It is no secret that I am an avid Apple user. I have been using a Mac in some fashion as my primary computer since 2016. I have had a 13″ M2 MacBook Pro since 2022, and recently got an 27-inch Intel-based iMac from my best friend’s parents. I have no plans of leaving the “Mac World” anytime soon. The iPhone world, maybe, but not the Mac. I live in Final Cut Pro and Compressor, I breathe in Safari, I pour my brain out into Notes. This has been my world for 8 years now. It’s hard to break that sort of cycle.

Now, I’m no stranger to Linux — Ubuntu 8.04 was what I learned how to use a computer on. That’s why Macs feel so natural to me; they feel very similar in the ease-of-use and performance departments. Windows is neither of those things. The only reason anyone uses Windows is application support, primarily gamers. (And for gamers, that’s really because kernel level anti-cheat exists, frankly. If developers embraced less insecure anti-cheat solutions, we would not be in this mess.)

Windows hasn’t been a good performer since Windows 7. It has been infested with ads since Windows 8/8.1, only getting worse with 10 and especially 11. Even with Windows 10 about to lose support next October, nobody’s rushing to upgrade to the latest release. In fact, Windows 11’s market share just fell AGAIN, losing an entire percentage point on the global Statscounter. I recognize that may not sound like a lot, but remember there are hundreds of millions of Windows computers out there. This isn’t insignificant!

The tests I ran were not really scientific so take it with a grain of salt, but: even on a decked-out Lenovo Ideapad 3 Gaming (2021 model), everything upgraded to the maximum it can possibly go with all new SSDs, the computer performs miles better under Pop!_OS (Linux) than it ever did under Windows 11. Windows 10 seems to perform somewhat better than 11, but not nearly as good as Pop!_OS did.

Because I use that computer for games, compatibility with my Steam library becomes a giant question mark. Even if they are compatible, most have some sort of configuration I need to do. And games like Mass Effect: Legendary Edition or Fallout: New Vegas become even more of a question mark, because I’m not even sure I can run their mods or even their respective launchers!

So, even though I’m feeling “done,” I’m not sure I can leave just yet. At least not until I can figure out the answers to the questions I have in regards to the games I play. Until then, I’m just going to rip out telemetry, continue using an Enterprise release with minimal bloat, and hope for the best…

The post I’m feeling done with Windows again appeared first on Slade Watkins.

Where did these go, System76? It took me, an enthusiast user, five minutes to find where you’ve shoved the updates tab. Something I needed almost immediately because ISOs aren’t up-to-date copies of an operating system took me forever to find.

It’s fine, of course, but it could be so much better if there was a clear place to go for updates again. Just one button to push and get everything.

In my experience: Pop!_Shop isn’t great about automatically updating packages, or the kernel, when updates are available so manual updates are still necessary. System76, please make improvements to the Pop!_Shop. It’s a great piece of software and it deserves to become even better!

The post Why on Earth Does the Pop!_Shop Hide Updates? appeared first on Slade Watkins.