These 5 simple Linux tools make Windows 11 look outdated

I’m primarily a Linux person, however generally I’ve to return to Home windows for work or gaming. Each time I do, I discover that Home windows hasn’t advanced in any significant manner since I first used it. In comparison with Linux, it feels prefer it’s caught in time. Let me clarify what I imply.

Tiling home windows

For the previous couple of months, I’ve been utilizing Hyprland on my important workstation, and it’s been essentially the most enjoyable I’ve had with computing shortly. Hyprland is a dynamic tiling window manager. I’ll clarify what meaning first.

A window supervisor, in case you don’t know, is part of the working system which decides how utility home windows look, the place they’re positioned, and the way they behave. On Home windows, the window supervisor provides you free floating home windows, which you’ll be able to then drag round, resize or snap side-by-side with different home windows utilizing the preset layouts. The sort of window supervisor is the commonest one and the type you’ve most likely used essentially the most.

There’s one other form of window supervisor which doesn’t show free-floating home windows at random. As a substitute, every time a brand new window or pop-up is launched, the window supervisor neatly slices the present window in half to make room for the brand new one. On this manner, a full display window turns into two halves or “tiles.” You possibly can repeat this slicing as many instances as you need.

The most effective half is, you don’t have to resolve the place to put the brand new window as a result of the window supervisor dynamically adjusts the position of each new window. So a window supervisor that may “tile” home windows dynamically can be a dynamic tiling window supervisor, and that’s precisely what Hyprland does.

Every part is keyboard managed: you turn between home windows utilizing Tremendous+Arrow keys, you shut home windows with Tremendous+W, resize them utilizing Tremendous+R after which arrow keys to alter the scale, and you may even leap between digital desktops by utilizing Tremendous+the quantity row. It takes just a bit little bit of an adjustment interval, however when you study the keystrokes, you’ll really feel the mouse slowing you down. It took me a couple of day to study the shortcuts and a day or two extra to begin utilizing them purely with muscle reminiscence. It’s been months since I switched to this tiling setup and I by no means wish to return.

The position of home windows and their conduct may appear trivial on the floor, however the window supervisor could make an enormous distinction within the computing expertise.

Linux permits you to set up new window managers and swap out the default one. You possibly can even replace the entire desktop environment.

Reside-bootable working programs

Once you set up Home windows, you’re taken by way of a setup expertise, and you may solely strive it when the OS is absolutely put in and up to date. Meaning it’s important to absolutely exchange the present model of Home windows to expertise the brand new one, and if you find yourself disliking it, you’ll must reinstall the older model to roll back the upgrade.

Credit score: Archive.org

Putting in Linux isn’t like that. You don’t have to put in the seemingly infinite number of distros simply to strive them as a result of Linux allows you to take a look at drive the OS earlier than you commit.

When you’ve created a bootable media for the Linux distro and loaded it, you’ll be taken to a full-fat model of the OS. That is known as a dwell bootable surroundings—a full, functioning working system that simply launches off a USB stick with out putting in.

You possibly can expertise the OS, take a look at options, set up new apps, and simply “take a look at drive” the working system earlier than putting in it. No everlasting adjustments will probably be made to your important system till you put in the Linux OS.

Some folks even configure the bootable USB media with one thing known as persistence, which lets you carry a complete transportable working system on a USB stick. A dwell USB with persistence enabled can plug into any laptop and launch your working system with all of your information, apps, and settings able to go. Some Linux distros are purpose-built to run off a USB stick and RAM with native persistence help. Working programs like these are excellent for reviving old laptops and PCs which now not help fashionable software program since they will run fully on RAM.

Credit score: Pet Linux

Puppy Linux, for instance, solely requires 512MB RAM and a Pentium 2 processor to run, and it’s a fully-functional graphical working system that may run fashionable apps. Think about operating a contemporary browser on a pc from 2005—Pet Linux makes it attainable. I’ve truly examined Pet Linux on a kind of previous Dell Latitude laptops, and I used to be pleasantly stunned by how usable it was (apart from some Wi-Fi points that I needed to type out).

Totally configurable updates

If there’s one factor Linux unequivocally does higher than Home windows, it’s system updates. All of it boils down to at least one idea: Linux lets the person resolve, and Home windows decides for the person. Anybody who makes use of Home windows for any period of time ultimately runs into the dreaded Home windows replace display ultimately. Home windows updates are computerized and principally put in with out warning or permission. You may want the pc urgently for work, but when Home windows decides to put in an replace, that you must sit by way of the replace (nonetheless lengthy it takes as a result of there’s no option to cease it both, since you danger breaking your system) earlier than you should use it.

Credit score: Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek | Melnikov Dmitriy / Shutterstock

Linux does it in another way. You’ll by no means see a “Please wait, Linux is updating” message throughout boot on a Linux machine. The person will get to decide on when to replace and what to replace. Linux handles software program updates by way of its package deal managers (extra on these in a couple of) which require a command from the person to replace the system. You possibly can run a full system improve with a easy command like:

sudo pacman -Syu

When you run a command like that, the package deal supervisor robotically seems to be for out there updates and installs them within the background. It doesn’t interrupt your work in anyway, in contrast to Home windows, which might’t set up system updates whereas the pc is operating. Most updates don’t even require a reboot, however even when they do (for instance, to load a brand new kernel), it’s no completely different from an everyday reboot. The pc restarts with none interruptions, so you’ll by no means see a loading display like “Don’t flip off your system, Linux is updating.”

In brief, you select when to obtain and set up system updates. They set up within the background, and also you by no means have to sit down by way of a system replace display throughout shutdown or reboot.

Killall

Lengthy-time Home windows customers know that generally apps freeze, and you may’t shut them with the “X” button, however if you open up the Process Supervisor to pressure terminate the app, it simply refuses. The “Finish Process” button that closes apps would not work, after which you possibly can’t even use the Process Supervisor. It occurs extra usually with buggy apps or low-end computer systems, however I feel most Home windows customers have skilled it sooner or later or one other.

Credit score: Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek | MonicaZ82 / Shutterstock

What do you do then? You possibly can both attempt to open the command-line terminal and use the killtask command to finish that particular program, or you possibly can reboot the pc. The difficulty with the ‘killtask’ command is that you just want the precise course of ID to make it work. In case you don’t know that or the precise program file, you can not force-quit utilizing the terminal. The one choice is rebooting the pc.

I feel we are able to all agree that’s not one of the best ways to deal with job administration. Linux does it higher. You don’t have to know the precise course of ID, file title, or fiddle with a GUI app simply to finish a job. On Linux, you possibly can simply open a terminal, sort ‘kill’ adopted by the app title and it’ll instantly quit the app. For instance, you would force-quit Firefox like so:

killall firefox

There gained’t be any affirmation prompts or failed makes an attempt to shut the app. It simply works each time and it really works immediately. With tags, you get granular management over job administration. You possibly can kill processes and apps operating as a selected person or type them by how lengthy they’ve been operating.

Package deal managers

You could have heard that Linux machines very not often (if ever) get contaminated with viruses and malware, however on Home windows it’s widespread. The reason is that extra malware is designed to focus on Home windows programs, however that’s not the entire story.

To put in software program on Home windows (excluding the Microsoft Retailer), you’re supposed to go to a web site and obtain a .exe or .msi package deal, after which manually run the graphical installer or wizard to put in it in your laptop. That’s a horrible concept from a safety perspective. You may unintentionally obtain a faux installer simply by clicking the mistaken obtain button someplace, infecting your system or community. Malware like this might spy on you, steal your information, or lock it for ransom. Even legit installers may sneakily set up adware, load a webpage, change a default, or a second program simply since you forgot to uncheck a small field someplace on the setup wizard and clicked ‘Subsequent.’ That’s why we used to get these toolbars on our browsers with out explicitly putting in them.

Eradicating software program on Home windows is simply as unhealthy. First, you possibly can’t take away multiple program at a time on Home windows with out a third-party app. Secondly, Home windows makes the app accountable for eradicating itself from the system. Apps with poor uninstallers depart behind ghost information and providers, which it’s important to manually monitor down and take away from the system. Extra time, these leftovers simply take up disk house that would have been usable in any other case.

Putting in, updating, and eradicating software program on Linux is completely completely different. All these issues are dealt with by a single program known as a package deal supervisor. A package deal supervisor, like APT for Debian or pacman for Arch, is a command-line software that hooks into trusted software program repositories to robotically set up and replace apps. These apps are digitally signed, so that you will be positive of the software program integrity. You don’t have to manually monitor down and obtain a package deal, then click on by way of an installer to load it onto your system. It’s all dealt with for you with an automatic set up.

For instance, you would seek for the Firefox browser utilizing the pacman package deal supervisor like so:

sudo pacman -Ss firefox

Discover the precise package deal title of the app you’re making an attempt to put in, or if you already know it already, skip the search and simply immediately sort it as follows:

sudo pacman -S firefox

You possibly can often Google the precise package deal title in case you can’t discover it by looking the repos. Then you definitely simply press Enter, verify the set up by urgent ‘Y,’ and pacman will instantly set up the app for you.

On Debian you would use a command like this:

sudo apt set up firefox

You might replace the app utilizing:

sudo apt replace firefox

Additionally, you would take away the app with this command, which absolutely clears the app out of your system with none leftover providers or information.

sudo apt take away firefox

Home windows has began to undertake related package deal managers like Chocolatey and Winget however they’re not as highly effective or extensively supported.

There are different instruments like Timeshift and terminal shells that I didn’t cowl, however they’re higher than their Home windows counterparts, and I consider the longer you utilize Linux instruments, the extra outdated Home windows begins to really feel.