The Windows OS Thread - Formerly THE OS for gamers and normies, now sadly ruined by Pajeets

[geckogoy]

Comparing the variety of distros to the variety in grocery stores makes sense if you don't have five different variations of a single product, but hundreds of them

But the recipe calls for 2 eggs, and there are multiple egg sizes? Which size do I get?? Do I get white ones or brown ones??? How to I check if I am allergic?????

You could install ubuntu, or debian, or mint, or whatever, and it wont really matter. You just follow the prompts of the installer like windows, and the installation will be done sooner.

You then install steam, and play games. The biggest issue is kernel anticheat games dont work, which is fair.

 

[Slav Power]

You then install steam, and play games.

Your mistake is assuming that everyone only installs a web browser and Steam. Yeah obviously Linux Mint will be more than enough for your grandma, but not every PC user is your grandma.

Find me Linux alternatives for:
-AutoHotkey
-ShareX
-Keypirinha
-MS Office
-Total Commander

AutoHotkey doesn't have a Linux equivalent because Linux didn't have a standardized API for over 3 decades. No, Python is not an alternative, it's a full programming language, not a simple macro scripting one.
ShareX doesn't have a Linux equivalent. You're most likely gonna suggest something that just takes screenshots, but ShareX is more than that, and there is no equivalent for it on Linux period.
Keypirinha is something I can't even find an alternative for on Windows. Every other alternative is either Electron based, or is a resource hog, or is just slow and shit to use in genreal. dmenu and other simple keyboard launchers aren't an alternative if they don't have a similar plugin ecosystem.
There is no alternative for MS Office period. Suggesting LibreOffice as an alternative is like suggesting GIMP as an alternative to Photoshop.
Total Commander doesn't have a good alternative. The closest it has is Double Commander, but I can attest from personal experience it's a crude imitation of Total Commander and is not a feasible alternative.

And that's just a few of the things that I use on Windows that I don't have on Linux. No, I am not willing to settle for a less functional alternative or to relearn everything that I know just to replace one piece of software. No, whatever you might suggest is not "the same if not better" because I know there isn't an equivalent piece of software under Linux.

I just want my shit to work and do what I want it to do. The software suite I use under Windows does just that. I don't have that under Linux, therefore I am more willing to debloat Windows than to move to Linux.

Get that through your thick skull for once, Linux is not a magical alternative for Windows because it has a different set of software. Software availability for the OS is as decisive as the games selection of a console. And if your OS has no software, I'm not gonna use it. And the more you try to force Linux down the throat of someone that already knows it's not for them, the more they'll refuse to ever give it a try.

 

[Betonhaus]

-AutoHotkey
-ShareX
-Keypirinha
-MS Office
-Total Commander

Never heard of ShareX and Keypgrinf, but OnyOffice has native docx support and KDE notifications lets you assign bash scripts to any action

 

[Slav Power]

Keypgrinf

Keypirinha, it's a keyboard launcher, a very useful utility that replaced my need for a start menu. But besides launching programs, it's big advantage are the plugins, so I can quickly translate shit, do quick math, convert time zones, convert currencies, convert strings, encode and decode strings, logout, shut down the PC and so on.

From all my tests this outdated freeware program is the best thing on Windows, better than Powertoys Run, Flow Launcher or anything else that AlternativeTo suggests. I'm sure that the alternatives on Linux are even weaker, and a keyboard launcher is a fundamental part of my workflow now.

As for ShareX, one Linux alternative is Flameshot, but taking screenshots is just one of the many features of ShareX. ShareX is a fantastic little multitool that is open source, but is a .NET program, so yeah, a Linux port is unlikely.

My issue with alternatives for AutoHotkey is that they're something like you've said. Some hacky workaround that only works in one DE and relies on knowing Bash to do everything. It should be agnostic and have a more clear cut syntax like AutoHotkey, and it shouldn't boil down to "press this and that to open this" because AutoHotkey is more than that, it's way easier to write something in it than in Bash or Python, and this bodging of solutions in AHK is something I am fond of.

I have a script I run on startup that adds a whole bunch of hotkeys and actions, like being able to steer a car in BeamNG with just my mouse beyond what BeamNG offers in the settings, or elevate a program and then de-elevate it, or, or have a macro for quickly typing something in, or have a bhop script and so and and so forth. It's way easier for me to type something like that out, because AHK has the entire framework in place, I just instruct it to do this and that. With Python or Bash I'd need to build that from the ground up.

Basically, even if I did got around to moving to Linux, and I learned it's ropes, I'd be missing a lot of software I'm used to, that works for me well and doesn't have a good equivalent. That's why I'd rather put up with debloating 10/11 than to move to Linux. Just like games on consoles, it's all about the software selection, and the one I use is on Windows, and Wine is a half measure.

 

[geckogoy]

And the more you try to force Linux down the throat of someone that already knows it's not for them, the more they'll refuse to ever give it a try.

I dont know if you have daddy issues pertaining to linux or something, but this is a very gay thing to say.

If you cannot survive without certain software then sorry about that man, just stop wringing your hands about how impossible it is to set up linux when all you have to do is follow an installer.

 

[Lone Wandering Courier]

The alternative to MS Office is to not being a dumb niggercattle. There are multiple MS office alternatives out there that are all superior and free.

 

[Slav Power]

There are multiple MS office alternatives out there that are all superior and free.

t. person who only ever used Word as a fancier Notepad and nothing besides that

There's a reason the corporate world uses either MS Office or Google Docs and it's not because the shadowy cabal of proprietary software corporations disallows the proliferation of FOSS alternatives.

You can tell that Linux users never had real experiences with either of the software they're recommending an alternative to and the software that they recommend because there's always the complete lack of examples of personal experience with both of them to convince someone that this alternative they're recommending really is what they're looking for. Yes I can also look up AlternativeTo, and I already did that, tried that and I know what has an alternative and what doesn't. You're not gonna convince me.

 

[Betonhaus]

I can't help but notice you never acknowledged any mention of OnlyOffice, which is intended to be a 1:1 Office clone with identical features and document handling. It even has collaborative editing, tho that doesn't use OneDrive.

 

[Kosher Dill]

People talk a lot in vague terms about missing/inferior features in FOSS office suites, but nobody ever seems to be able to name them. Or if they do, it's something about mail merges or ancient lawyer software that demands binary compatibility with MS Works 5.0.

But I can name at least one "normal" feature that FOSS hasn't caught up with: the Solver in Excel. OpenOffice Calc does come with linear and nonlinear solvers, but they're not nearly as good as the ones in Excel and they choke on "inverting" some pretty common financial formulas.
Granted, writing a nonlinear solver is a hard problem and it's no discredit to the OO people that they haven't perfected it. But if you ever plan on using one, you'd better keep that photo of Bill Gates in your wallet.

 

[The Ugly One]

AutoHotkey doesn't have a Linux equivalent because Linux didn't have a standardized API for over 3 decades. No, Python is not an alternative...Get that through your thick skull for once, Linux is not a magical alternative for Windows because it has a different set of software.

Reminder to everyone:

The Windows equivalent of GIMP is GIMP.
The Windows equivalent of LibreOffice is LibreOffice.
The Windows equivalent of VNC is VNC.
The Windows equivalent of Jellyfin is Jellyfin.
The Windows equivalent of Audacity is Audacity.
The Windows equivalent of Shotcut is Shotcut.

And on and on like this.

Nearly all FOSS shitware is available on Windows, and the reason we don't use it on Windows is it fucking sucks. The only reason to ever use this freeware garbage is that whatever you're doing isn't important enough to pay money for a good tool. That's the thing, Linux doesn't have a different set of software, not really. It has a subset of Windows software, and when it comes to desktop applications, this subset consists almost entirely of crumbly, broken trash that's given away for free because it's too crappy to sell.

 

[Betonhaus]

If Linux becomes popular enough, Microsoft might offer Office and it's other applications to it, same as it does for macOS. But there's a bit of a Catch22

 

[Slav Power]

Nearly all FOSS shitware is available on Windows, and the reason we don't use it on Windows is it fucking sucks.

Uhh

Jellyfin

Audacity

GIMP

These are fine? Jellyfin is the only good FOSS Plex alternative that doesn't rely on 3rd party servers? Audacity is perfectly fine for recording audio and doing simple edits, and is even used in professional settings for those quick and easy jobs? And GIMP still has it's niche at more technical home applications, even if it sucks at everything else?

Not all FOSS is shit, but a lot of FOSS alternatives to closed source software tends to be shit. But that's not always the case.

Hell, the best example of good FOSS is Blender. It's so robust that it's used in professional applications and is slowly killing off 3DSMax and Maya because Autodesk has became so shit while Blender has gotten so good. Obviously it's a massive outlier since there's an industry wide push to fund the development of Blender, but still.

 

[The Ugly One]

Hell, the best example of good FOSS is Blender.

Which is also on Windows.

The point is that if the FOSS software is good enough, you don't need to switch to Linux to get it. Which means, "Oh, you don't need [commercial software you currently pay for]. Switch to Linux and use [free software you already rejected] instead]" is a bad argument. I'm either already using it or am actively choosing not to use it.

Which, of course, holds for Linux itself. I used desktop Linux from 2006-2010 at home, and at work from 2012-2020. I only use it now via WSL or on a server.

 

[Real Mayun]

windows vista was not that bad.
it was the wow.

windows xp was the best design and also ran beautifully.

windows 95 was the first version of windows i ever used.

windows 2000 was on a school-issued computer for my typing accommodations.

98 on another.

windows 7 was the best all around and in my opinion, a more mature vista.

windows 10 is on my beloved uppity compatible aka my macbook pro 2019. it's modern 7.

windows 11 is on the emulator on my beloved uppity screenless ipad with a neurological gift. it's modern windows 8.

fuck windows 8.

I never used any early versions, or any NT versions earlier than 2000.

I love the sounds of the early NT's booting up though.

 

[Mysterious Figure]

t. person who only ever used Word as a fancier Notepad and nothing besides that

There's a reason the corporate world uses either MS Office or Google Docs and it's not because the shadowy cabal of proprietary software corporations disallows the proliferation of FOSS alternatives.

You can tell that Linux users never had real experiences with either of the software they're recommending an alternative to and the software that they recommend because there's always the complete lack of examples of personal experience with both of them to convince someone that this alternative they're recommending really is what they're looking for. Yes I can also look up AlternativeTo, and I already did that, tried that and I know what has an alternative and what doesn't. You're not gonna convince me.

I use LibreOffice instead of Microsoft Office because I don't want to pay the subscription fee, and it works great.

 

[Slav Power]

I don't want to pay the subscription fee

I use the newest version of MS Office 365 and I don't pay for anything. Skill issue.

 

[Musashi's Son]

I use LibreOffice instead of Microsoft Office because I don't want to pay the subscription fee, and it works great.

https://gravesoft.dev/download_windows_office/office_c2r_links/#english-en-us

https://massgrave.dev/#Method-1---PowerShell

How many times does @Slav Power have to tell you people about massgrave.dev?

 

[augment]

If Linux becomes popular enough,

There are hilarious complexities preventing this from happening, but my favorite is the cycle-loop of
1 - Someone recommends distro
2 - 3 or 4 people follow that up with "that distro sucks, it's doghshit, use 'different distro' instead
3 - 'previous posters are luddites for not knowing X, Y or Z. Recommend me a good distro please'
4 - Go back to 1

 

[Betonhaus]

There are hilarious complexities preventing this from happening, but my favorite is the cycle-loop of
1 - Someone recommends distro
2 - 3 or 4 people follow that up with "that distro sucks, it's doghshit, use 'different distro' instead
3 - 'previous posters are luddites for not knowing X, Y or Z. Recommend me a good distro please'
4 - Go back to 1

Linux Mint is getting pretty stable tho, I can see it being the default you recommend to people that just wants something that works

 

[Slav Power]

https://alternativeto.net/news/2024/4/windows-10-will-start-pushing-you-towards-using-a-microsoft-account-instead-of-a-local-one/

God I really, really hope that I can avoid the vast majority of bullshit like this with an Enterprise or Education install in the future. This is so retarded, especially given just how much IT infrastructure is based on the classic NT domain accounts. Someone higher up at MS has an insane hardon for breaking working things recently.