this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2025
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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 have used Windows all my life, and I have some questions. (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 day ago by ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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Basically the forced shift to the enshittified Windows 11 in october has me eyeing the fence a lot. But all I know about Linux is 1: it's a cantankerous beast that can smell your fear and lack of computer skills and 2: that's apparently not true any more? Making the change has slowly become a more real possibility for me, though I'm pretty much a fairly casual PC-user, I don't do much more than play games. So I wrote down some questions I had about Linux.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a "Linux Update" program like what Windows has?

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

And also, what distro might be best for me?

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[–] fatur0000new@lemmy.ml 1 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

won’t support HDR,

Source?

[–] communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 1 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (1 children)

It runs x11, the wayland port is going insanely slow, x11 has the following problems every time:

  1. Every single app can read all of your keyboard input without asking
  2. Every single app can see what every single other app is doing without asking
  3. Apps can fullscreen themselves and go over everything else, because they can control their own window placement to any degree they want, again, without asking.
  4. HDR https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/xserver/-/issues/1037#note_521100 (if you need a source)
  5. mixed refresh rate and dpi display configurations.

It may support these someday, maybe. But progress is absurdly slow. Considering cinnamon has fewer changes as a whole than just the KDE text editor alone, kde is a significantly better choice if you want a well-supported, bug-free and feature rich experience.

[–] fatur0000new@lemmy.ml 1 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

x11 has the following problems every time:

And Wayland isn't very well tested yet. We should only give a very well tested display server to very new users. They must not get a bad impression

[–] communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 1 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

That would've been true 5 years ago. Wayland is plenty tested these days, give me some data indicating the rate of issues is significantly higher and I'll agree, elsewise I think the most secure well supported option is the best one. X11 is being deprecated left and right for a reason.

gnome is wayland by default, kde is wayland by default, even XFCE is transitioning to wayland at this point... that's just not a valid argument in the modern era.

[–] fatur0000new@lemmy.ml 1 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Wayland is plenty tested these days

If it's still being tested, then it isn't for very new users

[–] communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 1 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

It's well out of the testing phase and used by default on both major desktops.

[–] fatur0000new@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

It’s well out of the testing phase

Testing phase, not stable phase (yet).

[–] communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 1 points 1 hour ago

Do you have evidence of this?