This makes me think about the hospital I used to work at that had an old 386 parked in the shop running the HVAC system. They had it completely off the network and had to keep it because it was the only way to run the proprietary HVAC control software and would cost an absurd amount of money to upgrade to be compatible with modern systems and it still did its job.

I imagine a future where there is a computer like that running windows 11 in some basement and new employees are trained "don't even think about touching this thing, its doing its job."

Just need a way to admin Active Directory from Linux and I’m set…

What's wrong with Active Directory Web Services? It's installed on every DC by default since WS2008R2.

You could also install PowerShell on your Penguin box and do tasks via command line.

@RedstoneValley@RedstoneValley@sh.itjust.works

Oh let me know if you find a solution. This is a task I have to accomplish this year too.

Will I be able to run Blender without issue?

The free and open source 3D creation software developed on Linux and primarily run on Linux? Yeah, you should be fine.

Can I run Steam/Steam games easily?

Absolutely. Games that have a problem running on linux are mostly contained to this with anti-cheat. You can verify your game's compatibility with protondb.com.

Will Discord work?

Of course. Discord has a linux native client.

I want to reenforce the other response you got with yes to all of you questions. I use steam and discord daily on my Linux install. I don't use blender, but as mentioned is was developed for Linux, so should have no issues. If you have an old laptop or something around, try flashing on a distro and give it a whirl. Otherwise you may be able to get something dirt cheap on Craigslist if you want to have a lengthy try without configuring a dual boot, running off the install drive, or nuking your current setup.

I went all in on mine fairly blind and it's one of the best decisions I've made in a couple of years. Go with something more stable if you're hesitant or not well versed in computers and terminal. I went Arch because I wanted to force myself to learn more about how Linux is built and operates. It took me a full day to get loaded to a desktop mostly reading the wiki and deciding what items I wanted and how I wanted them configured. Linux 10 years ago is so different from the current versions, so if you've tried it before with issue, forget that experience and treat it as a first time experience.

Games run easily, but there are some that won't run at all. Mainly those that use anti cheat and kernel level shit. Discord does work, but i remember that maintaining it updated was a pain in the ass. In any case, I didnt use it that much so..

I've been using my Steam Deck as my PC, which is Arch Linux. Blender's only issue for my casual use is that GPU rendering isn't supported, so for any big rendering job, cloud would be necessary. Otherwise, a more powerful machine would be better, but as for the OS, it's totally fine.

Adobe is another issue. Substance is available on Steam, but I think it's not updatable.

Even better remove Edge all together via Wintoys:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjc19jV9Q7k