Good point, I should have mentioned that. Although I think it would be reasonable to say that paying a subscription for security updates would be a non-starter for almost all of the home users.

My decision was to install Linux Mint first on my work laptop and not my main gaming rig, so I would have the ability to switch between both OS’s as needed, and have a fallback machine if either failed.

ProtonDB (Compatibility Database) should be your friend in checking what works and what doesn’t, and for the most part, Windows games “just work”, no need to even toggle a setting (unless you count forcing Proton instead of a native Linux port).

If you have software that is critical to your daily life on windows (Photoshop, Autodesk, VR software, anti-cheat heavy games), you dont need to jump ship on your main hardware. There are ways to get support after October 15th (Through IOT LTSC versions of windows 10, but you’ll have to find a way to get it).

All of your other use cases would be perfectly served by any Linux distro, the Interstellar Lemmy client even has a convenient flatpack for a 1-click install.

Check ProtonDB first (you can even log in to view all your library at once). If everything you would want to play works, go for it! If not everything works currently, I’d recommend getting your hands on IOT LTSC win10, and use a spare device to get familiar with Linux distros.

There’s no one “gaming” Linux distro that will work, but I personally just use Linux Mint because it is ol’ reliable for me - intuitive enough GUI, but just as configurable as anything else. You do miss out on some of the more bleeding edge stuff that distros such as Arch and Bazzite get, but unless you are using very new hardware, I’m not sure if it would be necessary.

The more who are aware, the more who will care. And hey, not like typing an honest answer hurt anyone here.

You are excited for October 15th because less people will be trumpeting Linux migrations.

I am excited for October 15th for the avalanche of cheap liquidated hardware flooding eBay.

We are not the same

You’re welcome! Always glad to help ppl with these kinds of questions!

No updates for consumer versions of Win10. Including security ones. If on October 15th a zero-day exploit is out in the wild, Microsoft would not be obligated to patch it. They may regardless (see WannaCry Malware patch for Windows XP), but it will not be ongoing, and probably not all-encompassing.

The longer you use the machine on win10 after October, the more exposed you are to any exploit found in the existing windows 10 version.

What this post is trying to present is that Linux distributions almost never run into these issues - especially when it comes to running on legacy hardware. If you install Linux Mint today, you’ll still be able to update it in october and beyond, for the foreseeable future.

Edit: There will be a subscription option to receive extended security patches from MS for Windows10, but it will not be free, and the price will rise as time passes (similar to win7).

Yep, and I’d argue thats one of the most fruitful things to come out of MS’s blunders. It incentivized the other stakeholders to get win32/64 compatibility efforts into high gear for linux, and I couldn’t be happier with what we ended up with today (on the linux side ofc)

Edit: Also, I mentioned the MS store and UWP because that was the reason behind that infamous quote - the team wanted to motivate developers to get on board with the platform, and announcing 10 as the last version of Windows was part of that campaign.

Yeah, if the MS store and UWP apps worked out for Microsoft (they didn’t lol).

Now win11 is “okay, now this really will be last version of windows, because you can’t refuse installing our crap.”

Yeah, Gabe Newell definitely was quite forward thinking when he came to that conclusion, and I can definitely say it works well for my Steam Library.

Honestly at this point the main force that brings me to hunt for media is subscription services, since it always feels like a rug pull compared to alternatives. I paid for things on GOG, I get to keep the installers and back them up. I bought things on Steam, I’m not charged to reinstall or use them on other devices, and I can still download games that are delisted now (RIP poker night at the inventory).

Now that Blu-rays are going the way of Google Stadia, getting phased out, all I can really do is just rip any media I already have and download what I may need. FOSS tools have already replaced any subscription software I would use for my engineering work.

If memory serves, Anna’s links to them if you check their “3rd party sources” links when doing an ISBN search.