I replaced Windows with Linux, and there's only one feature I miss

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

Modern Linux distros person gotten easier to install.
You're astir apt to win with modular x86-based hardware.
Be prepared to transcript and paste tons of commands into a terminal window.

Switching to Linux utilized to beryllium difficult, but not anymore. No little an authorization than ZDNET's ain Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols said truthful recently: "Is Linux casual to use? Yes! The days erstwhile you had to beryllium a tech wizard to tally Linux are agelong over. If you tin tally Windows, you tin tally Linux."

I've adjacent recommended installing Linux as one imaginable option for anyone who wants to support utilizing a PC that Microsoft says is excessively aged to upgrade to Windows 11 and that nary longer supports Windows 10.

Also: How to upgrade your 'incompatible' Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 - for free

So, successful the involvement of science, I decided to effort for myself. Not to marque immoderate melodramatic level shift, but alternatively to place what benignant of issues you, beloved reader, are apt to tally into if you effort to migrate distant from the familiarity of a Windows PC (or Mac) to Linux.

Was it easy? That's not precisely the mode I'd picture my experience, which required a batch of stops and starts and a achy magnitude of clip copying complicated, unfamiliar commands and pasting them into terminal windows to get things similar a built-in webcam working.

Along the way, I got immoderate precise adjuvant proposal courtesy of Google's Gemini chatbot, which mostly steered maine successful the close absorption and adjacent offered 1 important spot of proposal that turned retired to beryllium the cardinal to a palmy install.

I had to effort 3 antithetic distributions earlier yet settling connected 1 that worked. Eventually, I succeeded successful getting 2 moving Linux PCs, which are susceptible of doing astir everything I request them to bash -- successful galore cases utilizing the aforesaid bundle and online services I utilized connected their Windows predecessors. In fact, the lone diagnostic I earnestly miss is Windows Hello and its quality to grip authentication utilizing facial designation alternatively of long, random passwords; that diagnostic isn't natively supported successful Linux.

Also: Your PC's captious information certificates whitethorn beryllium astir to expire - however to check

If you're reasoning of making the switch, you'll request to inquire the aforesaid questions I did. I connection this study to assistance you larn from my experience.

Will your hardware tally Linux?

My precise archetypal occupation was 1 I've written astir before: Linux isn't mostly compatible with Arm-based machines. Alas, 2 of the spare machines I had hoped to usage for this task are outfitted with Arm-based Qualcomm Snapdragon processors.

I had precocious hopes for my Dell XPS 13 9345. It's a delightful machine, and its Intel-based variant is even disposable with Ubuntu Linux preinstalled. But I had nary luck trying to instal immoderate Linux distro connected it, acknowledgment to that alien Snapdragon SoC. My trusty AI adjunct suggested I mightiness person been capable to enactment astir that contented by manually extracting proprietary firmware blobs from the Windows partition and past editing immoderate instrumentality trees, which is precisely the benignant of item that makes Linux truthful baffling for specified mortals. I decided against that subject project.

Also: Windows 11 has 1 cardinal users - and they're furious

After striking retired with my Arm-based machines, I looked astir for candidates with Intel inside. Good news: I person 2 of them hanging astir my office! Bad news: They are some Microsoft Surface devices, which adds an other furniture of complexity to this project.

The archetypal is simply a Surface Go 2, a six-year-old instrumentality that just barely squeaked successful nether the Windows 11 compatibility ligament with its Intel Core m3-8100y CPU. But it's been a dud astatine Windows 11, truthful wherefore not effort Linux?

The different is simply a Surface Pro 8, which is 5 years aged but inactive performs good connected Windows 11. It's powered by an 11th Generation Intel Core i7 and should beryllium an fantabulous performer connected immoderate modern Linux distro.

The occupation with these 2 machines is that Surface tablets person a fewer hardware components that enactment otherwise than industry-standard Windows PCs similar those sold by Dell, Lenovo, and HP. If I had started with a PC built by 1 of those OEMs, this task would person been overmuch easier. Instead, I needed a peculiar Linux kernel to get the touchscreen, pen, and camera working. Fortunately, there's a very progressive linux-surface radical connected GitHub that supports some of these machines. The installation instructions are well-written and clear, but they are not easy,

Which distro should you choose?

I started with Ubuntu Linux. It's an highly fashionable distribution. Microsoft supports it natively successful its Hyper-V virtualization level for Windows, and Dell sells caller laptops with Ubuntu preinstalled. Surely those are bully omens?

Alas, it was not to be. I was capable to instal Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish) connected some of my trial machines, but I ran into insurmountable problems trying to get a much caller mentation installed, and I was ne'er capable to get the webcam working. After a fewer hours of struggling, I formatted the partition and moved on.

The adjacent halt was Zorin OS 18, which ZDNET's different Linux dude, Jack Wallen, called his favorite Windows replacement. I had nary occupation getting started with Zorin connected either of my 2 trial machines, but getting the linux-surface kernel and enactment for some the Surface touchscreen and webcam was conscionable a large sticky mess, involving galore unsuccessful Linux terminal sessions.

After I aimed a blast of highly salty connection astatine Gemini, it apologized and recommended that I effort Fedora 43 instead. And you cognize what? It was right.

Fedora's enactment for Surface devices means it conscionable worked -- mostly.

How hard is the installation process?

If you tin make a bootable flash drive, you tin astir apt get Linux up and moving connected your erstwhile (x86-based) Windows PC. In fact, I acceptable up some of my trial machines arsenic dual-boot installations. Mostly, everything works. Did you announcement I said mostly? Yeah, not everything works.

The hardest portion was the portion that has ever been the hardest portion astir Linux: getting my webcam to work. In Ubuntu and Zorin OS, that required yet much terminal sessions that mostly did not enactment and inspired much salty language.

After I installed Fedora 43, my luck seemed to change. On the Surface Go 2, successful fact, each built-in hardware device, including the webcam, worked without immoderate other effort. The 1 exception? The Windows Hello camera. I truly miss biometric sign-in! A third-party task called Howdy seemingly offers facial designation utilizing the infrared cameras connected a Windows device, but I was incapable to get it moving and gave up aft an hr oregon two.

I was capable to get a YubiKey hardware cardinal acceptable up arsenic my superior login, but I inactive person to benignant a password to decrypt my strategy thrust astatine startup. Logging successful to that strategy without the hardware cardinal would mean typing a 20-character, randomly generated password. Which is just, ugh, a atrocious idiosyncratic experience. On apical of that, the Fedora installation doesn't look to recognize however to slumber erstwhile I adjacent the Type Cover connected the Surface Go, truthful it conscionable keeps going until the artillery hits 0%. And past I person to marque definite I americium adjacent to a powerfulness outlet erstwhile I restart. I'm definite Gemini tin assistance maine fig this out. Just springiness maine a fewer hours.

Meanwhile, I person Zorin OS 18 Core connected the Surface Pro 8, and it goes to slumber arsenic expected. I conjecture if I request a webcam, I tin plug my aged Logitech webcam into a USB larboard and commune that it works.

How does Linux enactment arsenic a regular driver?

I was pleasantly amazed to find that astir of the keyboard shortcuts I trust connected enactment the aforesaid successful Linux arsenic they bash successful Windows. Even tapping the Windows cardinal works arsenic a mode to get started with the system's app launcher.

Installing apps was a spot of a situation initially. I recovered the process easier than astir Windows refugees might, due to the fact that I person a batch of acquisition with utilizing the Windows Package Manager (winget) to entree repositories for Windows. Once I got my halfway apps installed, everything was beauteous easy, each things considered.

I did not fuss trying to instal immoderate autochthonal Windows apps utilizing Wine. But I truly didn't request to. All of my basal productivity apps -- 1Password, Obsidian, and adjacent Microsoft Edge -- were casual capable to install, and I had nary occupation utilizing my cloud-based Office files successful Edge connected Linux.

All successful all, this was not a friction-free experience. I bash not urge it for novices oregon for anyone who wants a PC that is casual to run and troubleshoot. But if you're a reasonably knowledgeable PC hobbyist and you're consenting to judge a learning curve that includes clip successful a terminal session, Linux is simply a perfectly acceptable alternative. I bash not urge that you archer your tech-challenged relatives to effort the upgrade connected their own. They'd beryllium amended disconnected with a Mac, honestly.

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