How long until the technoilliterate starts to use linux I wonder…
If you are building a new machine for home use and not starting with Linux it’s crazy to me. The worst that can happen is you try it for a month or two, hate it, and then buy a windows license.
Even at that you can dual boot. You could ween yourself from one to the other to build a daily driver. As Linux has several windows emulators(heroic for example) that you can install and run all your fav window programs anyways.
Linux is like so zero risk it is ridiculous.
try it for a month or two
By then the price of said Windows license would quadruple.
How much ram comes with windows?
All of the AI Copilot ram.
purely a cash grab. in no universe of reality is software so tied to memory that it requires a price hike
Ik they’re expensive, but Frameworks might be worth a shot.
A year of Linux desktops indeed. I’ve switched PC and a laptop to Linux and guess what? Works better, faster, more secure and I fucking love it.
Never ever going back to Windows. I might run win10 in virtual pc, but never main host and nothing => 11
Yepppp.
Played around with all of them for a bit. Settled on Bazzite. Dead simple to install and use and it has t given me any issue at all.
Pop OS was kind of nice too, but it needs another year in the oven.
Microsoft seems intent on pushing people to alternatives. Not only did they quietly remove the higher RAM recommendation, but now the OS is more expensive.
So what people are likely to get an underpowered computer that costs more if they have to buy a new laptop. On the tail of Apple recently releasing a relatively nice and cheap laptop to much fanfare, no less.
It sounds like we’re about to see a repeat of the Windows Vista days. Where people hate Windows because it’s slow and horrible, and it is slow and horrible because it’s running on an underspecced machine barely meant to run the previous version of windows.
They’re trying to kill the home PC. They’ll have all of the computing power and we’ll have subscription access.
And they’d get away with it too if it wasn’t for those damn Linux distributions.
Look at the long game. Installing a Linux distro is great. But what happens when your GPU/CPU/SSD dies and you can’t afford or buy replacements?
They got more time and can afford to wait us out.
old hardware still runs great on linux. they’ll have to force windows apps on people and linux will prolly run them as well.
Or when they lock the bootloader ala android phones and you’re stuck with the default Windows on your laptop?
They literally said that’s the plan. Consumers better fight back.
Sure in terms in computing power. But Microsoft still needs you to be able to access a windows device so that they can push you onto their subscriptions. I think in this case, they think people will just cough up the extra costs to get windows. Of course at one point even regular people will consider Linux. And that is when Microsoft will break.
I feel like Linux needs to be just a little bit more accessible to the tech-illiterate too. It is getting closer but go show some uninitiated person a Linux forum where power users are talking about maintaining their system daily or weekly, the average person is going to still nope out. I run Linux and and Windows, but if Mac could run more games I’d think about giving them a try because they all suck in their own special way.
for regular people all they need to do is accessible through gui. it’s just a matter of being open to change.
but go show some uninitiated person a Windows forum where power users are talking about maintaining their system daily or weekly, the average person is going to still nope out.
The OS is immaterial, showing anyone uninitiated the shit power users do, you’ll get that reaction. If you show me, a professional windows admin and a homelab linux admin, a Mac power user forum and my eyes will cross. But for windows or potentially Linux, it’s fine. Don’t use the users’ lack of understanding as a mark against it, because that same mark is on every OS.
Linux itself has been usable by the tech illiterate for over a decade. My dead mother could use it just fine after I got sick of reinstalling windows, and she’s been gone damned near that long. Sure, they have to have assistance in getting it installed right now because even the windows terminal terrifies them, but get it installed and a base configuration in place and it takes care of itself for the most part.
Some distros are surprisingly accessible to be honest. And with the enshitification of windows people will be very tempted or pushed to make step to Linux. And when the crossover point is there is can go really quickly. More an more companies are deciding that the cost of Microsoft alone is worth the migration. Exposing even more people to Linux. My biggest barrier is that some online games won’t run on Linux but if that changes then why not.
I don’t even think most people know what Linux is.
My daughter met a child named Linux at a park. The Parens thought they came up with the most unique name ever. They had absolutely no idea. Bruh…
Why am i hearing Linux music?
The Tux trumpets are getting louder…
The lyrics are in C!
I hear those beautiful lyrics too, but I swear it’s actually in C#
Blastbeat of millions of penguins stomping.
I’ve been hearing Linux music for the past 9 years lol it’s incredible how much it’s improved as a desktop OS over that time.
Ah, the famous SuSE songs, instant classics.
Only the real know (i have never used openSUSE)
Oddly enough, many people apparently don’t even know of the SuSE songs, would you believe it?
This. Linux use on the USA is now over 10% in computers. And growing. I hope Europe follows the same path, but it is slow. Growing also. At home we all have ditched Windows years ago.
Really? I was thinking Europe would be leading in Linux adoption, kernel originating from Finland, distros like SuSE, NixOS etc.
Saw the data here, on Statcounter: https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/united-states-of-america. But now that I have searched it, it seems that maybe this spike is related to bots masquerading as Linux traffic https://www.pcworld.com/article/3204830/linux-didnt-actually-hit-10-percent-market-share-blame-bots.html.
Who knows, but indeniably, Linux is gaining attraction progressively.
Bah gawd, that’s Stone Cold’s music!
Let’s be honest… people who can’t figure out how to deal with Windows licenses wouldn’t be able to deal with a switch to Linux either.
This is about OEMs, which realistically only have 2 choices: Either sell it with windows, or Linux pre-installed.
The general public isn’t going to buy a device without an OS installed.People that can rub two neurons together have figured out they can get their 10yr old nephew to install something for them… so the included OS means nothing besides how it affects the final price. They’ll buy a laptop with Windows/Linux/no OS or whatever on it. In markets that don’t allow computing devices to be sold without an OS it doesn’t even have to be Linux, the vendors and manufacturers will happily slap FreeDOS on it to bypass the regulation.
Shit, even those who do know Windows will find it daunting.
I just bought a PC over the weekend to replace my PS5 (because fuck Sony) and I installed SteamOS onto it.
I am having a hell of a time figuring it out. It’s such an alien OS to me as a lifelong Windows user. I’m still trying to learn how everything works, like udev rules and the file structure/hierarchy it uses. It’s mad confusing, normal/less tech savvy people definitely wouldn’t be able to handle it.
udev rules is a bit of a deep end dive tbf. There are enough Linux distros where you can stick to the desktop most of the time.
I’d suggest Bazzite instead, still gaming oriented but it’s a lot more user friendly than SteamOS which is moreso designed with the steam deck and steam machine in mind.
Yeah, a friend of mine well-versed in Debian suggested I switch to Bazzite.
The main issue I was having with SteamOS is I couldn’t wake the PC up from sleep with a wireless peripheral of any kind. Went into BIOS and made all the necessary changes and whatnot.
As much as I absolutely despise it, AI was able to assist me with a udev script that worked first try. I was mainly hoping to get my 8bitdo Pro 3 to wake the system since it had a 2.4ghz dongle/station, but even my PS5 controller can wake it now via Bluetooth, no matter how much time has passed.
Now that I don’t really need to worry about switching to the desktop, it’s been a pretty great experience so far.
SteamOS is not meant to be used on normal desktop/laptops. You’re making things harder for yourself.
Personally, what I hate about Linux is terminals and having even less reliable information about what has gone wrong. I will revisit Club Penguin in a couple of years, provided that Valve has further expanded SteamOS to the desktop PC.
In the meantime, I am using Windows Enterprise via Masgravel activation, installed via RUFUS, and paired with ShutUp10 to improve privacy without having to be a guru. ShutUp10 also has a paid version that automatically reverts changes that Microsoft does to privacy settings.
No Chris Titus?
I have no idea why this makes sense? What about hardware getting more expensive justifies the license for software going up? Is this just because they can?
they’ll prolly leave the home users alone and charge companies that have no option but to cough up. for now…
They need the cash to fund their AI spending. There’s no conspiracy.
Volumes are going to be down, but they want the same revenue, so they increase unit price, comfy in the reality that it will still be, percentage wise, not worth it for most to care. Will it make it unaffordable for some? Probably not appreciably more than the hardware is doing all by itself.
So in short, it is just because they can.
It makes sense in terms of opportunism, greed, and for laying three groundwork for a future where you do not own your own computer but do everything in the cloud (because that is where the power is). Remember the whole “you will.own nothing and be happy” thing… so same argument as when businesses moved from self hosting on site. Short version, they want you with a subscription for everything and they can control everything you do.
Pretty much. If hardware is constant lly going up and consumers put up with it, why not get a slice of the pie? It’s not like an OEM buyer will reconsider just because of a few bucks for Windows, if they were going to buy anyway.
Lmfao, here comes manufactures selling their own versions of Debian and Fedora. I bet we’re going to see a rush of manufacturers selling blank no OS PC’s with hardware being the only added on cost.
More OEMs should ship devices with Linux as an option, discounted by the Windows license cost.
OEMs: Sorry, best I can do is tripling the amount of pre-installed bloatware that I get kickbacks on, to not only offset the cost but raise profits more
Here in Brazil, a lot of vendors are offering laptops with linux, but they do this just to offer a lower price, and put the most weird distro possible, that no one knew existed, so everyone who buys have to install their own os. The bad thing about it is that it creates a really bad first impression about linux on common users, who mostly end up asking the tech person from the family to install windows for them
Edit: another random fun fact: in order to offer a lower price, some brands around here also ship laptops with freedos, don’t ask me why.
Why don’t they just install Mint, Zorin, or even xUbuntu (XFCE versions of each)…
That’s 3 examples with actual support and a user base >3 edgelord cat bois.
I ask myself the same question. I have no idea. Mine is from vaio and came with some sort of modded debian that looked like a stripped down win xp with custom repos that didn’t even load properly.
You’d think that installing a niche distro like that is more difficult than one of the big ‘plug and play’ ones. Meaning they actively put more work into it, how strange.
Most distro maintainers would expect something for commercial licences. Can’t have them take all your hard earned money! Max I can do is 0$.
They’re usually gpl licensed. You can do whatever you want with it (including selling it for a bazillion monies) as long as you give the code too.
No they wouldn’t. Where did you even get that idea from?
All the distroes are under GPL, so there is no need
They just expect everyone to pirate windows
Exactly, but if we think about it, just putting some random well-established distro would be faster and cheaper than creating their weird modded versions or making contracts with weird firms. Maybe they want to avoid any unexpected legal issues?
Maybe it has some known vulnerabilities? The more reputable sellers I’ve seen around here (I’m also from. Brazil) just ship Ubuntu, it’s usually the sketchier vendors with the weird distros
Which brands have you seen shipping with ubuntu? I’ve seen vaio, samsung, asus and acer shipping with weird distros. They come like that even from the official stores.
Pretty sure Dell is ubuntu, dont remember others atm
im surprised they don’t just do the underhanded method of acquiring windows.
well I’d imagine theres some stores willing to oblige doing that.
curious sakes, what distro do they preload on customers.
Yeah I doubt my chinese MiniPC came with official Windows. Had recommendation tp go through initial set up offline. Not that I kept Windows. I wiped it and put Fedora on it.
Yeah that’s weird. Quite a few of the smaller refurb shops here (south East Asia) just pirate Windows and Office suite.
Around here, institutions are quire rigorous with that, so stores have to play by the book. Only very small shops can sell pirate software without getting caught
About the distros, Each brand seem to put a different one, and they’re all weird. Mine came with some sort of modded debian with alternate repos, but was very impractical for use, and ended up installing fedora over it.
The problem there is Windows still has negative cost for OEMs due to all the bloatware they bundle.
They get paid for that McAfee and Epic Games icon.
meanwhile on the Dell website
EDIT: $100 of that difference comes from Win11 requiring an SSD upgrade from 512GB to 1TB
What currency is that? Windows 11 home is $140 USD.
The “discount” “+$100” 💀
I think that might be losing a $100 discount from the other configuration, possibly because they have excess smaller drives that don’t meet win11 requirements?
That’s crazy! I had no idea they were charging that much now. Thanks for sharing!
They used to have agreements to make it difficult to do so. I don’t know if that’s still the case but it’s pretty awful. I think OEMs had to pay licenses for every machine shipped regardless if it had a windows license.
The other issue is that oems have a large amount of compatibility and support built up over the years for windows. They also know their customers can deal with Microsoft for “support” and ignore driver and support costs for whatever distro of Linux they were to choose.
Sure an OEM could lead the way and show everyone else the path to freedom but think of the shareholders
They used to have agreements to make it difficult to do so. I don’t know if that’s still the case but it’s pretty awful. I think OEMs had to pay licenses for every machine shipped regardless if it had a windows license.
The Framework laptops have been selling out with backlog orders now. But with new models recently out, all the Linux ones sold out well before the Windows ones.
I think it just kind of goes to say, if you know a bit about computers, Linux is a go-to. Of course those that are a bit tech-savvy as well would just get a Windows one, clear it off and install the distro of their choice. Plus once upgrade is done, my OS and files are all there like nothing happened. Things like setting up Windows again on a new device or new install is like a full day task.
they actually make money on many of those windows preinstalls due to all the bullshit they get paid to put on.
The fun part is that they can bundle an equal amount of bloatware on linux for even more revenue.
The actually funny part is that they can’t. Most of the bloatware is not available on Linux because it doesn’t support it.
I’m not sure what you mean… linux “supports” bloatware just fine, it’s just that we don’t have much of that kind of software (yet), and i’m sure they could get it all to run through winboat or somesuch if they really wanted to.
To me this is positive news. The less appealing Windows machines are, the better. Let Windows PC rot peacefully.
While I understand your sentiment about Windows, this is how you end up in a world filled with iPad kids who become adults who accept technology that they don’t own.
Walking down the aisles of any store selling computers, I can attest to this. If a company can’t sell a Windows computer, they will simply sell a Chromebook instead.
Or a manufacturer finally decides to make a budget Linux laptop that starts selling better than expected.
Y’know, some manufacturers used to do this actually, and more might start again.
I still miss my Acer 5315 that came with Linux. It was an instant buy.
Only if we stay quiet.
Gotta pay off those data center loans.
I am starting to thing this entire thing is some weird orchestrated pile of bull shit to get pwople to stop buyingPCs because its cheaper to use rented VMs with AI spyware built in. Just point your old “slow” compiter at the server in your browser (only spyware Chrome supported). Then they can DRM everytjing and charge subscriptions.
Bingo!
It was always believed that Windows OS was a “loss leader” for Microsoft.
Windows OS will never show a profit, when you take into account the development and testing time and effort. I mean, a one time purchase that’s expected to be supported for years!?!
Side note: This also explains why Windows 11 is de-evolving into an AI generated, ad ridden, telemetry gathering, cesspool of an OS (“we gotta make money somehow - think of the share holders”)
But, what Windows had done is create a platform for Microsoft to upsell (and vendor lock-in) profitable applications like Office, Outlook, Teams, etc.
However, that business model doesn’t work anymore. As, all of Microsoft’s products are now in the cloud. They’re all subscription bases, which means predictable and indefinite revenue. User’s don’t need to be running on Windows - they just need a web-browser or thin-client. Microsoft already has people (brainwashed into) wanting Office - they don’t need to _force _ people into trying Office.
tl;dr: Developing and supporting Windows OS is a financial drain for Microsoft, and they’re doing everything they can to scuttle it.
the development and testing time and effort.
Ngl you had me in the first half…
I don’t know if that’s the entire thing, but it is definitely part of it
been saying that was the goal for over a decade.
AI data centers become “personal cloud PC centers” when the AI bubble pops…
I was gonna say the government will just use it to surveil you, but realised that a “personal cloud PC center” is essentially the same thing except for the branding change (gov. vs big tech).
Makes it so much easier for the government to monitor one data center instead of a million separate computers.
And you gotta keep in mind that big tech wants to be the government
This is the way
