Iā€™ve some weeks ago moved my main computer from Windows 10 to Linux, specifically OpenSUSE Leap with the Plasma user environment, mainly because it doesnā€™t have the magic Windows 11 chip. I had never used Linux and have been a Windows user since I was six years old or somewhere around then (Iā€™m in my late twenties now). Iā€™d just like to share my likes and dislikes.

Things I like about Linux (my specific install, anyway):

  • Not being a corporate environment. There arenā€™t any cheeky attempts at making money or advertisement anywhere, like the annoying fake widgets in Windows 11 and the half-filled start menu. Iā€™ve gotten used to that on my laptop (which is running 11), but you do always have the feeling of ā€˜what are they trying now?ā€™ That not being a thing is quite refreshing.
  • In that veign, having actual widgets. I loved them in Windows 7; Iā€™ve got a webpage widget on my second screen showing a Zoho sheet I made with an RSS feed. Just being able to be a bit creative like that is cool.
  • The system seems quite a bit quicker than it was in Windows - though in all honesty this will also be because Iā€™m still on a fairly fresh install.
  • Iā€™m positively surprised by how little I miss from Windows when it comes to programs. Steam having compatibility tools is great, for example. Otherwise there are often replacements for what Iā€™m missing (eg. Iā€™ve found one to allow general settings for my Logitech mouse).
  • The general ability to change the way everything looks and feels. I feel technical people sometimes look down a bit on aesthetics, but I really care about the user interface I use day in day out looking and feeling nice. While Iā€™m a fan of the Windows 11 look myself, I really like how much Iā€™ve been able to get my UI to look how I want it to in Plasma. Though Iā€™m a bit surprised that itā€™s so hard to change the appearance of the start menu and bottom panel. Iā€™ve had to install a specific program to change their colouring.
  • The little icon jumping next to your cursor when opening a program (I know, Iā€™m easily amused).

Things Iā€™ve found annoying:

  • Not knowing where to find anything. Of course, coming from Windows Iā€™m used to there being a program files folder with my programsā€™ folders, and a documents folder with (often) user settings for those programs. In Linux, everything just seems to be everywhere. What seems to be the ā€˜documentsā€™ equivalent for the game Factorio is in my user folder in a hidden .factorio, but Iā€™ve to no avail been trying to find out where my ā€˜documentsā€™ for Workers and Resources are. Iā€™ll find them eventually, Iā€™m sure. In general, Iā€™m looking around a lot, though.
  • The lingering feeling of instability. This is my second install of OpenSUSE, after I messed up something leading to my computer having some files which it wanted to update, but using urls which didnā€™t exist. After this, Iā€™ve been feeling a bit insecure and afraid of doing something that ruins my installation. I know thereā€™s the saying that Linux ā€˜just worksā€™, but Iā€™ve never messed up a Windows installationā€¦
  • The capslock works differently, apparently. Iā€™m used to writing every capital letter using the capslock key, meaning if I write a capital at the beginning of a word, I press capslock, then type the first letter, then quickly press capslock again and type the rest. In Linux, this often doesnā€™t work as it somehow takes a while for the capslock press to go into effect, so you often end up with ā€˜LInuxā€™, for example. After lots of looking around, I have found some script that seems to fix this (ā€˜Linux CapsLock Delay Fixer Masterā€™), but it also randomly stops working and there are other ā€˜odditiesā€™ I canā€™t really explain.
  • Every once in a while, my desktop icons get rearranged. This seems to be a known issue, but itā€™s really annoying.
  • It seems impossible to get Firefox to not restore sessions after shutting down the computer with it still open. Iā€™ve tried several things, but I canā€™t get Firefox to just give me a fresh session on startup.
  • The above all add to a bit of a general ā€˜stuck together with adhesive tape and loveā€™ feeling.
  • Not knowing how to install programs. This is more of a learning-curve thing, obviously. The software centre didnā€™t contain everything I could find online - for some programs, you could use ā€˜one clickā€™ in OpenSUSE, but that seems to work more like a self-destruct button: Iā€™ve tried those several times and have always had bad results >.>. Iā€™ve found itā€™s easiest to install programs just using flatpaks.

All in all, I am quite happy. Though I am still afraid Iā€™ll mess up my installation, and Iā€™m now at a point where thatā€™d hurt. I have installed Timeshift, but also with mixed resultsā€¦

  • just_another_person@lemmy.world
    83Ā·
    1 day ago
    • Canā€™t find anything: everything is meant to be searchable in lieu of having a programs menu and such. Hit your meta key (Winkey) and start typing to find or launch something, use URL bar in your file manager to search for names or content of filesā€¦etc. You can also just set icons for things if you wish.
    • Instability: there is almost zero chance of you being able to destroy your environment so bad that it would require a reinstall of the OS. Since itā€™s just flat files on a disk and no central registry like Windows, everything can be repaired quite simply, you just need to be familiar with how.
    • Capslock: unfamiliar with your intended behavior as Iā€™ve never used Capslock like that before, but I bet there is a solution for this if you just search around. Input behavior is totally customizable.
    • Desktop icons: no idea what that could be, but as mentioned above, most DEā€™s have or are moving away from desktop as a launch source.
    • Firefox: ā€˜about:configā€™ has these settings
    • Software center is just one GUI for finding things. You can install whatever you want however you want, and thatā€™s just up to you. If you find some piece of something you want to run, the preferred method is also using a package for your OSā€™s package manager, but thatā€™s just for convenience and not a hard rule. There is no ā€œbestā€ solution, just good habits.

    Good luck!

    • Don Antonio Magino@feddit.nlOP
      4Ā·
      1 day ago

      Instability: there is almost zero chance of you being able to destroy your environment so bad that it would require a reinstall of the OS. Since itā€™s just flat files on a disk and no central registry like Windows, everything can be repaired quite simply, you just need to be familiar with how.

      Yeah, but I spent half a day faffing about trying to see what Iā€™d done wrong and searching online for hints. I suppose I didnā€™t literally ruin my installation, but Iā€™d messed it up enough for me to not know how to fix it, so I gave up.

      Firefox: ā€˜about:configā€™ has these settings

      Thatā€™s the first thing you find online, pretty much. Changing settings in about:config doesnā€™t work (in this case), and Iā€™ve followed instructions involving adding an autoconfig.cfg file to the Firefox installation folder, which also didnā€™t work. But yeah, like I said, I tried some things and have not been able to get Firefox to start a fresh session on startup, after shutting down the computer with it still open.

      Thanks for the advice!