Considering Linux 2025

[Queen6]

Not sure LTSC is actually legal unless you have an enterprise agreement.

It is not available to non-enterprise customers from Microsoft.




Doesn't mean anything, every other youtube channel is pushing illicit cd keys, half of them were pushing Honey, etc.

And yes, LTSC is aimed at embedded stuff, you won't get feature updates; there's a good chance that end user focused things will not work down the line due to missing components.

And really... what are you trying to do here? If windows is annoying enough: get off. There are options!

If you need Windows for a specific application or game that won't run on Linux LTSC is an option. Either that or strip out what you don't need from W10/W11 Pro etc. Microsoft only serves itself, the less involved the better. I don't consciously use any of Google's services and well on the way with MS, equally I'm not going to sacrifice my usage or gaming experience. I'll just find an alternative path same as the Smartphone.

Q-6

 

[diamond.g]

If you need Windows for a specific application or game that won't run on Linux LTSC is an option. Either that or strip out what you don't need from W10/W11 Pro etc. Microsoft only serves itself, the less involved the better. I don't consciously use any of Google's services and well on the way with MS, equally I'm not going to sacrifice my usage or gaming experience. I'll just find an alternative path same as the Smartphone.

Q-6

If you don't play anything that needs anticheat then Bazzite is probably the way to go (if you are using nvidia/intel hardware). For gaming there isn't really any other need to have Windows, right?

 

[Queen6]

If you don't play anything that needs anticheat then Bazzite is probably the way to go (if you are using nvidia/intel hardware). For gaming there isn't really any other need to have Windows, right?

More likely to be Fedora/Kbuntu & KDE Plasma as have other needs. As said will really look at it when I replace this system as is the primary for gaming. That way I can also tailor the HW to some extents as needs be.

Q-6

 

[Queen6]

First step with any change of OS is identifying the needs & requirements. Similar to Apple, Microsoft is heavily integrated with its applications proving both useful and intrusive.

Initially what I need is cross platform support; Windows, macOS, Linux & Android. Personally, I prefer open source as it's auditable and in general better support.

Basic Productivity;
MS Office - LibreOffice ✅
MS Outlook - Thunderbird & Protonmail ✅
MS ToDo - Super Productivity (WIP)
Photoshop - Gimp ✅
Upscayl - Upscayl ✅
GPT4All - GPT4All ✅
Just Color Picker - Need to identify app for Linux & Windows, macOs already has built in
Sticky Notes - Need to identify app


Other categories (Linux);
Browser - Secure & Standard
Gaming - WIP
Security - Anti-Malware, VPN's, alternatives to Sysinternals Autoruns & Process Explorer, Password Manager
Utilities - Alternatives to BCU uninstaller, Winmerge, WinDirStat, 7zip, Disk Tools etc.

The Mac is pretty much settled, has been for years. Only a few applications need to sync across platforms. Others their output can be shared via point-to-point encrypted cloud server. Even on W11/W10 becoming less dependent on Microsoft is a step in the right direction and will ease the transition away from the OS if HW allows.

Q-6

 

[popup]

...
Other categories (Linux);
Browser - Secure & Standard
Gaming - WIP
Security - Anti-Malware, VPN's, alternatives to Sysinternals Autoruns & Process Explorer, Password Manager
Utilities - Alternatives to BCU uninstaller, Winmerge, WinDirStat, 7zip, Disk Tools etc...

Browser - Firefox. There are many forks too. I am waiting for Ladybird. But in the meantime Firefox is the Browser for me.
Gaming - I can't help
Anti-Malware - common sense
Password Manager - I am sure there are many but I do not use any
Winmerge - KDiff3
7Zip - it works on Linux
WinDirStat - the du command
Sysinternals Autoruns, Process Explorer, BCU uninstaller, Disk Tools - there are many CLI tools

 

[salamanderjuice]

Browser - Firefox. There are many forks too. I am waiting for Ladybird. But in the meantime Firefox is the Browser for me.
Gaming - I can't help
Anti-Malware - common sense
Password Manager - I am sure there are many but I do not use any
Winmerge - KDiff3
7Zip - it works on Linux
WinDirStat - the du command
Sysinternals Autoruns, Process Explorer, BCU uninstaller, Disk Tools - there are many CLI tools

For gaming, use Steam for Steam, check the box in compatibility settings. Use Heroic and Lutris for the other launchers.