Okay I know this sounds like click bait but trust me switching over to linux requires you to first master the open source software that you will be replacing your windows/mac counterparts with. Doing it in an unfamiliar OS with no fallback to rely on is tough, frustrating and will turn you off of trying linux. DISCLAIMER: I know that some people cannot switch to linux because open source / Linux software is not good enough yet. But I urge you to keep track of them and when so you can know when they are good enough.
The Solution
So I suggest you keep using windows, switch all your apps to open or closed source software that is available on linux. Learn them, use them and if you are in a pinch and need to use your windows only software it will still be there. Once you are at a point where you never use the windows only software you can then think of switching over to linux.
The Alternatives
So to help you out I’ll list my favorites for each use case.
MS Office -> Only Office
- Not for folks who use obscure macros and are deep into MS Office
- Has Collaboration and integration with almost all popular cloud services…
- Has a MS Office like UI and the best compatibility with MS Office.
Adobe Premiere -> Da Vinci Resolve
- It is closed source but available on linux
- Great UI, competitive features and a free version
Outlook -> Thunderbird
- Recently went through massive updates and now has a modern design.
- Templates, multi account management, content based filters, html signatures, it is all there.
Epic Games, GOG, PRIME -> Heroic
- Easy to use, 1 click install, no hassel
- Beautiful UI
- Automatically imports all the games you have bought
PDF Editor -> LibreOffice Draw
- Suprisingly good for text manipulation, moving around images and alot more.
- There might be slight incompatibilities (I haven’t noticed anything huge)
- But hey, it’s free
How do I pick a distro there are so many! NO
So finally after switching all the apps you think you are ready? Do not fall into the rabbit hole of changing your entire OS every two days, you will be in a toxic relationship with it.
I hate updates and my hardware is not that new
- Mint - UI looks a bit dated but it is rock solid
- Ubuntu - Yes, I know snaps are bad, but you can just ignore them
I have new hardware but I want sane updates
- Fedora
- Open Suse Tumbleweed
I live on the bleeding edge baby, both hardware and software
- Arch … btw
Anyways what is more important is the DE than the distro for a beginner, trust me. Gnome, KDE, Cinnamon, etc. you can try them all in a VM and see which one you like.
SO TLDR: Don’t switch to linux! Switch to linux apps.
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Was ready to downvote but this is actually a really good guide, well done OP! The one issue I will raise, though, because I faced it myself, is that as long as you’re still using Windows, it is way too easy to just go back to using the Windows programs not the open source ones. Only through switching to Linux can you really “throw yourself into the deep end” and force yourself to learn these new things. Microsoft has made themselves the “path of least resistance” (or at least that of “most momentum” for a reason) and if you’ve been using a computer for a while, it’s a lot easier to break the habits and realise the benefits by giving yourself no other option than it is by trying to discipline yourself into using the new options.
Agreed, this has been my experience as well. I tried switching to full time Linux multiple times. I had already used it on my laptop for years but on my desktop I kept going back to Windows because things on Windows just worked the way I wanted and thought that for some things there weren’t any Linux alternatives.
That was until two years ago I challenged myself to only use Linux for a month. I’ve been using Linux on my desktop ever since and only use Windows now and then to play a single game that doesn’t work on Linux due to anti cheat.
And Debian could be used instead of Mint. Almost all the Ubuntu support online applies, except no snap requirement.
Also, start using WSL for random things you do in GUI today to learn CLI/bash.
But yea, great guide.
Use libreoffice over open office.
Seconded, why not OnlyOffice? (maybe parent commenter got names confused 🤷♂️ no judgement)
as for OpenOffice vs Libre Office— IIRC Libre has more recent development on it, which IMHO feels like a good sign for open source software; it’s kept more up to date
I’m stupid. I didn’t realize it said onlyoffice, not open office. Oop
Is open office even still in active development?
No, sporadic bugfixes if the “maintainers” feel like it. It’s dead. See https://blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2020/10/12/open-letter-to-apache-openoffice/
Thought as much. Thanks. And, to be fair, LibreOffice took that spot very well.
But what about Only Office?
Being a linux user for 23 years and a linux promoter and installer for newbies, I don’t agree with so many of your recommendations and priorities.
Seriously, OP sounds like they taste tested a handful of open software options and wanted to share, but had to implicate the newbie decision of windows vs Linux somewhere.
My concern with this take is that it positions the switch as all downsides. You do not get any of the Linux benefits, just the compromised experience on Windows. You may decide it is not worth it even before switching.
A better title would be “The best way to switch to Linux is slowly.”
But muh clickbait
So you’ve just posted your personal choices as though they were THE way to go. There are countless alternatives for everything. Just making that clear.
It reads like a good starting point for someone who wants to get away from Microsoft but has no experience with Linux, though. While Linux and OpenSource software are getting more and more beginner friendly, the amount of choices can make it difficult for newbies to even find out that Linux programs (be they FOSS or not) exist that can do what they need.
Fuck all that.
Install Linux, any flavor. Install virtualbox, and set up a Windows VM. Go ahead and install any of your windows bullshit on that VM. That’s your crutch, your failsafe: a windows instance that you don’t have to leave Linux to access.
Save snapshots before and after any changes, so if/when it goes to shit, you can roll it back to where it was still working.
Maybe spend a year ficking around with WSL. Learn some bash, get used to the CLI.
I keep trying to explain how Linux advocacy gets the challenges of mainstream Linux usage wrong and, while I appreciate the fresh take here, I’m afraid that’s still the case.
Effectively this guide is: lightly compromise your Windows experience for a while until you’re ready, followed by “here’s a bunch of alien concepts you don’t know or care about and actively disprove the idea that it’s all about the app alternatives.”
I understand why this doesn’t read that way to the “community”, but parse it as an outsider for a moment. What’s a snap? Why are they bad? Why would I hate updates? Aren’t updates automatic as they are in Windows? Why would I ever pick the hardware-incompatible distros? What’s the tradeoff supposed to be, does that imply there is a downside to Mint over Ubuntu? It sure feels like I need to think about this picking a distro thing a lot more than the headline suggested. Also, what’s a DE and how is that different to a distro? Did they just say I need a virtual machine to test these DE things before I can find one that works? WTF is that about?
Look, I keep trying to articulate the key misunderstanding and it’s genuinely hard. I think the best way to put it is that all these “switch to Linux, it’s fun!” guides are all trying to onboard users to a world of fun tinkering as a hobby. And that’s great, it IS fun to tinker as a hobby, to some people. But that’s not the reason people use Windows.
If you’re on Windows and mildly frustrated about whatever MS is doing that week, the thing you want is a one button install that does everything for you, works first time and requires zero tinkering in the first place. App substitutes are whatever, UI changes and different choices in different DEs are trivial to adapt to (honestly, it’s all mostly Windows-like or Mac-like, clearly normies don’t particularly struggle with that). But if you’re out there introducing even a hint of arguments about multiple technical choices, competing standards for app packages or VMs being used to test out different desktop environments you’re kinda missing the point of what’s keeping the average user from stepping away from their mainstream commercial OS.
In fairness, this isn’t the guide’s fault, it’s all intrinsic to the Linux desktop ecosystem. It IS more cumbersome and convoluted from that perspective. If you ask me, the real advice I would have for a Windows user that wants to consider swapping would be: get a device that comes with a dedicated Linux setup out of the box. Seriously, go get a Steam Deck, go get a System76 laptop, a Raspberry Pi or whatever else you can find out there that has some flavor of Linux built specifically for it and use that for a bit. That bypasses 100% of this crap and just works out of the box, the way Android or ChromeOS work out of the box. You’ll get to know whether that’s for you much quicker, more organically and with much less of a hassle that way… at the cost of needing new hardware. But hey, on the plus side, new hardware!
If you’re on Windows and mildly frustrated about whatever MS is doing that week, the thing you want is a one button install that does everything for you, works first time and requires zero tinkering in the first place.
This is the reason my 77 year old father in law switched. It seemed like every couple of weeks, he was calling me because Microsoft changed something. And it confused him, and he thought he broke something. I got so frustrated that I asked if he was open to trying Linux. After having him try some distros on Live USB, he went with Pop.
Haven’t heard from him other than the occasional question about how to do something new.
I genuinely think Linux misses a beat by not having a widely available distro that is a) very closely tied to specific hardware and b) mostly focused on web browsing and media watching. It’s kinda nuts and a knock on Linux devs that Google is running away with that segment through both Android and ChromeOS. My parents aren’t on Windows anymore but for convenience purposes the device that does that for them is a Samsung tablet.
Or, conversely, just switch to Linux.
Take an hour or so to have a look around the place.
Go on the internet if you have any questions.
People are smarter than you assume and if you want Linux to grow in popularity we need to stop pretending any if this is difficult.
You are giving the average person too much credit. If you ask them what OS they are running, they are as likely to say ‘windows’ as they are to say ‘dell’
I think the most likely answer would be “what?”
This does not work for everyone. A lot of people will try to switch, but find one tool they are used to they cannot now use and are not used to the alternatives so feel frustrated when trying to use them for real work. Then get pissed off at Linux and switch back to windows.
This advice is more for people that are thinking about Linux but have some professional or semi professional or hobby workflow on their computers that they need to be productive in. It can be very hard for them to switch os and tooling they are used to with no way to fall back to what they know when they need to.
You will find most people don’t rely on these tools and they can doba quick check and decide to switch straight away. But ignoring this advice for the rest can make transitioning to Linux easier.
We need to stop pretending that switching tools that you rely on and have spent decades learning to be proficient in is a trivial task for everyone.
Strongly recommend a KDE-based distro if coming from Windows.
Gnome is too janky when you’re used to the workflow in Windows. It’s almost like Windows 8, which nobody uses if they can help it.
KDE is just way more familiar.
Or Cinnamon! IMO it feels less overwhelming than KDE to people coming from Windows.
Good advice for the average Windows user, but I found GNOME a refreshing and streamlined way to work. I hate when I have to do something for work in Windows now, its just a terrible user experience.
I feel a surge of rage every time I have to touch Windows Update.
I feel that. I also like XFCE. I chose between that and KDE on a proverbial coinflip.
I just want to add, obviously I am not an expert in every field in the world and cannot find an alternative for everything but if you do want to do some research sites like alternativeto.net are great resources.
My one amendment would be - forget Ubuntu and variants, just Debian is fine with older hardware. Less headaches and hassles, and some snaps.
I’d even say Mint Debian Edition over Ubuntu.
Avoiding snaps on Ubuntu sadly is not an option anymore. Maybe go for pop!_os Instead of Ubuntu.
Not to mention they have bad flatpak support out of the box
You can download cosmic shop and it works well now.
It came out with comsic DE alpha
Cosmic terminal is also nice
That’s not out of the box
I disagree… I have no problems going without it. Could you give some reasons why you think avoiding snaps is not an option anymore?
Because canonical removed packages from apt to prevent users to install their apps from apt instead. Firefox for example.
Firefox from Apt is a link to a snap!
This is some bullshit level activity that I do not want.
I moved away from Microsoft to not have to deal with such an annoyance. Now canonical is doing it to their users.
Linux Mint is the most Windows-like Linux distro.
Ubuntu is the most Microsoft-like Linux project.
Another option if you have a laptop and desktop is to test the waters slowly with the laptop, and keep your desktop as is. It’s what I did for a long while to get used to things on Linux.
If there is a critical problem with my Linux instalation on my laptop, it’s OK because all the real stuff I care about is still on the desktop. So I’m free to wipe the laptop at a moments notice. It’s the easiest way to learn in my experience.
This is what I’ve unknowingly been doing. All my open source apps are in Linux. The transition was pretty smooth.
Pretty much exactly what happened to me. Mostly open source apps on Windows. Set up dual boot with Windows default. One day I noticed I was switching to Linux more often than not, so changed to Linux default.
I would say: “Don’t switch to Linux. Just start with Linux and never use Windows or Mac in the first place”
Don’t have to get used to something if you’ve never used something else.
