this post was submitted on 06 Dec 2024
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I've never understood this. You go through all the trouble of switching OSes, presumably because you don't like something about it, and then proceed to make it look exactly like what you had?
I personally don't care what my desktop looks like, I hide as much of the desktop stuff so there's more space on screen for what I actually care about. I used GNOME for a year or so because he had a better Wayland implementation, and now I'm on KDE because I wanted to try out Plasma 6 (spoiler, it fixed my Wayland problems) and as long as I can use a key combo to type an app name to launch, I don't have a strong preference between them. I really don't care much between the two, I don't see much of the desktop anyway. I used to use a tiling WM, but I got tired of random apps messing stuff up and then Wayland scrambled the entire ecosystem up, so I bailed.
I admit I did install a "Windows XP" theme when I first switched to Linux, and again when the "aero" theme came out, but I only left it on for a couple days, and mostly to troll friends.
I'm glad the choice exists, I guess I just don't understand it.
Sometimes the impetus to change OS is not UX related.
In my current case, it's got nothing whatsoever to do with liking or not liking Windows. I actually like Windows 9x, XP, 7, and 10. I bought a computer and wanted to install a clean OS on it (it came with Ubuntu, which I loathe visually and general UX-wise, because it feels like a Mac and seems like no matter what I do, something breaks). I had a choice: go through the effort on my other machine of pirating Win10, or just install Linux. I decided to go with Mint, because it supports the software I want and there's a feeling of familiarity, so muscle memory still works. I had to learn things like using Alt+F2 rather than Win+R, but I feel like I'm in a safer environment to learn than just "here's a new OS, good luck", because I can access those things in the GUI until I learn to do otherwise. Having Wine and DOSBox-X are because I have software that's for Windows or DOS that I like. I still haven't found a solid replacement for Notepad++, for example; and that's not including games.
There's also the "use Linux to make old machines work better and safer" use-case, especially for older people. My mom, for instance, is almost 80. She knew DOS, and she's been acclimated to Windows over 30-odd years. If I want to make her older machine safer and more efficient, I'd install Mint on it compared to something else (I actually can't, because her tax software is Windows-only and does not work correctly in Wine), because again, she'll feel that she's in a safer environment. She already uses OpenOffice (specifically not LibreOffice, because of the print layout differences - seemingly small things like kerning and the like can have a significant effect), and Firefox. She was using Thunderbird for a while but switched to webmail, just for simplicity. I'd have to walk her through PySol, AisleRiot, or another solitaire program, but I'm pretty confident that I could do that. So it should work like Windows for her, except for all the things she won't use.
Yeah, I dislike Ubuntu as well, which is why I recommend Mint. Most of the community support for Ubuntu is directly relevant, but you don't have to deal with any of the nonsense that comes by default (UI/UX, snaps, etc).
That said, you can also just install Windows, no need to pirate it. Yeah, you'll get the watermark and can't switch the desktop background as easily, but other than that, it's perfectly functional. That's what I use for my dual-boot because I use Windows maybe once/year, if that.
My point here is that Linux and Windows are fundamentally different. If you want Windows, but want to avoid something specific about it (cost, ads, etc), Linux isn't going to be a great transition an comes with a bunch of caveats, and no amount of lipstick is going to hide that. If you're switching away from Windows, surely you're also okay with it looking a bit different too, no?
Key bindings can be changed.
Recommendations:
Some things don't have a direct replacement, but generally speaking, there's usually a few analogues for anything you'd use on Windows. For example, for games, you have:
Consider teaching her to use one of the online tax software solutions (e.g. in the US, FreeTaxUSA is free and easy). Yes, it's different, but it's also pretty easy, even for someone who is older. I use FreeTaxUSA (assuming you're in the US; if not, look for an alternative), and it feels just like TurboTax, but without all of the upcharge nonsense. If that's truly the only roadblock and she ends up liking the online version, then you're golden (I recommend helping her create an account, but let her do everything else)!
Best case scenario, she saves a few bucks and is that much closer to switching to Linux. Worst case scenario, she goes back to what she's used to, no harm done.
I'm not going to be tolerant of the watermark, and I don't feel like using PowerShell to get rid of it - plus there's drivers to consider. It's just faster and easier for me to grab an activated OEM version for the computer I have.
Key bindings can be changed, but I've never found the place to do it easily in the GUI in Mint. I touch the Linux command line for curl and ping, and that's about it.
I already play Wesnoth, and I haven't touched 0 AD in years. I prefer OpenTTD, Oolite, Endless Sky, and Minetest, along with occasionally poking at WarZone 2100. But that doesn't replace the DOS and Win9x games from my childhood. I don't use Valve's DRM platform (nor the one from Epic Megagames), and it's rare for me to pay for anything on GOG. But there's no other game that exactly hits the fun for me of Sid Meier's Covert Action, Shadow President, SimCity 2000 & 3000, Starfleet Command II: Orion Pirates, or a couple dozen others. Yes, it's nostalgia. But it harms no one.
As for the tax thing, I'll look into it, but I don't expect it will do what we need. We need to pay for the more expensive software because of our tax situation (don't want to get into detail for obvious reasons).
Is there an issue w/ drivers on unlicensed Windows? And yeah, you can reuse the key your computer has, this is assuming you can't for whatever reason (i.e. laptop shipped w/o it).
That would depend on which flavor of Mint you're using. Keybindings are almost always in the GUI, though you can also do it through the CLI in many cases (e.g. GNOME-based DEs use gconf/dconf IIRC).
I haven't used any of the Mint flavors, so I won't be of much help. But surely someone in one of the Linux communities could help (or just search for "change keybindings Linux Mint" or something).
Oh yeah, OpenTTD rocks. I haven't played any of the others (other than messing w/ Minetest when it first launched), so I'll have to check them out. :)
Most of my gaming is on Steam, and many (most? haven't checked) of those don't have DRM, since I mostly play indies and older games because I think newer games tend to suck.
That's too bad. It's still worth a look IMO, online tax software has come a long way. Unless, however, you're doing something fancy with businesses and whatnot, but at that point I'd just hire an accountant. Anyway, at 80, it's probably not worth making huge changes, though I'd strongly recommend putting some checks in place so granny doesn't easily get scammed (and I'm guessing you already do).
Anyway, I'm always happy to see someone trying out and enjoying Linux. I've been here for >15 years, so I've kind of lost touch with what people on Windows use these days. I do remember the transition being a little rocky, but after a year or so, I ditched all of the Windows crap and found solution to everything I need.
What's hard to understand about familiarity?
You can have familiarity without direct replication. KDE Plasma uses a lot of the same design metaphors as Windows, yet it's distinct, both visually and functionally.
Linux will never work exactly like Windows, and I think it's important to highlight that with the design. For example, instead of replicating the Microsoft Store and Windows Update split, it combines them in the Discover app, because system and user software is combined in Linux. It's pretty intuitive, but different.
Familiarity is fine, but the more you try to make one thing look like another, the more jarring the differences become.
I did the same for my mom, coming from XP and using it basically just for browsing, mail and look at photos Zorin an almost painless transition. That said, I admit that mimicing W11 interface wasn't the best choice.