Video summary
The speaker, a Linux advocate with nearly two decades of experience as a primary user and a converter of hundreds of others from Windows, acknowledges that while most people transition smoothly to the open-source operating system, there are specific scenarios where staying on Windows is necessary. Having spent so long in the Linux ecosystem that he no longer uses or even fully understands modern Windows versions, he recognizes that for many professionals, job requirements dictate the use of proprietary software that simply does not exist for Linux. Consequently, individuals whose livelihoods depend on these exclusive applications are effectively locked into the Windows environment, and the speaker emphasizes the importance of being realistic about these limitations before attempting a switch.
The most significant barriers to adoption arise in professional fields requiring specialized business and creative tools. For instance, architects, engineers, and city planners often rely on CAD software like AutoCAD, which lacks a viable Linux alternative, forcing them to remain on Windows. Similarly, accountants and bookkeepers using QuickBooks, or office workers dependent on the full desktop version of Microsoft Office with its advanced macros, face substantial hurdles since these applications are not natively available on Linux. While web-based versions of Office 365 exist, they can be limiting for complex tasks, and while alternatives like LibreOffice offer strong compatibility for basic word processing, they may struggle with intricate spreadsheet formulas and formatting found in Microsoft files.
Creative professionals and musicians also encounter significant roadblocks due to the lack of native support from major software vendors like Adobe and developers of popular Digital Audio Workstations. Adobe has explicitly stated it does not plan to port its Creative Suite, including Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and After Effects, to Linux, leaving users with no choice but to run Windows or Mac versions. Although Linux offers powerful open-source alternatives such as Blender for 3D animation, Kdenlive for video editing, and Ardour for audio production, these tools cannot fully replicate the specific workflows and proprietary features of industry-standard Adobe products or staples like Ableton Live and FL Studio. Therefore, anyone whose job mandates the use of these specific creative suites is practically forced to maintain a Windows installation.
Finally, the gaming landscape presents another category where Linux users might feel restricted, particularly for competitive gamers who rely on titles with kernel-level anti-cheat systems. While Linux boasts an extensive library of games through Steam and Proton, popular multiplayer titles like Fortnite, PUBG, Valorant, and certain Call of Duty games often fail to run due to these security measures. This limitation can be especially frustrating for younger users or teenagers who prioritize playing the same games as their friends, potentially making the transition to Linux difficult for that demographic. Ultimately, the speaker aims not to discourage Linux adoption but to ensure potential users are aware of these specific pain points; for the vast majority who do not depend on these exclusive applications, the move to Linux is seamless and highly beneficial, but those tied to specific proprietary software must accept that Windows remains their only viable option.
Read the full video transcript
So, as somebody that has switched
probably hundreds of people from Windows
to Linux over the years, lots of friends
and family, uh, people that just bring
me their laptops, you know, their
Windows laptops that are old, slow,
filled with viruses, it doesn't work
anymore, and then I put Linux on their
machine and send them on their way. I
would say 95% plus of people that I move
from Windows to Linux for whatever
reason, they're okay. They have
absolutely no issues. In fact, almost
all of them love Linux compared to
Windows. But there are some people that
just can't leave Windows behind because
of software availability. Now, I've been
running Linux as my primary desktop
operating system for nearly 20 years. I
haven't had a machine that has run
Windows, you know, in about 20 years,
right? And I've never owned a Mac. I've
never bought Apple hardware. But, you
know, that's me because I've I've been
in this so long that I don't even know
what the hell is Windows is all about
today. I I don't I don't even know what
Windows 11 really looks like. I've never
actually sat down at a machine that ran
Windows 11 and played with it. The last
version of Windows that I actually lived
in was way back in Windows XP. you know,
that was many, many versions of Windows
ago. So, I don't really miss Windows
only software because I don't even know
about Windows only software for the most
part because I've been in Linux for so
long. I only run Linux software. But
many people do require certain programs
uh mainly because of their job. They
require certain programs that only work
on Windows. And if you're one of these
people, unfortunately, you probably are
stuck on Windows because of this
software. And today, I wanted to
highlight some of the programs that crop
up the most when I hear about people
that can't move to Windows. These are
the programs that are going to cause the
biggest pain points because these are
programs that do not have a Linux
version and we really don't have any
good Linux alternatives to these
programs. And most of it has to do with
business related software. If you're in
certain fields of endeavor, certain
industries, for example, if you're an
architect, an engineer, city planner,
you know, somebody like that, uh chances
are you have to use CAD software. You
have to use programs like AutoCAD.
Doesn't work on Linux. We really don't
have good CAD programs on Linux. We have
really nothing to offer you guys. So
unfortunately, if you work in those
fields and you require CAD software,
some of this professional level CAD
software, unfortunately, you're probably
stuck on Windows and you don't feel too
bad about that, though. I mean, I would
love to move everybody from Windows over
to Linux, but here's the thing. If your
job requires you to run Windows only
software, I mean, that is your job.
That's how you make a living, right? So
unfortunately if your job requires some
of this Windows only software like a
AutoCAD you probably need to keep
running Microsoft Windows. Uh another
popular program QuickBooks you know if
you're somebody that is uh in the
financial space you're a bookkeeper or
an accountant and you require QuickBooks
doesn't work on Linux. There's no way to
run QuickBooks on Linux. We have some
bookkeeping kind of alternative programs
on Linux but they're not good. They're
nowhere near anything like QuickBooks. I
know we have like some free and open
source uh programs like a GNU Cache, you
know, it's not it's nowhere near what
QuickBooks is. So, unfortunately, if
you're somebody that lives in QuickBooks
all day, you're probably going to just
have to stay on Windows. If your line of
work requires you to run Microsoft
Office, especially the desktop clients,
if you're required to use the Microsoft
Office suite of products, we we can't
run that on Linux. We cannot run the
desktop versions of those applications
because Microsoft only makes that for
Windows. I think they do make a a Mac
port, but they've never made a Linux
port of Microsoft Office as far as the
desktop class. Now, there is the
web-based platform. We have Microsoft
Office 365 that you can run in the
browser and you can do that on Linux.
Although even that I think I I I'm not a
user, but I believe even that is a
little bit limiting. There could be
issues, especially like with
spreadsheets. When you get into some of
the advanced features, some of the more
complicated macros, you could run into
issues there. So, if you're a Microsoft
Office user and because of your job, you
need to run those Microsoft Office
products, you might have to stick to
Windows or at the very least if you want
to move to Linux. At least keep a
Windows virtual machine on your system
in order to run the Microsoft Office
suite. Now, we do have some really good
alternatives to Microsoft Office on
Linux. We have Office suites, free and
open- source Office suites. The most
popular one is the Libre Office Suite.
Libre Office has a word processor and a
spreadsheet program and a presentation
program. Everything you've got in
Microsoft Office, we've got in Libre
Office and it's mostly compatible with
Microsoft Office. Like especially, I
would say the word processor is pretty
compatible. I open uh something that was
created using the word processor in
Microsoft Office with the word processor
in Libri Office. I would say most of the
time things are are working perfect.
It's, you know, pretty compatible. The
spreadsheet program though can be an
issue because just spreadsheets can be
very complicated. If you create some big
complicated spreadsheet with some fancy
macros in a Microsoft Office and then
save that file and then open the file in
the Libre Office spreadsheet program
called Libre Office Calc. Uh there could
be some formatting issues and that's
just the nature of it. Then they could
go both ways. You could create a big
fancy spreadsheet in Libra Office Calc,
open it in Microsoft Office's
spreadsheet program and have formatting
issues going the other way as well. But
again, if you're in a a business or
office environment where you live in
Microsoft Office and so does all your
co-workers and you're sharing all of
these files saved, especially in the
Microsoft Office uh document formats,
you probably have to stick to Microsoft
Office. And again, you're probably going
to have to keep some version of Windows
around to run Microsoft Office. Another
big suite of software that can be a pain
point for people is the Adobe Creative
Suite. So, we're talking about Premiere
Pro, Photoshop, After Effects, all of
that stuff from Adobe. Adobe will never
make a port of any of that software for
Linux. They've stated they don't care
about Linux, right? So, yeah. So, you're
stuck on Windows or Mac if you're on a
Mac because they do have uh Windows and
Mac available for their software, but
not Linux. Again, they're they're not
very friendly to the Linux community.
And you know, what can you do about it?
Well, here's the thing. When it comes to
creative software, Linux actually has a
lot of good stuff available. For
example, if you're somebody that uses
Adobe Premiere Pro, there are many other
professional level video editors that
are available on Linux. Light works is
on Linux, Da Vinci Resolve is on Linux,
and I use the free and open-source
software program Kaden Live. I know it's
not considered professional level. Well,
it's not a Da Vinci or a Light Works or
a Premiere Pro, but Caden Live is
actually really dang good for a piece of
free and almostur software and that's
just the video editor. We have lots of
graphics software. We have animation
software like Blender for example is
just fantastic. So, some of this stuff
you may be able to find alternatives on
Linux. But here's the thing. Depending
on what you're doing, if this is uh
something you use for a job, for
example, and you're required to use some
of these specific Adobe programs like a
Photoshop, Photoshop you're not going to
be able to run on Linux. You can't run
it on online. You could run it in a
Windows virtual machine. You can keep a
Windows virtual machine around just to
run Photoshop. But chances are if you
are stuck, especially in this Adobe
environment where you got to use
multiple of these Adobe programs, you
probably should just stick to Windows.
For those of you that are music
professionals, especially if you work in
the music industry, certain digital
audio workstation program, so DAWs,
right? things like Ableton Live and FL
Studio, those are kind of staples in
that industry, programs that you're
expected to work with and know how to
use. Neither one of those programs work
on Linux. Now, we have a lot of dolls in
Linux. There's plenty of uh programs
that do work on Linux, things like uh
Ardour and Reaper and stuff like that,
but in many cases, you're required to
use some of these proprietary Windows
solutions in your field of work. And
unfortunately because of that, you're
probably stuck on Windows. And one final
group of software that you need to be
aware of that may or may not work for
you on Linux is games. Now, we have
thousands of games available on Linux.
So, we have Steam on Linux. In fact,
Linux is kind of a first class citizen
when it comes to Steam and the Steam
platform as far as gaming. Obviously,
Steam makes the Steam Deck, right? piece
of hardware that actually runs Linux as
the operating system for that hardware.
But many game developers, many of these
studios that are creating these games,
they write their games for Linux and
then Valve and Steam, they they do some
magic through a program called uh Proton
basically where they allow some of these
Windows games to actually run on Linux,
right? It's kind of a hack and that hack
works really well, right? So, we've got
thousands and thousands of games that
you can play on Linux, but there are
some games that require antiche, a
specific kinds of anti-che that run like
kernel level kind of anti-che. And
because of that, those games do not work
on Linux. They have to be run on a
Windows machine. And some of those games
are popular games. things like um you
know back in the day I remember people
complained all the time about Fortnite
and PUBG uh Valerant uh some of the Call
of Duty games I don't believe work as
well because of the um is it the Battle
Eye Andy G I forget what it is. I'm not
much of a gamer and I have never played
any of these games. So uh again I just
you know take that you can look this up
if I'm wrong on any of these games but
anything that requires uh serious
anti-che. Battlefield I don't think
works on Linux. Now, the good thing here
is because there's thousands, maybe tens
of thousands of games that do work on
Linux, like I don't know, 98% of the
stuff on Steam is going to work just
fine on Linux. Maybe 99, I don't know,
and just throwing a a percentage out
there. A very high percentage of games
run perfectly well on Linux. So, if
unless you need a specific game that is
Windows only, and I don't know why you
would. Maybe you're a competitive gamer.
I do know young people, especially, you
know, teenagers and people in their
early 20s, high school, college age
kids, sometimes it is very crushing to
their soul to not be able to play a
certain game because all their friends
play it and they're the only ones that
don't have a Windows machine. I I run
Linux. I can't play this game. Then all
my friends are playing and I'm the
outsider that's left, you know, for an
adult. We wouldn't care. We just go find
another game to play, right? But kids,
you know, they're going to take this uh
a little more personally. So, especially
if you're somebody that has, you know,
teenage kid that is into gaming, you may
have a hard time putting them on Linux.
Chances are they are stuck on Windows.
Now, I didn't make this video today to
be a Debbie Downer, but at the same
time, I do like to stay in reality,
right? And I certainly want people that
are on Windows that have been thinking
about coming to Linux, I want to make
sure that, you know, you know upfront
some of the pain points. Now, for 95%
plus of the people that are going to
watch this video, you don't fall into
any of these categories and you're
you're going to be just fine coming over
to Linux, but there are going to be a
few of you that watch this video that do
need some of these pieces of software I
just talked about due to your job. And
if that's the case, I want you to be
prepared upfront. Anyway, food for
thought. Peace, guys.