Like perhaps many others I am debating what to do with my PC at the end of support for windows 10 later this year. I have read a lot of discussions here about switching to Linux, and a lot of commentary that though it has gotten a lot more plug and play it maybe still has some weaknesses. I just want to know what those are, and if it can support what I currently do with my computer.
Basically my computer is just for gaming. I play a plethora of games both major titles and small indy games. I also use mods on my games sometimes. Beyond gaming it's just basic web browsing.
More specific questions:
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I think I need to pick a "distro", right? Based on the above, which distro may work best for me?
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what am I most likely to NOT be able to do, if anything? I have heard modding in particular can be challenging with Linux. Like Skyrim mods that use a script extender or rely on various Windows programs. Is that true? Are there some smaller indy games that don't have Linux support (thinking back to the early mac days)?
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I would rate my computer technical ability at like..... A 4/10. I haven't done anything too crazy but can Google most issues and willing to learn. Is this realistically enough to get me up and running with Linux? I don't have any programming experience or anything of the sort.
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if the final answer here involves running a windows partition, is it possible to safely still use a windows 10 partition, even after the end of support? Or does it need to be a windows 11 partition? Best case is no partition, but curious if it comes to that.
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anything else I might run into that I'm not expecting? Words of encouragement?
Based on my own experience and critisism I've read of Linux(which is rare on here): Nothing is plug and play. You will have to troubleshoot the simplest things. You will have to like it.
Did you read the criticism from about 20 years ago?
Not who you replied to but I recently put mint mate on my laptop and you can't even change the color of the cursor or have the trail effect on it. Every program that's not in the app selector thing I've had to go into terminal to install. I thought I was decently good at computer stuff but it's like everything I try to do on Linux I'm hit with some weird roadblock that takes forever to look up because I don't know what I don't know and all the help forums are so full of jargon they may as well be in a foreign language. That said I am going to stick with it and learn because fuck Microsoft.
What did you expect? You should not assume that Linux works like Windows or whatever OS you previously were using. They work very differently.
It also depends on which DE you are using. Since you're using Mint with Mate, which is not really something that provides customization GUIs out of the box and as popular as something like GNOME or KDE Plasma. I suggest you try KDE Plasma as it is known to be very customizable and one of the more used DEs. I don't know about cursor trails, but you can change your cursor by installing cursor skins from the page in the settings or make your own skins to get the color you want. It's really simple.
You'll also need to get over your fear of the terminal if you're going to use Linux. I'm not telling you to use terminal for everything, but some types of customization requires you to use the terminal and it is a good thing to know anyway.