Given all the game-related posts, I thought I'd post a work-related one:
In September, after beta testing the privacy nightmare that is W10, I dual-booted my work desktop and travel laptop. Since then, Mint has been my daily driver. This weekend, I deleted the Windows partition from my laptop and travel next week without the ability to fall back on Windows.
I have only booted into Windows twice since September. Once because I was on the road and needed to use PhotoShop for a minute tweak for a client. The second time was on Friday, figured I'd patch up before the trip, just in case. I don't know whether I only now noticed it but the update option no longer exists. You can't choose a time to patch, you just have to leave the computer running and wait. This is a mind-bogglingly stupid decision by Redmond. First, there's the telemetry without end. Now you can't choose a time to update? Goodbye.
Things I have learned:
- Libre Office 5 is a superb improvement over the previous release and is vitually as compatible with Office 2013 and 2016 as Office 2010. A win.
- Backups with rsync were a already godsend on servers. Now I have it native on my desktop. A big win. (Plus bash? Awesome!)
- Office 365 works the same across any OS. Chrome or Chromium does seem to work best. Gone are the days when Linux was an endless also-ran, so another win.
- Photoshop + Wine. When I need it, it works perfectly. A definite win.
- Dropbox and other cloud *aaS services just work. Win.
- Printers and scanners work as they should. A few tweaks can be needed but the manufacturers are shipping Linux drivers that pretty much just work. Gone are days of tweaking cups and hoping something prints someday. A big win.
- Lower attack surface is another win. Same is all the free, functional, and stable software.
The only thing I have yet to resolve is searching for text within .docx files. If anyone can recommend a tool that unzips the archive and permits direct searching the xml content I'll be at an all win. In a world of machines being eaten by ransomware, I wonder why organizations aren't moving in this direction?
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[–] rhy 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
I'm so much more productive on Linux desktops it's ridiculous. Just the desktop alone is a giant win. Mint Mate edition.
[–] benoliver999 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I don't even notice how much quicker it all is until I boot Windows in a VM. I have never really been a Windows hater, but this edition has become a hot mess. It's like swimming in treacle sometimes trying to get anything done.
[–] NeedMoarGuitars [S] 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago
That's a point I forgot to make. W8 booted twice as fast as W7 ((its sole advantage?). W10 takes minutes to boot, or longer. It isn't predictable and the GUI gives the end user zero indication what the OS is doing that takes so much longer ... beyond an endless spinning circle.
[–] 4898224? 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Plus one for Mint Mate. It's the desktop experience I grew up with. I wouldn't mind a more modern app dock with large icons and no text but that's not a deal breaker. It's how computers were meant to be used IMO.
[–] DinoRider 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
There are app docks like that you can install. They're worth a try if you really want that feature.