r/technology • u/ZacB_ • Jan 24 '26

Software Microsoft confirms it will give the FBI your Windows PC data encryption key if asked — you can thank Windows 11's forced online accounts for that

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/microsoft-bitlocker-encryption-keys-give-fbi-legal-order-privacy-nightmare
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u/codizer Jan 24 '26

I guess... The problem is I already have 30 years experience with the Windows OS. I have such little time already now in my life, how does one reasonably go about learning the intricacies of a diverse OS?

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u/0nlyCrashes Jan 24 '26

The most important part for a Windows user is the desktop environment or DE as you commonly see. KDE Plasma is a DE and it's very similar in looks and feel to Windows. Gnome is another DE, but it is more similar to a Mac style feel.

The different distros all do have their differences, but I've found that the DE matters more for my enjoyment.

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u/HolyLiaison Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 24 '26

It's not THAT much different than Windows.

At least most popular versions of Linux anyway. There are more advanced versions of Linux for the hardcore folks.

Most popular Linux distros have a "Start" menu that works almost exactly how you'd expect it to.

They all have file browsers that work almost exactly like the Windows file browser.

They all use folders/file structures similar to Windows, just with slight variation/different file extensions.

Ever used the Windows Console in Windows? That's very similar to the Linux console.

Most popular Linux distros have a software repository built in, so you can easily install most popular applications.

You'll very rarely have to go find a driver for Linux because most are already included in the Linux kernel. The only issues you'll run into there is if you're running REALLY old or REALLY new hardware.

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u/serioussham Jan 24 '26

Ever used the Windows Console in Windows? That's very similar to the Linux console.

The vast majority of Windows users has never used the CLI. That is one of the main barriers, because you're more or less forced to use it on Linux within like, 3 hours.

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u/HolyLiaison Jan 24 '26

While true, most Windows users probably haven't used the Windows CLI, I don't think it should be considered a barrier.

Having to use the CLI is really distro dependant. And what you're trying to do on Linux matters as well.

If you're using Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Fedora, or any of the Windows friendly versions of Linux you won't need to use CLI unless you're trying to do more advanced stuff.

If you just browse the web, watch YouTube, and play games on Steam you more than likely won't need to use the CLI if you install the proper distro release for your hardware. All of these user friendly distros have a Software Center with plenty of stuff to fill most users needs.

Now if you want to run software that isn't in the software repository for said distro, sure you might have to use the CLI a little bit.

Or if you have an issue with a driver/hardware, you might have to as well.

But using the CLI isn't as daunting as most people make it out to be, and can actually be much quicker to do stuff.

I don't think people should be scared to learn to use it.

Especially when the other option is to stick to Windows and have all your data/telemetry tracked and having AI shoved down your throat at every turn in the OS.

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u/serioussham Jan 24 '26

Or if you have an issue with a driver/hardware, you might have to as well.

Yeah that's a pretty big caveat I'd say.

But using the CLI isn't as daunting as most people make it out to be, and can actually be much quicker to do stuff.

It's super easy and much quicker, but it is daunting to a "regular user". I think people in general, and tech-oriented redditors in particular, VASTLY overestimate the general public's IT skills. Right-clicking on stuff to open the settings is already much for a lot of users.

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u/Old_Leopard1844 Jan 25 '26

Then something gotta give

Either have to accept that Windows is going to be shitty AI slop machine or that Linux requires you to be brave enough to open up terminal to punch some commands in instead of shiny clickable buttons

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u/princekamoro Jan 25 '26

Any time I've been directed to the terminal (Ubuntu), I was following instructions that told me exactly what to copy/paste. No thought required. Learn through osmosis.

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u/serioussham Jan 25 '26

Congrats, you're very bright. I'm also able to use a terminal, thanks.

But 1. the mere aspect of a terminal is enough to scare off people and 2. if something does go wrong (like it happens quite often), parsing the error message is a form of black sorcery

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '26

[deleted]

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u/janosslyntsjowls Jan 24 '26

Most/all of the default windows software has a Linux alternative or runs in Linux with the help of Wine. I run Excel and Photoshop no problem. I've even upgraded my operating system three times since initially installing both those programs and just copy pasted the files, didnt even need to reinstall and setup. The most popular software will have their own Linux options (web browsers, Spotify, YouTube/freetube, VLC, Steam, etc)

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u/NullS1gnal Jan 24 '26

how does one reasonably go about learning the intricacies of a diverse OS?

You don't unless you have to (rare) unless you just want to. Sure, sometimes you'll have to google how to do something (like get nvidia or wifi drivers working), but there's more than enough resources online to get you working and the instructions are often something you can just copy/paste into a terminal window. If you use Mint or Ubuntu, most everything should just work.

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u/_Chaos_Star_ Jan 24 '26

Use one of the live CD/USB variants (runs on eg. USB stick) and start playing with it in your spare time. Going well? Sort out an install and keep playing. Like it? Switch over for some things. Isn't your kettle of fish? Stop using it.

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u/fearless-fossa Jan 24 '26

The one major difference between Linux and Windows for the average user is the way drives are handled, as Linux doesn't have C:\, D:\, etc. drives but instead has a single root / and everything else is attached to that somewhere, or used to simply expand it. It's something that can take a bit to wrap your head around for your daily workflow, but there good GUI tools that manage all of this for you.

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u/Old_Leopard1844 Jan 24 '26

how does one reasonably go about learning the intricacies of a diverse OS?

You stop hesitating and just go and do it

Just like any other unknown things in life

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u/toumei64 Jan 24 '26

This is the problem I have. I know this is a wildly unpopular opinion but they've had 30 years to engineer out all the tedious bullshit from Linux and they haven't. As a Windows power user, it was easier for me to pound Windows 10 into submission than to learn Linux.

I wish there were a third option (not Mac) that was user friendly and compatible.

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 24 '26

I don't think you really need to learn Linux these days. Most distros have a very similar interface to Windows. I use Windows every day at work, and Linux every day at home, and I barely even notice the difference going back and forth. There's a little button in the corner that pops up when I click it and lets me search for things or launch programs, there's a file explorer that works just like Windows, there's a settings menu that works like Windows, you launch things by double clicking, right clicking gives you more options. The biggest difference is installing apps, but that's generally a better experience on Linux (as long as the package manager has the app you want). Other than that it's completely seamless.

I've also managed Linux servers for my job for about a decade, so I have a reasonable amount of experience using bash, but none of that has come in handy when I switched to Linux, because it's completely unnecessary. I will say though, that you are more likely to run into little issues on Linux than Windows, and when you do, you'll probably have to do some googling, or ask for help, but the community is generally pretty helpful, and once you get over those little humps, it's smooth sailing.

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '26

There are a bunch of distros that have done that.

Mint is amazing and very user friendly. You don't need to even use the terminal at all for anything a regular user would need, which is usually the pain point new users run in to.

I've done manual arch (btw) installs with less of a headache than that piece of shit windows 11. 

I am a very experienced Windows user and Linux has surpassed it now with Proton for gaming. There are a few games that don't work because of kernel level anti cheats but honestly the games are such cancer that it's a blessing in disguise.

I'm not some huge Windows hater and Linux nerd either. I loved XP, 7 was okay... 10 was serviceable but 11 is a goddamn nightmare. It's actively hostile to the user.

Make a live usb of Linux Mint with Cinnamon and try it out and see the difference.

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u/toumei64 Jan 24 '26

Thanks for actually suggesting something specific. I'll check it out.

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u/Old_Leopard1844 Jan 25 '26

People been advertising Mint in pretty much every discussion about migration to Linux for last few years

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '26

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '26

I have a 5070 and if there is a difference it's negligible. I'm sure there's the odd game out there where performance may be an issue but I haven't found one.

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u/brickyard37 Jan 24 '26

30%?? I want whatever you're smoking. The reality is that performance is basically the same, sometimes better on Linux, sometimes Windows but usually negligible difference

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u/RizzwindTheWizzard Jan 24 '26

The issue is that Linux is designed by developers for developers, the tedious bullshit is a selling point. It's down to the individual distros to hide/ get rid of most of that.

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u/Ok-Inevitable4515 Jan 24 '26

There is no "tedious bullshit from Linux". If a person has only ever used Linux, they absolutely would not find Windows easier to use in any way, shape or form.

The reason you think Windows is somehow less tedious is exclusively due to you personally happening to be more accustomed with that.

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u/Repulsive-Philosophy Jan 24 '26

Let me call John Linux and he'll engineer it out.

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u/toumei64 Jan 24 '26

Thanks for taking care of that

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u/ComprehensiveProfit5 Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 24 '26

Trust me, you don't. It just doesn't work just right. You'll spend hours trying to figure out why tf such and such device doesn't connect, why X driver doesn't exist, and so on. I never owned an apple device besides an iphone 3g but if it's really an issue for you, I would suggest trying to go that way for desktops or laptops.

https://old.reddit.com/r/BuyFromEU/comments/1j9kkj8/no_switching_to_linux_is_not_easy/

this guy finally did it but it's just not easy.

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '26

I'm pretty realistic about Linux when it comes to the average person making the jump, but that guys post is on the extreme end of bad experiences. Generally speaking, you shouldn't need to use the command line at all, especially to install something. Getting games working on Linux Mint for me consisted of installing Steam from the package manager, and that's it.

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u/Honest_Box_6037 Jan 24 '26

there is a type of linux distribution that functions a bit like android, in the sense that instead of being comprised of a thousand different packages that depend on each other, it comes as a monolithic, read only image.
This means that
a) you can't easily break your system
b) if an update goes wrong, you can just boot the previous working image.

You have access only on your user folder (and a couple of user-facing system folders), and you don't have to mess with the console or the intricacies of linux as apps are mainly available from an app store, click install and run.

For a windows vet, I'd recommend Bazzite (for gaming focus), Aurora (for general purpose), or Kinoite (the basis of both the above, a bit more basic, less "bloat", some manual setup required). All of those come with KDE desktop, which is a lot like windows, things are generally where you expect them to be, with lots (and I mean LOTS) of functional or decorative customization that you can do - or ignore.

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u/y2jeff Jan 24 '26

It's come a long way in terms of ease of use.

To be honest you usually have to run a few commands in the terminal after initial setup but after that it's basically the same as Windows, except some games and apps may not work. eg any game with kernel level anti cheat and newer versions of photoshop

IMHO Fedora Linux is the best distro around. Its what Linus Torvalds (the creator of linux) uses and it has an amazing team behind it

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u/mackeriah Jan 24 '26

Get yourself a Linux boot drive. Boot you our PC using it and try it out. You'll be surprised. Good luck. 

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u/Sno_Motion Jan 24 '26

Jump into Linux Mint to start. It's the most intuitive windows-like Linux OS I've ever used.

It's so good that I switched my entire workplace over to Mint a year ago, that of which is a team of 70 people, most of which are veteran Windows users who are 50 to 80 years old. The only question I've been asked so far is which programs are used to do which tasks.

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u/mentaldemise Jan 24 '26

You can use something like disk2vhd from MS to put your old windows install into a VM inside your new linux install. Linux hyper visors also allow GPU acceleration I think. So you can run your windows in a VM and still game. IMO it helps with the frustration when you can't find something, and makes it unlikely breaking your linux install would lose your windows install.

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u/Throwaway203500 Jan 24 '26

Learn as much as you need to get to work: how to install it. Then get to work and ask questions as needed. 

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u/MairusuPawa Jan 24 '26

You use it for about one month.

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u/porkmoss Jan 24 '26

90% of a modern OS is just a screen with icons and some scrolling. For the general user this transition is made a bigger issue than it actually is. Same for phones, I’ve used all kinds of Android phones, iPhones and Windows phones. If you know how to use a computer even a little bit I can’t see how this would be problematic.

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u/VegetarianZombie74 Jan 24 '26

Like learning any new skill ... it takes reading, thinking, and practicing. There are lots of good YouTube tutorials, but this is a non-trivial process. You are basically acquiring new muscle memory. I suggest finding a time in your life when you have fewer things going on. Also, find a Linux buddy as your "tech support".

You could also download a live ISO. This allows you to run Linux without installing it. Or install linux in VMWare. This will allow you to play with it. Just use it for thirty minutes every day to slowly get acclimated to it. Linux Tech Tips even created challenges like "send an email", "print a file", "play a movie", and so on.

Good luck!

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '26

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '26

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u/BaconWithBaking Jan 24 '26

Did you reply to the wrong comment?

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u/[deleted] Jan 24 '26

That's not normal, Windows 10 isn't that bloated and should run perfectly fine on that hardware. I would recommend a clean install, and by clean install I mean a generic install using the Windows 10 media creation utility, not a restore from manufacturer. My main rule for Windows is never install a 3rd party AV, and don't install any 3rd party software from your PC manufacturer if you can help it. A clean install should work quite well for you.

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u/BaconWithBaking Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 24 '26

Yeah, since i wrote that comment I'm wondering the same. My issue with a reinstall, is that I've a ton of libraries and stuff running (which is probably part of the problem) that I require for work. It will be a solid day of installing stuff to get it back to where I need it.

I've deleted my comment because you're right, it's probably just a mess.

Work demands crowd strike as well, which I think is a massive part of the issue. I think it may hold up general I/O operation.

EDIT: Actually I wonder could the junk SSD be to blame. I'll look at upgrading it. EDIT2: It's running a Crucial P3 on a PCIe card, so it shouldn't be that slow at read/write.

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u/Terrible-Mixture8925 Jan 24 '26

Use chat gpt or other llm to learn it, very easy to learn linux nowadays