Post by @thevhswizard@retro.pizza

2026-07-18 14:32 UTC

I promise y'all I am not going to become a full blown hyper annoying reply guy Linux fan. But... if you are dissatisfied with the Microsoft status quo and have a spare laptop somewhere, try throwing Linux on there and see how it works. Give it a week on a secondary device and see how it feels using it. And it doesn't have to be a new device, either. My laptop, while insanely powerful by 2015 standards, is still at it's core a 2015 laptop. Barely ran Windows 10, Microsoft said it couldn't run 11 and since it was end of support by their standards, it was a dead laptop walking. I put Linux Mint on it and have not had a single problem. Nothing complains that the processor is only an i7 6000-series. Nothing freaked out about the insane amount of memory it has. All devices recognized, it even found drivers for the video card and put them in for me at the push of a button.

Replies (4)

@thevhswizard@retro.pizza 2026-07-18 14:38

My wife is technology-impaired. It's not her fault, there's something about her that tech just does not like. She'll try and turn on the TV and be pointing the remote right at the sensor and it will not recognize her at all - I push the button and it comes on, first time, every time. I gave her one of the other harvested laptops - also with Linux Mint on it - and she has only had one problem, and that was less a Linux problem and more a Dell issue (this laptop's default drive config is RAID for some ungodly reason, and I have had to keep switching it back to not RAID every so often) She's figured out how to install programs on her own (Mint's Software Manager has helped a lot) and change settings and... I mean, it's all just standard computer stuff at some point, right? I think that's the thing that I'm getting at.

Open ##5311822
@farah@beige.party 2026-07-18 14:44

@thevhswizard@retro.pizza I hear you. I installed Ubuntu on my very old laptop (circa 2013?), last year. And it has granted it new life. I’m not gonna say I do a lot of complicated stuff on it. But it’s works for basic stuff. It’s limitations are hardware really

Open ##5311833
@lisamakesstuff@mastodon.art 2026-07-18 16:07

@thevhswizard@retro.pizza I recently (last week? this week? What is time?) changed my WIN10 laptop to Linux Mint. So far I'm liking it! I still have a lot to do to bring it up to where I want it, with various apps and such, but I still have some testing/learning to do.

Open ##5311834
@oldguycrusty@mastodon.world 2026-07-18 17:22

@thevhswizard@retro.pizza Yep. I agree. And don't forget - all the cloud servers at MS Azure, Oracle, IBM, Amazon, etc,.... they all run on Linux variants.. it really does run on anything, super configurable, and more efficient.. And the different desktop distros are getting easier to use for beginners and 'non-tech' folks - but there is still a barrier, due in part to all the choice and flexibility.. Sorta like making your own food -vs- fast-food. Sorta.

Open ##5311835