You must log in or # to comment.
🤞pleasejustpickbazzite pleasejustpickbazzite pleasejustpickbazzite🤞
I’m going to install CachyOS, an Arch-based distro
oh god dammit
I’M FED UP, GOING TO INSTALL LINUX!
- picks a complicated distro where you really need to read the manual or do some heavy google searches to do gaming *
I’M FED UP, THIS IS TOO HARD, I’M GOING BACK TO WINDOWS!
Every. Single. Time.
If you want to use arch for the first time use an already setup distro like Manjaro.
Honestly, Day 1’ers, I’d rather they run Debian, Mint, Ubuntu, or Fedora. There are strong communities that are noob friendly. Go ahead and install Steam, get some games working, get their feet wet. 99% of the time, they don’t need more than basic stuff. Once they’re over being afraid of not being in windows, then start distro hopping to whatever they want.
When will it be the year of actually being able to read articles?
Linux has been great for me for over 20 years, but the damn internet continues to get worse.
The most successful Linux distros are ones that normal people are not aware they use at all. Most people dont install operating systems, they just use whatever comes with the device. To them its an appliance.
Android is a flavor of Linux and is widely successful. Ive seen libraries use Linux and a browser and the machines worked for decades. And there are quite a few Amazon tablets, ebook readers, etc… all using linux.
Theres a never ending number of examples out there.
Are you suggesting we should break into people’s homes and discreetly install Linux on their computers? Because I’m in
I think we need a new worm
Sounds fun!
🤣 Thats pretty funny.
I’ve been mostly Windows free for 6 months now. I use Win 11 for work and I bought an old Surface Pro 4 with Win 11 installed to learn Nomad Sculpt. I am just too afraid of testing Linux on a machine tailor made around Windows.
https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface?tab=readme-ov-file
There’s a dedicated community just for Linux on the Surface
I’m not going to dwell on how annoying it is that it took people THIS LONG to get off the Windows train. I’m just happy to see the world changing for the better.
Welcome to civilization, new Linux users!
Oh man, don’t read the comments, sad to see the smartasses saying “report back when you install windows again in two months” while getting utterly fucked by Windows.
I mean, I understand being resistant to change but being a fanatic of Windows or anything for that matter just because that’s all you know is really ignorant, it’s not a sports team for fucks sake, of course it’s not easy switching and you will have problems just dont be afraid to ask and read the error warning.
Rant over
I use Windows for work and I miss Win10, I don’t like it but I’m aware that’s currently the target of most Consumer SW for good reason but that reason is starting to break (say it with me! BAD BUSINESS DECISIONS!!!).
Happy to see Linux getting mainstream, not all comments are bad but I the trolls got me.
I’ve been using Linux as my daily driver for over a month. The only thing I miss are some old windows apps that I’m too lazy to troubleshoot in Wine.
It’s like do-gooder derogation. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do-gooder_derogation )
Someone doing something good? Fuck them. They think they’re better than us?? Where do they get off??!?
A lot of people are trash and are emotionally invested in both the way things currently are, and that they are a very good person
TIL there’s a name for this
There’s a name for everything. There’s probably a name for there being a name for everything.
Well, if you honestly think about it, Linux has always been tried by many of people that eventually went back to Windows because something wasn’t entirely straightforward. Don’t get me wrong, I love Linux, but I don’t blame people for thinking that. Trying Linux is very different than sticking to it. Linux is amazing OS for people who put at least some effort into learning it, but like it or not, it can be absolute pain for those expecting things to just work without any interest on why they experiencing issues. Given how many sets of hardware and peripherals people have, weird quirks, bugs and required workarounds aren’t unheard of. Maybe it’s just something very simple to fix for an advanced user, but normies will just run away.
it can be absolute pain for those expecting things to just work without any interest on why they experiencing issues.
I think that describes computers.
Windows does the same thing, only worse because it is harder to trouble shoot, and harder to fix if you find yourself at the point where a reinstall is the only way out.
I am dealing with a laptop like that now for someone else, and it would be simple if it was linux, but of course its a pain in the ass because its windows.
it can be absolute pain for those expecting things to just work
Which is like 95% of people.
Imagine if cars worked this way. Imagine you needed to be a mechanic to operate your vehicle. To start and drive your car, you first have to do automotive work, and know how to do automotive work.
A lot less people would drive themselves. A lot more Ubers.
As someone who tried it for a few months then switched back for several years before returning permanently two years ago: Linux has long had the problem that it’s completely ready for different people at different times.
In 2017 it was in pretty good shape if you weren’t a gamer, didn’t mind tinkering a fair bit, were prepared to learn a completely different two ways of installing software, and didn’t rely on proprietary apps (I couldn’t get Netflix to work). I was only ready for the tinkering. Also I’d used Ubuntu and gnome just added more changes.
Five years later a lot had changed. I wasn’t using Netflix (especially not in the app) for one. But Proton had come around and made gaming just work. My wifi drivers just worked unlike before. Years of mobile app stores and a few months of lemmy had prepared me for repos, even though it still took some getting the hang of to switch from just downloading and double clicking an exe file. But also the software options are increasingly available rather than having to learn to use old school wine while in the middle of a massive change. I still think I should switch away from garuda at some point as I dislike some of the choices it made (no flatpak support for one), but I love aspects of it. And all throughout that time that Linux was getting more accessible to someone like me who isn’t a coder, but was tech nerd curious, windows was increasingly getting in my way and becoming anti user.
I think adoption will continue to increase as Linux continues to get easier for more people
I don’t see them as trolls. I’ve been on ZorinOS for about a year now. I hate it because I don’t know how to do anything, but I’m not smart enough to learn terminal.
Flatpaks are the answer to installation. But any problem I have, I google, and every result starts the same way.
"Ok, Step 1, open terminal
NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
I have a 100% rate of those solutions not working for me. And the reason is simple. Those solutions assume you know how to use linux. So when you copy and paste their terminal commands, and your terminal responds with error: dependancies not found, YOU know how to fix that error and it works for you. But for most regular people, thats the end of that. Problem not solved. Problem remains a problem FOREVER.
No, seriously. I have a usb recovery stick that allows me to backup/restore my hard drive exactly how it is. Anytime I have to use terminal I ALWAYS make a backup of my hard drive first. Which takes 4 hours. And the reason for that is, when I inevitably fuck something up in terminal, and the whole OS crashes, and refuses to boot, I have a backup. It takes nearly 20 hours to restore the image, but it works. But whatever problem I was trying to solve remains.
Imagine if that were your linux experience. Windows spies on you. They have enshitification out the ass. But it works for the masses without technical knowledge.
The other issue is that businesses use windows. So most people are firmiliar with windows. So all the popular programs are on windows. Linux has a way to emulate windows programs, but its hard to get working, and sometimes just DOESN’T work.
If linux had every single program windows has, 100% as a flatpak, it would do wonders for install rate…for about a year.
Once people install the programs, they’ll at some point run into an issue. On windows you solve the problem 99% of the time by restarting. On linux, that hasn’t fixed any of my problems once.
These people aren’t trolls. They just have a different opinion than you from a different perspective.
Next time you have an issue in linux, any issue, regardless of how small, I want you to turn off your computer for 4 hours. Then turn it back on for 5 minutes. Then off again for 20 hours. Don’t solve the issue. I know YOU can solve the issue in 30 seconds, but don’t. After the 24 hours no computer use, just live with the problem for the rest of your life.
Yeah, that doesn’t sound fun, does it? Sounds like a reason to have a sour experience. Suddenly they don’t seem like trolls.
I mean, I understand being resistant to change but being a fanatic of Windows or anything for that matter just because that’s all you know is really ignorant
I’m suspecting around 80% of the people who switched to Linux after Win11/AI stuff, will switch back within 6 months.
I’m saying this as a Linux user.
I’m still going strong two years later! :D
The top comments don’t look too bad now… Maybe they’re ranked differently or something
Who knows, maybe Autodesk will finally start thinking about Linux.
They already use Qt anyway, so the .NET part is all they’d need to fix.There’s Mono. I don’t know what portion of .NET compatibility issues that addresses in 2025.
Well of course, there’s probably other Windows stuff they are also using, considering how much they aren’t even trying to ship for something like Ubuntu, which would be super easy otherwise.
I can only imagine how big of a push Autodesk can easily put towards Linux. That would easily make the current rise to 5% be nothing in comparison. Maybe MS is paying them too, to keep them together.
Of course it might also just be that MS makes it easier for them to setup a DRM (Digital Rights Management) as compared to Linux, not that it matters considering how much they have been pirated.
Then there was this person who was not using Linux because of the CAD software he wanted to use and when I asked what exactly it was, he said, “KiCad”[1].
it’s available in Arch and Debian official repositories ↩︎
The existence of PC Master Race tells me everything I need to know about gamers who cling to windows. Edit: And post comments like that.
“…Based on listening to two and a half episodes of Dual Boot Diaries and a brief text conversation with Will, I’m going to install CachyOS, an Arch-based distro optimized for gaming on modern hardware, with support for cutting-edge CPUs and GPUs and an allegedly easy setup…”
One of the most important lessons I learned from using Linux: Follow the packs, use the distros that a lot of people use not just some recommendation on some ranking sites / youtube vids. Ffs, might as well use vanilla Arch at that point so you can find answers faster. . Even Mint or Ubuntu LTS is a solid option.
The problem with new distros is that it is very hard to find answers to problems. General questions? Sure you can find help. Some bugs that mess up your system? You better pray to the GNU Gods that your distro spins are not that different from the original, e.g. Regolith’s i3wm vs normal i3wm…
Arch is a… Wait, let me rephrase: an Arch-based distro that leads the user by the hand when it comes to setting up the difficult stuff is a good choice, if only because of the Arch Wiki being the golden standard in terms of user-friendly documentation.
I’m surprised to hear that about the docs. I would have assumed it was very technical and assumed a lot of domain knowledge. Based on the Arch memes.
Great to hear!
I feel like Arch memes come from the fact that Arch - by default - doesn’t offer any fully fledged installer. You kind of build it yourself and configure everything manually. It’s something that’s become more tedious than difficult thanks to the amazing Wiki, which describes every step of the way.
There’s still a bunch of hilarious “Arch Greybeards” going “ah, you used archinstall, so can you truly say you installed Arch” but otherwise a lot of users are not that technical.
But, yeah, I decided to switch to something Arch-based because, like, 80% of the issues I had with Kubuntu/TuxedoOS eventually ended with someone linking an Arch Wiki article.
You’ll have to decide how user friendly the archwiki docs are for yourself. I find most of it pretty useful but sometimes it can get techy, or get confusing about versions/updates for llatest changes and so on.
It’s probably better than any other linux dox in my opinion. But that bar is not exactly high.
Then again I don’t know if windows even has documentation at all - I assume they replaced it with coprolite.
Mainstream : 3% lol
BREAKING: Man decides to install Linux.
More details to come.
I am glad to see articles like this. For too long I have seen articles saying “sick of this windows bullshit??” Only to find advice on workarounds in windows, or suggestions to use a console, or a fucking phone app. For too long Linux has been treated like the evil twin locked in the attic, never to be spoken of or acknowledged.
IT IS TIME! TIME TO ANNOUNCE WE HAVE RELEASED THE LINUX AND IT WAS THE GOOD CHILD ALL ALONG! BART WAS THE EVIL ONE AFTER ALL! LET IT BE KNOWN!
“I deleted the recycling bin folder named /bin/ and it just froze what do I do?”
Freeze? Nah, it’ll keep chugging along 'til you reboot (or otherwise try to run a new program), and then won’t be able to start.
BREAKING: Man breaks Linux, installs another distro, and lives happily ever after.
That’s like eating exactly one potato chip.
LOL, I’ve actually tried Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSUSE, Puppy Linux, DSL, Tiny Core, and even the true outlier (not quite Linux or Unix though) Microsoft Xenix before. I’ve probably even tried a couple other distros before but only very briefly.
It takes effort to break them in any way that I can’t manage to figure out how to fix.
I settled on Linux Mint as my daily runner, but one of these days I might have to give TempleOS a spin in a virtual machine…
Try an atomic distro too, if you haven’t yet. It’s a completely different experience from regular Linux - specially the ones that take care of everything for you like UBlue’s.
As a chaos monkey, I haven’t broken this atomic distro in a few years. It usually takes me less than a year to break my distro’s package system beyond my comprehension (or something equally important, but it’s usually the packages).
Are there instructions for the laymen? How difficult is it to install and actually use it?
Easier than windows. Most people don’t actually install that, though. It’s just there when they buy their computer.
- Download the .iso file of your favorite distro from their website
- Download Fedora Media Writer
- Plug in external media (flash/thumb drive, etc.)
- Select .iso and thumb drive in Fedora Media Writer and let her rip.
- Restart PC.
- While PC is booting, press whatever your BIOS button is (do a web search for “[laptop/motherboard] BIOS button” or watch the display while booting)
- Look for boot priority in the BIOS and set the thumb drive to the highest.
- Restart
- After booting, test WiFi, BT and audio functionality.
- Follow on-screen instructions to install
- Remove install media and reboot
- Install any and all available updates using your package manager (Software, Discover, Pop Shop, etc.)
- Restart one more time
The end.
You need to backup any data you want to keep to another drive before installing.
Make sure there’s nothing important on the flash drive too. Writing the iso will erase everything on it.
After booting, test WiFi, BT and audio functionality.
This is an important step. One time I boldly just installed without testing anything in the live session, and discovered that HDMI and Ethernet didn’t work. Woops.
Yikes. Did you at least have a working display port or something?
Yeah, display port worked fine. It was when I plugged the second monitor in to HDMI I realized the problem. And then couldn’t get online to search for issues.
I had to tether the desktop to my phone over USB to get a network connection.
I later installed pop!_os , tested all that stuff, and it worked out of the box.
Download Fedora Media Writer
I’ve been using Balena Etcher, but now I have an alternative, thanks!
Yeah, everyone seems to use Balena. They had some controversy a while back. I don’t remember what it was, just that I found an alternative. FMW has the benefit of drop-down for official distros and it’s available on all platforms (unlike Rufus).
Balena started collecting telemetry without disclosing it to anyone, reportedly including information about what images you were flashing. Apart from a general distaste for unconsensual telemetry, I think people were concerned the data could be used for things like helping to de-anonymize TAILS users.
Honestly, the most complicated part is getting the install media ready to go.
Once the installer starts, you’re just answering prompts like the local username and password you want, language and keyboard layout, and time zone, and it does the rest on its own.
Then the computer reboots, and you end up on the desktop of a fully usable computer. Most distros will have a one-time popup welcoming you and maybe leading you to some Flatpak “store” where you can search for free apps to install.
Remember to do this on a machine you don’t care about, or are prepared for Windows to no longer work. Windows doesn’t play nice with other operating systems.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/you-can-try-linux-without-ditching-windows-first-heres-how/
Play with this first if you want
One could try a Live version for the distros that have that feature. For those unaware, the Live version is merely the bootable cd image (or USB image). Does no harm to the underlying OS. If you like it you can then install it.
Edit to add: If you use bitlocker (copy your keys), it can have hooks in the TPM/bios settings as well. Disable bitlocker prior to attempting a live boot.
https://www.linuxliteos.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=9145
Beware of BitLocker though - I had no idea it was enabled on my wife’s windows tablet and when I came back from a Linux live image her windows drive was locked. The keys were not in her Microsoft account and we couldn’t find them anywhere else so I ended up having to erase the device. Luckily she didn’t use it for much but find and copy your keys before attempting a live Linux boot.
Good to know and thanks for mentioning it, but it is odd that this happens if nothing is done to the host’s hardware. Did you ever discover the why of it?
find and copy your keys
A good piece of advice regardless of what one is doing. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard that keys weren’t found in someone’s account.
Edit to add: It appears bitlocker has hooks in the TPM/bios settings as well. Disable bitlocker prior to attempting a live boot.
https://www.linuxliteos.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=9145
You act like the everyday user knows how to boot from alternate sources.
BIOS/UEFI/Secure Boot anyone?
Edit: I’ve been running Linux since 2011, but I’m not an average everyday user.
Doing one you actually use helps you commit
But always back up data or swap ssds
Yeah. Get a new ssd for the install is a good idea
Windows generally works fine alongside Linux, but then randomly one day you could log on and it boots straight into Windows and to fix it you need to learn the “fun” task of fixing your system with arch-chroot.
That will never happen if the default boot is into GRUB
If Windows overwrites your EFI partition then you won’t be able to boot into grub. It absolutely happens, I’ve had it happen with my main computer within the past year.
It’s often easier than installing Windows with certain distros.
Much easier and faster than a windows install
It Is really easy. The only issues are related to hardware compatibility, especially with laptops. But most of them should be fine
It’s pretty much just like installing Windows, except minus the parts where they force you to create a Microsoft account and badger you to accept spying and such.
If you avoid complications like trying to dual boot or to use weird distros, it shouldn’t be hard.
I’m super not tech savvy and I had zero problems installing Mint recently. There’s instructions online for getting the install media set up (I used a flash drive), and once you have that it’s just following an install wizard really. The hardest part is backing up everything important before you switch.
If you want the absolute easiest install possible, don’t need to dual boot, and don’t care to do a ton of gaming, Linux Mint is, in my opinion, honestly easier than installing windows. The most confusing part is typically the partition manager, but Mint has an Easy option that handles that for you as long as you’re okay with wiping your drive and starting fresh. Otherwise you’ll need to read up a bit on the partition manager on order to dual boot, but that’s the only difficult part.
Download Ventoy, use that to put the Mint installer on a thumb drive, and follow the instructions on booting to USB for your motherboard. From there it walks you through everything.
*Edit: if gaming is important, bazzite is almost as easy…
I think it’s been a year or so now since Microsoft updated Windows to be incompatible with dual boot from the same drive. When Windows boots up, it nukes grub if it’s on the same drive as your windows install. Every time.
If you want to dual boot, you basically need separate drives now. So stupid…
How very Microsoft of them! All the more reason to scrub it I guess
Yes it’s fairly simple to do, essentially the user needs to download an image of a Linux install disc, flash it onto a USB stick (or a Dvd I guess), and then reboot their PC. They may need to press a key at boot to open the boot menu and select the USB (or the bios to change the boot order).
After that, most distros offer a very easy to follow installer which will install the new OS.
Most Linux installs can be done alongside windows (on the same hard drive or it’s own drive) but windows tends to break the boot loader with updates. It’s gernallt better to only dual boot if you’re good at fixing things - otherwise a full Linux install is better.
The most inportant thing is back up all your important data, and only do this if you genuinely want to leave windows. I’d make sure your windows license is digital before doing this too as that allows using windows again if you want to go back.
I’d say anyone can use Linux, it’s user friendly and robust. In terms of installing Linux, I’d only do it if you are sure you know what you’re doing - installing any OS - including windows - can involved trouble shooting problems.
I want to add that often installing Linux is easier than Windows
I have a PC that was originally built as a hackintosh, so if I just pull the main Windows drive and install a new SSD in it’s place, and boot to an installer USB, it should work, yeah?
Am ready to try Bazzite as I only game on the PC at this point and my OS (Win10 Pro) is constantly nagging me to update the hardware as my current kit doesn’t have the TPM 2.0 that the newer OS needs…
Not any more difficult than doing a fresh Windows install.
Not especially hard, depending on your choice. But the choices tho
I use a variety of distros depending on my situation, but I’d easily recommend Mint to anyone wanting to dip their toes in.
Choices which don’t matter nearly as much as people like to pretend they do, no less.
If you’re having trouble deciding, just pick a popular (general-purpose) distro at random. Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Mint, Bazzite, even Arch – whatever, it’ll be fine, don’t worry 'bout it.
https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
The verification stuff is a pain downloading files and programs, but you’ll get through it.
My experience was pretty simple. But you will have to make some decisions.
If you just want to blanket install Linux over whatever you run currently (and wipe out windows or whatever), that’s honestly the easiest way in my opinion.
You don’t need things like gparted or other utilities to partition drives or anything. You burn a bootable USB stick with the Linux distro of your choice, go into bios and select it as the boot media, and go through the prompts to install once it boots.
This has been my experience with bazzite on both a handheld and an older windows desktop PC.
There are so many helpful guides out there.
Your use case will determine a lot of things. If you just need a PC for media watching and web surfing, out of the box, simple immutable Linux distros will likely give you what you want.
If your needs are more complex (video/photo editing, sound production, CAD, or something) you’ll need to research what distro fits your needs.
This basic tutorial explains the steps to installing a Linux distro (Ubuntu is recommended as it is easy) in detail, and plain language. Read it several times, until you feel comfortable. Ubuntu is the distro I started with, as drivers are easy to deal with and can be installed during the installation process without fuss (unlike some distros, side-eyes Fedora with slanderous intent).
One detail, Balena Etcher is the application this author refers to when mentioning “Etcher” Installing Ubuntu
Edit, I forgot to include the New User Guide, based on category!
I’ve migrated not too long ago from Win10 to Kubuntu which is very Windows-like, and the adaptation was quite easy.
However, I have to ask: Are you comfortable typing commands on a terminal or editing configuration files? I ask because while it’s gotten much easier to use Linux with just a graphical interface you’ll still bump into some annoyances here and there where you’ll Google how to fix and it will often tell you to ‘run command x in the terminal’
You may just want to head to YouTube and look for a really dry video instructions. When I first got started on Linux like 15 years ago, videos were a lot less intimidating to me
I’d YouTube installing Ubuntu and use the YouTube filter option set to like 1 month. There’s constantly new videos for intro to Linux YouTube. I say Ubuntu because it’s a part of the most common family of popular Linux distributions
Whoa, surprised this is coming from The Verge. Is it really the year of the Linux desktop now??
With Linux being better for gaming and Mac still the place for creative software, Windows really is only for business users.
Dabbled with Linux on a Raspberry Pi and a laptop that I only used from time to time; it wasn’t until the imminent Windows 10 support drop announcement that I finally installed it in my main rig. The words “fuck it” were uttered in my mind too.
Welcome to the dark side. I’ve been here since about 2011, but I’m absolutely glad to see you’re coming over.
*from, you mean. Welcome from the dark side.
“Welcome to” is gramatically correct and means “please be at home in your new cell”
Except Linux isn’t the dark side; Windows is. They are being freed from their cell, not entering it.
If only the author actually reported on the post install experience, that would’ve been helpful for people looking to switch to a Linux distro…Kinda annoying they paywalled the article (thankfully, you’ve provided an Archive Link). I do agree with the author’s suspicions that Windows is only going to get worse due to the AI bullshit that Microsoft is infecting Windows with; Windows, is at a breaking point because vibe coding is ruining update quality, a human hand is key to maintaining such a complex OS.
After seeing the writing on the wall during the initial Recall situation, I permanently switched to Ubuntu (dabbled in other distros, before returning to Ubuntu). Gotta say, having full control over my operating system is nice. I only borked it around 11 times in the years of being on Ubuntu and others (mostly due to devil may care experimentation and a healthy amount of backed up data). Most of the time, I even recovered from the TTYL 3 screen, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Linux is in a better place than years past, Ubuntu, Zorin OS, and Mint are very usable for beginners who just want a PC that works. Valve’s experimentation with Linux and funding development work done by Arch and others has smoothed out a lot of the bug bears associated with gaming, there are few barriers to entry.
Outside the hostile big publishers who use anti-cheat that makes their games not run on a Linux distro via Proton Compatibility Layer (Rockstar are the prime assholes doing this, among others I can’t rightly recall).
I tried, but the DPI options in all distros I tried are too limited for my needs. I have one 4k monitor and two 1080p monitors. Zorin OS 18 only allowed me to set 200% on all screens IF they were all mirrored, so completely useless for me. I’m not using the terminal either. I want my main screen to be at 150% or so, or I can’t see shit, and my side monitors to be (obviously not mirrored) at 100% DPI.
If anyone knows of a distro that allows the same settings as Windows for three monitors, please advice. I want to jump ship, I really do.
Anything Wayland and KDE allows you to do what you want
Wayland is fantastic, as long you don’t need to do screen sharing in Slack. Only thing hindering me going Wayland on my work laptop.
This used to be an issue, but has been resolved in most major applications. Are you on an “app” version of slack? Try updating it, or try using an up to date webbrowser like Firefox, or anything based on Chromium if you prefer.
My app version is up to date. Tried it a few months ago. Still black screen whenever I try to share the entire screen. Individual windows work fine. None of my coworkers have managed to make it work in Wayland.
It worked a few years ago with some workaround, but Slack patched out that workaround.
And it’s specific to slack? Or do you have the same issue when sharing the screen on anything else?
I just tested this on my dual monitor setup, Nobara Linux, KDE Plasma version 6.5.2 running Wayland and it worked no problem.
Set my main monitor to 150% scaling and left my side one to 100%.
Now on my setup, both monitors are 1080p, although my side one is oriented vertically, so Idk if it would act different if I had one at a completely different resolution.
Edit -
I just tested it on one of my laptops running Linux Mint Debian edition 7, (Debian 13 Trixie under the hood) with the Cinnamon desktop environment running X11 and it worked perfectly also. 4K TV set as the primary monitor scaled at 150%, the laptop’s screen as the secondary, 1080p at 100% scaling, applied the settings and it was completely fine.
I just tested it on one of my laptops running Linux Mint Debian edition 7, (Debian 13 Trixie under the hood) with the Cinnamon desktop environment running X11 and it worked perfectly also. 4K TV set as the primary monitor scaled at 150%, the laptop’s screen as the secondary, 1080p at 100% scaling, applied the settings and it was completely fine.
X11 fractional scaling is not great. It may have looked fine if you only had a cursory glance, but it has many issues. “True” fractional scaling in X11 doesn’t work on a per-monitor basis IIRC, instead any per-monitor fractional scaling will be a relatively simple resize operation that results in lots of blurriness.
KDE is a desktop environment right? What is Wayland? Does any distro come with these out of the box?
Yes, KDE is a desktop environment. It’s one of the “Windows-like” ones and very customizable, and arguably the most technically advanced one at the moment.
Wayland is the display server, as it is called. It’s basically the back-end component that facilitates actually displaying anything on the screen. It replaced another component called X11, which was released in 1987 and had become a completely unmaintainable mess of technological debt.
Wayland took a very long time to develop and there are still some growing pains, which is why you will occasionally still see people arguing that X11 is better – these days you should probably just ignore anyone who says that though, as the overwhelming majority of users will be much better served by Wayland than by X11.
As for what distros support it, basically every up-to-date distro (latest major version release during or after 2024) using one of the following desktop environments will default to Wayland: KDE, Gnome, COSMIC, Sway, Hyprland. Other DEs don’t yet have stable Wayland support. Notably Linux Mint, a very common recommendation, is not on this list because the Cinnamon DE it uses does not yet support Wayland.
A couple of example distros mentioned in the thread and article would be Bazzite, Fedora and CachyOS. These distros all update swiftly, which is desirable because the Linux desktop is advancing very quickly at the moment. Slower-moving distros like Debian or Ubuntu LTS tend to miss out on a lot of nice new features.
