"Okay, I switched to Linux, now I'm getting this error message: _______."

"Install ______."

"It gives me this error now: ______."

"You have to update the _____ library first."

"It won't let me."

"You have to use sudo."

"It tells me to clone the git via the command line, but git says verifying login from command line isn't supported any more."

"You're following seven year old instructions."

"They're the only instructions I can find."

"You should switch to this other flavor of Linux."

I remember I had a date with a girl back in the'10s. We hit it off and got back to her place. Wanted to show her a funny Internet video.

She brought out an ancient laptop that refused to boot and said her Ex had tried to fix it with Linux.

I got it pointed at the right dependencies, she fellated me as it updated.

I think this is my only sexy story that includes Linux.

Well, I guess there was this one time I loaned a lonely neighbor DOS 6 disks.

But, that does not include Linux.

Switch to Linux and spend way more time making sure everything is updated and having to jump through hoops installing things.

No, you don't say "switch to Linux". This is an opportunity to be free from the shackles of being the go-to IT support person! If they say they are having computer problems, ask "Is it Linux? No? Sorry, can't help you"

A non-technical end-user once had a problem with Windows. A technical friend said "SWITCH TO LINUX". Now they have thousands of problems.

I've been a non-stop user of Linux as my primary OS since before Ubuntu was a thing. I do not recommend Linux systems to my non-technical friends.

ngl, the "switch to linux" crowd is close to a vibe of complaining that "my car is making some weird sounds" and the response is to "buy a new car!" I mean, it would solve the problem of not having that issue with windows/your car, but it also means you have to intrusively replace your workflow and probably find some entirely new programs to do what you already could, and potentially have many new, less explicable problems, just to not have that one tiny problem that you could live around.

I love Linux, but it's my job. When I go home I just want the simplicity of Windows. Thanks to tons of useless certifications it does exactly what I tell it to do.

When family wants a new OS install I don't suggest Linux or even mention it's existence. They get a version of Windows 10 with the bloat ripped out and the inability to upgrade to Windows 11. 90% of tech support calls have been stopped.

What friends I have attempted to convert usually go back to Windows due to Nvidia driver issues but as we move forward and gaming becomes less of a hurdle maybe we'll see more converts. Especially if Windows keeps pushing their whole cloud OS thing.

About the same when you ask for a good GUI replacement for X and someone replies "just use the command line", like cheers for that men, not what I'm asking for.

Okay, I'll bite. I've been trying Linux every few years for the last few decades and it's never been anywhere close to replacing Windows for me. I'm not a luddite; I was in tech for many years (MCSE certified) but there just... ALWAYS something that doesn't work right. And there's NEVER a simple fix. Linux for me ends up being more of a hobby than a tool and I haven't had the time or patience to deal with it in the past.

But I'm willing to try again,

Anyone have any resources to get me pointed in the right direction? Which distro to try, how to install as a dual-boot on an exiting Windows machine without breaking it, how to get Steam/Nvidia drivers/games going, etc?

EDIT - Apparently trying to dual boot with Windows on a machine with two physical drives is too much to ask (unless you have a CS degree). Maybe next time, Linux.

Switch to Linux! Then you can have problems with Linux.

I have linux at work. Colleagues use windows. They always tell me to change back to windows when I en ounter problem. I won't install spyware.

As someone who has had been around Linux-based people and whenever I have had a single gripe about Windows - it's this.

I don't have a hate boner with Linux, I just feel like Linux is a little too much for the average casual user. Everything is fine until they run into a single issue with Linux, if the bewilderment of not having their familiar easy to run programs that they had on Windows wasn't a turn off for them from the get-go.

Windows issues?

Bird 1: I have some trouble with Linux.

Bird 2: Whistles and flies off…

The ones that make me laugh uncontrollably are those Windows disk encryption issues for which the solution is…wait for it… run Linux from a LiveISO, fix the disk with Linux, then reinstall Windows. Because Windows is incapable of fixing its own issues that it itself caused.

Really though, switch to Linux.

Windows sucks but no one seems to realize this because they're too comfortable with how they fix, or work around, the broken stuff repetitively. The repetitiveness of the bad experience becomes "normal" so nothing is amiss. It being broken is "normal" so in their eyes it "just works"TM. It's almost like a form of brain washing.

It really is akin to people in domestic abuse situations who are just so numb to it they aren't motivated to get out.

Maybe we should be taking a book from domestic abuse counseling or something?

Unfortunately I've definitely been the raven at least once.

First time I agree with the Raven. Switch to Linux!!! Windows is just a shitshow, we all watch and can't believe they are doing this. Win 11 will bring us one of the biggest hardware-waste ever in a world where we should spare with resources.

But hey, throw that 4GB RAM machine in the trash bin everyone wants Win11. So glossy and shiny, so hot right now.

That used to be me. Now whenever someone ask me to fix their computer I'm like "no hablo windowes"

50% of the time the Microsoft forum help solution for any Windows problem is "Have you tried Re-installing Windows?"

• source, my ass

Of course I know him, that's me!

I used to always tell people I use Linux to avoid doing tech support. It was working pretty well for a few years, now my friend just asked me to install it for him. I guess I played myself.

I used to suggest linux to my friends and family but i stopped doing that as i found none of them actually cared what OS they ran. They also have a misunderstanding that Linux is very complex and difficult to use.

I've been trying to switch to Linux for 30 years now and am still trying to figure out permissions. Best of luck!

Yeah not a very big fan of trying to get people to switch platforms especially if they are non-technical as if they A) have the mental bandwidth to change their whole workflow paradigm to appease someone else’s ideals, and B) even have a use case where Linux is an option

Anyone’s negative feelings for Windows and Office’s telemetry or Apple’s walled garden is justified but if I do know what Linux is, I didn’t decide to use Windows because I wanted to lick bill gates’ boots, I have a specific use case. And if I don’t know what it is, I probably need the OOB usability that Windows and OSX offer

Well... I jokingly told my friend to switch to Linux - that guy switched and I can attest to it that he is much happier now 😁

I did. But then I just ended up having to google how to fix linux issues nonstop so I switched back

Every time I try Linux on my own, it's fine. But God forbid I ever use any device that comes with Linux pre-installed, and I'm cursed. I'm on my third steam deck after it software bricked itself, and our university Linux server is so unstable that it disconnects my session with vim every 30 minutes or so. Pain. At least there's a method to the madness: trust nobody but myself :P

Why? So I can have more trouble? :P