What was the last version of Windows you used before hopping on over? This includes the Linux greybeards too.
I was on Win10 but moved over as the end of life cycle is drawing near and I do not like Win11 at all.
Another thing for this change was the forced bloody updates, bro I just wanna shut down my PC and go to bed, if I wanna update it, I’ll do it on a Saturday morning with my coffee or something.
Lastly, all the bloat crap they chuck in on there that most users don’t really need. I think the only thing I kept was the weather program.
So what’s your reasoning for the change to the reliable and funni penguin OS?
Windows 11.
And I still use it at work, and will continue to until I take the time to test out the things I need to make sure I can get them to work correctly.
I don’t remember exactly what the tipping point was, but I just got so sick of every little issue, and the copilot crap certainly contributed. Basically got tired of my computer that I paid for being treated like they own it instead of me.
I came very close to switching back around 2009/2010, but Windows 7 and PowerShell got me to stick around and they really seemed to be turning things around for a while. Other than the start screen, I even really liked Windows 8, and 8.1 fixed the worst parts of the start screen.
I’ve used Linux for servers and just messing around since about 2005.
A few months ago, I rebuilt my PC desktop and got two nvme drives so I could put Linux on one and Windows on another (I know I can put them on the same drive but I knew if I did that deciding how to slice it up would lock me up and risk me never being willing to actually take the plunge)
Installed Linux on the first one. The second one is still unformatted and I’m now planning on using it for additional space for my games. I have no desire to go back. Only just yesterday figured out my graphics driver was not working right/was operating at a very basic level and even with that everything just felt so smooth overall (and got even better after fixing that)
Windows 10.
I wanted customization. Windows provided customization, sure, but like in the worst way possible. Want to change the system colors or what buttons look like? Download this third party theme and apply it with bloated tools that are probably malware in disguise!
Meanwhile on Linux (NixOS), I can just change a few lines in my dotfiles and it works. Sometimes it’s inconvenient but I’m not really looking for convenience.
Switched around the time Windows 7 was out. The reason is Windows Update. It took FOREVER to do its thing. And it was janky as all hell. I distinctly remember clicking on the “check for updates” more than once, because it didn’t find any updates the first time dor whatevee reason. Anyway, I had one update breakage too many and I snapped. Had Linux as my main OS since then and a few years later it became my only OS.
Basically, I wanted an OS that stayed out of my face and Windows wasn’t it.
Windows Vista. I absolutely decked it out with free/open source software (LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, KDE for Windows) before I dual booted Windows and eventually made a more permanent switch. Never looked back.
I did have to use Windows for my old job (Win10 from memory?) but now I have a job where I can use Linux.
Next step is to switch my partner over from Windows 11 (she’s already on board with the idea).
Right after Windows 8 got released, I upgraded to it on my 2011 budget laptop. I don’t know what exactly the problem was, I think there was both a problem with there being a high chance of not getting any output on the display after waking up from hibernation, and it also frequently bluescreened when booting. I was playing around with various distros before then but that was when I nuked Windows and switched to it as primary OS.
(That bluescreen bug on the laptop still wasn’t fixed with Windows 10 when that came out. Lmao)
I was in the same boat. Windows 10 was buggy as shit when it first came out, and I thought it was ugly and void of personality (still do). That’s when I committed to using Linux full time and haven’t looked back.
Same, though I’d been dual booting for a long time at that point. I found Windows 10 so infuriating that I jettisoned my entire Windows partition and never looked back.
I still use windows. Theres a bunch of stuff which needs it.
Seriously though, for about twenty years Microsoft has released patches on Tuesday. Don’t wait till Saturday, go ahead and restart on Tuesday. It’s easy and predictable and more often the patches are important.
For me it was the jump between Windows 7 and Windows 8. I hated the UWP apps, the “simplified” control panel an d the full screen and tiled start menu. It worked great as a phone UI but terrible on desktop. I used it for like a month and switched to Linux Mint, which I felt was closest to W7 at the time.
I’ve flirted with Linux for years, all the way back to Fedora Core 6. I still use Windows, so 11 is my most recent version, but it’s stripped down using the AME playbook. I use it to play some games with anti-Linux anticheat. I also have a minimal Windows VM on my desktop for playing Destiny 2.
That being said, my primary computers run Arch (custom built desktop) and Fedora (Framework laptop) and I have zero intention of ever using Windows as a primary OS ever again.
For personal use it was probably Windows 98 SE.
For professional use i’m currently forced to use Windows 10.
Privately? Win7
Professionally? Win10 currently, looks like it’ll have to be Win11 soon. I get no control over my work laptop’s OS
XP, to OS X 10.4-10.8, to Linux
Windows 10 before I used Linux full-time, though I did try out Windows 11.
