From Windows Lifetimer to Linux Newbie 🐧

I’m 37 years old, and for most of my life Windows has been that slightly chaotic roommate I complain about but never actually kick out.
Then one day Microsoft basically said, “Nice Windows 10 you’ve got there, shame if something were to… stop getting security updates,” and suddenly I was shopping for a new operating system like someone who’d finally had enough of a toxic relationship.

Pentium 4 Dreams and Registry Nightmares 💾

My journey started in the early 2000s on a Pentium 4 box that sounded like a jet engine and doubled as a room heater.
Back then I lived through the full Windows tour: 98, 2000, ME (yes, that happened), NT, XP, Vista, 8, 8.1, and 10—on everything from Core i3 up to my current Core i7‑7700H laptop.

I was that Windows kid:

• Poking around in regedit before fully understanding what a registry even was.
• Installing Microsoft PowerToys like it was forbidden magic.
• Clicking “Next” on every installer with the confidence of someone who has never seen a toolbar hijack their browser.

Linux was this mysterious thing in the background.
I played with Gentoo live CDs out of curiosity and early‑2000s FOSS hype, but installing it felt like hazing: “If you survive this install, you’re allowed to use the desktop.”

Why I Stayed on Windows (For Way Too Long) 🪟

As much as Linux fascinated me, the world around me basically screamed: “Use Windows like everyone else.”

• IT education: Almost everything was Windows‑centric, unless you were on a specific Red Hat track.
• Jobs: Every employer was a Windows shop, with Linux tucked away on servers guarded by sysadmins and security people who spoke fluent Bash and sarcasm.
• Early desktop Linux: Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Mint, Fedora—I tried them all over the years. Things got better each time, but there was always some rough edge: weird hardware, missing software, or just enough friction that I crawled back to Windows “for productivity.”

Ubuntu was the one I tried most seriously; it was definitely better than my Gentoo adventures, but still not “I can live here forever” level back then.

So I stuck with Windows. It worked. Mostly. With enough tweaks and a bit of ritual sacrifice to the Update gods.

When Windows Started Watching 👀

At some point, Windows stopped feeling like my operating system and started feeling like a slightly nosy landlord.

Suddenly there were:

• Telemetry settings that never really felt “off,” just “less on for now.”
• “Suggestions” in the Start menu and elsewhere that looked suspiciously like ads. Because nothing says “professional OS” like Candy Crush recommendations.
• Bundled junk I didn’t ask for, and debloating becoming a rite of passage for power users.

And Windows 11? That’s when Microsoft really leaned in and said, “We love you, but only if your hardware meets our feelings.”

The TPM 2.0 and CPU requirement wall meant my perfectly capable Core i7‑7700H laptop was officially too old for the new shiny Windows, unless I used workarounds and lived in unsupported purgatory.
It’s a special feeling when your OS essentially tells your still‑fast laptop: “It’s not me, it’s you. You’re old.”

The Windows 10 Deadline: The Final Straw ⏰

Then came the date: Windows 10 support ends on 14 October 2025.
Translation: “Either you move to Windows 11 on approved hardware, or you keep using an increasingly vulnerable OS and hope the internet is kind.”

My options:

• Buy new hardware just to make Microsoft happy.
• Hack Windows 11 onto unsupported hardware and pray each update doesn’t brick it.
• Or finally do what younger‑me wanted and go all‑in on Linux.

For the first time, switching wasn’t a nerdy side project.
It was either regain control… or keep negotiating with an operating system that shows ads in the Start menu and nags me to use services I never asked for.

So I went on a distro‑dating spree. 💘

Distro Speed‑Dating: Ubuntu, Zorin, Fedora 💿

With Windows 10’s timer ticking, I lined up the candidates:

• Ubuntu: The dependable one. Great hardware support, huge community, tons of documentation. It felt solid, but the default GNOME setup still felt a little heavier and less “mine” than I wanted as a long‑time tweaker.
• Zorin OS: This one basically whispers, “Hey Windows user, you’re safe here.” Familiar layout, nice polish, Windows‑style friendliness, and a focus on making the switch painless.
• Fedora Workstation: In my head it used to be “that dev distro,” but now it’s surprisingly polished and modern. Fast updates, cutting‑edge kernel, and a clean, no‑nonsense GNOME desktop.

I’d tried older versions of these over the years, but this time it hit differently.
My “this is just a test” mindset turned into “why does this feel smoother than Windows on the same laptop?”

Why Fedora 43 Won My Heart ❤️🐧

After bouncing between Ubuntu and Zorin, I ended up landing on Fedora 43 Workstation.
It felt like the grown‑up Linux that still lets me tinker without making me compile my own soul.

What hooked me:

• Modern stack: Fedora 43 ships with GNOME 49 on Wayland and a recent Linux 6.x kernel, so my old‑but‑not‑dead Core i7 suddenly felt fresh again.
• No bloat, no nags: The default install is clean. No third‑party junk, no “hey, try this random service” popping up. It’s almost unsettling how quiet it is compared to Windows.
• Sane defaults for power users: Strong upstream alignment, up‑to‑date toolchain, and a desktop that respects the idea that maybe—just maybe—the person using the computer knows what they’re doing.

The funniest part?
The laptop that Windows 11 refused to bless is now happily running a fully modern OS with a new kernel, modern graphics stack, and smooth Wayland desktop—and nobody is telling me I need to buy a new CPU to continue receiving updates.

Life on Linux (So Far) 🚀

Is everything perfect? Of course not.

I’m still:

• Learning new shortcuts and figuring out which panel or extension I just broke.
• Googling “why did my panel disappear” more often than I’d like to admit.
• Deciding whether I want my apps as RPMs, Flatpaks, or summoned via ritual from a GitHub release.

But the day‑to‑day experience is different in all the right ways:

• Updates are fast and predictable, without 20‑minute “working on updates” lock‑ins right when I need to shut down.
• The desktop isn’t constantly trying to sell me things or push “recommended” content into my workflow.
• Most importantly, the machine feels like it’s actually mine again. I can look under the hood, change what I want, and nothing keeps silently flipping switches back on after an update.

After decades with Windows, the irony is beautiful:

Linux, the “weird hacker thing” teenage‑me was too nervous to daily‑drive, is now the calm, respectful grown‑up OS that lets me get work done without acting like an overbearing subscription service.
Microsoft helped push me here with arbitrary hardware rules, telemetry, and ads. Fedora 43 happily opened the door and said:

“You’re welcome to stay. No product recommendations in your Start menu, promise.” 😄