About a month ago I switched to Linux mint from windows 11.

The first thing I noticed was mint being faster and less bloated than windows 11.

I also liked having actual control over my settings without a corporation being able to undo them at will.

Another thing I noticed was not having to add extensions to text files to run as a program instead having the option in properties.

For certain windows programs and games I was able to use wine which was great because I like to use gamemaker 8.1 which was made before they added linux support.

I tried different wine environments starting with bottles then trying Steam proton and Lutris. With Lutris being the one I ended up using due to it being the only one that I could get to run every program I needed.

The ms paint alternative called drawing took some use to due to it automatically cropping out parts of the image outside of the line when pasting in a screenshot from the clipboard.

Although I do still miss ms paint but that is mostly nostalgia.

Fortunately there is an option to save the screenshot after taking it.

Migrating from windows I appreciate the SUPER key bringing up a menu on the bottom left which brings up some apps and the search bar. Which always searches on the OS unlike windows 11 which sometimes searches the internet instead.

Another detail I noticed is if you type paint or notepad in the search it brings up drawing and the text editor which is nice for people transitioning to Linux.

Being able to move the panel or add new ones was also a breath of fresh air from windows 11 making the task bar more restrictive.

Having the option of deb packages and flatpacks is really useful as well.

I also no longer have to worry about telemetry or microsoft trying to show me ads or pop ups.

TL:DR Mint is a way better experience than windows 11.

  • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    7 months ago

    Not OP but about the same amount of time:

    Mint refused to put sound out through my sound card. It saw my card, knew the exact brand and card and driver version, could see when I plugged and unplugged things from each of the jacks, but would not output any audio. I eventually solved this by just using the DAC on my new speakers and tossing the sound card lol.

    Text scaling with an nVidia card is broken and looks god awful. 1440p monitor scrolling the Mint website and the text is gray/yellow jaggy mess. Installing an experimental driver and scaling up a bit fixes it for the most part but is a sub-ideal solution as I don’t like scaling.

    There’s no perfect replacement for the Snip tool. I want to just spr+shift+s, click/drag a box, and done. So far the closest I’ve gotten is shift+prntscrn, click/drag, enter, which is more annoying by far.

    There’s no dark theme for mint-Y. I love the look of the XP/7ish theme it’s got going on but it’s light mode only. Travesty.

    Too many password prompts when updating flatpaks. I should have used a way shorter password for this OS.

    Plugging in 2 monitors of different screen resolutions can cause some serious issues if I alt/tab. Fixed by unplugging and plugging in one of the monitors but it’s fucking annoying.

    • okamiueru@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      There’s no perfect replacement for the Snip tool. I want to just spr+shift+s, click/drag a box, and done. So far the closest I’ve gotten is shift+prntscrn, click/drag, enter, which is more annoying by far.

      You can surely rebind that to just PRTSCR? That’s the default for me. I much prefer being able to adjust the rectangle after an initial selection, not to mention that it remembers what it last was, so that you can to multiple grabs that are perfectly positioned to evaluate or illustrate some difference.

      • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        7 months ago

        I could, but then whole-screen Printscreen is gone and I use that about as often

        It’s nice that these programs have all kinds of extraneous features, I’m sure people out there find use for them. I just want a quick and simple snip tool that doesn’t take extra button presses to confirm that no, really, I don’t want to use extra features

        • okamiueru@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          There’s no perfect replacement for the Snip tool. I want to just spr+shift+s, click/drag a box, and done. So far the closest I’ve gotten is shift+prntscrn, click/drag, enter, which is more annoying by far.

          It’s the same number of keypresses (or in my case, one less), and you have additional functionality that doesn’t get in the way. I’m curious how “more annoying by far” to click-drag-enter vs click-drag.

          You can readjust the selection, you can record video instead… Etc. Only difference is one keypress.

          Fascinating.

          • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            7 months ago

            It’s the same number of keypresses

            And

            Only difference is one keypress

            Are conflicting statements within your own comment.

            and you have additional functionality that doesn’t get in the way

            I couldn’t care less about the additional functionality, that’s not what I use snip for. And it does get in the way, that’s my whole point. Needing to press enter to confirm that I’m “done editing” is an extra keypress that isn’t needed and gets in the way.

            I’m curious how “more annoying by far” to click-drag-enter vs click-drag.

            As I stated I regularly snip at work on a Windows machine and pretty regularly at home which was until recently also windows. I’m very used to tapping a 3-key shortcut as 1keypress, click/dragging, and moving on with my life. That one extra keypress adds a second or two of confusion and annoyance every time I use it, and I can’t even easily retrain myself as I still use it on Windows regularly.

            You can readjust the selection

            I would rather re-snip the 1/500 times this matters to me than press enter the other 499 times. I get others might like it, but why is it not an option for people like me?

            you can record video instead

            I have software for that already that does even more than the snip replacers, though I can’t think of any time I’ve used a video when 3 screenshots would have worked too.

            Basically it boils down to over design without option boxes for those who don’t want to do things exactly as the software designers intended.

            • okamiueru@lemmy.world
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              7 months ago

              What’s the spr - key?

              You mention:

              • spr + shift + s, click and drag, release

              And say its annoying compared to

              • Shift + PRTSCR, click and drag, release, Enter

              Which seem to me like the same number of keypresses. In my case, it’s one less. The only main difference is the order of that one enter-key being afterwards. And, by using that key as a confirmation-step, you get a whole bunch of extra functionality that you say you don’t use. Which, if you don’t use it, will still give you the exact same functionality, and doesn’t affect you.

              Consider if you ever need to repeat the screen grab 10x times, the difference is:

              • Your preferred approach: 10 x (3 key press + click drag release). In total 30 keys, 10 mouse selections.
              • On my system: 1 key + click drag release + 1 key, 9 x 2 keypress. In total 20 keys, 1 mouse selection.

              I find it fascinating to care so strongly for something that is objectively a worse approach in every single way, with the only difference being the ordering of one keypress. And to care so strongly about that one keypress, that the optional versatility that gives (toggle video recording, adjust rectangle, reuse rectangle, move rectangle with same dimensions) is all in all considered a worse alternative. To each their own, and UX design is arguably not yours.

              • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                7 months ago

                And, by using that key as a confirmation-step, you get a whole bunch of extra functionality that you say you don’t use

                Yes, which is entirely useless to me and not something I want. Incredibly simple concept you’re having trouble with.

                Which, if you don’t use it, will still give you the exact same functionality, and doesn’t affect you.

                Nope, you’re really shit at reading comprehension. It does not function exactly the same, that’s the problem.

                Consider if you ever need to repeat the screen grab 10x times, the difference is:

                I will not as I do not ever need to do that. Idk what weird world you live in where you’d ever need to take 10 screenshots of the same still screen but I can think of even easier ways to manage something like that then with a Printscreen manager.

                I find it fascinating to care so strongly

                You’re the one typing out multi-paragraph replies to me simply stating that windows does this better and it’s silly that Linux doesn’t have something as simple as Snip. I don’t really care at all as it’s one keypress, it’s just funny.

                objectively a worse approach in every single way

                Subjectively, you mean. I do not need or want hose extra features and it now takes time to tell my PC to not use those features. So no, it’s a worse approach to me.

                And to care so strongly about that one keypress, that the optional versatility that gives (toggle video recording, adjust rectangle, reuse rectangle, move rectangle with same dimensions) is all in all considered a worse alternative

                You really have a hard time with other people valuing stuff differently then you, huh?

                Those features are less than worthless to me. I do not ever need or want them. The fact that the software cannot handle that I don’t is useless bloat, which Linux is usually all about removing.

                To each their own, and UX design is arguably not yours.

                Go fuck yourself you stuck up prick. Fucking Linux users I swear

                • okamiueru@lemmy.world
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                  7 months ago
                  objectively a worse approach in every single way
                  

                  Subjectively, you mean

                  Nope. Better UX design by every single metric. I hope you don’t have a say in anything related to UX design. Cheers dude.

                  • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                    7 months ago

                    I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want something so it’s stupid to not want it

                    Your lack of imagination doesn’t mean you are correct. You have an opinion, learn to handle that it’s not fact.

                    I pray you’re not involved with anything UX related either as your attitude is the exact kind of dismissive garbage that’s landed us in this world of horrid UI and UX