this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2025
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Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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The lack of support seems very daunting at first.
I started thinking "Oh I wish I could transition to Linux, away from Windows, but what about the latest hardware or random gadget?"
The trick is to flip the question around, namely not "Does my current hardware work with Linux?" but rather "Am I sure my next hardware work well with Linux BEFORE I buy it?" then this remove 99% of headaches. It's typically 1 Web search away from either a lot of complaints or positive feedback... or not much, and then it's up to you to see if you are ready for an adventure. If there is not much but there is some standard interface, e.g. Bluetooth, and no need for a proprietary application, it's nearly sure the main features will work. If a proprietary application is needed, then safer to avoid.
So.... yes maybe surprisingly a LOT of hardware does work well with Linux!
What does not work for me, to give a random example, is the LED controller of my desktop case, which I bought several years ago while Windows was still my main OS. I didn't put a lot of effort into it, cf https://gitlab.com/CalcProgrammer1/OpenRGB/-/issues/1683 but the recent article posted on this instance, namely https://lemmy.ml/post/32389687 makes me want to give it another go at some point!
This is my plan going forward. Linux wasn't on my radar when I bought my laptop (and my PC but that's a different story about just being scared to try since I use it for work and I'm not convinced Linux has comparable software I need).
I got a wicked sale on a Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra, and of course a few months after I started cutting BIg Tech out of my life (I was an idiot for buying Samsung to begin with but too late now haha). No more Meta, Amazon, or Google accounts or devices for me, and all I have left of Big Tech is Microsoft on my laptop and PC. I tried Mint as my first Linux attempt, and put it on my Samsung laptop. It...didn't play well unfortunately. I've read Bazzite may work better but haven't tried it yet.
Moral of the story, you nailed it. Going forward every bit of tech I buy will be vetted for FOSS support first.
Neat! Two quick things :
Feel free to ask here. I might not know alternatives but others could, no matter how niche.
Same advice. I don't have one of these but what fails and how? Any specific error message?
As far as my main PC, I'm a freelance voice actor, artist, and musician. My main concern is recording software and to a lesser extent, art software (I've tried Inkscape, but it's a hard transition from photoshop). For recording I really don't like Reaper, and I use Audition (I know, Adobe, haha) and Cubase for music which unfortunately doesn't have a Linux option.
As per the laptop, it had some standard driver issues which were no big deal but apparently Mint doesn't play well with Nvidia graphics cards. The webcam didn't work but that's a semingly standard issue. The biggest thing was Samsung chips and such from what I read really don't play well with Linux, or at least Mint.