I just installed a dual boot for Ununtu the other day. I’m getting used to it. Almost everything runs better on it, but the UI is a huge change. Finally got some apps to install to desktop, so it’s a slow process, and looks like I couldn’t have picked a better time to switch.
So I’d honestly recommend Mint if you’re new. It has a Windows like interface making the change easier and is fundamentally better in multiple aspects. Or install KDE on Ubuntu - a different desktop environment - it also has a default Windows like GUI but is very flexible and can be anything you want.
The Ubuntu interface sucks to be honest, and you don’t have to be stuck with it. Linux is powerful and flexible - you can switch to a different interface with relative ease.
I’ll definitely check it out. I probably should have jumped on one of the Linux forums to find something outside of Ubuntu, but I just knew the name from a past attempt to use Linux.
Gaming was really the only thing that held me back, but since it’s a non issue with the games I play on Steam, I have no reason to stick with windows, except for maybe pirated games are all made for windows, which I’ve already seen workarounds for.
The classic Windows desktop experience is one of the rare things Microsoft got right imho.
Maybe in Windows 7 and 10, but 8 and 11 were abysmal in that regard. Meanwhile KDE and other Linux DEs, many of them providing “the classic Windows desktop experience”™ just keep improving. To the point that they deliver said experience better than Windows ever could.
I went with Ubuntu cause name recognition, and I’ve tried it in the past lol. Basically half assed the entire thing.
I’ll check out mint though. Ubuntu feels too much like a Mac OS. Loving how much I’ve had to use terminal, and my 12 and 10 year olds watching in amazement as I look like I’m doing something really complex, but just installing gnome tweaks lol.
I went with Ubuntu cause name recognition, and I’ve tried it in the past lol. Basically half assed the entire thing.
No you didn’t. If you’re new to this, you did your best and went with the most well-know thing you don’t know much about yet.
Ubuntu is fine. And I’m sure you’ve already put a few hours into configuring it at this point, so don’t waste the partition. I’m just pointing out - and possibly for others reading this thread - that if you’re used to Windows and you like the Windows UI paradigm, Cinnamon (the desktop environment in Mint) might be for you.
You can probably install Cinnamon as a secondary desktop environment in Ubuntu too, in fact, if you want to give it a go. If you install another desktop environment / window manager in Linux, don’t worry, you don’t lose anything: you’re simply presented with an option to choose the one you want in the greeter (login screen).
I actually went ahead and did a fresh install of windows on my 1 SSD, and a fresh install of cinnamon on my other SSD. Really the biggest pain was not losing the screw when taking out the windows drive so Linux was solely installed on 1 drive.
You guys were right, cinnamon is way more my speed. A few quirks that I’m looking up ways to fix, like I have 3 monitors, but 1 is in portrait, and if I try to line it up, it drags down the main monitor, instead of the portrait monitor, and the mouse is misaligned to what I can see on the screen. Outside of that, I’ll probably be on Linux full time within a month or 2.
This is fantastic news for Linux.
I just installed a dual boot for Ununtu the other day. I’m getting used to it. Almost everything runs better on it, but the UI is a huge change. Finally got some apps to install to desktop, so it’s a slow process, and looks like I couldn’t have picked a better time to switch.
So I’d honestly recommend Mint if you’re new. It has a Windows like interface making the change easier and is fundamentally better in multiple aspects. Or install KDE on Ubuntu - a different desktop environment - it also has a default Windows like GUI but is very flexible and can be anything you want.
The Ubuntu interface sucks to be honest, and you don’t have to be stuck with it. Linux is powerful and flexible - you can switch to a different interface with relative ease.
I’ll definitely check it out. I probably should have jumped on one of the Linux forums to find something outside of Ubuntu, but I just knew the name from a past attempt to use Linux.
Gaming was really the only thing that held me back, but since it’s a non issue with the games I play on Steam, I have no reason to stick with windows, except for maybe pirated games are all made for windows, which I’ve already seen workarounds for.
Good on you my friend.
I know it’s not easy, but make the effort and you’ll be rewarded in the end.
Incidentally, if you miss the Windows UI, Linux Mint probably was a better choice for you: it’s basically Ubuntu with a Windows-like desktop.
The classic Windows desktop experience is one of the rare things Microsoft got right imho.
Maybe in Windows 7 and 10, but 8 and 11 were abysmal in that regard. Meanwhile KDE and other Linux DEs, many of them providing “the classic Windows desktop experience”™ just keep improving. To the point that they deliver said experience better than Windows ever could.
I went with Ubuntu cause name recognition, and I’ve tried it in the past lol. Basically half assed the entire thing.
I’ll check out mint though. Ubuntu feels too much like a Mac OS. Loving how much I’ve had to use terminal, and my 12 and 10 year olds watching in amazement as I look like I’m doing something really complex, but just installing gnome tweaks lol.
No you didn’t. If you’re new to this, you did your best and went with the most well-know thing you don’t know much about yet.
Ubuntu is fine. And I’m sure you’ve already put a few hours into configuring it at this point, so don’t waste the partition. I’m just pointing out - and possibly for others reading this thread - that if you’re used to Windows and you like the Windows UI paradigm, Cinnamon (the desktop environment in Mint) might be for you.
You can probably install Cinnamon as a secondary desktop environment in Ubuntu too, in fact, if you want to give it a go. If you install another desktop environment / window manager in Linux, don’t worry, you don’t lose anything: you’re simply presented with an option to choose the one you want in the greeter (login screen).
I actually went ahead and did a fresh install of windows on my 1 SSD, and a fresh install of cinnamon on my other SSD. Really the biggest pain was not losing the screw when taking out the windows drive so Linux was solely installed on 1 drive.
You guys were right, cinnamon is way more my speed. A few quirks that I’m looking up ways to fix, like I have 3 monitors, but 1 is in portrait, and if I try to line it up, it drags down the main monitor, instead of the portrait monitor, and the mouse is misaligned to what I can see on the screen. Outside of that, I’ll probably be on Linux full time within a month or 2.
Nice!