Windows 12 could see a substantial system redesign in order to include a more AI-centric user experience. The start button could thus be replaced with Copilot AI, which is already available as a preview version in the latest Windows 11 update.
I spent the last ~10 days “playing” with many distros, including testing some current games, and I am literally right now backing up my files and about to reformat my main PC to linux (full drive, no dual). This is after only having experience with copy-paste Raspberry PI guides for my pi-hole.
Don’t totally believe “oh it’s so easy, nothing to configure” - those people are lying, especially if you’ve not used Linux before. But several flavors of Ubuntu are quite pleasant, and I appear to have found a home with PopOS. I can’t find anything that “doesn’t work”, and the worst fixes were just quick searches for help. PopOS won due to nvidia compatibility and a nice, snappy desktop. It also was the fastest in overall reformat cycle time. My wife’s computer is still Windows, if I do have any microsoft emergencies.
There are some games that just will not work even under proton, or that have functional restrictions. It’s way fewer games than it used to be, but it’s still not an absolutely perfect solution. I would love to make Linux my gaming OS instead of my “getting shit done” OS like it currently is, I’ve been advocating for it for a few decades at this point and it’s almost there, but it’s not to a point yet where I can unreservedly recommend it to gamers. If you aren’t a gamer I’d say it’s already good enough for anything you need.
It’s “easy” - but that is very subjective, depending on how much you’ve down outside “turning Windows on”.
You DO need to make sure your router allows assigning a DNS ip address. Some ISP-supplied units are rather locked down.
I recommend a “kit” from somewhere like CanaKit (amazon has them), to make sure you get the parts you need. It can run on smaller/cheaper kits, but I say get a Pi3 or 4 variant.
Then following the link above, there is great documentation on install. Install “Putty” on windows, which will log into your Pi and allow remote command line, and then the entire process is copy-paste from guides.
After you finish, you may feel “oh that was easy!” - but there’s still some stuff to learn and get used to along the way.
Congrats on picking an awesome distro! :) Pop is really nice, and I’m really excited to see what they do with their desktop environment. I feel like we’re spoiled for choice right now on Linux.
There are always things to configure, just like on Windows. I think some people kind of forget that they had to learn to configure things on Windows at one point. xD
Ok wow… did I jinx myself with this post. Immediately after posting here, I began the install/config phase of a fresh reformat. Encountered a weirdness that the system couldn’t sleep/suspend - immediately woke up. 8 hours later… After installing 5 different distros to confirm it was ALL linux versions (even debian)…
I spent the entire day, 8 hours, searching and referencing and troubleshooting. FINALLY one very random corner of the internet, on an ARCH-LINUX forum, a small comment mentioned that my Gigabyte B550 “had a problem” with sleep. SO THEN I had to start cross-referencing those words (couldn’t “use” the Arch guide, since I was on Pop), and my dude/dudette… I was up to 1am.
Ultimately, I had to COMBINE the “solutions” of FOUR different results, across 2017-2020 (none actually on Ubuntu 22.04) to get the fix to work. Like one taught me the script, but the locations were wrong, one taught me the service I needed, but it was outdated, and then another taught how to fix a service, etc etc, cascading solutions.
SO at close to 2AM - after documenting my own guide, another raw metal install of PopOS, wrote my script & service… and… “it just works!” (pun intended). It works. It sleeps. Have to disable the Gigabyte B550M “GPP0 and GPP8” device, which are bridges to the NVMe drives.
Funny enough though, as much as this is “yup, thats Linux!” I feel like it’s not fair, and not Linux’s fault. This is a random, and really unlucky, issue with my specific board. I am typing this to you, while on my new PopOS install, and sleep/suspend still works.
I spent the last ~10 days “playing” with many distros, including testing some current games, and I am literally right now backing up my files and about to reformat my main PC to linux (full drive, no dual). This is after only having experience with copy-paste Raspberry PI guides for my pi-hole.
Don’t totally believe “oh it’s so easy, nothing to configure” - those people are lying, especially if you’ve not used Linux before. But several flavors of Ubuntu are quite pleasant, and I appear to have found a home with PopOS. I can’t find anything that “doesn’t work”, and the worst fixes were just quick searches for help. PopOS won due to nvidia compatibility and a nice, snappy desktop. It also was the fastest in overall reformat cycle time. My wife’s computer is still Windows, if I do have any microsoft emergencies.
There are some games that just will not work even under proton, or that have functional restrictions. It’s way fewer games than it used to be, but it’s still not an absolutely perfect solution. I would love to make Linux my gaming OS instead of my “getting shit done” OS like it currently is, I’ve been advocating for it for a few decades at this point and it’s almost there, but it’s not to a point yet where I can unreservedly recommend it to gamers. If you aren’t a gamer I’d say it’s already good enough for anything you need.
How easy was setting up the pi-hole?
It’s stupid easy. Flash DietPi to the SD card, select pi hole from the package list, then point your router to the IP for DNS.
Of course, it should be plugged directly into your router, so a zero won’t work without an ethernet hat.
This is where I’d say to visit /r/PiHole but it doesn’t work that way over here and I’ve no idea how to link to a sub yet soo….
Checkout it the PiHole website.
https://docs.pi-hole.net/
It’s “easy” - but that is very subjective, depending on how much you’ve down outside “turning Windows on”. You DO need to make sure your router allows assigning a DNS ip address. Some ISP-supplied units are rather locked down.
I recommend a “kit” from somewhere like CanaKit (amazon has them), to make sure you get the parts you need. It can run on smaller/cheaper kits, but I say get a Pi3 or 4 variant.
Then following the link above, there is great documentation on install. Install “Putty” on windows, which will log into your Pi and allow remote command line, and then the entire process is copy-paste from guides.
After you finish, you may feel “oh that was easy!” - but there’s still some stuff to learn and get used to along the way.
Congrats on picking an awesome distro! :) Pop is really nice, and I’m really excited to see what they do with their desktop environment. I feel like we’re spoiled for choice right now on Linux.
There are always things to configure, just like on Windows. I think some people kind of forget that they had to learn to configure things on Windows at one point. xD
Ok wow… did I jinx myself with this post. Immediately after posting here, I began the install/config phase of a fresh reformat. Encountered a weirdness that the system couldn’t sleep/suspend - immediately woke up. 8 hours later… After installing 5 different distros to confirm it was ALL linux versions (even debian)…
I spent the entire day, 8 hours, searching and referencing and troubleshooting. FINALLY one very random corner of the internet, on an ARCH-LINUX forum, a small comment mentioned that my Gigabyte B550 “had a problem” with sleep. SO THEN I had to start cross-referencing those words (couldn’t “use” the Arch guide, since I was on Pop), and my dude/dudette… I was up to 1am.
Ultimately, I had to COMBINE the “solutions” of FOUR different results, across 2017-2020 (none actually on Ubuntu 22.04) to get the fix to work. Like one taught me the script, but the locations were wrong, one taught me the service I needed, but it was outdated, and then another taught how to fix a service, etc etc, cascading solutions.
SO at close to 2AM - after documenting my own guide, another raw metal install of PopOS, wrote my script & service… and… “it just works!” (pun intended). It works. It sleeps. Have to disable the Gigabyte B550M “GPP0 and GPP8” device, which are bridges to the NVMe drives.
Funny enough though, as much as this is “yup, thats Linux!” I feel like it’s not fair, and not Linux’s fault. This is a random, and really unlucky, issue with my specific board. I am typing this to you, while on my new PopOS install, and sleep/suspend still works.
What a ride!
Wow. That’s unfortunate, but hey, you got it working! Congrats! :D
OpenSUSE Tumbleweed is rather easy.
But anyway, no mainstream user-friendly Linux distribution is that hard to use if you can read and think.
So when people say that they can’t manage one on their desktop - they also usually can’t manage Windows on their desktop, they just think they can.