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I have never really experimented with Linux before, and I'll be honest, my preconception was that it would be a boring, poorly designed, useless OS if you're used to Windows and Mac, and this is an opinion that only really began shifting when I watched Linus Tech Tips' Linux Gaming Challenge.

I decided to try Ubuntu 20.04 on my laptop when I saw Michi's screenshot of it on his own laptop on Discord, and was blown away by how beautiful it looked (as well as how close it looked to MacOS). Immediately, I was elated and frustrated. There are certain functions that are just so much better than Windows: taking a screenshot and having much finer control over whether you wanna take only a partial, your entire screen or only the specific window, an incredibly elegant settings menu, and how well the app drawer works with a laptop track pad (it's basically like a flat-bed iOS or Android app drawer).

What really annoyed me was how often I had to go into the terminal do get shit done, and how the different distros seemed to have such different ways of installing things or how an app would be well integrated with one, but not at all with another.

I tried Linux Mint next but found it way too similar to Windows and found it to have all sorts of bugs that turned me off from it within about an hour, and then heard that Fedora was basically the most complete and supported distro out there, replacing Ubuntu as the most secure yet exciting distro.

I booted that up next, and I honestly have to say since I've gotten used to the terminal, it's quite possibly my favourite desktop OS ever. I honestly want to daily drive that on my laptop, and literally the only obstacle still in my path is that it doesn't support Outlook (but surprisingly MS Teams works and works exactly the same way as on Windows), and there are just no good alternatives. It is incredibly responsive, and I checked the resource monitor to confirm that it uses far fewer resources than Windows, but honestly, with modern SSDs, I can't feel a difference between Windows 11 and Fedora at all. Obviously, gaming is still kinda a no-go, but I don't have a gaming laptop anyway, and that's what my desktop is for. There are actually some features that Microsoft has only just started to catch up to, like the multiple desktops, but it's just way better integrated to a laptop track pad here.

And finally, just fucking look at this. It's gorgeous.

I'm glad that you found something that you're so happy with.  

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my computer. It's almost 9 years old at this point...it still does alright, it's just that I've noticed it's not so great at playing the newer games. I've just never been able to afford a new computer, and with chip prices what they have been that's doubly the case recently. Windows 11 isn't going to work on it though, and I'm sure Windows 10 will stop being supported before I get a newer computer. Plus I'm a gamer, and that's always turned me off from trying Linux...I don't really like the idea of dual-booting and having to switch to play games, cause I'm lazy and I just like everything I need/want on the computer to be there. I even have a tendency to forget what games I have outside of Steam, cause that's where I go when I feel like playing a game.

Yay, switching over to *nix! Honestly I use the terminal pretty heavily on Mac also, just because of how convenient it is (and also to restart my audio driver when it crashes lol, which probably is my fault because I pretty much never restart my computer).

I do think the Unix model of things is just a lot nicer to deal with, and of course the Mac is the most polished instantiation of that. The price (both initial and in repair costs) really does suck but my current laptop was an investment for college that I definitely think paid off (totally understand that I'm coming from a privileged position where that's even possible). Its age is showing a little bit now; in a couple years I might switch over to an ARM Mac which would be very exciting given the promise that architecture holds.

Being on a Mac has restricted my gaming choices ever since I switched to it, but I don't game much and eventually it didn't make sense to keep my dual boot partition. Fairly recently, I also bit the bullet and upgraded my OS, so now older 32-bit games are also off the table (unless I want to run on WINE instead of natively). I only ever play Minecraft basically anyway so that's not much of an issue for me. And that just runs on Java so it was like the first game to natively run on ARM Macs too, so if I ever get a new Mac I won't have a problem with that either (not to mention that the software available will be much better given time).

Is this thread for just general discussions or is it for one thing in specific

@taulover: Oh my, I still have some 16-bit games that I have to play on an emulator. I can't believe we're phasing out 32-bit now. v_v

@Eliza: It's for posting anything that's on your mind. It doesn't have to be a specific subject.

What's on my mind? today was my due date but I sure don't have a cool baby girl now. why they always gotta be late

@taulover: Oh my, I still have some 16-bit games that I have to play on an emulator. I can't believe we're phasing out 32-bit now. v_v

Well, there are 64-bit 16-bit emulators.

What's on my mind? today was my due date but I sure don't have a cool baby girl now. why they always gotta be late

First off, congratulations on your impending arrival.

I was late coming out...my mom says it's because I was so comfortable I didn't want to leave, lol. Maybe it's the same with your baby girl.

Well, there are 64-bit 16-bit emulators.

Well yeah, but how long will it be until we have 128-bit OSes and we have to emulate 64-bit games.

Hmmm well she better come out today because i am in bad pain every moment im not laying or sitting down!!

Hopefully it'll be soon if it hasn't already...she can't stay in there forever, can she?

She came out👍

So, my raise at work over my promotion came through earlier than I thought it would, and the relief was amazing. I was down to my last $100 on my credit card...with this and with extra donations from Wintreath (thanks donators!), I hope to be financially stabilized by the end of the month if nothing else happens. It's going to feel great not having to worry about running out of money like I've had to for the last few months.

@Eliza: Congratulations!

I'm glad that you found something that you're so happy with.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my computer. It's almost 9 years old at this point...it still does alright, it's just that I've noticed it's not so great at playing the newer games. I've just never been able to afford a new computer, and with chip prices what they have been that's doubly the case recently. Windows 11 isn't going to work on it though, and I'm sure Windows 10 will stop being supported before I get a newer computer. Plus I'm a gamer, and that's always turned me off from trying Linux...I don't really like the idea of dual-booting and having to switch to play games, cause I'm lazy and I just like everything I need/want on the computer to be there. I even have a tendency to forget what games I have outside of Steam, cause that's where I go when I feel like playing a game.

Yeah, Windows is still the place to be for gaming. Steam works really well on Linux now (although all games are still not supported), but beyond that you're pretty limited. 

I'd take a look at AMD hardware as a cost-effective upgrade path. 

Yay, switching over to *nix! Honestly I use the terminal pretty heavily on Mac also, just because of how convenient it is (and also to restart my audio driver when it crashes lol, which probably is my fault because I pretty much never restart my computer).

I do think the Unix model of things is just a lot nicer to deal with, and of course the Mac is the most polished instantiation of that. The price (both initial and in repair costs) really does suck but my current laptop was an investment for college that I definitely think paid off (totally understand that I'm coming from a privileged position where that's even possible). Its age is showing a little bit now; in a couple years I might switch over to an ARM Mac which would be very exciting given the promise that architecture holds.

Being on a Mac has restricted my gaming choices ever since I switched to it, but I don't game much and eventually it didn't make sense to keep my dual boot partition. Fairly recently, I also bit the bullet and upgraded my OS, so now older 32-bit games are also off the table (unless I want to run on WINE instead of natively). I only ever play Minecraft basically anyway so that's not much of an issue for me. And that just runs on Java so it was like the first game to natively run on ARM Macs too, so if I ever get a new Mac I won't have a problem with that either (not to mention that the software available will be much better given time).

Yeah, the Apple tax is a big problem, and mostly the reason I haven't yet seriously considered a Mac. I can definitely live without gaming on my laptop. My laptop is there to get work done when there's a power cut or there's an emergency while I'm travelling. 

This is completely random, but I had nowhere else to vent this, so here I go:

Amongst my many other interests and hobbies, one of them is currency-collection, particularly coins. I have booklets and sleeves with American quarter sets, wheat pennies, US dollar coins, as well as foreign currencies (Canadian dollars, Japanese yen, etc). Usually, I don't go out of my way to purchase a coin; I prefer to find them out in the wild. Therefore, I prefer to collect circulated coins and don't have any interest in purchasing any collectors sets from mints.

However, I discovered this British uncirculated coin and I. AM. IN. LOVE. The composition is incredibly neat, as are the animals and their significance to each British kingdom/county, and with only a price of £13.00 (a little over $16 US), I might just have to break my streak of not buying directly from mints.

What are your thoughts? Do you like this coin as much as I do? Or am I just a giant nerd with a capital N?