Why you should replace Windows 7 with Linux
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While I agree with the general theme of the article, there are still ways to improve security on Linux.
Right now, Vivaldi is still using X11 and does not make use of the client isolation with Wayland. Every X11 application on your desktop that runs as the same user can access every mouse and keyboard input. To make this more clear: Any X11 application (e.g. Steam games) that runs in parallel to Vivaldi can access your typed passwords.
The Wayland backend has been merged to the upstream Chromium project: https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src.git/+/master/docs/ozone_overview.md#wayland
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@catweazle said:
More serious would be, when Vivaldi lets support 32-bit computers
Just curious how old a computer must be not to support a 64 bit Operating System. Which was the last processor in the mass consumer market that didn't support a 64bit OS's? 486? 68040?
bug logging monkey
How to write good bug reports -
@QuHno I know someone who has a laptop built for windows Vista that is 32 bit. So it is old, but not ancient.
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Problem with switching to Linux is that most the desktop variants barely even match Windows XP in terms of features, explorer shell extensions, and just plain basic user experience that doesn't feel like it was built by complete amateurs who can't even get the most basics of a desktop functionality working right. I've tried some linux distro that don't even support diagonal drag resizing the corners of a window frame.. and some that have like 1pixel border that you have to have the cursor on precisely to even resize.. really just moronic, I guess that's what you get from free software
Yet Windows XP was released over a decade ago, they all they had to do replicate it.
I'd stick with Windows7 and just use a good firewall, block all unneeded background MS service crap (those are your biggest vulnerabilities including spy crapware updates from MS)..
Anyway for the average user a linux desktop pretty does everything they'd want, more software is crossplatform, so yeah Linux is fine just not for a power user... it has rubbish security and probably riddled with telementry crap especially ubuntu just the same as Windows albeit without a fraction of the software ecosystem to fix and improve any of its issues. Anyone even know of a good proactive Firewall for linux that isn't complete rubbish.. you find a something as good as Netlimiter.com ? no you won't I've checked.
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@Koolio said in Why you should replace Windows 7 with Linux:
feel like it was built by complete amateurs who can't even get the most basics of a desktop functionality working right
fully quoting that, +1
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It would not be a Linux article if there wasn't some guy arguing about "distro recommendations". Now if I assume your components are not older than 6 years:
If you never touched Linux before and you want to make your switch as painless as possible, I would go with Linux Mint. A great community geared towards newcomers (in other words a lot of people helping out in forums). Most importantly they are focused on ONE default desktop environment (Cinnamon). It is specifically geared towards Windows refugees. A great starting point for office work, even gaming. I used it myself for a year, really the only reason I left is that I was missing some software, that was only available in AUR...
Next up, Manjaro. It holds your hands a bit less, but you probably learn a bit more and most importantly you get access to AUR, currently the widest application repository. Plus you can use virtually any desktop environment. Community is slightly more annoyed by noob questions, but if you are polite, you will never have an issue on their forums.
If your computer is really old garbage, I would pick MX Linux. The community is also great, but it feels they are against anything that is not FOSS. Like you know, Vivaldi. I recommend MX Linux for people I know for sure just need to read and email or play cards. I am talking your senior citizen friend you visit once in a year, lives far and you need this thing to be stable. The main advantage here is, it just works, almost impossible to break and it will run smoothly even if your computer is hardly handling Windows 7.
Lastly, if you want to taste the future of Linux and cry from utter desperation, try installing NixOS. I used the word "try" intentionally because the very act of getting this system installed is a trial of character. I mean, you really should not start here, but I wanted to include this option just in case your life is going wonderfully and you want to hate yourself; only to overcome the issues and eventually become demi-god ruling both desktop and servers in the almost unbreakable Linux environment.
My 2c.
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In the past I used Kubuntu sometimes, with which I had very good experiences. People who have never used Linux can be reassured, stating that the handling and UI of current distros is not so different from Windows and does not offer many problems of getting used by beginners too.
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@Catweazle said in Why you should replace Windows 7 with Linux:
Linux is always an alternative with permanent availability
Unfortunately, this is not as true as I had hoped... right after installing Lubuntu on my old XP netbook a few months ago, they announced future releases are 64-bit only. So I will have to switch again to something else.
I have the following list to test:
- Linux Lite
- Damn Small Linux
- Xubuntu
- Puppy
- Bhodi (legacy)
- Peppermint
- antiX
I'll be looking for 32-bit + encrypted disk + swap file (Lubuntu didn't install with this, surprisingly, which meant that it would sometimes run out of memory and lock up when opening multiple pages in Vivaldi).
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@QuHno said in Why you should replace Windows 7 with Linux:
@catweazle said:
More serious would be, when Vivaldi lets support 32-bit computers
Just curious how old a computer must be not to support a 64 bit Operating System. Which was the last processor in the mass consumer market that didn't support a 64bit OS's? 486? 68040?
Ha ha! As I just said above, a netbook with Atom from 2010 won't - so less than ten years.
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@mossman said in Why you should replace Windows 7 with Linux:
@Catweazle said in Why you should replace Windows 7 with Linux:
Linux is always an alternative with permanent availability, although it must be added that on a PC so old where Windows10 will not work, the most complex distros (Kubuntu, Mint, Ubuntu in its latest versions) will not do so either satisfactorily and there are that to have to use distros adapted to humble equipment (Lubuntu, Puppy Linux, DS Linux, etc. with all the limitations that they have).
Unfortunately, this is not as true as I had hoped... right after installing Lubuntu on my old XP netbook a few months ago, they announced future releases are 64-bit only. So I will have to switch again to something else.
I have the following list to test:
- Linux Lite
- Damn Small Linux
- Xubuntu?
- Puppy?
- Bhodi (legacy)
- Peppermint
- antiX
I'll be looking for 32-bit + encrypted disk + swap file (Lubuntu didn't install with this, surprisingly, which meant that it would sometimes run out of memory and lock up when opening multiple pages in Vivaldi).
I mentioned Lubunto for being a reduced distro, but if, in the future the problem of old PCs is going to be less system capacity, distros for few capacities will be, but the availability of soft 32bit Just as it happened in the past with those of 8 and 16 bits.
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@Koolio said in Why you should replace Windows 7 with Linux:
Problem with switching to Linux is that most the desktop variants barely even match Windows XP in terms of features, explorer shell extensions, and just plain basic user experience that doesn't feel like it was built by complete amateurs who can't even get the most basics of a desktop functionality working right.
Well that really really depends.
At work they recently upgraded a system to run on virtual desktops running RHEL. Click to open that and your Win10 dual-monitor setup is suddenly a very slick looking dual-monitor Red Hat running the software in question. Looks better than Windows IMHO.
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I've tried some linux distro that don't even support diagonal drag resizing the corners of a window frame.. and some that have like 1pixel border that you have to have the cursor on precisely to even resize.. really just moronic, I guess that's what you get from free software
Don't blame the OS for the applications that you are running on it. Blame the author that wrote and designed the application. I can write an application for you without borders at all that doesn't allow you to do anything with it other than crashing.
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There is no Total Commander for Linux
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@veljanovski it's called midnight commander
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@veljanovski said in Why you should replace Windows 7 with Linux:
There is no Total Commander for Linux
A page that should be in any bookmark
https://alternativeto.net/ -
Because of my daily work, I can't use Linux as a main OS. Running Windows in a VM is also not an option, because my notebook is mid-ranged, so I would loose too much power.
I am not among the old WinXP people, I immediately upgraded to Win7, as soon as it came out. But now, Win10 is also not an option, because there are still far too many problems with it for my taste. (Please, don't start the "it works flawless for me" argument.) So, I have absolutely no clue what I will do, but possibly stay on Win7 for at least a short while.
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@Nekomajin said in Why you should replace Windows 7 with Linux:
Because of my daily work, I can't use Linux as a main OS. Running Windows in a VM is also not an option, because my notebook is mid-ranged, so I would loose too much power.
I am not among the old WinXP people, I immediately upgraded to Win7, as soon as it came out. But now, Win10 is also not an option, because there are still far too many problems with it for my taste. (Please, don't start the "it works flawless for me" argument.) So, I have absolutely no clue what I will do, but possibly stay on Win7 for at least a short while.
I think you can still use Win 7 for another good season, but sooner or later you will have no choice but to change it to W10, if you cannot use Linux for your work.Currently I use the W10 and the differences to 7 are not so many, although if there are many additions of doubtful utility that should be removed before, what I have done through O&O ShutUp10 with a few clicks, turning the W10 into a fast and stable OS, at least as good as the W7.
https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10>Laptop ACER, AMD Ryzen, GPU AMD Radeon RAM 16GB, SSD 512GB -Win11 Home 64 v24H2| Vivaldi last stable|
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@veljanovski
Hi, Total Commander is running on Linux and W.I.N.E easily as many other software does.
Sometimes even better than native on Windows.
In background is Dolphin, same or more powerful than Total Commander.
Cheers, mib
EDIT: W.I.N.E Is Not an Emulator, it is an Windows> Linux API -
@veljanovski said in Why you should replace Windows 7 with Linux:
There is no Total Commander for Linux
As already mentioned there are a few alternatives - I use Midnight Commander in a Linux console at work (basically a clone of the original Norton Commander) and I installed Double Commander on my Lubuntu netbook so I can synchronise with a network drive like Total Commander does (it's basically a copy of Total Commander with a Linux version).
Total Commander is still the best descendent of Norton, IMO, as it has the most powerful functions and fastest UI (once you know your keyboard shortcuts), but Double Commander would be pretty close (there are some glitchy things like the UI not refreshing during transfers, but that might be my fault - I didn't really know what I was doing when installing and it didn't integrate into Lubuntu very well).
And I say this as someone who actually paid for TC back when it was Windows Commander...
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@Catweazle
Yep, I know that. I just hope that MS will change their development strategy sooner than later.
