gaming on linux
For the last decade, Windows has been getting worse and worse. It seems like with each new update squeezed out of Microslop, they either break a critical feature, break a driver I need for my DAC, or add some new garbage AI Clippy knockoff.
No, Windows, I do not want to sign into my account.
No, I do not want to use Copilot.
No, I do not want to use OneDrive.
This has been a constant source of frustration for me ever since Windows 10. I even wrote a PowerShell script to debloat earlier builds of Windows 10 that gained a modest number of stars on GitHub. Eventually, I realized I was tired of fighting the OS.
Windows is getting worse, and Linux is getting better
I’ve been a Linux user since I first installed Ubuntu 12.04 on a Pentium D POS that my dad borrowed from work so I could have a computer that wasn't running Windows NT. Because of that, I know my experience isn't what a typical Windows user would face.
Over the years, I tried unsuccessfully to move my gaming PC to Linux several times—even back when SteamOS was based on Debian. Every time I tried to commit to Linux for gaming, compatibility with some game my friends wanted to play got in the way.
But the wizards at Valve and the community have been slowly but surely improving Proton and Wine. Linux game compatibility has grown immensely over the last decade, and now even big-name titles like Arc Raiders and Resident Evil Requiem are compatible thanks to Proton.
Freedom from Microslop
For the past month, I have been exclusively using CachyOS on my main rig, and it has been incredibly liberating. It is so freeing to push the power button and know my computer isn't communicating with some cloud server I never consented to use. Every time I use Octopi to update, I know my system isn't about to demand I sign in with some bullshit online account.
So far, updating my system has been seamless, and I haven't had a single issue pop up after an update (knocks on wood).
The whole experience has been refreshing. For the first time in a long time, using my computer is easy again. And really, what else do you need from your main computer?