate tinkerers who care about kernel versions.
In the middle there’s the “advanced Windows user” who knows enough about computers to modify obscure settings, but not enough to debug driver issues. For those users, Linux is absolutely terrible. They try to alter the DNS server preference settings and get thrown into the world of obscure config files, systemd-versus-initV, command line editors and kernel command line arguments.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Linux needs more GUIs for managing complex settings. Windows does all the things Linux does through Powershell and registry settings, but Windows also provides a point-and-click interface for the people who don’t care about learning how to find grep cat xarg.
As for cloud stuff, Onedrive is an unfortunate fit. Google Drive is integrated into my desktop environment. All I needed to do was log in using username/password, and all at once my mail/contacts/calendar/files appeared into the built-in apps. The same is true for some other cloud providers. It’s really just Onedrive, and I agree with you that it’s a pain.
The biggest issue with Linux is that proprietary software doesn’t work most of the time, without annoying workarounds. There are usually alternatives or wizards available, but it takes some Googling to find those.
I believe Zorin is trying to do build a Linux that Windows users can use. It has built-in integration with Wine and is designed to look like Windows. I don’t know if it’s a fit for you, but it’s worth looking at a few screenshots for.
As for your wife, she’s probably right to not break her professional workflow. You can always dual-boot your PC if you want to give Linux another go.
openSUSE has YaST which covers almost all complex settings… it’s not perfect, but it tries