I will’t use Linux as my daily driver anymore

Date:

The Sundarban


The Sundarban 4

Printed Mar 4, 2026, 11:00 AM EST

Afam’s abilities in tech publishing dates assist to 2018, when he labored for Produce Tech Easier. Over time, he has built a recognition for publishing fine quality guides, evaluations, pointers, and explainer articles, masking Windows, Linux, and open source instruments. His work has been featured on prime websites, alongside with Technical Ustad, Windows Document, Guiding Tech, Alphr, and Next of Windows.

He holds a predominant level in Computer Science and is a sturdy advocate for details privateness and security, with loads of pointers, movies, and tutorials on the subject published on the Fuzo Tech YouTube channel.

When he’s no longer working, he loves to exhaust time alongside with his family, cycling, or tending to his backyard. 

This is no longer about Windows being better than Linux, neither is it about Linux being the remainder. I own used Windows since Windows XP, and I were thru every version up to Windows 11. On the opposite hand, Windows 11 was the predominant Windows OS that wasn’t my daily driver. I changed it with Linux Mint, after stints with Ubuntu, Fedora, and a dozen other distributions I will’t recall, alongside with an trot into Kali Linux.

Objectively speaking, the one reason anyone distro-hops is because there’s a lacking ingredient or some dissatisfaction. It was why I left Windows, nonetheless also why I own skipped around loads throughout the Linux ecosystem. A daily driver wishes to be a decision of conviction, no longer a compromise.

Linux gave me absorb an eye fixed on, nonetheless also responsibility

The paradox of countless decision

The Sundarban App centr in Linuc 26.04

The open line with Linux is deciding on a system architecture. This task is extra anxious than I’d prefer to admit, because you are going thru the psychological task of designing a pc, starting upright from the desktop environment. The customary alternatives are GNOME, with its opinionated minimalism; KDE Plasma, which has in the extinguish matured with Plasma 6; and Linux Mint’s Cinnamon. These are all substantial alternatives, but in daily use, they’re materially diversified.

If you terrible that first hurdle with any proper conviction for one or the opposite, you then flip to substitute philosophies. One option presents you the latest kernels alongside with Mesa stacks and compositor fixes as they change into on hand. The choice option prioritizes predictability over novelty. Here’s a significant decision that might well pick when a Wi-Fi chip begins working or when a GPU regression is resolved.

If you own got total conviction in your decision of substitute philosophy, you proceed to favor to resolve a packaging system. Snap is the default option liked by Ubuntu. Nonetheless it is advisable to prefer Flatpak, the sandboxed format the community looks to be to lean in direction of, or one in every of the a complete lot of other native equipment codecs. Despite what you find yourself with, none is universally upright. Picking one over the opposite implies upright conviction no subject its efficiency implications, permission units, and integration quirks.

The choice is no longer over but. It be significant to pick portray servers. X11 looks to be to be fading out, with Wayland taking on. On the opposite hand, this is no longer a soft transition throughout all apps, with some peaceful running thru XWayland. XWayland apps don’t attain wisely with fractional scaling, and no subject your most fashionable portray server, you proceed to don’t ranking consistently nice blended refresh rates. In the tip, you form your decision, keen it is no longer ideal, and in addition you might well favor to stay within certain limitations.

Linux made me better, nonetheless raised my expectations

The OS taught me about computing

The Sundarban MacBook Air running Asahi Linux
Credit: Raghav Sethi/MakeUseOf

The use of Linux presents you a brand new computing perspective that begins from viewing the uncover line as an interface for proper daily work. The internal workings of your pc aren’t any longer hidden.

Transferring a factual belief of the inner workings of a pc to other running techniques makes you even extra executed and succesful at diagnosing system complications. On the opposite hand, this level of transparency makes it no longer doable to push aside Linux’s rough edges.

When I knew what a spruce system handoff was, some issues that I had felt were accurate inconveniences in Linux started to essentially feel extra like screw ups. A Wayland regression or a damaged audio stack turns into unacceptable. I know dependency resolution might well furthermore be natty, so I ranking it anxious to behold a business OS layering cruft over cruft. So, in improving my technical literacy, Linux also raised my standards to the level where even the tiniest flaws turned magnified.

The 95% success price save

You would’t ignore the last 5% on knowledgeable workflows

The Sundarban LM Studio with a Deepseek R1 chat.
Credit: Yadullah Abidi / MakeUseOf

Linux is environment friendly for nearly every workflow, and it has even come a protracted manner with gaming, where it was lacking in the past. On the opposite hand, a daily driver is in overall judged by the 5%, where it is no longer substantial. GPU acceleration is an easy instance. It be refreshing to own NVIDIA’s more moderen open-source kernel modules, nonetheless Windows has the wait on in creativity and technical reliability. CUDA’s particular person and inventive tooling remains Windows-first, and NVENC conduct is no longer substantial both.

AI tooling is but every other fable. My abilities has been substantial running local LLMs by capability of llama.cpp or Ollama. On the opposite hand, substances like proper-time background elimination and vendor AI enhancements that the favorite particular person wishes for daily workflows are no longer sufficient. User AI substances that wishes to be integral to a daily driver peaceful truly feel like an afterthought on Linux.

OBS is an instance that has effects on me loads. Despite the real fact that it is native to Linux, I truly feel let down because my workflow requires plugins and integrations, and Linux falters in this regard. To this level, NVIDIA Broadcast-grade background instruments are not on hand. I peaceful use manual v4l2loopback configuration for Wayland camera back. This, in itself, is no longer a dealbreaker, but it is but every other source of friction you might well rather steer particular of on a daily driver.

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