You mean keep spyware off your pc

Real talk.

I have been around long enough to know that this conversation has happened ever since Windows 7.

And each time and every time an OS EOL I spend time investigating a couple of Linux distros to try that switch.

This time is no different. From Redhat to Debian to Ubuntu to popOS to Mint. Each one is significantly better than the last.

But even 2024, I'm having to spend time inside the terminal to make the OS act more like Windows.

Tailscale has no native app. Gotta install it in the terminal. I want to use my touch screen in the browser to swipe the back button. Nope, I spent 2 hours on forums and ChatGPT and had to install something in the terminal. I was not successful. My Nvidia video card is not working properly. I gave up after.

Why am I spending hours trying to make my experience like Windows when Windows is right there. Sure sure, privacy and advertising yada yada. Install Adguard and disable services that you don't agree with.

Stop intimidating folks who just a computer that does work for them with "learn" linux as if linux is a programming language. Many linux distros are super user friendly and work exactly like windows UI.

Beside, why do you think iPhones, as dumb and as bloated and as restricted and limited and overpriced they are, still are the most selling phones worldwide year after year? It's because my 80 yr old mom knows how to use it.

Most people and professionals in the world just want a machine to do their work and are not intrested in learning progamming or command lines to do it. Nurses, doctors and surgeons, non-computer engineers, artists, business managers, ..etc, are too busy and occupied to even change the defaut settings or uninstall anything that comes with windows not because they love it but becuse not intrested and don't care. Add to those groups most, actually all, girls I've ever met in my life. They have different hobbies and learning OSes is not of them. It's like a girl saying "Soon Sephora will discontinue their HilightBrushExfoilioter and everyone who wants to wash their face needs to learn Mac's DeepBeauty routines". while dudes are like we know soaps but wtf is an exfoilating routine. Literally, they don't know what linux is, and it's not going to sell to tell them to learn.

So tl;dr: I'm saying the thing that sells would be Pop OS or Mint, or anything that requires the least or none learning curve.

After five years ~~Vista~~ Windows 11 is finally here

can't wait for steam os to come to desktops, hopefully will happen before the end of windows 10 support

For anyone who still needs Windows, I recommend you try the Windows 10 LTSC IoT variant.

It has support until 2032 and has all the bloatware ripped out. It's extremely good.

They even have a Windows 11 version. That's also really good. But I'm guessing if you've avoided upgrading to Windows 11, you'd prefer to stay on 10 anyway.

Literally everyone that "threatens" to "switch to linux":

I am quite disappointed. Given the title, I was like, wow, a generalist PC gaming website recommending people to switch to Linux! Read the article, Linux is not mentioned at all, I don't even know why it is in the title. Getting a few clicks from hippies?

I keep seeing these " time to move to Linux" threads. For my work I have to use super proprietary software which I know for a fact is Windows only. Not only that it's GPU intensive CPU intensive and niche. I'm sure there's a way to run Windows within Linux but I can only imagine the pain in trying to get proprietary shite to work.

On top of that I need specific CAD software, Photoshop and Illustrator. I don't think any of these daily used programs support Linux.

From the outside, Linux just seems like an absolute ball ache to get working with all of the things I currently do without even thinking about it.

I'd love to do it. Not sure it's going to work. Am I wrong?

Last month, for the first time, Windows 11 was a more popular OS than Windows 10 in the Steam Hardware Survey. Of course, this is an imprecise science as people have to opt in to having their machines measured but it's a sign of wider adoption. Windows 8, on the other hand, never made it big enough to do the same in its lifespan. Windows 7 was a very popular OS and adoption even to Windows 10 was fairly slow initially, partially down to that skepticism.

You can't cite the jump from 7 to 8 or 7 to 10 without also remarking on the fact users had far more.control over updates back then.

Yeah, Windows 11 adoption is up, because most people don't have a choice, or they didn't care enough to stop it happening automatically, and don't know how to roll it back. That doesn't translate to approval.

At a certain point, adoption rates just don't matter anymore because increasingly the user doesn't have a choice anymore.

So far tools like Win10Privacy have been exemplary in allowing me to rip all manner of spyware, adware, and annoyances out of Windows.

I’m sure that Copilot will meet the same fate with one external debloating utility of another. Even if I need to replace the Explorer-based shell with a third-party one.

There's Windows 10 LTSC, which gets security updates til 2027. And IoT Enterprise LTSC, which gets security updates until 2032.

"But should you even use those versions?!? They are not meant to be installed on a desktop PC/laptop" - idk, it's either this or Win11.

For more info on how to install, check https://massgrave.dev/windows_ltsc_links