I am already on a Internet of Things edition, which is the debloated version of Windows. However, that still leaves the possibility of Microsoft going fascist and sending out a Big Brother update.

Regarding Linux, it was indeed Mint that I tried to use - it seemed similar to Windows, at least visually. Getting standard software was easy enough, and things seemed promising until I started to migrate my gaming. I mod my games a fair bit of the time, or play niche stuff that hardly has support on Windows. It became very apparent that Linux can’t handle that, not yet. In a couple of years I will revisit Linux.

I tried to switch to Linux several days ago, but there were clear issues regarding games that weren’t tied to Steam. Heroic Games Launcher, Lutris, Bottles, and so forth all had shortcomings regarding compatibility, handling of DLC, or lack of user-friendliness. Then I tried to use a VM, which was a frustrating rabbit hole. Virt-Manager supports GPU passthru, but you have to jump through hoops to identify PCI addresses and to configure correctly. Boxes initially seemed promising, but had no apparent way of storing the VM on my gaming drive. (Linux terminal commands are beyond my understanding.) Considering how big games are getting, and the size of my collection, that is a bad combo. Virtualbox doesn’t have GPU passthru, so the performance sucked.

As a gamer, I currently find Linux to be insufficient. I was wanting to switch due to security concerns regarding Microsoft, especially in light of the Trump Regime’s willingness to ignore law and norms. My concern is that they could use Windows as a spy, or to seal up my computer to punish those who go against Dogey America. As it is, I will have to use some scripts from Github to break Windows Update if I hear of Richmond being infiltrated by the Xitler Youth.

Here’s hoping that Gabe decides to invest much more heavily in Linux to make it casual friendly - I want my mods, cheats, Japanese locale games, emulators, and so forth to all work seamlessly and without compromise. I would seriously pay $400 smackers to have an OS that is capable, flexible, compatible, friendly, and most importantly, MINE.

The days of just buying Windows 7 Ultimate and not thinking about Microsoft was glorious.

Think of it this way: Microsoft can use Copilot down the road to monitor what games and media you have. Considering that the Trump Regime has literally forced the disbanding of military cultural clubs, removal of posters featuring minorities or women, established a DEI watchlist, and so on…as someone who plays a great deal of Japanese games, I wouldn’t feel safe. Plus my PC has all of my passwords, documents, and so forth.

Ask yourself this: “Am I safe from persecution?”

Just because you have no interest in politics, it doesn’t mean that politics aren’t interested in you.

America just lost a huge amount of federal workers, Elon has broken into the treasury, and Trump ended our foreign relations for no good reason.

America is splitting apart, and corporations will have to pick a side. Considering that Microsoft controls the most common OS in the world, it would be very strange if DOGE didn’t try to take control.

I prefer stability, so I only swap to an new OS when I have a fresh machine. Plus, MS is a bully and just plain suspicious. My PC, my rules.

For me, I am concerned about Microsoft going fascist. Last thing I need is my PC to be a turncoat. Also, I hate being forced to update. I want to pick my updates and schedule.

If I modify my existing PC to dual boot from the same drive into Linux, can I easily and safely delete Windows once I have migrated my files into Linux?

IIRC, you can download the .iso from Microsoft themselves, then use a keygen program to create an auto-renewing key. WindowsKMS, I think it was?

Something adjacent to degoogling: I am concerned that Microsoft would collaborate with the Trump Regime. I never used Linux before, but I am now downloading Ubuntu. It feels like that I should do a dual-boot setup and get ready to abandon Windows if I hear about MS HQ in Washington having a DOGE presence.

Here’s hoping that Europe and the Blue States are watching Microsoft for anything weird.