this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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I was tired of Microsofts monopolistic shenanigans. So when Ubuntu 5.10 came out in 2005, and was extremely well done, it was time to switch to Linux. Because Linux was finally polished and functional enough to actually be at least as good as Windows.
Admittedly there were a period of dual booting for games. But that isn't necessary today, as we now have thousands of games that work on Steam.
You can say that what it took for me, was for Linux to become good enough to use as a daily driver. I'd say today it's a no-brainer.
When Gnome 2 was discontinued, it was a major pain in the ass though, KDE was buggy and Gnome shell was hell (IMO). So I can't say I never looked back, because I did install Windows 7 in frustration. But that was a very short adventure, because Windows is simply so horrible when you get used to Linux. The idiocy of Windows is momentous, and the jumping through hoops fighting Microsoft stupid security features, that won't even allow you a simple thing as changing your default text editor, becomes insanely tiresome and frustrating very quickly.
So it was back to Linux faster than you can say oops (almost).
Now the desktop has become less relevant to me, because I do almost everything through hotkeys. So I rarely navigate the desktop, so as long as I have a decent file manager, I'm 90% OK just having that.
We started with Linux around the same time, and I remember how awesome Gnome 2 was on Warty Warthog or whatever old release. At the time, the Windows Start menu was a convoluted mess of folders, uninstallers, readme files, etc. Gnome listed my programs more or less in alphabetical order with one icon each in logical categories. It was so simple, I explored every crevice of it and remember thinking "is this it?". It was and I soon learned that it was not just simpler, but more powerful and user friendly in various ways. I have moved to KDE since then, but it is absolutely the enshitification of Windows that pushed me here.
Out of curiosity, what do you consider a decent file manager? Dolphin is my favorite currently because I almost always have two panes open, but I've been looking for something even better since I also spend a lot of time working with files.
Dolphin is AFAIK by far the best file manager on Linux. And it is more than decent.
By decent I just mean ability to do basic stuff, like open terminal in current directory, create symbolic links, having detailed list view as default, open root instance, easy switching between 1 and 2 panels, tabs for quick navigation between multiple directories. Easy access to removable drives.
But I think almost all file managers for Linux have all that now. I'm currently using Thunar because I'm using XFCE, but I recently configured a laptop with KDE for a friend, and I must admit, I'm strongly considering going back to KDE. It was just such a pleasant experience to work with, my only gripe is that I can't make shortcuts on the numeric keypad, and I use that for window tiling.
It's such a weird omission in KDE/QT, that it doesn't recognize the numpad properly? If they have fixed that, I'll go back to KDE instantly.
I hear you on the tiling. I wish my window arrangement on KDE was more keyboard based. As it is, I end up dragging and resizing across multiple monitors and workspaces.
Yes, it's such a weird thing QT doesn't support numerical keyboard?