Comment by YSFEJ4SWJUVU6
8 years ago
What was the last Linux laptop you installed a Windows on? (edit: removed unnecessary remark.)
The last laptop I did a clean install of Windows (7) on was a HP netbook. Even though it was a Windows machine, and I used their Windows install disc, it was a miserable experience (because I didn't have the separate driver disc). Not only did not the WLAN work, neither did the Ethernet port: the only way to get online was by using my phone as a Bluetooth dial-up – luckily I had a Symbian device you could do that with. And even then, Windows Update was of no help – I had to navigate to HP's website to download the very separate driver packages for WLAN and Ethernet functionality (and any other packages I can no longer remember).
By the way, with Ubuntu connectivity worked fine out-of-the-box – which is lucky, because although I have used Linux for over a decade as my daily driver, I have never had to install WLAN drivers for one, and probably couldn't. (Nothing could save the slow Atom from offering woeful user experience, though. One of the worst deals I ever had as far as computers go.)
edit: wording and clarification
I haven't installed Windows on any device since 2010-2011 I think. I have been only using Mac OS and Linux since that time and never looked back.
Only reason why I miss Windows is gaming but for entertainment purposes I am considering switching to console (I used to be a PC gaming maximalist but don't feel so strongly about it anymore) - probably PS4.
I do agree with what you are saying though. Installing Windows from scratch is a pain too (at least it was last time I tried it with Windows 7). But almost nobody installs Windows ever, majority of people buy laptops with preinstalled Windows (plus ton of malware as a bonus from the manufacturer).
This is exactly the kind of experience i base my initial argument on.
Its a pain to get Windows running. Even trying to create a bootable Windows medium without having a prior windows machine is like some kind of freakish experiment whereas Linux (and everything else essentially) usually is fine with a `dd` transfer on a USB medium. (None of my machines has a CD drive.)
More often than not i would find missing drivers after the install. Not everyone has only 100% typical gamer hardware, everything a little more "unique" can be expected to not work properly out of the box if the machine is older than a few years, or newer, and will require manual driver installation.
New Windows versions always introduce the possibility to introduce new driver pains. And dont get me started with updating (drivers, software, libs, OS, ...) generally.
As it is, my mum can install and maintain a Ubuntu, she can however not keep a Windows machine alive for longer than a year. Same thing i've seen with many other non technical users in and around my family. Even thought that is anecdotal again.