This isn’t about Windows being better than Linux, nor is it about Linux being the ultimate. I have used Windows since Windows XP, and I have been through every version up to Windows 11. However, Windows 11 was the first Windows OS that wasn’t my daily driver. I replaced it with Linux Mint, after stints with Ubuntu, Fedora, and a dozen other distributions I can’t recall, including an adventure into Kali Linux.
Objectively speaking, the only reason anyone distro-hops is because there is a missing element or some dissatisfaction. It was why I left Windows, but also why I have skipped around a lot within the Linux ecosystem. A daily driver should be a choice of conviction, not a compromise.
Linux gave me control, but also responsibility
The paradox of infinite choice
Afam Onyimadu / MUO
The starting point with Linux is selecting a system architecture. This process is more demanding than I’d like to admit, because you’re going through the mental process of designing a computer, starting right from the desktop environment. The common options are GNOME, with its opinionated minimalism; KDE Plasma, which has finally matured with Plasma 6; and Linux Mint’s Cinnamon. These are all great options, yet in daily use, they’re materially different.
If you cross that first hurdle with any real conviction for one or the other, you then turn to update philosophies. One option will give you the newest kernels along with Mesa stacks and compositor fixes as they become available. The other option prioritizes predictability over novelty. This is a significant choice that can determine when a Wi-Fi chip starts working or when a GPU regression is resolved.
If you have total conviction in your choice of update philosophy, you still have to choose a packaging system. Snap is the default option favored by Ubuntu. But you may still prefer Flatpak, the sandboxed format the community seems to lean toward, or one of the several other native package formats. Regardless of what you end up with, none is universally right. Picking one over the other implies true conviction despite its performance implications, permission models, and integration quirks.
The choice is not over yet. You have to pick display servers. X11 seems to be fading out, with Wayland taking over. However, this isn’t a smooth transition across all apps, with some still running through XWayland. XWayland apps don’t do well with fractional scaling, and regardless of your preferred display server, you still don’t get consistently excellent mixed refresh rates. In the end, you make your choice, knowing it’s not perfect, and you’ll have to live within certain limitations.
Linux made me better, but raised my expectations
The OS taught me about computing
Raghav Sethi/MakeUseOfCredit: Raghav Sethi/MakeUseOf
Using Linux gives you a new computing perspective that starts from viewing the command line as an interface for real daily work. The internal workings of your computer are no longer hidden.
Transferring a good understanding of the internal workings of a computer to other operating systems makes you even more accomplished and capable at diagnosing system problems. However, this level of transparency makes it impossible to ignore Linux’s rough edges.
When I knew what a clean system handoff was, some things that I had felt were just inconveniences in Linux started to feel more like failures. A Wayland regression or a broken audio stack becomes unacceptable. I know dependency resolution can be elegant, so I find it irritating to see a commercial OS layering cruft over cruft. So, in improving my technical literacy, Linux also raised my standards to the point where even the tiniest flaws became magnified.
The 95% success rate problem
You can’t ignore the last 5% on professional workflows
Yadullah Abidi / MakeUseOfCredit: Yadullah Abidi / MakeUseOf
Linux is efficient for almost every workflow, and it has even come a long way with gaming, where it was lacking in the past. However, a daily driver is often judged by the 5%, where it’s not great. GPU acceleration is an easy example. It’s refreshing to have NVIDIA’s newer open-source kernel modules, but Windows has the advantage in creativity and technical reliability. CUDA’s consumer and creative tooling remains Windows-first, and NVENC behavior isn’t great either.
AI tooling is another story. My experience has been great running local LLMs via llama.cpp or Ollama. However, features like real-time background removal and vendor AI enhancements that the regular consumer needs for daily workflows are not satisfactory. Consumer AI features that should be integral to a daily driver still feel like an afterthought on Linux.
OBS is an example that affects me a lot. Even though it’s native to Linux, I feel let down because my workflow requires plugins and integrations, and Linux falters in this regard. To date, NVIDIA Broadcast-grade background tools aren’t available. I still use manual v4l2loopback configuration for Wayland virtual camera support. This, in itself, isn’t a dealbreaker, yet it’s another source of friction you’d rather avoid on a daily driver.
Alternatives do not mean parity
Functional replacement vs industry standard
Open-source tools have become very good, though some limitations remain. LibreOffice pales in comparison to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. There is constant frustration when I work on complex Microsoft 365 documents, and LibreOffice can’t carry over the exact elements and formatting.
It’s a similar experience using GIMP because it lacks AI enhancements that make daily workflows easier. Tools like Photoshop have a robust suite of neural filters.
Also, I rely on DaVinci Resolve for professional-grade video editing, and this is a constant in my daily workflow. However, on Linux, the tool works well only with specific GPU setups. If my favorite OS isn’t the better option for the things I have to do regularly, it makes me question what a daily driver should be doing.
Not a religion; a tool
The one reason why Linux can no longer be my daily driver is that it requires me to tolerate a lot of friction just to get through my daily workflows. This, on its own, defeats the aim of a daily driver.
One of Linux’s biggest undoings is that it makes you understand computing up to the point where it’s almost impossible to see past its own rough edges. This makes it harder to use Linux simply out of conviction.
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