No…just sarcasm…
Yeah… I’ve been trying (and mostly failing) to do that.
UK Atheist
Do you have important apps that only run on Windows, or services you can’t replace with better options?
Well … installed Debian 13.5 + Cinnamon on my M5 Macbook Pro running under UTM and it was pretty painless. It is not something most Grandpas would have gotten through, but my exposure to Xenix back in the 90s and playing with Ubuntu a bit probably a decade ago, was sufficient to see me through.
I gave it 5 CPUs (half of my 10), 16G of RAM (half of my 32) and about a fourth of my SSD (of 1TB).
So far it is very snappy, but we’ll see how it fares under more load.
All I’ve done so far is get myself into full screen mode (swiping back & forth between Debian and MacOS works fine), fired up Libre Writer briefly, started FireFox long enough to download, install & sync Vivaldi, which lately has become my preferred browser (mostly taking over from Brave, though I still keep that around for when I want to go full camo using a private Tor window, which is pretty rare, and I probably could just use the Tor browser for that I guess).
Probably should install Proton VPN (I have a sort of “family / everything” license so I’m pretty sure that covers Linux).
I’m going to try not to launch GMail, Google Calendar, etc – see how long I can get by without any of the usual services, which I have already been edging away from for some time. I’m already mostly using ProtonMail for personal stuff and a generic mail client, Roundcube, for my business email domain, and I would not be on FB if it weren’t the only way to connect with my daughter and grandkids. But for stuff like that I can avoid doing it on Linux and keep that pristine.
After a few months of getting my footing and finding alternatives to my usual services perhaps I can get a nice Intel laptop and/or desktop (Framework maybe?) and get away from MacOS altogether, IDK. My wife and stepson will be a harder sell. We’ll see. It will be a nice stretch for me regardless.
Thanks to all for your suggestions / recommendations!
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Glad things went well.
I just remembered that I have a 2009 model Intel Mac Pro sitting in the closet. It doesn’t run recent versions of MacOS very well, so I’ll try installing Kubuntu on it and give it a go.
Yeah, several! One in particular I can’t replace with open source… not saying there aren’t other writer’s apps out there but Scrivener (the app in question) is, to my mind, damned near perfect.
I know I could go Linux but I’ve tried an awful lot of distros and never found one I liked… guess I’ll always be a Windows “boy” at heart. I say “boy” in the sense that I’m not, I’m retired and it’s very hard to be arsed with changing to a different OS at this age.
UK Atheist
Well … that was Day One.
Scrolling is a bit jerky and there’s no audio. No time to mess with it right now. I changed UTM’s audio mapping from the default, restarted the VM, now it’s onto Other Steps.
One thing I found working with VM’s is allocating fewer resources then you would want in a physical machine seemed to make them happier.
Sound and video issues…welcome to Linux…
I was expecting issues related to sound and video when I installed Kubuntu to a physical drive, but didn’t run into anything bad. The installer found my video card (Nvidia) and installed the appropriate driver, and sound worked without any issues. It even found my network printer, identified the make and model, and it just worked. I’m impressed at how far distros have come in the last few years. It’s getting to the point where a Linux distro is a viable option for a nontechnical user to make the switch from Windows.
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One of the changes I’ve made recently to reduce enshittification on some of the services I use is to stop using dedicated apps with these services and switch to accessing them through their web interfaces.
Apps lock you into an environment where you’re subjected to whatever ads, surveillance, and geolocation that the vendors build into the apps. Much of this fuckery can be eliminated by switching to the web interface (where you can use ad blockers and turn off geolocation and much of the other crap that vendors like to use on us).
For example, I’m a heavy Reddit user, and I previously used their app on iPhone and iPad. The app embedded ads and I’m sure it used various surveillance techniques too. Switching to the web interface allows me to use an ad blocker to remove the ads and to turn off the other crap the app uses. I also switched from www.reddit.com to old.reddit.com, which is the older Reddit interface, which I consider cleaner and less intrusive than the new interface.
For those of you still using Facebook, you might consider switching to a Mastodon server. This is a network of independent social media servers run by various organizations and individuals, but they all interoperate to a variable extent, and you can easily switch from one server to another in an automated way. Many of the servers serve a specific genre, such as technology, hobbies, music, and art, to name a few.
Many well-known services, like Meta’s Threads and the Cheeto’s Truth Social, are Mastodon servers, but individual servers can “defederate” from other servers (many, if not most Mastodon servers defederate from Truth Social because their users don’t want to see Trump and his cult’s bullshit).
You can find a list of Mastodon servers here: joinmastodon.org
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I have to agree. The first Linux machine I built used an old version of SUSE. It was an experience akin to getting your gums scraped…
In 2020, when I first went to Mint, I was surprised at how much of the hardware just worked. I still fight some of my older peripherals, but it is fixable…just too broke to fix it and too old to be that invested…
I can’t say it’s ready for non-technical users just yet. The nature of open source does leave many “built by committee” relics to contend with.
I have installed Windows on one physical computer (my son’s home built computer) and on one virtual machine, both with retail licenses. In my opinion, I find it easier, faster, and less painful to install a modern Linux distro like Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, Fedora, or RHEL clones than it is to install Windows from scratch.
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I chose Ubuntu Budgie.
The Budgie desktop is an acquired taste for many, but suits me fine. The OS is unobtrusive, stays out of my face except for necessary updates, and LibreOffice, while still exhibiting a few quirks here and there, does the job.
The one application I miss is PhotoShop. The Linux alternatives aren’t quite there yet. But when the day arrives that they do … you’ll hear my squeals of delight all the way to Alpha Centauri 
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Took my next step today. I installed Kubuntu on my spare laptop, a Lenovo with a Core i7 CPU.
Before I erased Windows 11, I took some measurements to compare with Kubuntu after it was installed. The installation itself went off without a hitch and the installer found the laptop’s integrated graphics, its Wifi adapter, and Bluetooth. Sound and video worked flawlessly.
When the laptop was running the latest version of Windows 11, the OS consumed 4.2GB with no applications running. I started Firefox and had YouTube play a 10 hour fireplace video. I let it run while the battery went from 100% charged to 10% charged. This took a little over three hours (3:06).
After installing Kubuntu, the OS consumed 2.1GB. I started Firefox and had it play the same fireplace video. I used a photographic exposure meter to match screen brightness with what it was under Windows. Going from 100% charge to 10% charge took 4:42. That’s 52% more battery life than under Windows! Impressive.
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I hadn’t expected that, to be honest. Traditionally, Linux on laptops have been quite battery-draining compared to Windows, so it is good to see that Linux have improved on that.
Windows is constantly running processes like “Antimalware Service Executable”, “.Net Optimization Service”, and others, that eat CPU. It’s also constantly sending data to Microslop’s telemetry servers (run Wireshark on an idle Windows system–you’ll be amazed at all of the network traffic going on). Linux does none of that.
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I gave tech the finger LONG ago. Once they started demanding personal information, I told them to go to hell.
Same goes with a new printer. And DAMN! it took almost 75 minutes for the damned printer drivers to install. WT7734! Then it demanded that I register the printer before I could even use it. They wanted my name, my address, my email, and just too much personal information. They do NOT need that info.
Needless to say, I reverted my computer back before that debacle, took the printer back, and got my money back.
ALL companies now days seem not to understand they do not need any of my personal information for me to use their products.
Hell, just to keep grocery stores from collecting my personal information, I go to the bank, draw cash. I have not used any form of debit/credit card for any purchases in over 15 years. Destroyed all old ones, deleted those accounts, and now use just me bank card.
I prefer off-grid. Those lying thieves in those corporations have absolutely no need to know any personal information. However, USA laws allow data gathering because of “legitimate interest”. What a pile of horse hoowhee.
Franklin
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I’ve never seen a printer that demanded registration before it’s usable. What bothers me about printers is the price of consumables and how companies lock you into their proprietary refills. Based on what companies like HP charge for inkjet printer ink, it must be one of the most valuable substances in the universe. I’ve seen estimates that HP printer ink costs about $10,000 a gallon when you buy it in their cartridges.
Not only is it expensive, but many companies use proprietary chips in the cartridges to prevent third party cartridges, which are usually less expensive than the OEM equivalents, from working. Any third party who reverse engineers the chip in the OEM cartridges gets sued by the OEM under the DMCA. Some printer manufacturers are now using subscription plans for consumables–no thanks!
I used to be a big fan of HP printers, but switched to Brother when they started playing these games. David and Bill must be rolling in their graves over this enshittification.
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Another finger 
given, this time to Adobe.
I’ve dropped my subscription to Adobe Premier and switched entirely to DaVinci Resolve Studio. This is a paid application, but unlike Premier, it’s pay once, not a subscription. I actually got it for free when I bought their Speed Editor keyboard. It normally costs $295, and that includes free upgrades forever. There’s also a free version that is more limited (it doesn’t support editing 4K video, for example).
Premier was costing me $25/month, which is $300/year. For less than that you can get Resolve Studio and that’s a one-time cost.
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