Linux is easier to use than trying to registry hack your way into a local account.
no, im a linux user. if someone doesnt want to dedicate time to adopt and learn, linux isnt “easier”. even if linux was as easy as windows (idk it can even be compared tbh); its different. different requires time and effort, if someone cant do that (for any reason, this isnt a judgement), its not an easy move.
My wife is not technical and has no interest in adopting and learning anything.
The web works the same way regardless of the OS, and LibreOffice has all the same features as Word that she uses.
The “hard part” is choosing and upgrading hardware, and maybe installation (depending on distribution).
I mention this because I think we should evaluate these differently. With a preloaded desktop/laptop, I’ve had no issues with anyone that actually relates to Linux (except my BIL who was trying to build an arcade stick for gaming).
Explaining to my other BIL how to select hardware for his custom build, that took some time, as did guiding him through the installation.
im sorry but LibreOffice might have all the features of word but it certainly has a really bad user experience. i write often and libreoffice writer is difficult to say the least, not because of lack of features but a lack of most ‘little things’ and ‘tweaks’. i can definitely see someone switching to libreoffice from word, but saying its not ‘hard’ is untrue or a biased take in my opinion and using both suites (more familiar with libre though lmao).
i do agree that for a mostly web based user as is commonplace nowadays, a preloaded linux thats been decently built is gonna be a significantly easy switch.
on a slight tangent, but linux for me was a way to rebuild my love for computers after windows systematically fucked things. and i really enjoy the learning process. so personally i still encourage people to spend the time in the learning process atleast a bit
i write often and libreoffice writer is difficult to say the least, not because of lack of features but a lack of most ‘little things’ and ‘tweaks’.
I think you’re missing the fact that you are doing more ‘expert’ things than most here. The majority of the time, my wife opens a document she made once, saves as a new file (no, she’s not using templates - don’t get me started), and writes her invoice. She then PDFs it and sends it via email.
She does the same thing with Calc and a previously made blank “monthly calendar”. Opens the blank, saves for the client, enters in the days and renames the month at the top, notes what she’ll be doing for them on each day with an hour estimate, PDF and email.
That is the kind of thing most people do.
ah fuck, i did this
I was seriously considering posting it but didn’t want you to think I was being a dick about it 😀
appreciated, reality checks are best served plain
I think ‘writing stuff in a word processor’ is something every high school kid did, even if it’s generally web based nowadays.
In fact, everyone in this thread has done basically that.
thats kinda the thing tho, the person states their wife uses web based. so the offline solution doesnt need to be all-in-one
I would say give onlyoffice a try. It’s not FOSS but does have free tier for home use and it’s what I go to for non-main work computer. Beats libre imo.
i do use onlyoffice when i have to work with MSOffice docs, its very similar. but the emphasis on AI has irked me too much to make it a regular use
What are you afraid she is going to have to learn? Where the apps are? You have to do that with a new Windows install. I find people vastly overestimate the complexity of Linux. The UIs have VASTLY improved. I go to the terminal when I want to, not because I’ve been forced there. Thanks to Steam and their Proton layer, gaming hasn’t been an issue. I think there are too many Linux users out there worried they’ll lose their wizard status if everyone finds out how much easier Linux is vs how it used to be. Or how most perceive it to be.
I’m a Windows Server admin by trade and have been daily driving Linux at home for almost two years now. I am VERY familiar with the Windows UI, and yes more technical than the average person. Linux on the desktop has been very easy. More people should be giving it a shot as Microsoft makes us jump through hoops to do what we want.
… what?
You need to dedicate time to adopt and learn how to get a local account on Windows and clear out the bullshit you don’t want.
I recently switched to Linux. At first I was surprised at how easy it was to set up and get working, then I was annoyed at having to look up how to do every little thing I know how to do on Windows and considered switching back.
Then I booted into Windows and in less than 10 minutes was fed up the whole OS. I realized I had to look up things just as often as I was on Linux, but in Linux it was because I didn’t know where it was, where as on Windows it was actively hidden from me and fighting me every step of the way.
Windows is in no way easier, It’s just the struggle you’ve gotten so used to fighting with every single day that you’ve forgotten it exists.yea and if u think that ‘switch’ is not deidcated time to learn then idek. im not saying windows is easier or its bs its easier to bypass. but each step of window’s bullshit for a used to user is gonna be less effort than a switch. if someone cant do that effort (for any reason), there isnt a way around it
i haven’t done serious it work since xp and still any troubleshooting and even searching for personal computer answers is still far easier on windows. the fundamentals are fundamentals especially when you watch them get more complicated since dos. hide and seek and tricking windows is a familiar game. whereas linux will always be somewhat strange despite having used them equally as long and the more recent.
hmm, yea i do see that windows just has been similar enough since its early days. with just more hidden and “renewed” same things. diversity and changes in linux are quite different from that. ubuntu’s early days probably wont translate experience into current ubuntu, windows 98 is gonna translate atleast a bit to windows 11
Then I booted into Windows and in less than 10 minutes was fed up the whole OS. I realized I had to look up things just as often as I was on Linux, but in Linux it was because I didn’t know where it was, where as on Windows it was actively hidden from me and fighting me every step of the way. Windows is in no way easier, It’s just the struggle you’ve gotten so used to fighting with every single day that you’ve forgotten it exists.
I’m not even going to sugarcoat it, Windows treats you like you’re a freakin’ idiot, and that applies to all SKUs, although the Home SKU is the absolute worst of the bunch about treating its users like they’re too dumb for their own good.
Linux, and also BSD too for that matter, at least actually respects its users’ intelligence, because Windows sure as hell doesn’t.
I don’t disagree in general. However, my mom has been running Linux with a Windows XP skin for almost 8 years now without knowing she’s using Linux. Literally just keeps her from running a random .exe and she does everything on a browser anyway.
In my experience, it’s usually power users or basic users with very specific application requirements, who have trouble moving between operating systems. There’s usually a FOSS alternative to those applications, but often requires reworking a workflow or upskilling more than they want to. But they’re still basic users so it’s more a speed bump than a road block.
So yeah, most people can switch to MacOS without an issue, and the vast majority of those can switch to a distro like Fedora or Ubuntu and quickly feel comfortable.
Power users get stuck in this situation where they’ve learned how to do advanced things in Windows, have things tweaked to support more complex and peculiar workflows, but often don’t understand the actual concepts behind them. And even if they do understand the concepts, they still have to learn the alternatives in a new OS, and rebuild their workflows. Now, there’s a lot more ability to learn behind the scenes about the why and how with Linux and BSD, so I’d argue they’d be better off to just suck it up and get started, and they’ll be better off before long.
and i also say this as someone who is required to use windows at work. i despise windows, its so much harder for me to use windows given linux been my daily driver for a long time. im annoyed at powershell, explorer, clunky shortcut behaviors, etc just about every second im on windows. its a nightmare difficulty for me, but i also refuse to ever relearn windows stuff. i do remember a time when it wasnt annoying as fuck to use, could be nostalgia or that people just adopt.
using windows as a linux user is a nightmare. but if someone is adopted to windows, the opposite is gonna be similar no matter what.
I also use windows for work. Shits stupid. Search in the start bar for an app that’s installed on your PC? Let’s open edge and show you web results. Want to copy something out of teams? Here’s a copilot link you just accidentally clicked. Thanks for accepting that TOS.
I’d love some say on my work computer but alas I’m a grunt.
The administration tools are just as bad.
I want to add a user to a group, so I bring up Entra and search Groups, too bad it’s a Mail-enabled Security group, so now I have to do it in Exchange admin and enable a separate admin role for myself.
I want to disable a device in Intune, so I search for device XYZ in Intune and there’s no disable button. You have to figure out who’s the primary user on the device, look them up, find XYZ in their device assignments and there’s the disable button.
Sure you can do it in Powershell or Graph and hope they haven’t deprecated whatever module you were using last week or changed the process entirely.
Don’t get me started with administrating access on folders in Teams and Sharepoint somehow not give a fuck about it.
I’d love some say on my work computer but alas I’m a grunt.
Not a grunt, but still run my work laptop like I am one. I use it exclusively for teams, outlook, office, etc, and nothing else work related though since I can still save to our (non-MS) cloud environment thanks to rclone. Which technically meets the criteria - which has nothing to do with the fact that I wrote the criteria. Totally unexpected benefit! Didn’t plan it that way at all. Nope, it was 100% because one of the partners will only use a mac. Promise.
(I’m sorry about your laptop)
Haha it happens. I work for a medical software company so they are terrified of HIPPA fines.
So it is what it is. :/
Ah, assurance of compliance (pinky swear promises) over usability.
I once had to use a windows laptop that had to be stored in a safe when I wasn’t using it, could only use it in a room that was keyed entry (also where the safe was). But the firewall config was practically wide open, and it had direct access to the internet. I couldn’t even change it to be more secure. Ended up not connecting it to a network at all and just sneakernetting a thumb drive around so I wouldn’t risk catching blame if something got out.
Edit: Yes, a thumb drive. That wasn’t blocked either on this “hardened” system.
Well, the whole reason people have to “adopt and learn” is because M$ bought their way onto virtually every new PC sold back in the 90s, so people’s first experience would be their “operating system.”
Talk about leveraging anchoring bias.
I’d argue you’d have a hard time selling Windows to people if you were honest about it.For just 145€ you get:
- an operating system that assumes you’re an inept idiot
- ads in your application launcher
- a screenshot taken every minute, which gets stored outside your control and analysed by “AI”
- an invasive “assistant” that listens in on your microphone at all times
- forced to create an account to log in to “your” machine, so we can collect even more personal data
Especially when the alternative is free and let’s you do whatever you want with your hardware. And if you happen to misconfigure something you get to be an adult about it and learn from your mistakes.
oh im not disagreeing with that. windows is not easy to learn (as i said in my comment response to my comment above) after u stop being used to it. i doubt its easier if u are new to it either. they definitely just bought their way into making it the status quo. like how chrome did with browsing the web. or google with gmail. or google with etc etc.
what i am saying is that ignoring the “adopt and learn” part isnt benefiting anyone
I don’t think you realize just how complicated it has become to administer windows these days.
as stated in the thread, i use windows at work
Bazzite, legit unless you got some funky setup you just install and go.
If someone is already informed enough to care about having a local account under Windows, seek out ways to circumvent the normal account procedure and feels comfortable applying edits to the registry, I think they have already excluded themselves from the category of people who are unwilling to invest time and effort to get their computer/OS running how they want.
What you wrote may apply to the general public, but not for the circumstances discussed in the post you’re replying to.
willing to apply effort for windows is not the same as willing to apply effort to learn linux. the issue is mindset, wanting to exert energy on something doesnt mean wanting to exert energy on anything
I am a Linux user, I dual boot Kubuntu and Windows.
On Friday I bought a new game on steam, checked on protondb and it is platinum, tried to launch it and it failed. I tried 4 different proton compatability modes and it failed to launch each time. While I am a sysadmin and am well capable of troubleshooting it, I really just wanted to play that game so I rebooted into windows.
If I hadn’t had that other win11 SSD in my machine, I would have had to not play that game because I had no energy to troubleshoot that on a friday night after fighting with linux all day at work.
Tldr: some times Linux is a seemless as Windows, but not always, even when it is supposed to be and is for others. Even if you have that activate windows watermark.
Nah, these “hacks” are very easy. Easier than installing and learning even the most basic of Linux distros.
It’s true. You run one single command in cmd, then follow the prompts. It literally highlights what you probably want too, nevermind the guide online. Even Linux mint you still have to learn where stuff is and what it’s called. That’s not hard, by any means, but this is literally a single command and then you’re back to your routine.
And if paranoid fresh install after activating.
Or if paranoid realise the telemetry and fingerprinting is built in and install a free os
Hahaha a script to amend an installation for now is so much faster than … OOPS my dist installed in 23 sec and has privacy features and zero bloat or ads from the get go
Tell me you haven’t even tried
…?
Without telling me you haven’t tried
Haven’t tried what…?
You haven’t installed and learned the most basic Linux system
I’ve been using Ubuntu on multiple PCs for years. If you think installing and learning a beginner-friendly distro is quicker or easier than running a massgrave script then you are genuinely clueless.
Agree, but Linux (and Mac) both fall to the sunk time fallacy. “I’ve spent years learning to navigate around Windows’s bullshit, so doing the same with a new OS is time I’d rather spend just using my OS!” It’s bullshit and should be called out as such.
All three of the major OSes are piss easy to use. Linux, specifically if you’re using Mint or Ubuntu and it’s already set up. Some Linux distros (e.g. Arch) take some effort to set up, but you’re rewarded for doing so by knowing more about how your computer works.
And they all have advantages. Windows is used by more people and more programs are made for it. It also has some of the best compatibility. Mac is the best “commercial” OS. It’s made for humans, it’s UNIX certified (though that certification is like 40 years old or something), it’s not made by Microsoft, and it’s used by creatives. Linux is aimed more at coders and tinkerers and people who want to really own their computer and control it at a deeper level. All of them can serve a person’s needs well and they all run Firefox.
I have used all of them forever and it is no longer true that Windows and mac os are easy. Easy if you pay, maybe? If you don’t want to use certain things and want to give all data? Its a nightmare if you have a hobby or show or thing you like to do on a computer
From the devs Github
KMS38 has now been removed from the MAS script. Users are advised to use HWID or TSforge activation instead.
So you can still activate Windows through the other means in the script already. I dunno the ins n’ outs, of what makes one method better than another. When I checked it seemed HWID was the first option and the one most people use anyway sooooo…
You’re right, but still. Reduction of options is never good for the community.
Here are the differences between the methods: https://massgrave.dev/chart
Cloudflare error is my favorite activation method.
One more reason never to install windows.
Windows has become too shitty to pay for. And now they do this.
Always has been.
Thanks
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Instead of FIXING the problem.
Don’t think this has anything to do with extended service update activation if you are concerned about that. The ESU should still work as it uses a different activation approach. Massgrave also has other ways to activate windows.
And Microsoft might actually have broken this by accident. If they wanted to get rid of massgrave they would probably start by deleting the github org.
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Try Linux lately?
If your use case is general computing, gaming or whatnot, it’s in a great state today.
o7
o7
What is Windows?
Those things that let light in your home, car, bus, train ,etc
Wait there is something behind the curtain?
I did heard something about non-working airports etc. I think it’s better for people to get rid of this malicious software.
I am waiting for SteamOS Desktop to be released before abandoning Windows. Way I figure, that is the best way to get a ‘casual’ Linux, without scrimping on utility. Having Valve as the distro provider would also ensure that my flavor of Linux is stable, well supported, and documented.
i guess M$ is just deprecating that whole gatherosstate thing because of Y2k38, not exactly targeting MAS. If they are they would’ve removed their github repo and patched the hwid glitch.
Hopefully they don’t brick my functionality.
they are just bricking their own functionality is all.
I use LTSC IoT for my consulting laptop. If Win were released this way normally, there wouldn’t be as many haters.
I still prefer my Årch box, this version of Windows is totally acceptable to me.
Yeah, no Microsoft store, no onedrive to uninstall. No messenger, candy crush, tiktok on the start up menu after a fresh install. No copilot paint. No copilot notes. No xbox copilot app.
Its a boring OS which is what most critics wanted.
If Win were released this way normally, there wouldn’t be as many haters.
- It used to be until Win8.x. Win7 was the last release where the only bloat you had to deal with was third-party bloat on a shitty OEM prebuilt you got at your local big-box store. A clean install from a vanilla MS install media was just that; a clean install. -sigh- You know Windows is toast when you’re nostalgic for the days where the extent of your bloatware woes were Norton or McAfee, or whatever OEM bloat came on your system that a clean install with a vanilla media would easily get rid of.
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