I spent a year on Linux and forgot to miss Windows

It was a cloudy morning in January 2025, the day I decided to delete my operating system.

The Ubuntu installer warned me that it would remove everything on my hard drive, permanently wiping the entire Windows 10 installation I’d been running for years at that point. I hesitated for a moment – Maybe I should just dual boot? No, I’ll go all in! Finally, I pressed the button to install Linux. A year later, I still don’t regret that choice. I even revived an old Windows 10 laptop by installing Linux on it.

My decision to try Linux was driven by Growing dislike for modern Windows More than anything else. However, I’ve come to appreciate Linux as more than just an escape from Windows. Linux isn’t as scary as it’s often made out to be, and I’ve found a lot to like about it, despite (and sometimes because of) its challenges.

The hard-earned lessons we’ve learned from Linux

My first night on Linux was rough. Installing and setting up all my applications was cumbersome, especially because I had no experience using the command line. For those who’ve never peered into the dark void of a Linux terminal before, it’s where most system administration operations are done — installing applications, running updates, and the like. It’s an inevitable part of the Linux experience, even as more App Store-like platforms emerge, e.g Snap Store and Flat dress.

After a long period of using Windows, it was also a bit of a shock to my system trying to learn how to navigate Ubuntu (although fortunately I didn’t have any mouse issues like my colleague and Fellow Linux user Nathan Edwards). I couldn’t figure out how to properly connect another SSD drive that first night, and I ended up quitting and going to bed, thinking I’d probably have to reinstall Windows the next day.

But in the morning, I logged back into Ubuntu and realized what was wrong with my SSD. I didn’t create an entry for the drive in my file systems table, or “fstab,” which is where you configure how disks and storage devices are mounted on your computer’s file system. After fixing it, I’m starting to think that the whole Linux operating system isn’t so bad after all.

It’s been mostly smooth sailing since then. I rarely encounter problems with Linux, and when I do, they’re never terrible. They’re always annoying little things, but they can be fixed with some research and trial and error, like a Flatpak app that doesn’t work because I need to change its permissions, or an AppImage that refuses to launch because I’m missing a library.

If anything, that first night on Linux prepared me for one of the biggest takeaways from this year: Linux isn’t particularly complex on a day-to-day basis, but you have to be willing to solve your own problems when they arise.

I’ve spent dozens of hours searching Reddit threads, analyzing old Stack Overflow solutions, and, in times of true desperation, asking AI chatbots like Mistral’s Le Chat and Anthropic’s Claude for help deciphering error messages. Fortunately, the Linux community is also very supportive. If you’re willing to ask for help, or at least do some troubleshooting, you’ll be able to solve any problems that come your way.

Linux has also helped me become more confident in my troubleshooting skills. The problem that crushed me that first night on Ubuntu would be a quick and easy fix for me now. Learning how to make changes to my “fstab” file, even just once, helped me get my computer out of emergency mode after a rare crash. On Windows, you’re probably stuck with the Blue Screen of Death.

Everything I want and nothing I don’t want

I stayed on Ubuntu for the first few months after leaving Windows, but eventually switched to Fedora, and it’s been my daily software ever since. I use it for work, gaming, photo editing, video recording and editing, as well as a little programming for Arduino projects. I’ve also moved between a few different desktop environments, including… Hyperland (with ML4W Dotfiles)Cinnamon, and currently KDE Plasma.

Every morning, I’m greeted by the calm, nordic-blue desktop I’ve set up in KDE, cobbled together from a mix of themes and icon packs. It’s one of my favorite desktop setups so far, but if I want to completely change the look of my home screen, I can. I’ve spent entire afternoons experimenting with UI themes, switching from an old Windows XP theme to a macOS-inspired theme to neon-filled themes like something from You see. Linux doesn’t care if my desktop looks ugly, glassy, ​​or old.

Customizing every visual element on my desktop has become one of my favorite parts of using Linux. Provides no performance enhancement or practical benefit; It’s just fun. I’ve also customized my machine to make it look cleaner and more colorful using it KittyZ shell (“Zsh”), Oh my zshand Power level 10k. I’m not alone in this – there is The whole subreddit (with an unfortunate name) where users share screenshots of their most impressive Linux home screen customizations.

I also appreciated having complete control over what is and isn’t on my computer. Until recently, Windows didn’t let you do this Uninstall Copilot. In contrast, Linux will not block you if you try to use a command that deletes every file on your computer (“sudo rm -rf /”).

I didn’t have to give up much for that level of control either. There are some applications that are not natively supported on Linux, such as Adobe applications, but I was able to completely replace those applications with free, open source alternatives, such as LibreOffice Instead of Microsoft Office and Raw treatment Instead of Adobe Lightroom. In a pinch, some Windows applications will also work through tools like vintagewhich I used to launch iTunes when I was trying to revive my old iPod.

The games were pretty easy too. Everything in my Steam library works great with Valve’s Proton compatibility layer, and I’ve yet to experience issues with any of my many mice, keyboards, controllers, headsets, and microphones. Sometimes I have to tweak my Proton or turn on settings for certain games, but that’s about it. So I got World of Warcraft It works by adding the player to my library As a non-Steam gameallowing it to pass through a proton (which is great, except that now I don’t have an easy excuse to cancel amazing Subscribe).

Is this the year of Linux? You?

I’ll admit that I didn’t really know what I was getting into when I switched to Linux. However, the learning curve was worth it. Linux has been great for my needs and a deep breath of fresh air compared to Windows. I can customize literally everything, control what’s installed on my computer, and play all the games I love with smooth, stable performance.

I love linux. But I can’t recommend it to everyone. There are sacrifices if you switch, including some that are understandable. For example, the majority of competitive multiplayer Games that require anti-cheat It cannot run on Linux. I don’t play that type of game, so this wasn’t important to me, but I can see why this would be important to fans of the game. fortnite or Valuation. Likewise, if the idea of ​​typing a command to install applications causes a headache, Linux probably isn’t for you.

But if you want a little more freedom and a little bit of a co-pilot, or if you want to test your troubleshooting skills, or if you’re not afraid to try something new, or if you have some older hardware that can’t run Windows 11, maybe 2026 He is Linux year.

Since joining Edge In October, I started using a MacBook for work, and I recently retired my 9-year-old personal laptop that I resurrected with Linux (in favor of another MacBook), but I still use my Linux-powered gaming PC for everything else. MacOS is good, but Linux is still dramatically better for gaming. Until recently, I ran entirely on Linux. Although this isn’t the case anymore, I don’t plan on leaving Linux or going back to Windows anytime soon.