Short story long
It’s a very long story, but the point, in a nutshell, is that I’ve been struggling for many, many years to switch to the ‘dark side’ (or just the Jedi side?). I’ve tried using Ubuntu several times before, but for some reason, I’ve always been disappointed to get back to Windows.
However, about a half year ago (around 2021 June), I decided to step in again. But not just in this matter, but that I’m turning my life upside down.
If you do something, do it right!
The story:
So far, I’ve worked with a Lenovo T420 laptop as the base, to which I connected 2 monitors so I could work on 3 displays. It was awesome. I loved it.
But as many customers, so many habits, that is why almost every customer had to use a new channel for communication. Skype here, Meet here, Discord, Messenger, Telegram, Hangouts, and more. And since most of them have (or have only) a desktop app, I installed them.
Why?
Because in many cases my phone is muted or set to vibrate. On the one hand, not to disturb a meeting, and on the other hand, not to beep constantly.
So the Desktop app can help me get messages in and reply to them relatively quickly (more on that later).
However, having a whole bunch of software for my work and a whole bunch of software for communication up on my machine resulted in the machine slowing down terribly.
There was a consultation and/or training where I managed to hold the event from 3 tools. And I said that is enough...
First steps I did
I've installed Ubuntu on my desktop computer first. We looked at each other for a few days, but the laptop was still up on Windows. Consultations on the multi-machine solution continued. 4-5 monitors.
So far, I haven't dared to switch completely to Linux because the software I used and needed to work (Photoshop, Illustrator, XD, Premier, Office, etc.) is only "ported" to WIN and MAC os. So I should have made a compromise. Although there are solutions that can bridge this thing on Linux systems (Vine, PlayOnLinux, etc.), I haven't been able to breathe life into it, at least in the current versions.
Switch entirely
Then one night I thought about it and decided to make moves.
On the one hand, I was fascinated by the idea that I could only learn from it (but it would take a lot of struggle with it, which in turn would strengthen and provide usable knowledge), and on the other hand, the purity and "simplicity" of Linux was very sympathetic. Of course, I don't want to offend anyone here, so I'd correct that when I write this if you do something on Linux, it's done. I meant it like this.
Was the idea that what I was used to so far and what programs I used for my everyday work will be really replaceable scary (and still is)? Yes, It was very scary! But I thought I should give it a try.
The next day I installed Ubuntu on my laptop as well. But just to start in an advanced mode right away, I put up the 21.04 Hirsute Hippo version instead of the 20.04 version. About when the release came out.
How is it going?
So it's been a half year since. The trip is terribly exciting and will even last for a while, so I’m sure I’ll tell you about that in the next few posts. What kind of software I use now, what my experience is, and how at all, how sharp an active business case is on the go. If you think the same way as I do, and you are before the switch,
or just want to smile good at my ball steps sometimes, follow me on this bumpy road :)
Thanks for reading.
Top comments (8)
As you say, it's hard to tell where the Dark Side is, though historically it's been Microsoft. I'm a Microsoft architect running Linux. I have no idea whose side I'm on anymore!
Nice work getting going on a Linux desktop. Hope you enjoy it!
Hello Brian,
Thank you so much for your feedback on my post, I was a bit surprised, I never thought that someone might comment on my post. I am very happy, and thanks for sharing that you are also a bit confused about the "dark side" stuff :)
I switched some years ago, albeit to Mint on all my desktops and Ubuntu in my servers. Never looked back, but keep a Windows VM used only very occasionally for two apps I still haven't found represented replacements for (Microsoft ICE and Album Art Downloader). There's a transition cost but ultimately the joy of a mostly FOSS mostly malware free life are payback plus. It's been a few years at least now and I feel very comfortably telling anyone that Linux desktops are now mature and stable enough to be a real joy... and driver issues are near gone.
Hello Bernd,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on my post. As you described it is a really big jump, to leave the comfort zone behind and just switch to Linux, but YES it is paying off. And as you had to, I also have to keep an SSD with a WIN on it, because I make music in my free time (nowadays I don't have free time). So, I use Cubase that needs WIN or MAC, cause of this, I also have to be able to switch back and forward in the future. :)
I had a similar journey. I was introduced to Linux (Slackware) in the late 90’s when i was handed a stack of floppy disks. At that time I really only tinkered with the system. Span many years my primary system remained windows and/or Mac with at least a VM with some distro of Linux. As I went further into development mac became more and more the choice (mainly my work machine) since the OS was closer to Linux then windows was at the time, as well needing access to the Adobe suite. At home I was driving on distribution or another on my main workstation, this began around 2016. However I just could not let go of MacOS for Adobe and had a MacBook at hand all the time. Enter the pandemic as the work at home orders came down. I sat down at my Linux box and never looked back. My MacBook ended up never getting opened for months on end. My solution for Adobe was to run a windows VM when needed. Today my systems are Fedora on my workstation, the i3 spin on my laptop, and various proxmox servers holding different VMs.
Best choice ever made!
I remember Slackware in the nineties, and those SuSE distributions on CD! First tried to use Linux after my Windows 3.1 installation broke and then my father told me that he read about a new operating system called Linux in a printed computer magazine. Even the local electronics vendor had heard about it, that's where I got the CDs. Still used Windows 3.11 (which also came on floppy disks) as a main operating system, later I stuck to Windows 2000, XP and Windows 7 for years, at least at work as an employee, while using Linux on my personal laptop for side projects. Later, I used Mint and Ubuntu at work, before switching to one of the popular Macbooks because of the shiny hardware. Later, self-employed again, I bought a high-end Linux laptop that came pre-installed with Ubuntu budgie and pre-configured driver configuration maintained by the Germany hardware vendor (Tuxedo), so I'm back to Ubuntu again. No driver problems, no network problems, and a Windows VM for the occasional proprietary software that doesn't run in Wine, and for testing websites in Edge and Internet Explorer. Don't miss MacOS at all, not to talk about Microsoft's ugly UX fail called Windows 10 / 11.
Hello Ingo,
I am sharing your opinion. Now that I am using Linux, I have fewer problems with connections, external tools, and running apps. Not to mention how much faster my machine is. SO I am really happy, that I wrote this article, and have so many comments and likes on it. So many, for me by the way :)
PS. Win 3.1 was a rocking OS! :) I loved it. With the dial-up internet, it took about 5-10 minutes, to download even 1 image. What a magical age we lived in. :)
Hello Jase,
Thanks for the feedback and for sharing your story. It was fun to read it. I also remember these days. :) Floppy was a super invention. I remember Doom II took 10 floppies. Damn, I miss those days :). Anyways, I am so surprised that you left your Mac behind. One of my friends, who is working as a DevOps used Ubuntu for years. Even he has a big part in it that I have switched to Linux. So he switched to a Macbook and now he says he loves OSX. So If I can say so, I am so proud that you did this! :)