In my blog post about Windows, I didn't mention Linux. I chose to do that for a very good reason, and I figured somebody was probably thinking about recommending Linux.

However, Linux is not really for me, either. Let's talk about that.

Linux is better suited for somebody else

I wish to state my opinion for the record that Linux is genuinely really cool. As an operating system it has its uses in servers that need fast operation, or even as little home servers and projects where you just want to branch out. That's all okay! And Linux has use cases that I am definitely not made for.

While I understand that choosing a distro can be a lot for somebody (especially in my case), and fucking it up can sometimes feel pretty awful), it's not the end of the world. Arch is not for me, I know that, it's too hard to set up or learn. Mint is great for a beginner, but a little too office based for me. That's okay too.

I know my use case is gaming and power. So Pop OS and Bazzite look like pretty fair options! And while I tried Pop and didn't like it, that's okay. I probably wouldn't like Linux on my gaming PC anyway.

As an OS on my second laptop... Maybe? I'd be open to experimenting with it, as on my other device, I use maybe 3 or 5 apps aside from a remote control software, and it wouldn't be the end of the world if I was lacking Playnite or something. Yeah, the lack of good screenshot software would suck. But I'd get over it.

But as a gaming OS, no, Linux is not very good. For a Steam Deck, you can make the argument it's meant for portability and that's okay. It's meant to be convenient, not privately trackable. Gameplay hours doesn't matter as much as portability.

In my case, however, I want to count game hours and upload them. To see them without losing them. Playnite is a flawed solution for that, but it works.

Uh, one problem... Playnite is Windows only, and I don't have the willpower to learn any way to make it work.

The problem I have with Linux

Earlier this year, when I was fresh off the block with a new gaming device, I decided to try and branch out by trying Linux for a little bit. It was meant to be a quick, in and out adventure. I see how bad Linux really is, we leave it at that.

I picked up a partitioning tool, partitioned the drive to make some Linux partitions, that part was over.

I walked away from that experience a week later coming to the conclusion that Linux, with my current patience and mental health, that forcing myself to learn would degrade me more than necessary. So I just went back to using Windows.

Now, there is one question that is not quite answered with all of this; "What the fuck exactly happened?". While I am going to get to that, I do first quickly want to clear up one quick thing.

I don't hate Linux. In my own experience, it is at best a replacement for Windows on hardware where I have no special needs for it. Think, travel devices, office use and work computers.

it is limited to this use, because not only do I have bad experience with Linux and drivers (especially on gaming laptops; holy shit what a terrible experience), I had a test run not that long ago, and it was pretty distasteful for gaming. I could see some benefits for people who are a 'plug it in and go' type of person, but considering something as simple as taking screenshots became a whole pound of work, I called it quit right there.

I'm lazy as hell

Well, there is a bit of method behind the madness.

First of all, I have always been a sort of the 'minimize the setup' kind of person. If there's any friction or setup effort, I usually avoid it, because I don't like putting effort into something that is not guaranteed to work. Looking at you, many scripts I've set up and been dissatisfied with...

While a python script does not really compare in setup to Wine, the effort is just... Ahh, I fucking hate it. Setting up the games is already on a case-by-case basis, and some of the cool games wouldn't work off first bat.

And then there's all the million apps I don't have. Don't have Playnite, don't have ShareX, don't have Internet Download Manager, don't have RivaTuner Statistics Server, don't have Monitorian, and you don't even have fucking foobar2000.

Wine is (perceptually) hard

Yeah, you could set up Wine... But in it's current state, it's not really a solution, and more of a bandaid. foobar2000 looks like shit and barely works under Wine already, and the setup is something I don't think I'm experienced enough to begin with. And if Wine doesn't work 100% on one app, it's most definitely not going to work 100% on most of them.

There are applications for automating Wine, and yes, for gaming. However not only do anti-cheats and anti-tampers shut it down, I do not have the patience to learn it and become dependant on it anyway, so I'm sorry King, but I don't have time for this.

Using Steam as a Game Launching Wrapper is a horrible fucking idea

And YES, I imagine that Proton is a miracle of technology. Especially considering Plutonium works on it.

However, that introduces its own fair share of problems. Firstly, you can't push the hours to Playnite, and you can't import your Playnite hours to steam. And I don't think working overnight to reclaim all those +200 hours on Garry's Mod from my lost steam account is a very efficient eco solution just because I have to change game launchers.

This is on top of Steam in general being awful when it comes to adding most games. Some super complex games, which I play quite often enough, would for SURE not track properly when launched as a non-steam game. Think batch scripts. They would probably stop tracking as soon as the game started launching. And I'd lose the Steam overlay anyway.

This is already difficult for me, because setting Non-Steam games up in general is a daunting task considering I already have all of it in Playnite anyway. There are addons for configuring them, however I wouldn't trust them if my life depended on it. They're that clunky.

I didn't like Fullscreen Exclusive anyway!

In general, who the fuck wants to play in Fullscreen?! Borderless Window is a modern Windows technology that has made it easier to overlay windows on top of games. Translation: It takes literal frames to open Discord if you're fast enough!

Fullscreen Exclusive, on the other hand, is a nightmare technology that does run better because of it hijacking your screen and everything over it, but it also completely fucking ruins the ability to do literally anything over it.

You can kind of circumvent it by using the Steam Overlay, but that is literally a crutch. In some games it works like ass, and you're basically just logging into all your accounts all over again. This is ON TOP of the overlay saving a different set of tabs per game for no fucking reason!

Borderless mode is convenient and gives me a sliver of control backer. Fullscreen (specifically Exclusive, which is the type that hijacks your screen and makes it black out when clocking out), on the other hand: - Trades convenience for performance - Requires you to manually set a refresh rate per game (something that G-Sync is usually already doing, something that usually only works both at the highest refresh rate and AT FULLSCREEN EXCLUSIVE!!!) - Makes it a nightmare to swiftly alt-tab to check on your boys - Indirectly makes you rely on your phone more just to check a message or an email

Yeah, no fucking thanks, Valve. Counter-Strike is already its own shitshow.

Plain windowed mode is kind of a sidegrade... I can see the taskbar (which means seeing built-up notifications easier), however it might as well be useless because a) it makes the game window too small, and b) A MAJORITY OF ALL GAMES DO NOT ALLOW YOU TO FREELY RESIZE THE WINDOW WHEN IN WINDOWED.

So if you wanna play a game in windowed, and you can't maximize it so you ONLY see the game and the taskbar... Tough fucking luck! It's already insane I have to see the window borders with maximized!

Why can't we have the best of both worlds?! A borderless mode where I can see the fucking taskbar! It'd be great, but some games do an actual DOGSHIT job of capturing the mouse (you can notice this best if you watch a video on your browser and make it big on the top left with Picture in Picture while playing), and a lot of games fuck up borderless by kicking PiP shit off the screen!

Just... Ughhh, why couldn't anybody fucking streamline this shit?? Linux makes it even worse!

Who the fuck wants to set up a bunch of portable apps?

This is a bit of a minor issue, but since I like organizing, let's talk about it anyway.

I disagree with Linux's root organization. On windows, you have two program files, Windows, users, and sometimes one or two pieces of junk that you need. Sometimes even more if installers don't clean their shit up properly, sometimes more if you choose to do it that way.

I don't like the idea of an OS and my games being on the same partition. It is why I chose to partition my SSD when I first got this computer set up.

When it comes to Linux, I could do the same thing... But if I'm dual booting, I'd rather not take space from my game partition, and I already don't like allocating more than 100 gigabytes to Linux for a test run... So I just prefer not to.

However, installing apps is a fucking nightmare. A majority of great apps will all be on the package manager, which might as well be the best part of the setup.

And then all these random fucking apps only have portable tarballs, for reasons unknown to man??? Like, I have to decide between a Flatpak and a tarball? I'd rather take the Flatpak for package reasons, even if the setup folder is nonsensical, and the sandboxing causes a lot of issues... But come on, a tarball only download?

We had setups sorted out since Windows 95, man.

Awful desktop customization (from experience)

I've seen people customize Linux to shit and I have basically no experience on hand, so please assume I'm a stupid newbie here.

But I feel Linux has inferior customization. The desktop environment setup feels clunky and requires full restarts to change the enviornment. Pop OS's Cosmic was fucking terrible, so I had to figure out from scratch how to set up KDE Plasma.

Then the tray customization is confusing and overwhelming. It feels like I have to navigate the maze of menus and settings to find out how to hide a fucking notification center from my taskbar. And on top of it, I STILL don't know how to completely hide a tray icon I don't want.

Linux probably figured this out long before Windows, but like... I literally can't replace Windows, why does it take so much effort to get close?

Yes, Linux has a purpose. I'm just not that purpose.

This is a non issue, but I also want to bring it up.

Some people seem to have this complex that Linux is a perfect replacement for Windows and that you can 'stick it to the big man' by just using Linux instead.

...In this world, maybe so. However, Windows has a choke collar on a lot of people. I use a lot of obscure apps not on Windows. It is already frustrating that studios are dropping Linux support for invasive anti-cheats that will do nothing to counter hackers. It is already frustrating that I have to resort to Wine to set up apps that should have good linux versions. It is even more frustration when not a single screenshot program is as good as ShareX.

I feel that a lot of Linux mains (with no Windows partition) should know that there are a million niches that Linux has not figured out yet. I don't mean to trample on the OS, I know I have done a lot of arguing in this blog alone.

YES, for the average joe who just writes documents and checks his government website, it's perfect. YES, for servers and homelab users who need a server with no bullshit, it's perfect.

For power users like me who do multiple things and use specific applications to cover holes that other apps have left wanting filled, Linux just doesn't have enough users or testers to actually do that.

If you want to make a difference and actually make Linux a better, viable place, start with the low hanging fruit. Encourage developers to consider supporting Linux, or having Linux configuration setups. Encourage curious programmers to try and making alternatives to programs that don't have Linux alternatives yet.

There are some of you, and I appreciate that some of you understand others like this. Linux is not a bad OS by any means. I just think that the setup far outweighs the equivalents on Windows.

If you want to change this, please go out and bring attention to some things that have not been fixed yet. Linux is not really in a good shape for a power user like me yet. It's over recommended for underwhelming performance.

You should start with Playnite first. Please stop recommending and overwhelming noobies with this crap, just send them Ubuntu or Mint's way.