Valnet Articles on Switching From Windows to GNU/Linux

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jan 19, 2026

• XDA ☛ I switched from Windows to Linux, but what I really wanted was a Mac

  I learned the trappings of Linux in my college education, and I'm glad I did. Besides being a great skill to have as a tech enthusiast, it's also allowed me to give it a real shot as my primary OS.

  Distro aside for a moment, moving to Linux was the next logical move purely because downgrading to earlier, more usable versions of Windows just isn't an option. Linux gives much more flexibility, transparency, and privacy, but lacks the compatibility with some of the applications I need. I've moved to running those specific edge cases in a VM, and that's worked OK, but I wish I had the ability to run them on bare metal. Linux is also really performant; compared to the Windows kernel, there's almost no fat on these bones. Everything runs extremely well and feels very light, which is really welcome.

  I recently decided to begin working outside my home office again; going to coffee shops and parks allows me to think a bit better and remove distractions. I do have a Windows laptop, but I instead reached for my MacBook Air, and I honestly forgot how much I loved macOS.

• XDA ☛ WSL is powerful, but these 3 reasons are why it won't beat a real Linux desktop

  But despite its significant improvements, it won’t beat the experience of a real Linux desktop. I say this with a heavy heart because WSL seems like the perfect way to use Linux rather than dual-booting, and the complexity that comes with it. Let’s look at three reasons why WSL is still far from overshadowing a real Linux desktop experience.

• XDA ☛ This tiny, free Lightroom alternative could be a dream come true for Linux users — but it works everywhere

  Adobe's apps have long been one of the biggest hurdles — if not the biggest — to overcome when it comes to switching to Linux. Apps like Photoshop and Lightroom have made image manipulation and editing easier than ever, and while alternatives technically exist with the likes of GIMP, Krita, or Darktable, they're simply not as good.

  Things have started to change a bit with the release of Affinity, supported by the Affinity on Linux project that makes using this free app totally viable on Linux. But that's still not the best option for processing RAW images since the workflow simply isn't designed for mass editing, and it doesn't run natively on Linux.

  Enter RapidRAW. I learned about it a few months ago from a friend, and the first great thing about it was that it's on Flathub, making it easy to use on any Linux distro. But it's a tool for developing RAW photos, and it's compelling for a few other reasons.

• XDA ☛ Windows users don't hate Linux, they hate its defaults

  Internet debates can get intense no matter the topic, and talking about operating systems is no different. There will always be people defending either Windows 11 or Linux (maybe even macOS), and sometimes it may sound like people hate one or the other.

  But many times, proficient Windows users (or power users, as you might call them) don't hate Linux itself. They just hate the way behaves by default and becomes a hindrance to the way they're used to work. A lot of the annoying things about Linux can be fixed with minimal work, but first impressions are hard to overcome.