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Moving From Windows to GNU/Linux on the Desktop/Laptop
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XDA ☛ This is the most underrated Linux feature that made me rethink Windows
As Windows 10 was falling out of support and I had to do something with my pretty old computer, I had two choices: I could either apply for the extended Windows 10 updates, or I could force Windows 11 on it. However, as I discussed in my post on the topic, doing either one would essentially be delaying the inevitable. Windows 10 updates would last only so long, and Windows 11 would continually be a mess to use until I got the right hardware.
So, I took the secret third option that Microsoft didn't want me to do: moving to Linux. I researched the topic, and there was no shortage of articles, Reddit threads, and YouTube videos explaining why switching to Linux was the right choice for me. Linux would run better on my aging hardware; a distro update wouldn't physically lock me out based on the hardware I was using; getting my fave apps running on Linux is a lot easier today than it was a decade ago; and finally, I could actually customize the taskbar. Unthinkable.
However, there was one feature that people never mentioned to me, but quickly became a major reason for me sticking with Linux. Weirdly enough, it's something that Linux users use all the time, and yet it goes so underdiscussed when discussing Linux's differences to Windows that I feel it's just plain underrated.
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PC Gamer ☛ 2025 might have been the year for Linux gaming, but there's still a way to go until I switch from Windows [Ed: Linux is not Windows]
The Linux hype this time was precipitated by Valve's Linux-based operating system, SteamOS, opening up for use on other handhelds than just the Steam Deck. That had been long on the cards, but it finally started seeming close at hand early on this year.
SteamOS has shown what Linux can be capable of for gaming in large part because of Proton, the compatibility layer Valve employs to translate Windows commands into ones that Linux can understand. It's a fork of WINE tailored towards gaming, created and maintained by Valve specifically for that purpose.