Fellow DCT authors Jim Hillier and Terry Hollett have written extensively about Linux in its various forms, not least the growing number of Windows users migrating to Linux. There are many reasons for this, but one of the main ones is the extraordinary lengths Microsoft is going to to drive users away from Windows 11. Hardware requirements (TPM 2.0), the end of Windows 10, and the quite nauseating proliferation of AI, whether we like it or not. I’m an enthusiastic Windows user and have been since Windows 3.1, but with each iteration, it’s become more bloated than ever – another reason many are jumping ship and not just gamers.
Linux Now Supports 90% Of Games
In the past, Linux was considered a no-go for gaming, but not anymore. Steam OS, a Linux-based operating system found in the Steam Deck and upcoming Steam Machine, is a serious driving force in Linux gaming, and many more distros are joining the revolution, including Bazzite and CachyOS. It’s now become much easier to run your games through the Steam platform on Linux, without having to jump through the hoops of Wine (Wine is not an emulator). I dabbled in Linux about 10 years ago and even managed to get some games running through Wine, but the scene has changed dramatically since then. On Steam alone, there are over 25,000 games playable on Linux, most of which are through a compatibility layer such as Proton and largely influenced by the Steam Deck.
I’m Giving Linux Another Go
It would be remiss of me not to try gaming on a Linux machine, and since I have a spare PC with the following specs, I’ll be doing just that:
- Ryzen 5600G
- Radeon RX 580 8GB
- 32GB DDR4 RAM
- NVMe 256GB
- Hard drive 500GB
I currently use it for VHS to digital conversion, and it has numerous paid licenses tied to it, so I’ll be removing the Windows 11 NVMe, inserting a spare one, and installing Bazzite, which means I can easily revert because it won’t be permanent. Or maybe it will be? I have another PC set up for VHS conversions anyway. I have hundreds of games in my Steam library, and since I don’t play multiplayer, I won’t need to worry about kernel-level anti-cheat software, which isn’t compatible with Bazzite, so games that insist on anti-cheat software won’t install. It’s horrible software anyway.
I’ll report back with my experiences very soon, but in the meantime, please let us know in the comments if you have taken the leap from Windows to Linux.
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I have been dual booting Windows and Linux for probably a little over a year now, the only thing I am waiting on is for Wine to be able to run Photoshop in Linux, from what I understand they are hot on it and it is not too far off. When that happens I will be completely done with Windows.
I know I can use Krita or Gimp, it’s just that I have used Photoshop for so many years , using it comes as second nature, I’m an old dog just set in his ways … LOL
The news is also that Microsoft is also reevaluating it’s approach to AI in Windows 11 now, and it looks like Recall may not even make it to PC’s at all, they are talking about maybe revamping it into something else because Recall was not accepted very well by the masses.
Seems to me like they are a day late and a dollar short, I guess losing 440 Billion Dollars and all those users just to put some lipstick on a pig finally caught their attention.
What they NEED to do is take Satya out of the drivers seat and put someone in their that knows how to give the consumer or end user something functional that works without all the garbage and right now that is just what Linux is doing, the OS’s are small in size, lightweight, SECURE and it simply does what you need it to do and it doesn’t dictate what hardware YOU HAVE TO HAVE to install it and register it legitimately, and THAT is what people want, the average home user can give a rats furry ass about AI and Copilot. They shoved 11 down our throats under the guise of it being “more secure” which is nonsense, Windows 11 is no more secure than it’s predecessor.
With barely a 50% market share after the OS has been out over two years now , someone over at Microsoft needs to answering some serious questions, Windows 11 tanked when it was originally designed as a tablet OS , and it is tanking again as a PC OS, Satya is in deep water up to his nose with his hand held out, problem is, no one is throwing him a life preserver !
Let me add one more thing ….
Had Windows 10 not met end of life , I seriously do not think that Windows 11 would be even close to a 50% market share, even after two years. I think a lot of Windows 10 users got scared and are using 11 just because they think they have to.