And this is why Windows is always the laughing stock. Use Notepad++ for Windows, or literally anything you want (including a fork of N++ called “Notepad qq”) on Linux.
I use linux but I just checked on my windows 11 vm, the paywall is for AI copilot stuff not the core functionality of the app at all.
Dammit! I love notebook. Truly I didn’t know it was Microsoft.
The first thing I do when setting up new Windows environments (for work) is to install Notepad++. Fuck Microsoft.
good cause literally anything else is better than notepad so if this pushes people to download literally anything else instead it’s a good development
hopefully linux.
This is why they got rid of WordPad.
And no, I don’t want AI crap in my basic note-taking app.
I have been a Notepad ++ user for years. I sometimes forget that the Microsoft Notepad even exists.
How do I get started on Linux?
After classes where we learned to interact with a server linux I realized this isn’t half as bad as the stuff I had to do in windows to get my mouse wheel scrolling flipped or troubleshoot MH:W crashes. Then one friend mentioned fedora. Next thing I know in a fit of rage after not finding “show hidden folders” in their usual place I had fedora installed. Other than tricky bits that are hard to realize yourself (like secureboot requiring turned off or key enrollment for some software and linux steam not liking windows filesystem) it was easier than windows.
Theres mint and some gaming distros to pick from, I reccomend just watching a tier list and a video on whatever catches your intrest. Desktop linux is good enough you can just install it and not look back. If you find yourself using the command line often I reccomend googling what the commands mean so you understand what’s happening, as it uses a shorthand. It will make it easier to understand that linux is not harder than windows, it has a different logic to being an advanced user.
Choose an operating system (common choices for newcomers are typically linux mint or ubuntu, but your choice of OS really doesn’t matter imo). Burn the OS image onto a flashdrive, and boot into the flashdrive. Then follow the install instructions onscreen.
Just download Linux Mint and don’t look back. I knew I was done with Windows completely so I quit cold turkey. It forced me to learn how to use Linux instead of running back to a Windows partition. The only reason to dual boot in my opinion is if you need the popular CAD software, or the popular Digital Audio Workstation software, or software like photoshop. If you just browse and game, then you should be fine.
I believe Linux Mint is the oldest beginner distro so it has a wealth of forum posts if you ever have a problem. It also has a bunch of GUI progams included for getting stuff done without terminal, but make no mistake you will have to use the terminal to do stuff on occasion, it all depends how you use you’re computer and how much you want to customize. Don’t be afraid of terminal though, just start with basic YouTube tutorials.
The last piece of advice I feel I should give is when switching to Linux you’ll have to get used to installing software in mutiple ways. Linux Mint is great because you have access to all the major ways software is direstributed on Linux. I use the apt package manager, sometimes by adding new software repos to it, AppImages, Flatpack, and .deb packages. I usually just use whatever method is recommended on a softwares website. For Appimages definitely use the AppImageLauncher manager software.
Last thing. I see a fair number of bad opinions of Cinnamon, the Desktop Environment that ships with Linux Mint, but I’ve never understood why. It’s very familiar to a Windows user, has a simle UI, and has any feature I’ve needed.
That’s my two cents from a relatively recent Windows refugee. I know distro wars can get heated, so remember this is just one opinion on what a good entry point is for the world of Linux.
Linux Mint is based heavily on Ubuntu, which is based on Debian. They also ship a version called Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE), which is based directly on - you guessed it - Debian.
LMDE is what I run on my laptop. I don’t like the direction Ubuntu is going.
What have you tried so far?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAA
HA
HA
HA
AHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAHA
Will you need a subscription to turn-off the computer now?
I imagine adding a fine to using the psu switch would make it truly the year of linux.
I can hear this image
Can’t wait for the task manager to get forced AI support that terminates processes automatically, so that they can paywall it, too…
Are you actually joking
Notepad++.
That is all.
I think you dropped this on the way in, king:
I don’t want to get into a text editor war - because these are all good options - but it’s definitely also worth giving the “Kate” editor from KDE a go, it’s available as a native Windows app from the MS store and everything:
https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9NWMW7BB59HW
I personally find it considerably nicer to use than Notepad++, and it means I don’t have to give up 25 years of muscle memory for keyboard shortcuts when I have to switch to a windows machine.
Also some crazy how, it uses less RAM than Notepad‽ (With no files open, 61 vs 71MB) Not sure what Microsoft are up to, but it’s definitely something strange.
To each their own for sure, but the takeaway here is that there are definitely better notepads than Notepad by now, especially since having AI baked into your plain text editor isn’t something that anyone ever asked for.
At this rate you may a well use a slab of some granite and a chisel, or maybe even vim.
Been using nedit for a long time, then medit aka mooedit. When that became abandonware, I switched to Bluefish. Even though it’s 100% what I need, it’s the best for me, for now.
Sublime Text
In my opinion, Sublime Text is a little bit better for coding based applications, specifically with like HTML and CSS, even though Notepad++ is great for it too, but just for overall drag and drop replace, works with everything, wonderful, free and open source software, it is very, very difficult to beat Notepad++.
Price wise sublime text isn’t that great unless you are coding with it.
Fair, I just don’t like how cluttered Notepad++ feels.
Some people would call that “functionality”.
Sublime Text has all that functionality and more without stealing precious screen space from your valuable text.
Never used Sublime Text but just from the screenshots on their site looks like the only real difference is the menu bars? Do you have to reference the documentation to look up keyboard shortcuts on all the stuff you don’t do often?
No, it’s not vi.
I’ve never heard of notepad++ being referred to as cluttered before. It’s fairly spartan in my opinion.
Cluttered compared to Notepad or Sublime Text.
gedit is available from the Microsoft store.
Seconded!
Does anyone still use Notepad?? xD
At this point anyone that voluntary uses windows is just braindead. I love Linux but if you don’t wanna use that then even Mac is better than that… For now
I disagree, VR, simflight, good cad software, archicad (or if you are somehow deep in stockholm syndrome) adobe need windows. Also smaller stuff like race datalogger data analysis program doesn’t exist on linux. Linux does not have enough users to have solutions for everything. Yet. For kernel AC games, they are bad rehashes anyway and there’s 20 alternative games for each that are better.
Did you mean to suggest that Mac is better than Linux? In what way?
They meant better than what MS is doing. Basically Linux would be choice one, but failing that get a Mac. Until they go the same direction.
Ye exactly
Gotcha. Thanks for clarifying.
