I recently switched from Windows to Linux. It was time for a new laptop anyway, and I just couldn’t handle the Windows crap any longer. It started when my favorite AI libraries stopped being supported on Windows, and I found myself using the Linux Subsystem (WSL) more and more.
In this article, I’ll motivate the switch to Linux, and give you some pointers from my recent experience. You can make the switch, too. It’s not as hard as you may think.
What 365 means is: you pay Microsoft every day of the year.
Most of you will recognize what I mean by Windows crap. It conveniently forgets that I own paid licenses, and tries to jam me into the “365” program. Apps I’ve already paid for suddenly stop working, and then I lose time fixing them. What 365 means is: you pay Microsoft every day of the year.
Then, it’s always trying to badger me into using Copilot which, by the way, is spyware. After updating my registry to turn off Copilot for good, I was not looking forward to the next release, with integrated “kernel level” spyware. If you want a privacy horror story, check out Microsoft Recall.
The Linux ThinkPad
I’ve used ThinkPads forever, like, since they were IBM. I was tempted to buy a Mac but, for this exercise, I wanted to have familiar hardware and change only the operating system. Lenovo sold me the accustomed T16 preloaded with Ubuntu Linux, which probably saved about $100.
One fun thing I learned is that hardware manufacturers feel the pain from Windows, not only because the license takes a big slice of their gross, but because they end up fielding the support calls! Here is Dell opting out, and here is HP.
You can set up Linux to look and feel exactly like Windows, if you wish, using distros like Zorin and Mint. It’s a testament to Ubuntu’s flexibility that people are running around creating distros that emulate other operating systems – MacOS, too.
My Ubuntu Stack
What I wanted, though, was the most vanilla, mainstream Linux experience I could get – and still be compatible with my Microsoft-oriented day job. That’s Ubuntu Linux with Gnome. Here are the apps:
- VS Code – Obviously. I miss Notepad++ but, if you live in VS Code anyway, you can use it as a general-purpose file editor.
- Kate – This is my one concession, so far, to the KDE ecosystem. I installed it mainly to handle markdown files. I also use the default Gnome text editor.
- Only Office – This is for compatibility with MS-Office files. Libre Office is also popular. I can also run the MS 365 web versions (on my employer’s tenant) in Chrome.
- Chrome – Again, for Microsoft compatibility. I run Outlook and Teams in Chrome – as Progressive Web Apps (PWA) to be exact, so they launch from my dock just like they do on Windows.
- Firefox – This is my default browser, not Chrome – for privacy purposes. Did I mention privacy? I’m only running Chrome for the work stuff.
- Thunderbird – I remember running Thunderbird email twenty years ago, and it still looks the same. Battle tested. This for my Virag Consulting mail. My work mail stays in Chrome.
- Nemo – I replaced the default Gnome file manager with Nemo because I prefer its tree view. Much like File Explorer on Windows.
- Network Share – Linux can access files on my Windows computer using the SMB protocol. This is the mount command in bash, but it’s much easier just to connect with Nemo.
- Syncthing – I like to keep an offline copy of my network share on the laptop. It’s rare these days to be without an internet connection, but you never know.
- Clipboard Indicator – This is Win-V on Windows, one of those little things you don’t notice until you don’t have it.
- Flameshot – You’ll need a replacement for Snagit. There are a bunch. I chose Flameshot.
- Slack – No surprise, Slack runs on Linux. Download the DEB version. Ubuntu is Debian-based, and you’ll be installing with APT.
That’s pretty much everything I need to work, travel, and code both personal and job-related. The Interactive Brokers trading app is a little rough, but they’re trying. At least they have a Linux app, and you can always trade on a web site – or your phone.
Claude, help me remap the Copilot key
I run four “workspaces,” which roughly match the four monitors I have at home. Teams and Outlook sit at the end, and I just Super-4 over there when I want to check my work messages. This is an old Linux feature that Windows recently caught up with.
Not only is TensorFlow happier on Linux, but so is Claude Code. It was always weird running Claude in a WSL window, with program files and test data in Windows. And, you don’t need to be coding! You can just start Claude in a terminal window and ask, “Claude, help me remap the Copilot key.”
Online Training
I have used Linux off and on over the years, but I needed a refresher, so I took Coursera’s online class, The Software Developer’s Guide to Linux. This lived up to the name. It was spot-on what I needed – Linux topics tailored for a developer, with enough of the sysadmin stuff to keep me out of trouble. I love being able to get just-in-time training for whatever my current project is.
I find that my usage style has changed with Linux. With Windows, I would faithfully shut down the laptop between sessions, and I’d be careful always to have power. Linux doesn’t seem to use much power, so I mostly just close the lid and let it suspend. I do a restart about once a week, for good measure.
The whole user experience, once you get used to it, just seems less brittle. If you’ve been fatigued with the Windows crap, as I was, hopefully this article encourages you to give Linux a try.
