Hmm, I can’t say I’ve seen that before. However, it might be worthwhile trying to just boot a live ISO of GNOME (or any other DE) just to rule out a KDE issue. Then if that doesn’t replicate the problem, try a live distro of something with a newer version of KDE (such as Fedora 39).
At the very least, that’ll help narrow down where the problem might be coming from!
Well you can’t really use something not useful to you. Yes Linux is very nice but at the end of the day you gotta use the thing that gets the job done.
Take this from someone who has spent entirely too long fighting to make certain software and games work on Linux…seriously way too much time.
Just dual boot. It’s the best of both worlds. You can spend your time in Linux but when you want to play that game or need to use your special software you can just switch into it.
It also gives you the flexibility to try alternative software but you always know you have the real deal on your windows partition if you get stuck.
It always depends on the game and the software. Sometimes even games and software that should run well on Linux have issues. At some point you’ll realize you’re spending more time troubleshooting thab enjoying the game or using the software.
I’ve had that realization with Apex. It works fine 80% flawlessly on PopOS. But over the last year there has been a bug or something that throws an error. It’s always after updates. A file fails to update all the way so I have to manually revalidate game files and download the ones that are inevitably broken.
I was spending 5-10-15minutes fighting this issue each time I wanted to play and I have a finite amount of time these days. So as soon as the error happens, I restart into windows and play.
It’s unfortunate since it’s been flawless until recently, but at the end of the day I want to play apex not troubleshoot proton,respawn,steam, and PopOS.
Since many years i do not play because have no time for that, including the fixing the issues. Used to play and like to fix issues because that is a good learning technique.
Office: I use LibreOffice as much as possible. At work, I use the Web version of MS Office; it doesn’t have all features of the desktop version but it’s good enough for my use case.
Media editing (music, image, video): GIMP, Krita, Kdenlive and Ardour are more than enough for my personal use.
In general, I would recommend trying the Linux alternative, and if it’s not good enough, use a Windows VM or dual-boot. If you spend 90% of your time in Photoshop or any other professional software without a Linux version or feature-complete alternative, you should stay on Windows, and maybe use Linux only when you’re not working.
Have you compared kdenlive to shotcut? Wondering how they compare as I’ve been working with SC for a few months an dfinally getting used to it, but the lack of a titler feature is a glaring omission.
I second this, OP, this is pretty much the state of it, but I do recommend trying out a Linux program called Wine, it can run some windows programs in your Linux environment. It’s not always the best, but I run a circuit making program there and I only had a bit of issue once. I just wanted to mention wine since some stuff works well with it, but now I’m realizing a VM might be better if it’s multiple programs lol. Oh well.
If you care about VRR or HDR, you need a distro with KDE Plasma and use a Wayland session. Plus, you’ll need the latest drivers, so… a rolling release.
Arch based like Manjaro, or OpenSUSE.
If you don’t like that, or you have an NVIDIA GPU then I suggest you try Nobara, made by Glorious Eggroll, big contributor to Proton (Valve’s fork of Wine, what makes Windows games run on Linux).
Have you installed a custom ROM on it? If not, you definitely don’t have the skills for this. If so, have you built your own ROM for it? If not, do that so you learn how it works in a predictable environment. Then port something existing to it, like UBPorts. Only after you do all of that and probably a lot more should you attempt to effectively develop your own distro on hostile hardware.
If you reinstall often a separate /home makes some sense. Otherwise it’s probably pointless. I’d try to get to a point where I don’t have to reinstall my base OS and invest in an automatic backup solution.
If it runs Windows it’ll run Linux almost certainly. The cheaper you go, the more likely you’ll have lower priced or older components for WiFi, Bluetooth etc which may mean that you have to dig some firmware binaries out to get the whole thing running.
If you can take a USB stick with you of a typical Rescue distribution, and can boot it up, you’ll know what will and won’t work easily. The bits that don’t work may need some minor fiddling. As I said, there are usually walkthrough blogs etc around.
I’m also nervous about using an OS I’m not familiar with for business purposes right away
Absolutely STOP. Do not go with Linux, go with what you are comfortable with. If this is business, you do not have time to be uncomfortable and the learning curve to ramp up to ANY new OS and be productive is something that's just a non-negotiable kind of thing.
If you've never used Linux, play with Linux first on personal time. For business time, use what you know works first and foremost.
All OSes are tools. You do not just learn a tool when your job is waiting for a bed frame to be made or whatever.
TL;DR
If you are not comfortable with Linux, do NOT use it for business.
Spend your time making sure you are protected against ransomware with good offline backups and able to recover your practice. Keep your payments separate from your comms machine.
Your job is going to have lots of shady things to click on/invoice/etc
Plan for it so a malicious client/infected evidence/mistaken click doesn’t take down your practice.
I’m 25y into this as a technologist and still make mistakes on “oh this will be quick”. Make sure your time sinks are 100% aligned with your business. Think of automation / value and you’ll have the right mindset.
If you find the tech side fascinating, there’s always demand for good tech lawyers and lawyer comms are entryways into technology management.
My brother in Christ, this isn’t about the money. This is about meeting business deadlines. OP can’t be using time trying to figure out something on Linux when his clients are waiting.
His first clients are also going to be where his solo practice either sinks or swims.
This is good advice, I appreciate it. But I should clarify, I definitely won’t be launching my practice before I’m comfortable with the OS. I’m probably going to take some other user’s suggestions and do some test runs on my home machine to figure things out. I’m not launching tomorrow, there’s no real rush. My current contract runs until May 2024. So I’ve got 6 months ahead of me to figure things out.
My advice is try using existing documents with Libre office. You can install it on windows as well.
I use Linux for over twenty years now and installed windows on a vm last week to Wirte my resume. Libre office is fine, you run into problems when opening and editing existing ms office documents. At least that is my experience.
But give Libre office on windows a shot, see if you like it.
I’m going to nitpick your comment because we are Linux users and it’s in our blood.
Heard about LaTex? You don’t really need to use Word to write resumes. In fact, I’d advise you against it. It’s easier to go to overleaf, download an existing template and generate a usable pdf that won’t break.
In addition to the other comment re. LibreOffice, I’d also recommend trying out OnlyOffice - generally, it has better compatibility with MS Office formats compared to LO, and the UI is very similar to MSO which may make it easier to use.
PDFs might be your sticking point. I’ve not found any software that will handle all the different things you can do with acrobat in an easy way. But I have to heavily modify PDFs from time to time, and you may not have nearly the needs I do.
I’d suggest checking out libre office, and see if you can find a PDF application that satisfies you. The app store on pop os is really good, as is the interface, and if you don’t like tiling window managers, you can turn it off.
Another suggestion is to recognize you’re a novice. If you read something that sounds like a perfect setup, but it’s a little complicated, put it off. You don’t want to get in over your head, because linux distros will not keep you from breaking things. The defaults of any large distribution are a pretty safe bet.
I got an off-lease dell latitude 7400. Tbh, got it for free, but you can snag one on eBay for under $400. i5, 16 Gb ram, got a 1TB drive for $50 on Amazon. Runs Linux very well! I’d go with a light weight is like EndeavourOS or Arch.
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