Who here is running Linux only?
 

OK due to not using Windows very often and wanting to free up some space on the SSD that is on, I removed it a few months ago and used the SSD it was on for Steam games. And now that I can play games and watch Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu I don't miss Windows at all.

It took 12 to 13 years for me to be able to do this. Who else has ditched Windows? any pitfalls?

the only problem I could find is the execution of windows-only apps, which cannot be run even inside wine (for example some games and especially for me some nikon softwares)

One problem I can see is that we Linux only users will forget HOW to use Windows. Of course some of us may or may not see this as a problem.

Have been linux only for 3 years. Friends and family members still ask me for windows support. Can't say no, but really hate it.

I have no dual boot systems.

Insofar as "use", I would be 100% Linux if not for work related needs.

My home system is Linux.

My primary work development station is Linux.

My job however requires that I develop for Linux, Windows, and iOS and therefore I have two or more Windows machines as well as a MAC and the various associated smart devices.

I finally moved my Quicken accounts to GnuCash and was able to stop using my Windows instance on a regular basis.

I still have to fire it up for two reasons:

the Amazon mp3 cloud application only works on Windows and Apple.

When I have to sign a pdf document, only the adobe windows acroreader works on Windows.

So the outside world still forces me to use Windows.

All Linux all the time here.
Except for client interactions with their Windows hosts.

Without Windows, I'd be out of a lot of work.

MS Office is the only reason I have Windows, but it's in a VM that stays off most of the time.

I used to keep windows around "just in case".
Eventually I realized I never used it anymore and logged in. Funnily enough it was just as slow as before. I wanted to install a distro and figured I'd make it easy on myself and wipe the whole disk.
My newer computer has never had windows (saving me $166).

It also gives me a out. When people ask me for help I say "I haven't used windows in 3 years, I don't know how to use it".
Yes... that has already happened. I've no clue how Win 8 works.

Funnily enough, using Win7 as I write this ...

Either case I have no idea how Win8 works either.

MAC is HORRIBLE and someone mentioned that this is how Win8 works. Just not liking obfuscation of things the way they wish.

I have been on Linux for nearly 15 years now. I have learned over the years that if you stop using xyz program because that's what you know and just learn something new, options do exist and some are even far better then what I had been using on windows. The questions is how far are you willing to go to remove you dependency of Windows?

Windows ME was the last straw for me. Thats why I forced myself to embrace these programs and over time they got better, a lot better.

Video games (Native, Emu, WINE) - WINE is starting to become irreverent in two ways, most new games need DX10+ support and wine cant do that yet, and a lot of newer games are coming to Linux as a native option.

Office - This one has always been hard, because of formatting issues, Libre seems to fix these issues.

CAD/Modelers - This used to be non-existent but with all the big players being removed from Linux (SoftImage, 3DS Max, Maya, Lightwave, etc) Blender and QCAD is getting better and better and is actually useable.

Video/Audio - Linux has a huge amount of options for music and video generation as well as playback.

Graphics - Inkscape, GIMP and Krita

Member response
 

Hi,

I do have dedicated machines to Slackware Gnu/Linux. But I must have MS Windows support for clients who will continue to contact me. Great way to get extra income from poor MS Windows users who do need to be dug out of issues that are created by their lack of good computer skills. So why not get something that otherwise would be supported by other store fronts at a much higher price. I have heard many horror stories about the 'Geeks Squad'.

Slackware and available packages afford my use of a dedicated machine for my personal use(s). I have no need of MS purchases other than the OS. When a client has a specific issue with their App, I will work with their machine. Sure semantics and syntax can present problems for me at times but I can get through most issues. I will upgrade(free) to MS 10 on a specific machine to keep aware of the OS needs and operation(s).

I do not consider myself as a purist but a user that will support available tools for most modern OS. My IOS needs can be met with the available mobile hardware. For OSX I will not buy another piece of over priced Apple hardware. For clients that request that support I will refer to colleagues. Share the wealth and build goodwill with my network of friends/colleagues. Most times this will produce reciprocal references/referrals.I do not like to close doors or burn a bridge since that will inhibit me.
Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!
:hattip:

I think I played with Win8 for a total of a few hours before I installed ClassicShell. I would boot into Windows to watch Netflix and Amazon video. I found a workaround and haven't used Windows since.

linux only since 2001 work and media systems slackware. debian and ubuntu when I need to build Debs for a friends fedora when need to make a rpm for a friend.

I've never had Windows: I came to Linux from QDOS.

I do have some custom software written for QDOS that I still need, so that runs using a QL emulator for Windows and that runs using Wine! So QDOS looks for the software on win1_ which the emulator interprets as Q:\ and Wine turns that into $HOME/QL/.