The AUR really does make Arch-based distros feel complete compared to other options. That massive package ecosystem covers most needs without hunting around random websites, though occasional build failures still happen. Have you tried any of the AUR helpers to manage updates and orphan packages?
I've been using yay and cachy-update, which seem to handle basic package management well for me so far. Do you have a favorite?
Good for you. Unfortunately the year of the Linux desktop will come no earlier than 2050.
Do you know FreeCAD yet?
I've tried it briefly, I found a lot of friction with trying to adjust to its UI. Maybe it was the order I did things in but when attempting a parametric design - following the same steps as my F360 timeline - FreeCAD just threw errors.
I still need to give it another try and learn the quirks and layout a little better. I haven't needed to design things lately but when I do I'll spend some more time with it.
I'm currently evaluating freecad Vs solidedge Vs solidworks. The fact freecad work on Linux might make it the default winner. I'm trying to avoid vendor lock in, I don't mind paying for software, however the other options would lock me in to windows. And I'm not prepared to run paid for software in wine
There's also In shape, which has it's down sides (some go away with money), but also runs anywhere bring browser based. One of the more obvious down sides is that it's by definition cloud based.
Congratz on liberating your computer and yourself.
Just a little advice on using the AUR: It is an user driven repository of software, meaning anyone can upload stuff to it. Usually you are adviced to read the AUR script before installing it (most don't, especially newcomers). So you should be very careful and only install from trusted AUR scripts. Maybe install from Flatpak instead from AUR if you can, but that depends on many factors.
Go back 20 years. See how many times this prediction has been made 🤣🤣
The only shift now is Microsoft shitting the bed so hard that people don't want to deal with them. The difference this time is the MacBook Neo.
People would gladly pay Apple $600 for a working machine WITH support and stores everywhere to get help if they have hardware issues. It's the new iPhone business model. They'll be taking more desktop market share than people even imagine on the price point alone.
20 years ago Linux couldn't play 95% of Windows games seamlessly without tinkering, couldn't easily produce music without a lot of tinkering and few DAWs, couldn't effectively video edit (Kdenlive is good now, and Davimci Resolve now supports Linux), and it had spotty WiFi card support.
All of those are now no longer a problem, and make transitioning to it far easier for a much wider swath of people.
Go back to the post and read the first sentence.
2026 is the year of Linux on OP's desktop.
Also, I'm not going into Apple's walled garden.
The only shift now is Microsoft shitting the bed so hard that people don’t want to deal with them.
That's a pretty important difference...
Not important enough for people to not spend $500-600 on a MacBook instead of sticking with an antique PC they wish to keep running. That's my point.
Costs less than a phone from the same company.
But the thing with anything that involves network effect (like any os adoption) is that the growth is very slow at first, but it grows faster and faster as more people get in. We used to be grouped along with "others" in charts, then came the "counted with less than 1%" mark, and it took a long time. Then the 1% milestone, then 2%, much faster than from not counted to counted, then 3%, faster than it moved from 1 to 2. Now stats vary from 3 to 5 %, depending on the source. It's getting really fast, and will grow even faster. This is a very significant difference
I feel like I'm insane for having to constantly reassure people on this fact, but...
LINUX IS THE MOST DEPLOYED OS ON THIS PLANET
Desktops are just software on top of Linux. The OS itself is superfluous. It's in your TV, router, car, toothbrush...etc.
Who uses what for desktop matters very little except to the people making the desktop experience. The only thing on the horizon that is going to make a huge dent in the numbers you see reported on Steam, are Valve's new hardware.
Meanwhile, many EU government operations are switching to Linux as fast as they can move their little fingers, but you won't see that reflected on the stats you're paying attention to.
That reminds me of something I read once: If every copy of Windows were to magically disappear, some people would be annoyed. If every copy of Linux were to magically disappear, it would be utter chaos and absolutely nothing would work.
That doesn’t conflict with Linux. Once people get off Windows, it’s easiest to turn to such further. I’m an Apple guy, but ~~most~~ all of my computers run Linux now. Even MacBooks.
I am considering of buying a Mac mini, with the perspective of using it as a Linux server, after it serves as a macOS desktop for my wife.
Once you change your default system and understand it can be changed, you won’t ever need Windows. Both Linux and macOS are quite close to each other.
not to mention Apple Education sells it for $500
Linux already got good a few years ago. Once most of the software just worked in wine that was the point where Linux adoption started to grow
Linux has been the most prolific OS on devices for 25 years, friend.
Did the post say it's the year of the linux device?
I put Linux Mint on a laptop last year that was running Windows 10 (dual boot) as MS said they were no longer supporting or providing security updates for Windows 10. Mint has worked well (although it does seem to want updates every day). I opened up Windows last week and MS said that they would actually continue to provide security updates for Windows 10 if I logged on with a MS account - so I guess they are actually noticing the migration away from their OS.
Mint has worked well (~~although~~ because it ~~does seem to want~~ gets updates every day).
FTFY. It's how you keep your machine secure.
so I guess they are actually noticing the migration away from their OS
Not really. It's only for another year and then they'll pull the plug (but they've now got you hooked on a Microsoft account). If things work for you on Linux: kill that Win10 partition for good and add it to your storage.
Thanks for the update fix! - I didn’t sign in to MS - as I only use it very occasionally - a program on an old usb drive only reliably works on Windows 10 (and not 11)
Have you tried running it through Wine? Bottles is a nice UI for Wine with sensible default settings. I got a lot of older Windows apps working decently well through that. And especially older not anymore fully supported Windows programms often run more reliable through Wine than through Windows' own compatibility layers.
The TRUE year of the Linux desktop was within us all along
Glad you've enjoyed the switch. In late 2023 I saw the writing on the wall as well, what with Windows 10 ending support in late 2025, and I made the switch in early 2024. I thought for sure that 2026 would be the year of Linux as well, because why would anyone stick with Windows even when it was just forcing users to throw out computers without the right version of TPM, but also following with all the AI nonsense and recall and whatnot.
Try this! Fusion360 for Linux - project by Cryinkfly. I've seen it work for some people but I havent gotten it to work well for me.
That's excellent - I'll be using this to help bridge my gap over to FreeCAD
There's also a dedicated recipe in "bottles", which I think is based on it at least in part. As I'm trying to move away from fusion, I haven't tried it yet though. Apparently it can work, but can also randomly break with updates...
I've gotten it to "work" but it's fragile and updates tend to break it. I ended up switching to FreeCAD, it's come a long way and version 1.1 is pretty great.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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