Windows-to-Linux

A list to help me keep track of possible software alternatives to make the experience reasonable, otherwise the switch will not happen.

I'm not well versed in Linux, so all the information I have is by doing research and comparing results. So errors, bad choices and mistakes are possible.

The goal is to try and plan the best route before making the switch, to not hop back and forth between operating systems.

Linux

• Fedora https://fedoraproject.org/
  • or Nobara? https://nobaraproject.org/
• Gnome DE

Switch status: ❌

Process

I tend to use open source and FOSS software a lot, which in the most part is available for many platforms or an alternative exists already.

Setbacks (cons)

The following issues are not Fedora specific, they seem to be a general occurance within Linux.

It is common to suggest "just use online/web version" as a solution, but that is not effective, it's simply a forced compromise, unfortunately.

• GPU Drivers:
  • I keep stumbling upon comments about GPU issues, especially when it comes to Wayland
    • Some have opted to switch back to X11, which seems to have solved their issues
    • Wayland has advantages and is still working out its issues. From a user experience point of view, I'm hesitant
    • Noteworthy: Some distros do not support legacy GPUs (ie: Nobara), there is a workaround usually, but it's an "at your own risk" scenario
    • There are detailed guides, which I genuinely appreciate, as it shows the level of care from everyone involved. The downside is that it's a lot to take in as a user [#notes]
  • Some other comments here and there, mostly solvable by tinkering with a config or a setting. Still, a bothersome chore
• Cloud:
  • No alternative or method for iCloud Drive
  • Rclone is a huge learning curve, even with a frontend like Rclone Browser
    • Having auto-sync and mount (local copy) access with my cloud services would definitely be an annoying chore
    • Affects Proton Drive, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive
• Flatpaks are sandboxed by default, which can result in mis-matched themes, no access to folders and such
  • Use dnf/rpm for installing a package if available and maintained, otherwise, use verified Flatpaks
  • Use Flatseal to resolve sandboxed issues, if any
    • As far as I can tell, sometimes the name of the related environment variables are needed, which is a chore, since I'll have to research them when needed
• Internet Download Manager (IDM) alternative [✔️ solved:listed]
  • Specifically its browser extension integration to capture videos and download them
  • ABDM is a close match, waiting on feature progress, if any
  • XDM was a possible choice, but development halted for a long time now [reference]
  • yt-dlp offers a static list, so it's not a viable alternative
• WhatsApp [✔️ solved:listed]

Software

• Browser
  • Firefox (native) [dnf/rpm]
  • Brave (native) https://brave.com/linux/#release-channel-installation
  • Chromium (native) [dnf/rpm]
• Google Drive [#setback]
  • Rclone: https://rclone.org/drive/
  • Gnome Accounts: Online use only
• One Drive [#setback]
  • Rclone: https://rclone.org/onedrive/
  • Gnome Accounts: Online use only, Gnome 46+
• iCloud Drive (none, web) [#setback]
• Proton Drive (none, web) [reference] [#setback]
  • Test: Rclone https://rclone.org/protondrive/
• Dropbox (native) https://www.dropbox.com/install-linux
• MEGA (native) https://mega.io/desktop#download
• Internet Download Manager [IDM] (alternative method)
  • Video sniffers: [✔️ having both extensions seem to provide a good alternative]
    • hls-downloader: Extension for sniffing and downloading HTTP Live streams (HLS)
    • cat-catch: Extension for sniffing resources from a webpage
• Text editor, document viewer, office suit (native, many)
• Media player [mpv + yt-dlp + ffmpeg]
  • mpv: https://packages.fedoraproject.org/pkgs/mpv/mpv/
  • yt-dlp: https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/Installation
  • ffmpeg: https://www.ffmpeg.org/download.html#build-linux
• Image viewer (native, many)
• Music player [museeks] (native)
• Transcoder [Handbrake] (native)
• Remote desktop [RustDesk] (native)
• Password manager [KeePassXC] (native)
• Multi-factor auth [Ente Authe] (native)
• Local share [LocalSend] (native)
• Messaging
  • SimpleXChat (native)
  • Telegram (native)
  • Fractal [Matrix] (native)
  • Discord (native)
  • WhatsApp (Web app, through Brave or Chromium)
• Equalizer [Easy Effects] (native)
• Screen recorder [many, OBS Studio] (native)

Useful

• Rclone Browser: A simple cross platform GUI for Rclone
• Bottles: Run Windows software and games on Linux
• Piper: GTK application to configure gaming devices
• Solaar: Linux device manager for Logitech devices
• Flatseal: A graphical utility to review and modify permissions from Flatpak apps
• Mission Center: Monitor your CPU, Memory, Disk, Network and GPU usage
• Parabolic: A basic yt-dlp frontend
• Lutris: Lutris helps you install games from all eras and from most gaming systems
• Heroic Games Launcher: A games launcher for GOG, Amazon and Epic Games
• Cartridges: A simple game launcher for all of your games
• Dosage: Keep track of your treatments
• Gnome Dconf Editor: A viewer and editor of applications internal settings
• Gnome Tweaks: Customize Gnome DE
• Gnome Extensions Manager: A utility for browsing and installing GNOME Shell Extensions
  • Reference: https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/best-gnome-shell-extensions
• Gnome Firmware: Manage firmware on devices supported by fwupd
• RPM Fusion: Provides software that the Fedora Project doesn't want to ship
• XWayland Video Bridge: Utility to allow streaming Wayland windows to X applications
  • As far as I can tell, this isn't needed anymore (ie: Discord screen share), need to verify
• Fedora recommendations
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZIfjbZN0H8
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYIDoD8VdAw

Notes

• Nvidia Drivers: RPM Fusion => Nvidia Drivers [#setback]
  • Might need libnvidia-egl-wayland1?
  • Useful reference: https://rpmfusion.org/Howto/NVIDIA
  • Useful reference: https://community.kde.org/Plasma/Wayland/Nvidia
• Look into enabling non-free options (ie: ffmpeg), is it just using RPM Fusion or are there other steps?
  • Software Center => enable non-free (ie: 3rd party codec packages)