The criminal

The criminal

It would genuinely cause worldwide panic if the Windows source code leaked, and that brings joy to me
... until I realize I still have Windows because I still haven't moved to linux
Do it now. We love you and want you to join with us.

If it’s because you’re worried and not because you have proprietary software you need that’s keeping you tied to it, Mint was super duper easy for me to install (I’ve never installed Linux before) and it’s been essentially out of the box compatible with the games I play since most are already optimized for the Steam Deck.
If it’s the software thing, sorry man, my spouse is in the same boat.
Seconded. I started with PopOS but wasn't sold on it, so quickly switched to Mint and it was perfect. Once my wife test drove on my installation, she gave it a shot on her laptop, and now she gets frustrated when she's forced to use Windows for her college test proctoring spyware she has to use.
Here's a link for anybody curious to get started. I like Cinnamon. Just download the OS and flash it to a flash drive, boot into BIOS, select the flash drive to boot from, and you're testing a live version of the OS. If you like it, you can install through pretty easy install wizards. It doesn't pester you to buy shit like Windows does. And there's a safe and easy app store for most of what you'll care about, and it just works. It gets the fuck out of your way. And if you have issues, just google it and you'll probably find somebody already figured out the solution and shared it with plebs like us.
This is the way. I always recommend people to get their feet wet with the live boot. I've been using Linux for almost 3 decades. Live boot is the easiest way to find out what will work for you. I'm not a Mint user, but it's great for the people who like it; best part about FOSS.
Hello old-timer! I've been using various Linux versions for about 30 years as well. Started on Slackware, then jumped to Redhat around 6.0, then jumped to Ubuntu after the RHEL release. I'm still on 24.04 Mate, but will soon be switching to Debian. I like the Mate desktop but I'm tired of Canonical's ongoing attempts to embrace and extend Linux.
Good to hear from you. I started with Slackware as well, skipped Slackware 5.0 and 6.0 (hehe) and went straight to Slackware 7.0. I eventually jumped to Ubuntu 7.0. Stayed with Ubuntu until recently I've switched to PopOS with CosmicDE. Worth a test drive at least, but the DE is not quite finished. Although, what is finished is very stable. I switched from Ubuntu because I'm tired of Gnome wasting years on bike shedding. I didn't mind Canonical's Embrace and Extend too much, mostly because I always knew I would be able to slide over to another distro with little fuss. When CosmicDE came out, that was my sign.
If it’s the software thing
There's a fair few projects working towards getting windows software to work in Linux beyond wine. WinBoat and bottles to name the two I use frequently. I set-up WinBoat for my wife because office360. Took a little bit of fiddling with settings for WinBoat to run nicely on her 2017 MacBook air with a Ubuntu derivative OS...but it works as it would on windows....so poorly.
I set up WinBoat for FL Studio and it's close enough to be functional.
FL Studio was the reason it took me so long to ditch windows. Try bottles. Don't bother with the automatic configuration, just install it in a default gaming setup. Very minor tweaks got it working better than in win11 on my laptop.
Worst comes worse, one could install a VM with Windows. And for the edge cases where neither VMs or compatibility layers suffice, the user can install Windows on a different physical drive and plug it in just when needed.
It's judt about time, I need more storage devices to transition... I need to setup windows alongside it too... Generally a mess. And yea I want to go with Green Ubuntu lol
I convinced my spouse to give it a try on our family laptop. I installed Mint and she never complained. Granted, if there is something more involved that needs installing or fixing she relies on me but I think this isn't so different if it were Windows. She seems happy using it all these years on a device that otherwise would have to be written of as scrap due to Microsoft shenanigans with 10/11 compatibilities, but the machine works as if brand new. Also our kid grew up using it. He knows basic usage and I glee in the fact he has never used Windows so far in his live.
It has already been leaked a million times because they sell the source code to governments and anyone (well, at least up to Windows 2000 which was the last decent version).
Someone I used to know claimed to have Windows 11 source.
Doesn't compile because it wants to include Nvidia drivers which aren't in the repos
I remember trying to build Windows XP on its leaked source code, so I'm sure it exists to that point.
Some years ago I think windows source was available to be studied in some universities? No sure how true that is and if any recent version is available. Sure would be fun if the slopmachine just ingested all of it...
I think it was that the XP source was leaked. There was a huge deal because those who saw it were highly discouraged from contributing to wine.
those who saw it were highly discouraged from contributing to wine.
Can you expand on that a little?
The potential for copyright infringement (or at least the appearance of copyright infringement) would be too high. Better to keep a "clean room" approach in the wine project to avoid attracting Microsoft's ire.
WINE is a compatibility layer (famously, WINE Is Not an Emulator) for Windows APIs on posix OSes; most notably this allows you to run Windows applications on Linux.
Microsoft would truly love to beat WINE to death with a legal sledgehammer but so far they do not have the legal ground, as WINE is developed based on public knowledge and Microsoft famously keeps their source code closed.
If you saw the Windows source code, and then you contributed to WINE, it is possible Microsoft could make the legal argument that WINE was using stolen trade secrets, even if the verbatim source code was added to the WINE codebase.
Whether or not that would have worked for Microsoft is up in the air; but the WINE project didn’t want to find out the hard way.
The source code for windows has always been fairly widely available among industrial actors (provided suitable NDAs were signed). So, nothing exceptional there.
Gut feeling, but I think the panic would last 2 days. Then issues would be found and unofficial patches would be made faster than fire spreads in dry folliage.
Oh fuck. The linux stock is going down!!
Keep in mind if you transition to Windows you will need to relearn a few things! Lots of your software might have issues and I sure hope you have Nvidia because AMD is straight to broken with all their open source code. Yuck!
Windows is just better (I use Windows 11 PRO BTW) because you get lots of background processes and there's even a copilot that's right about stuff sometimes. Microsoft even keeps a backup of lots of your data up in something called a Cloud, which I assume is good because clouds are up there in the sky like heaven!
I sure hope 2026 is the year of the Windows PC!
(/s cause writing this joke hurt my soul)
I've been looking at switching to Windows, but it's always the horrible gaming experience that holds me back.
For starters, compatibility is complete ass. Windows doesn't let you choose the compatibility tools and forces you to run every game (every application for that matter) in the systemwide environment. It also only has a single wineprefix-equivalent that just dumps everything in your home directory folder (please don't crucify me). If a game requires a different Wine version, you can try to set that half-assed compatibility mode thing on the executable, but I'm convinced it's only there as decoration. If it doesn't work, you're kinda fucked.
Windows also lacks the minimal set of utilities that I expect from a system that can run games. There is no Bubblewrap and you can't sandbox your games without using a VM. There is no gamescope, nor any way to run an application inside a nested graphical session. If an older game can only do exclusive fullscreen, you can't switch to a less intrusive (windowed/borderless) mode. If a game does have borderless or windowed mode, but doesn't support your native resolution, you're playing in a tiny window or not at all.
Windows 11 seems really neat, but it's not ready for general adoption. There are just too many missing features.
My friend, that was a true effort to channel the spirit of pure evil. I hope you're OK. Do you need some tea?
Ill be honest. Reading it all the way through was a challenge in critical cringe management even being certain it was a joke.
My friend tried to install Windows after trying Linux for a year and he couldn't find a driver for his hard drive. I also warned him that he may end up playing League again and divorcing his wife.
I'm very surprised some moron didn't take you seriously and downvote that comment, even with the caveat. This is Lemmy, after all.
Who do I contact to get a refund on my compromised Linux?
Oh shit! Which windows distribution do I switch to? Any recommendations?
11 is the GOAT, it even has FOX NEWS on the TOOLBAR and a LINKEDIN keyboard shortcut!!!
And AI built in to EVERYTHING. You don't even have to think.
Meh I prefer Windows 9
I've been doing some research, apparently all of them are rolling releases and tend to break often.
Is FreeBSD safe to use?
Yes but you risk becoming insufferable in casual conversation
It’s alright, we’re already Linux users, we’re used to it.
Not as insufferable as those who use ExpensiveBSD (aka macOS)
I really appreciate ExpensiveBSD's hardware. the software though... oh my. ZSH
Not gonna lie: I really like both. I like variety in my life.
I also really like fedora on my old iMac. It makes for an excellent Plex server.
But macOS is getting much less impressive with every iteration, and as cool as Apple Silicon is, I’m less and less attracted to it because of its narrowing support for software.
But Apple has a new CEO now, and I’m interested to see what direction he’s gonna take the company.
I'd love to have Mac hardware with different Linux options (with mature power management). But I guess before that will happen, other CPU manufacturers might catch up. Fine by me as well.
The Asahi Linux Project has made a great deal of progress on that front. They’ve got it running on up to the M2, with the M3 in development.
Yeah, but I got an M4 😭
Me too, buddy, me too
Edit: but their development pace is accelerating pretty quickly, so an M4 build should be available much more quickly than their past builds have been available. Considering their development curve, I think the middle of next year? With an M5 build about nine months after that.
Each Apple Silicon generation, their builds are coming out quicker and quicker. And, for most Mac users, the Linux option is best for older Macs anyway, so the latest generation is less of a pressing matter.
macOS is still a pretty good BSD distro. The worst thing about it is that it is really locked down corporate distro, not that it lacks POSIX and/or FOSS/linux interoperability. It’s not like we’re dealing with Windows here… the “ickyness” of it is a matter of principle, not actual technical capability.
If expensiveBSD laptops had reasonably easily replaceable batteries I’d love to get an old one for Debian. But they don’t so I use old Thinkpads when I want a laptop.
Don't worry, us Arch users have that covered.
Even FreeBSD is too well known. Gotta go with Plan 9 from Bell Labs to be obscure enough for security.
If you want obscure, you can always go with A/UX running on an bunch of Apple Quadra 700s. If it can run Jurassic Park, it’s good enough for me!
If you want to go most obscure, write your own OS in assembly.
A little off on the lines of code... it's only around 20 million. I'd be a little worried if there was billions of lines of code, it would be unmaintainable slop.
This is how you know Microsoft windows is better. More lines of code = better software.
LOC doesn’t inherently make things unmaintainable slop, as long as you have strong abstractions (which Linux certainly does)
one could argue that most Linux distros have billions to trillions of LOC and their abstraction is packages, which are kinda a level of abstraction higher than libraries, which are just a level of abstraction higher than a folder of util functions
things being “not my code” doesn’t mean it’s not part of your system
While you're correct in a general sense, the linux kernel is what I was referring to, not the whole ecosystem of linux programs and repositories.
If Hello World can be written in 1 line and someone comes along and presents a version written in 100-1000s of lines without any new features, I'm going to argue it's unmaintainable slop.
and if a display driver can’t be written in 1 line that doesn’t make the thousands of lines unmaintainable slop
some things just require more code
i’d argue if the linux kernel were billions of LOC, then that’s just what’s necessary
and necessity is probably relative at that point; many of your LOC are likely technically unnecessary abstractions to help with human understanding
and if a display driver can’t be written in 1 line that doesn’t make the thousands of lines unmaintainable slop
That's not what I'm saying.
I'm saying if there's 1000x more lines of code than necessary, it's unmaintainable slop. I could understand 2x or even 10x the lines of code just being a difference in architecture, but even 100x is getting crazy.
I think only EnterpriseFizzBuzz surpasses the 1000x inefficiency metric that this meme is implying.
I'm saying if there's 1000x more lines of code than necessary, it's unmaintainable slop. I could understand 2x or even 10x the lines of code just being a difference in architecture, but even 100x is getting crazy.
and i’m saying who’s to say what’s necessary with the linux kernel? it’s a one of a kind project: the largest software undertaking by humanity, ever
there probably are 100x more LOC than technically necessary… heck there are… how many LOC in the linux kernel? millions? there’s n-1 more LOC than necessary because it’s C and can be a one-liner (hell even python can be a one liner if you turn it into something resembling brainfuck more than python)
what are you comparing 2x, 10x, 100x to? bsd? windows? neither are particularly good comparisons because linux is so much more capable (in many respects) than either, and solves different problems of scale that either too
linux has no point of comparison for a simple LOC metric… the only thing we can judge is the output itself: its efficient to run, velocity of new features is great, bug count is low for a project of its size, and tech debt gets paid down
again, i think given those factors it wouldn’t matter if linux were 100x the LOC that it actually is: it is the benchmark that other things are measured against
LOC has always been, and will remain a terrible metric for anything except number of newline characters in a source repo
Hey! I just finished beta release of my brand new AI developed word processor! It's a single python script with just under 1 million lines of code! Isn't that great?!!! 😸
Wasn't there a long time ago a genuine bug report in Mozilla's bug tracker reporting that the source code was publicly available and this was insecure? I can't quickly find it because I can't think of good search terms…
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=949446
Name makes it hard to search, yeah. :V
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