I bought a computer and wanted to install a clean OS on it (it came with Ubuntu, which I loathe visually and general UX-wise…). I had a choice: go through the effort on my other machine of pirating Win10, or just install Linux
Yeah, I dislike Ubuntu as well, which is why I recommend Mint. Most of the community support for Ubuntu is directly relevant, but you don’t have to deal with any of the nonsense that comes by default (UI/UX, snaps, etc).
That said, you can also just install Windows, no need to pirate it. Yeah, you’ll get the watermark and can’t switch the desktop background as easily, but other than that, it’s perfectly functional. That’s what I use for my dual-boot because I use Windows maybe once/year, if that.
My point here is that Linux and Windows are fundamentally different. If you want Windows, but want to avoid something specific about it (cost, ads, etc), Linux isn’t going to be a great transition an comes with a bunch of caveats, and no amount of lipstick is going to hide that. If you’re switching away from Windows, surely you’re also okay with it looking a bit different too, no?
Alt+F2 rather than Win+R
Key bindings can be changed.
Notepad++
Recommendations:
- Visual Studio Code - closer to an IDE than a simple text editor, but it’s pretty good in general
- Kate - esp if you’re using KDE (Alt+F2 is the key combo there, but maybe it’s the same on Cinnamon and other default Mint DEs)
Some things don’t have a direct replacement, but generally speaking, there’s usually a few analogues for anything you’d use on Windows. For example, for games, you have:
- Steam - most games w/o anti-cheat work, and some with anti-cheat work, if the devs enable it
- Heroic - for GOG, EGS, and Prime games
- a bunch of FOSS games - 0 AD and Battle for Wesnoth are my favorites
her tax software is Windows-only and does not work correctly in Wine
Consider teaching her to use one of the online tax software solutions (e.g. in the US, FreeTaxUSA is free and easy). Yes, it’s different, but it’s also pretty easy, even for someone who is older. I use FreeTaxUSA (assuming you’re in the US; if not, look for an alternative), and it feels just like TurboTax, but without all of the upcharge nonsense. If that’s truly the only roadblock and she ends up liking the online version, then you’re golden (I recommend helping her create an account, but let her do everything else)!
Best case scenario, she saves a few bucks and is that much closer to switching to Linux. Worst case scenario, she goes back to what she’s used to, no harm done.
I’m not going to be tolerant of the watermark, and I don’t feel like using PowerShell to get rid of it - plus there’s drivers to consider. It’s just faster and easier for me to grab an activated OEM version for the computer I have.
Key bindings can be changed, but I’ve never found the place to do it easily in the GUI in Mint. I touch the Linux command line for curl and ping, and that’s about it.
I already play Wesnoth, and I haven’t touched 0 AD in years. I prefer OpenTTD, Oolite, Endless Sky, and Minetest, along with occasionally poking at WarZone 2100. But that doesn’t replace the DOS and Win9x games from my childhood. I don’t use Valve’s DRM platform (nor the one from Epic Megagames), and it’s rare for me to pay for anything on GOG. But there’s no other game that exactly hits the fun for me of Sid Meier’s Covert Action, Shadow President, SimCity 2000 & 3000, Starfleet Command II: Orion Pirates, or a couple dozen others. Yes, it’s nostalgia. But it harms no one.
As for the tax thing, I’ll look into it, but I don’t expect it will do what we need. We need to pay for the more expensive software because of our tax situation (don’t want to get into detail for obvious reasons).
plus there’s drivers to consider
Is there an issue w/ drivers on unlicensed Windows? And yeah, you can reuse the key your computer has, this is assuming you can’t for whatever reason (i.e. laptop shipped w/o it).
I’ve never found the place to do it easily in the GUI in Mint
That would depend on which flavor of Mint you’re using. Keybindings are almost always in the GUI, though you can also do it through the CLI in many cases (e.g. GNOME-based DEs use gconf/dconf IIRC).
I haven’t used any of the Mint flavors, so I won’t be of much help. But surely someone in one of the Linux communities could help (or just search for “change keybindings Linux Mint” or something).
OpenTTD
Oh yeah, OpenTTD rocks. I haven’t played any of the others (other than messing w/ Minetest when it first launched), so I’ll have to check them out. :)
Most of my gaming is on Steam, and many (most? haven’t checked) of those don’t have DRM, since I mostly play indies and older games because I think newer games tend to suck.
We need to pay for the more expensive software because of our tax situation
That’s too bad. It’s still worth a look IMO, online tax software has come a long way. Unless, however, you’re doing something fancy with businesses and whatnot, but at that point I’d just hire an accountant. Anyway, at 80, it’s probably not worth making huge changes, though I’d strongly recommend putting some checks in place so granny doesn’t easily get scammed (and I’m guessing you already do).
Anyway, I’m always happy to see someone trying out and enjoying Linux. I’ve been here for >15 years, so I’ve kind of lost touch with what people on Windows use these days. I do remember the transition being a little rocky, but after a year or so, I ditched all of the Windows crap and found solution to everything I need.
