RetroGamer4Ever wrote on Yesterday, 22:29:
Linux is calling you and every other enthusiast with a pile of no-longer-supported Windows 10 hardware.
macOS is another possibility, in principle. Both macOS 15.7.x and macOS 26 do still run on x64, too.
But building a Hackintosh is something like a story of its own..
It needs supported hardware and is a bit of an grey area, depending where you live.
I just mention it, because historically, the three big desktop OSes since the 90s had been Windows, Linux and MacOS.
And macOS is somekind of in-between of both Windows and Unix world.
Thus, it's an alternative to the users who don't feel comfortable with either extreme (Win vs Unix world).
You have an easy, consistant user interface (macOS 26 messed up here) and you can use pre-compiled binary applications.
No Windows Registry/Windows installer needed, just open DMGs and drag&drop applications into application folder.
- It's like in the Windows 3.1 days, basically, when users had used portable applications that needed no installer and had their INI file in their directory.
But same time, it's possible to use the Terminal and have a BSD like environment.
Linux/Unix applications (console and X11) can be installed via Mac Ports, for example.
WINE and WineBottler are also available.
Again, just mention it. I've been trying Linux since late 90s, but wasn't really running it on my main PC (live CDs excluded).
When Windows 7 went EOL in last decade, I was stranded on a Raspberry Pi 3/4 for years (using Raspbian).
While an old Mac Pro was still running XP for sake of sanity.
Because, I didn't have faith in x86 anymore at the time, so I was stuck.:
UEFI removed CSM on most motherboards and I didn't feel comfortable with basically investing in a new Windows 10 only PC .
While Linux was another option (as long as secure boot didn't block it), dual-boot with Windows XP/7 was out of questions.
That's why I held out on a Raspberry Pi for years (it has ARM architecture, like Apple Silicon).
In the end, I've switched to a Mac Mini (M CPU) with Windows 11 ARM in a cage (23h2 then 24h2 via Parallels), so I can run MOD4WIN (Win16 application via OTVDM), Winamp, Irfanview, VB6, Delphi 7, Works 9 etc.
Recall and other "features" had to be uninstalled, of course. The only thing I "like" about Win11 is the ARM port.
The Raspberry Pi is still used to upload YT videos, home banking and checking e-mails.
Again, it's just my own little personal story about what I did when my Windows went EOL.
It's not meant as a advertisement or something. It's just that I had been struggling with Linux platform a bit.
While most Linux distros "just work", the devil lies in the detail.
In my case, the Raspbian file manager was very buggy.
It didn't always recognize my smartphone as a removable drive, for example. It would then display an error message about mount point being incorrect or something.
Then as a workaround I had to re-boot the Pi and connect the smartphone during Linux boot-up phase (while choosing USB drive as USB mode on the Android smartphone).
Another buggy behavior was that after a while the file manager nolonger auto-updated its view.
If I copied/moved a file, I had to manually refresh each time.
After re-boot, the error was gone for a while until it re-appeared.
I had these issues for a couple of Raspbian releases.
Speaking of updates.. Or rather upgrades. Linux still has issues with it. Or the distros, rather.
Upgrading from one major version to another rarely works, still.
Many existing applications are broken after upgrade and need to be re-installed/re-compiled.
At one point, a simple fresh installation is the better choice.
Too bad if you already had 200 packages on your installation and your favorite application nolonger is in the repository, though.
I had this problem with Kaffeine media player, I think. After upgrade, it nolonger was available for download.
Again, that's just my own little story.
Users who aren't so demanding/niche are fine with the common Linux distros, I believe.
They have most common applications already pre-installed, too.
Edited.
PS: I never "hated" Linux whatsoever. I'm just a bit reserved when it comes to Linux as the ultimate solution.
Also in parts because it seems to become the new Windows in some ways, which is worrying.
It's like switching one monopoly for another, basically.
I often wished that other OSes such as OS/2 (ArcaOS), BSD, AmigaOS (say AROS) or Haiku would do as a daily driver.
But they're still not quite there, sadly.
Niche OSes such as MinuetOS or KolibriOS are good enough for hobby use, at least. 🙂
If only their web browsers were a tad bit more feature complete.
In today's world, checking e-mails via browser, doing online banking or logging in into YouTube demands for the latest, fully grown web browser.
Even using latest live Linux distros causes issues here, because the websites complain that the browser is not up-to-date.
"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel
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