Leaving Microsoft: Taking the Plunge

 Well, I did it.

I started out with the best of intentions to thoroughly and carefully plan, test and then install. To be fair I did do SOME planning and testing. Just not thorough.

A few weeks back, I took a Saturday, copied all my documents, pictures etc... to an external hard drive. Then I rebooted, and installed Debian version 12.

The first week was a bit problematic. The computer would occasionally freeze. I didn't get to the root cause, but I did resolve the problem.

When I installed, I did not use the default, Gnome windows environment. Instead I switched to KDE Plasma. I am more comfortable with it, as it is more similar to Microsoft Windows in look and feel. It is also more configurable, allowing me to more easily tailor it to my specific needs.

The freezing problem appeared to be related - not to KDE specifically, but to a subsystem used to translate between KDE and the video drivers.

Switching to Gnome removed that subsystem, and the problem went away. There is probably a way to fix it, but again, I'm trying to avoid digging in the guts too much.

So really. Where I have ended up is essentially the default install, which would be fairly trivial for anybody to do. I've made a few minor changes after the fact, but nothing that would be difficult for anyone to do, given instructions. I might try putting together some how-to videos to post on YouTube.

Gnome is taking a little getting used to. I have had to change the way I do a few things. I would say it is neither better nor worse, just different.

All of my critical applications (or their replacements) are working just fine, and I have even managed to move a few of them to more updated versions than what is part of the Debian 12 ecosystem by using an application ecosystem called flathub. It has worked out nicely.

So, all in all, happy with my decision to pivot and revert to Debian. What they lack in "up-to-date-ness" of applications, they make up for in ease and stability.

I did have one totally geek-out moment yesterday. A small detail I suppose, but totally made my day.

I was watching a youtube video when my cell phone rang. I was closer to my phone than the computer, so I grabbed it and answer the call, while racing to pause the video.

But I didn't haven't to. The Linux phone integration automatically paused the video for me the moment I answered the call! It was the coolest thing ever! It was technology as technology should be! Technology working for me, making my life more convenient and enabling me to be more productive and effective.

That moment alone made the switch worthwhile.

So I am now operating Microsoft free, with respect to operating system on computers.

I still need to move to a new email provider. That will be a painful process, as I need to:
1. Find a privacy respecting email provider
2. Set up the new email address
3. Change the email address on all services I use

I might not be fully Microsoft-free until next year, but I am happy with my progress thus far.