Oooo, I hope this happens.

Kingston supports a lot of small communities around it’s geography

Steam OS is actually the rare exception to my issues. It's problem is that it's only available on a steam deck,.

When it become available to mass download I will be very interested in trying it as a desktop os

Do I know sudo can be passwordless? Yes

But that sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Specifically usability. I would say Linux is about Windows 98/early XP era for usability.

Printer drivers are not the same level of "it just works" as it is on Wondows. My Brother Printer's features weren't working with the default driver (scanner and double sided printing just didn't work), so I needed to install brother drivers from their website which required sudo access.

Installing packages, and software updates also require sudo permissions. Which means to keep a password nearby or easy to remember which is hard when Windows never required it for the longest time.

Installing graphics drivers are hit or miss and requires some tinkering and research to get right. This is both for AMD and Nvidia. Open-CL is the roadblock I ran into specifically for AMD, and installing the drivers outright for Nvidia on Fedora.

For those who I am thinking of, their tech literacy is good enough to remember how to open a web browser, and find their emails. But they can't even remember what the password is for their WiFi, so having to enter passwords daily for their machine is a massive ask, let along trying to keep the software updated and maintained. Especially when they buy new hardware and I am not around to make sure that it works. As much as I don't like Microsoft and Apple, when you buy a new printer, or install new software, most users can work it out on their own. Linux doesn't feel as streamlined or supported in this regard, at least for now.

With that said, compared to where Linux was not to long ago, I would say that the OS is 80-90% new user friendly, but requires as much tinkering as a Bethesda game needs to get it usable. Good for a teenager trying to play games on a budget, or a kid who wants to tinker, but for those who just want to use their iPhone and not think about anything else, it's too much of a learning curve.

I am keeping an eye on the Immutable OS's like Fedora Silverblue and Kinote, as Flatpak updating solves most of these issues and Fedora specifically removes the issue of system updates requiring sudo access. But until a Linux distro hits ease of use parity as Windows 7 or 10, I'll just keep recommending Macbooks if they need new machines.

This was the main reason I switched to Linux… even if this is implemented I have no desire to go back to Windows, but I might recommend MacBooks less to my less techie friends.

Not really much point comparing modern Linux to Windows XP on security inconvenience

Not saying that Windows XP is usable today. I am more saying that where Linux is now, is where Windows was 20 years ago. I would say Windows 11 us where Windows Vista/8 is, slowly moving down to Windows ME. Soon Modern Windows and Linux will cross paths.

I've been on Linux for the last 4 years. I have no intention on going back to Windows. Microslop has lost all trust with me.

The problem, is Linux isn't ready for my Grandmother yet, but she needs a computer. Macs work, as an alternative and with the Neo it's almost affordable. Chromebooks are just landfill, and while I'd love to keep them on the HPs, Acers, and Dells they are use to. I can't get Linux to the same state which they were use to in Windows.

One of these days it will get there, and Linux has moved very far and fast since I started toying with it in the mid 2010s. But it's not ready today.

Good night cheapest game box on the market.

LibreOffice

Free Office Suite which is excellent for personal use. If you are on mobile Collabora Office if you want an Android/iOS version

I use flatpak and app images for different uses.

App images are like portable exe files for onetime use apps. Like Rufus

Flatpaks are like installable exes from the devs website. Used for apps I want to used and use again on my machine.

My solution to this was to back up all my projects so I have a local copy, and move to FreeCAD. I'm tired of Autodesk changing the deal every year or so.

30 minutes in the test, I saw a cat.

You are not wrong, but I don’t want to admit that you are right since it’s so depressing

While it's easy to be pessimistic about this. This is one of the few options to make actual change. Leaving thing as they are is a worse situation since it means that companies like Ubisoft can and will destroy the games which we own.

Will there be resistance? Yes Ubisoft is already stated their opposition to it.)

But it's not up to companies like Ubisoft for how the EU makes it's laws, it's up to the EU itself. When there is potentially 1.4 million people in Europe telling you to "stop killing games" it's going to be hard to tell them no.

We both switch years ago on our laptops when Windows 11 became the default windows. Linux Mint ftw

I miss Pebble. ePaper Display, week long battery life, and I can see all my phones notifications and reply to texts on the watch itself.

Made my old phone with bad battery life usable.

Garmin is the only "smart watch"/fitness tracker that does this and does it well. Wish it wasn't as pricy for the week long battery devices.

Zorin pro was the main reason I never stuck with Zorin OS however while they heavily advertise that the price is for the software. I think the real cost comes with “installation support”.

For many first time users, having support help with an install is a necessity and they will pay for it. See Geek Squad as an excellent example.

Plus having a preconfigured Linux experience is good for these users.

I feel these companies are forgetting the lessons from the mid 2000’s. When you remove the hardware features from your devices, which only the most advanced users use. It doesn’t mean you’ve locked it down, but instead invited these users to find alternative ways to bypass your security.

PS3 had Linux support. PS3 removed Linux supper. PS3 was cracked wide open.

Xbox One has a Dev mode, devs who wanted to play emulators on their Xboxes could. So the hardware was left be.

As someone who sell their 3D Prints on Etsy. This is fantastic. We had other shops try to sell older versions of my designs and even trying to use my photos in their listing. If this stops that I am all for it.

Is it decent ? Yes

Should I look elsewhere? Also yes.

CAD is difficult to understand on a good day, and FreeCAD is a beginner unfriendly implementation of it.

I personally love it and it’s an excellent tool if you already know what you are doing. If you don’t, it’s a mess of screens and spaces with no rhyme or reason.

My two cents. Learn CAD first, Google Sketchup or Fusion 360 are good and beginner friendly with lots of tutorials. Then move to FreeCAD to learn the differences.

That said if you want to just try FreeCAD, this release is the best I’ve used from them.