If you've recently installed Linux, you're probably going to be making a lot of changes and installing a lot of stuff over the next couple of weeks. I recommend using TimeShift (comes pre-installed on Linux Mint) to make a snapshot of your system. (It works like System Restore on Windows). The first snapshot takes up the most space but later snapshots only contain the changes you make to your system.
It's a good idea to take a snapshot before you update things like graphics card drivers or additional desktops. Then, you can always go back to where you were if something gets messed up. You can even rescue a system that won't boot by booting from your Live Linux USB and running Time shift. It will find your hard drive backups and restore them for you.
(re: learning curve) I'm actually enjoying the process of learning a whole new OS that isn't constantly getting in my way. I like having software that's logically designed, like a Word Processor (Libre Writer) that actually has the "Print" button right on the main screen and hasn't buried it at the bottom of a sub-menu that's not even on the menu bar.
I recommend downloading the latest Linux Mint .iso file and using Rufus to create a bootable, live USB drive. Also, if your computer has an internal d: drive, I would recommend using that entire drive, instead of dual-booting from c: (I had a bad experience removing Linux from a dual boot system and getting the partitions back to normal). This way, you're not touching anything on your windows (c:) drive.
If you’re really worried about messing up your c: drive, you can physically disconnect it while you’re installing Linux, so the Live installer only has one choice for installation. After you've installed Linux, change your boot order in BIOS to boot from your d: drive first. Once you’re sure Linux is working correctly, you can run “sudo update-grub” which will add your c: drive to the boot menu on the d: drive. This allows you to dual boot into either OS without touching anything on your c: drive (so the boot menu will be on d:, your linux drive). Grub will let you choose between continuing to boot from d: or to boot windows on c: without you having to change the boot order every time in BIOS.
If you use Steam to manage your games library, you're really going to like that Steam has been developing a proprietary Wine wrapper, called Proton, which lets you run all your Steam games from Linux. Steam also has a native linux client. So all the Steam games you backed up on windows, you can restore on Linux. I've run everything from Unreal Gold, to Witcher 3 to Techtonica to Fallout 4 without any problems.
Steam has a native linux client and they've also spent years, developing a proprietary wine-wrapper, called Proton. I've been able to run all my Steam games on Linux with no problems. :)
This. You promise lots of stuff with "the people's" in it, and then you create something that is indistinguishable from 19th century, robber baron capitalism.
No nation on earth has ever actually practiced communism that isn't just a small, ruling class of billionaires, who use the media they own to keep the lower classes fighting with each other while they . . . the rich . . . run off with all the farking money.
The only exceptions to this were small communes, run by people who actually read Karl Marx and who weren't vain, greedy, brutal a$$holes.
I think Proton is the smartest thing Valve has ever done. Thanks to that, Steam is going to get about 90% of all the Windows gamers switching over to Linux.
I finally switched to Linux Mint a week ago. I've just had enough of Microsoft and I couldn't think of any more reasons why I shouldn't switch.
I've got Libre Office for all my productivity needs. All my Steam games work under Linux. My VPN works just fine. Firefox for web browsing. Thunderbird for email. And Wine to run those 1-2 Windows programs that I just can't do without.
I installed Linux Mint on my internal D: drive. I didn't want to dual-boot off my C: drive or mess with its partitions. (I had a bad experience removing Linux from a dual boot system and getting the partitions back to normal).
If you're really worried about messing up your c: drive, you can physically disconnect it when you're installing Linux, so the Live installer only has one choice for installation. Once you're sure Linux is working correctly, you can run "sudo update-grub" which will add your c: drive to the boot menu on the d: drive. Now, you can boot into either OS without having to change your boot order in BIOS.
Microsoft's goal has always been to turn your PC into a locked-down console, loaded with their spyware and rent-ware. I'm surprised they've allowed 3rd party software on our PCs for this long.
Is one of those "features" CoPilot? Because I did a search for it on my Windows 10 installation, and found several small bits of it, including a directory called "Microsoft CoPilot." It looks like a placeholder for a full installation, later on. I'm guessing Office 365 put it there.
So . . . MS wants to force Recall on us.. Assures us that it's "secure." And it can't be bothered to even lightly encrypt the data? This is just plain incompetent.
Also, MS want to bundle CoPilot with Office 365, a subscription service. You will be paying for the privilege of spying on yourself.
The problem with big companies like Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, etc is that once all the smart & creative people have gone, all you have left are the "line must always go up" business idiots, who have no idea what their company even does or how to fix it.
CoPilot / Recall is exactly the kind of End-stage, "let's screw our customers to death" idea the CEOs come up with before just their company implodes. Seriously. No one at Microsoft has thought this through beyond "data mining our customers."
How are other governments going to react to this? Will they trust their nation's secrets to an OS with such a blatant backdoor built into it? How does this "feature" work with search warrant requests? How secure can a database connected to an always-on Internet connection possibly be?
NutWrench @ NutWrench @lemmy.world Posts 0Comments 440Joined 2 yr. ago
If you've recently installed Linux, you're probably going to be making a lot of changes and installing a lot of stuff over the next couple of weeks. I recommend using TimeShift (comes pre-installed on Linux Mint) to make a snapshot of your system. (It works like System Restore on Windows). The first snapshot takes up the most space but later snapshots only contain the changes you make to your system.
It's a good idea to take a snapshot before you update things like graphics card drivers or additional desktops. Then, you can always go back to where you were if something gets messed up. You can even rescue a system that won't boot by booting from your Live Linux USB and running Time shift. It will find your hard drive backups and restore them for you.