As others clarified the design and software is open so you cn get it otherwise as anyway it’s not sold anymore.

Regarding the price yes it’s high but IMHO if you use it hours daily for years it might be worth it still. If it’s just yet another gadget then probably not.

Thanks for the clarification, makes me wonder if there are compatibility matrices to check what hardware works where but also automated benchmarks because I’m honestly skeptical of significant performance changes over minor versions except on very specific cases, basically bug impacting performances.

the software is dependent on Bonjour

Might want to look at Avahi instead of relying on the official implementation and Wine.

FWIW CLI is 99% not actually writing with reverse-i-search, it’s mostly typing once then recovering, optionally editing, then executing again.

And yes switching work is drastic… but if it’s 8hrs/day for years on, it might be the most important decision still. I understand it’s not an easy one though so I’m not pushing for it.

Had that conversation at a bar with a smart wise friend. Basically went like this :

• Bob : privacy is important
• Alice : sure, but I have nothing to hide
• Bob : OK, so what’s your salary
• Alice : I don’t mind telling you
• Bob : cool, do you mind if I tell that random stranger?
• Alice : hmmm OK, no problem
• Bob : now do you mind if I sell that information to a stranger?
• Alice : well…
• Bob : and how about I sell it to them but I do not share any of that with you?
• Alice : no, that’s not fair.

TL;DR: privacy, or lack of, isn’t really what triggers people, what does is the abuse of it.

Filemaker 19 pro … replacement for Directory Opus but for Linux?

So… this is a long shot but I’d recommend to reconsider how you work. Switching to Linux is already amazing while also being demanding. Still, there are genuine alternatives to pretty everything on any OS, not just Windows.

What is more challenging IMHO but also more interesting… is reconsidering how you work, not just the tools you enjoyed so far. So yes, as others pointed in the thread there are custom file managers (beyond the default or popular ones) but, and please hear me out, there is also the command line. I know… I know it is VERY different but that’s a good thing! If you already looked and used an alternative file manager it means you are a power user. The command line (or CLI for short) is precisely a way to have MORE freedom to manager files. There are countless tools that one can combine to modify files. It will take a while to learn but it’s definitely worth it. A good starting point could be https://wizardzines.com/zines/bite-size-bash/

For the other software… well if it’s from work, even though I’d also suggest to look at alternatives, e.g. learning Python/Tkinter or even low code FLOSS alternatives or Web based one… you might not have that freedom. Consequently I’m going to make an even more outlandish suggestion : if your work does not trust you to pick your own tool… maybe reconsider your workplace? I know, bit crazy but long term, might still be worth it.

Apologies for the life changing suggestions!

Debian, but with latest kernels to improve gaming experience.

Genuine question as I’m a basic gamer but not a super performance oriented one (namely, I click “Play” and I enjoy with basically default settings) what PikaOS kernel version is available now (6.15.0 AFAICT from their wiki) versus current Debian stable (6.1.140-1 (2025-05-22) AFAICT from uname) feature is differentiating for gaming?

I understand, beyond security implication, that having a newer kernel should be “better” in general terms but if I take e.g 6.15 vs 6.1 what actual difference does it makes? Is it like a 1% FPS increase? It is a feature e.g. FreeSync/FSAA/etc that the driver itself require?

PS: I admit it’s an in depth question because I have frequent “arguments” about people criticizing the “slow” Debian stable so this is kind of an excuse to understand what I am actually missing.

For my next pc I’ll use linux

Check my post history but that’s pretty much my #1 transition recommendation : do check that your future hardware is actually compatible. Most is… but you don’t want to risk it when it’s relatively easy to check!

PS: if you can, try to buy from manufacturers that do NOT sell a PC with a Windows installation. Ideally do buy something pre-built, try to give money to companies that even do ship with Linux installed. It’s economically and morally nicer but also insure that your setup will 100% work.

100%, I deleted Windows partition (despite paying for it, thanks OEM deals…) only after Proton was insuring I could play the games I wanted on Linux too, no reboot required.

If you login with Google on your phone with an OS made by Google then you can expect ALL the content on that phone to be potentially at least processed by that company which might including sending back data in some form.

That’s not just Google or Microsoft, it’s any operating system. The OS can see everything you can see and more. If you do not trust the maker of the OS then you have a problem that no application ran by that OS can solve. encryption in all its forms, e.g. encrypted disk, E2EE or homomorphic encryption do not matter if you are on an “end” (e.g. your phone or desktop) that you do not trust.

May I interest you in a mechanical BT kbd? I use the same on my phone (when traveling) and my desktop, great experience.

(model if curious : Corne-ish Zen with my keymap)

Sell your GPU/laptop and get one that is well known to be supported. Honestly its surprising because NVIDIA/AMD do work well so maybe you have specific features which aren’t yet well supported?

Anyway my point is that changing hardware seems overkill right now yet if you spend a lot of time, say dozens of hours, to “fix” problems intrensic to Windows that will probably keep on worsening, you would otherwise work or play, then it is probably economically viable to switch now rather than wait for your next purchase if you do assume you will give up on Windows for decades to come, especially ad you already use Linux on your laptop

TL;DR: get properly supported hardware, today or later.

I would look for something interactive e.g LFS but in containers (or VM or WASM VM) with checkpoints with instructions, something risk free yet hands on.

Not for books.

FWIW the transition is :

• rely on OS default hosting, e.g iCloud
• disable iCloud and use another “cloud” provider
• self-host as cloud provider
• give up on Apple devices entirely, and go on to remove any other device that tries to do so
• enjoy, help others to do the same

Great example of why a safety net is required.

Yes hopefully the “base” setup works once you installed it, hopefully manage through some updates, some even tinkerings… but what happens when it break?

Windows (despite all the criticism, and I’m one of the first to complain about Microsoft the corporation) usually has been fallback mechanisms. It can usually rollback an update. It usually has a hidden recovery partition. It usually has an alternative medium to recover (e.g. USB stick, CD-ROM back in the days, etc).

So… you genuinely did try to help your mother but do not give up. Try instead to provide a better safety net so that she is genuinely safer. In fact I would recommend testing it together, make it a learning adventure. One way to do so would be to go there, help her fix it… then botcher the setup together! Delete system files, etc, then try again. Obviously the 1st step is insuring her own data (e.g. family photo, documents, etc) is safe.

While doing so, you might also want to setup up remote control, or not. Anyway a LOT of things to genuinely discover together.

IMHO if you do do it, she will not only appreciate the effort but assuming you do manage, she’ll have a new sense of pride, both in you but also herself and share the experience with her friends. This in turn might bring more people in!