The school computers are probably using ChromeOS, which is arguably worse.
They all got issued some cheapo dell laptops, but abso windows ive seen them ha ha
I’d much rather have to use windows than
shittier androidChromeOSChrome OS devices can be really nice since they don’t need x86
Debatable
I think the core issue is school
Listen up Linux evangelists. Here is how you get users on Linux:
YOU DO NOT TELL THEM IT’S FUCKING LINUX.
Don’t talk about operating systems, M$ Winblows, open vs. closed source, security, privacy, STFU and deliver Linux.
I used to make “little old lady” laptops and PCs. “Oh! You know computers? Can you fix mine? I can’t afford much.”
Yes. And I’ll do it for free.
Take it apart, dust it out, throw in whatever spare parts ya got laying around, install an SSD, see if that old CPU will fit, new heatsink grease, Load Linux Lite, get all the drivers working, hook it to their WIFI, show them how to get email and browse.
Done. STFU about Linux. Nobody cares but nerds. They don’t know it isn’t Windows, and they don’t need to know.
Not one of those folks ever called me back to repair their machine.
for people who do not care about OSs, yes. but if they care about OSs, or you believe they actually want to know about it, you tell them
remember, nothing is black and white!
The type of person that cares will bring it up when you talk about what they use their computer for.
yes, but not the kind of person that would care but doesn’t even know the concept yet.
This is what I do with my SOs mothers pc, she recently complained that the (15 yo) pc was slow to boot so I’m redoing it in the near future.
Me when my 13yo daughter shows me how she can draw on her ipad on her mint box because she found, downloaded, and stood up weylus all by herself.
Schools run Windows?
These days it is all Chrome OS
Not so surprising with windoze’s ever increasing system requirements.
Our schools here barely even use computers at all. Chrome OS just does not exist
Mint is just so fucking great to get new users in, it’s also what I install on the machines of the poor souls who are still trapped in Microsoft’s hellscape and are open to the idea of trying another OS.
The Linux Mint devs are really doing awesome work.
I checked this threads replies because it was a Star Wars meme, but now that I’m here, is Mint good for gaming? I really do NOT want to “upgrade” to Windows 11 but it’s always been gaming that has kept me from going Linux.
Linux gaming is in a great place right now, thanks to proton framework developed by valve. Anything on steam will pretty much just work with no tweaks at all necessary, and if you need proprietary launchers for your games (blizz, epic, etc.) then lutris handles that.
The only games which won’t work well without some kind of mods are those with the anti cheat root kits…apex namely. Thankfully those are few and far between but you could get unlucky depending on what games you’re maining.
Bazzite is a distro you should consider because it’s made specifically for gaming and comes with some nice optimizations already baked in, but Mint will work fine if you really want something that looks and feels like windows. Either way, try out Linux, you won’t regret!
If you have specific games you play on steam you can look them up on Protondb and see community data on how well they work.
Mint main here, and I’ll say outright: most distros are good for gaming. Got steam? Then you have an easy install of proton. Got flatpak? You got bottle to help you setup wine configs.
Mint is not setup out of the box for gaming (unlike distros like nobara), but it’s still arguably easier to install than windows’s exes.
I recommend mint to start getting into Linux. Keep it 4-5 months as daily driver, then you’ll be free to try other things. Personally I did some distro hopping, but came back to it as it was just… Good and stable.
… Until you talk about Nvidia. By default, mint uses the nouveau drivers… Which can be hit or miss. There’s the driver manager to help you one click install other versions, but you might have to try a few to get it working. If steam games crashes on startup, but not in Nvidia GPU only mode, that might be a bad version. That’s not really a mint thing, but it’s good to know.
For Mint and gaming specifically, somebody else would probably answer better but I can’t imagine it’s going to be too different from any other Linux distribution. If my memory serves me right, there are pretty easy to use utilities to install Nvidia proprietary drivers (which can often be the painpoint for people, though my experience has luckily been different). That being said, I do know a lot of people tend to advise Bazzite for gaming, so again, maybe someone more knowledgeable there could chime in.
For the more general question of gaming on Linux (irrelevant of the distribution), Steam has made things really easy for a lot of games. I have switched to Linux about 15 years ago and I can tell you it used to be a pita, but now with Proton, a lot of games “just work” TM. Unfortunately, some games do remain unplayable, in particular some multiplayer games which require kernel level anti cheats. You should check beforehand for the games you are interested in, but if something is truly unsupported that you want to play, Mint or no Mint, you’re shit out of luck.
My advice would be, if you have time for that, to back up your data (which you do anyways right?) and just give Mint a spin. You won’t brick your computer, worst case there is a showstopper and you can just reinstall windows. I am sure plenty of folks online would be happy to help in the process ;)
No, and this place will heavily gaslight you. Yes most games do work now, it just takes a ton of extra configuration and constantly getting shit like controllers working well.
Genuinely curious what the ton of extra configuration and controller issues you’ve encountered are? Speaking only for myself, since Proton it’s been pretty much smooth sailing, even with an Nvidia GPU.
Granted I don’t have more “niche” interests like VR or flight/driving sims which would require pretty specific “controllers” and may just have been lucky all around.
Incorrect documentation, controller latency, having to write out configuration and scripts for pipewire to use my HDMI audio, same with HDMI displays and gnome, having to create new display modes so that games see and use them, missing vrr in many games, a wireless headset is missing the mic input, missing HDR in all games running in gamescope, and having to pull out and put back in my HDMI cord every time my display turns off.
Don’t get started about having to run a Debian container to run vscode because flatpack doesn’t work consistently.
Running a 3080, 12700k, and mostly standard hardware.
So you’re the person who got all my bugs so I could have none.
Jokes aside, the pipewire stuff in particular sounds painful, this is a rat’s nest I am very glad I have not had to touch.
Do you have TV’s or HDMI audio through passthrough? I’m utterly convinced 98% of the Linux community has no clue. I regularly run into these issues across distros and I’ve basically become convinced that nearly everyone is running just standard monitors and wired in controllers.
It has to be a sampling problem.
Yes I do on my laptop (have not tried on my desktop which is connected to a standard monitor) + using an Xbox and an 8bitdo controller through Bluetooth.
Never had issues with hdmi audio passthrough, (but did use to have weird resolution issues, circa Ubuntu 10.04, on a particular TV that I never could solve).
I am not trying to negate your experience, or trying to assess sample size btw. I am just genuinely just as baffled as you seem to be, from the other end, and would like to know of potential issues I am not even aware of.
I got my family member to finally try Linux. They now don’t want Windows 11 back and said how it is easier the workflow is. All I did was show them how to update and install and uninstall using the store and a few basic terminal commands.
as a mint user, what basic terminal commands do they (and i guess i) need to know?
How old were these family members? That is an important factor.
Linux mint killed my parents.
Linux fans: Teaching you all you need to know to survive in Russian politics.
Obi Wan never told you what happened to Linux Mint.
The company I work for just announced that we are switching to Windows 11. I’m considering quitting.
Windows 11 is fine. It’s annoying but configurable.
Wholesome
