Linux vs Windows 10 for EE programs in 2025 ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: MathWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 10, 2025, 11:41:42 pm
content: I've tried Linux Mint 2-3 times before, for a few months at a time, overall it was ok. But In the end, I always went back to win10 full time. A lot of things seemed easier in Windows, without having to do programming research, on lots of stuff in Linux. And maybe some of my games worked better on win10.Sometime soon, I want to format my main drives, and start fresh with Linux again, but were there some programs or equipment that still need Windows?Of the top of my head, I have a bunch of Siglent gear, a DreamSource Labs Logic Analyzer, a Xgecu T48 programmer, and a DualShock PS4 controller.Is there anything I'd be missing for those, running Linux Mint ? What about the L.A. PulseView programs(for another LA I have), or the Siglent EasyScope type programs ??Getting USB devices working in windows seemed hard sometimes, is that usually easier in Linux, or just as hard ??

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 12:01:03 am
content: Dual boot? Best (or worst) of both worlds?

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 12:32:19 am
content: Install Windows and then install Windows Subsystem For Linux (WSL) - details elsewhere. You will have rhe full Linux (Ubuntu)The GUI user intrface doesn't come with WSL but you can install an X-11 console (details elsewhere). Googlefor 'wsl gui desktop windows 10' and choose a solution. The. Google AI instructions would be my first choice.For my use of Linux on Windows, a GUI console is seldom required. I want the command line interface.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 01:01:13 am
content: Quotesigroks pulseview works fine with ubuntu so shouldn't be any problems with mintQuoteyes

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 02:04:53 am
content: Yup, I'm finally fed up. 1 more win related problem and I will switch to Linux...

author: MathWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 03:33:42 am
content: I was going to put Linux on 1 of my backup PC's, just for programming use, but never got around to it. Maybe I should do that first, as a practice run, and see what works. I still want something that looks like winXP or even win7. Just a command line, is too barren for me, and I like a background picture.My main drive has a partition, and C: is running out of space again, and I just want to start fresh again, and only install what I need (rather than trying to alter the partitions).I have enough drives, I can still put a win10 install on a partition if I want.

author: John B
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 08:47:13 am
content: It would be a good idea to test out all your software on Linux in a virtual machine. Mint is OK, but generally I would recommend something that has lots of up to date packages, like Arch or Fedora.To run your old windows software, you can try running them through Wine. Easier said than done when starting out, so there is a handy program to help with all the environment settings. It's called Bottles, and can be found on Flathub as a Flatpak (it's the official package, steer clear of other versions like Fedora's repackaged ones)In the worst case you could also run a basic, non internet connected (or heavily restricted) virtual machine of Windows inside your main Linux OS.

author: hans
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 08:48:30 am
content: Quote from: MathWizard on October 10, 2025, 11:41:42 pmIf you use Steam, it picks up my DualShock PS4 directly. Inputs are redirected to Steam APIs to games. It does show up as a Xbox compatible controller, which is a bit confusing, but it does work.Are you talking about PulseView from Sigrok? I think that works fine on Linux.EasyScope probably won't work, but looking at Sigilent's download page it also hasn't been updated in over 3 years. deadware?Generally speaking, USB drivers are not needed on Linux. Most device classes are built into the kernel. Devices without support can be handled in user space with libusb.Sometimes you do need configurations though, such as udev rules, but this is more of a user permission system to control which system users can access your hardware devices.Despite I've been using Linux for over 10 years, its not all rosemary.In my experience, the "go slow & stable" builds can have a lot of broken packages or other bullcrap when trying to mix&match it with cutting edge software. Unfortunately, over the years I have seen Debian, Ubuntu, Mint shit their pants even though they were touted as "stable".On my workstation I run Arch, but thats not fine neither. Full of weird glitches and intermittent issues. There is a high "works on my machine" vibe to that distro, which in translation means "this software sucks but I got it to work". I don't want to spend my time as Linux sysadmin.I've ran Arch derivatives before this, not any better, even though frankly I've only started experiencing Arch issues in the last 1-2 years or so (before I ran Manjaro).I'm personally transitioning to Mac OS. At the end of the day, I can't really be arsed about the Linux kernel that much. Mac is just another desktop environment lol. Sure Mac does some things completely differently, and some things are not well thought through, but I haven't had an occassion where it failed on me since it is a "standardized", stable, commercial platform.Example: the other day I want to install NRF Connect for my power profiler kit.I download the software through Arch user repository (which is basically installing the latest version from a script). I install JLink's utility dependencies.I start the software: broken, cannot initilaize PPK device. Googling around.. but of course: my JLink version istoo newand Nordic doesn't want to support anything but Ubuntu. But how can I downgrade JLink's software on my machine? No idea, commence a few more google searches and trial and error to get everything set up right.I take my MacBook, run through the installers, it just works.I take a Windows 10 VM, run through the installers, it just works.Unfortunately, there are more of these kinds of hassles on Linux. Now its not really fault of Linux or Arch itself, its about the 3rd party support. But as long as vendors will only support distros like Ubuntu, which have these same problems but then for cutting edge open source software, it will remain a mess IMO.Initially it was kind of fun to learn about it, but after several years I'm growing quite tired of it.

author: John B
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 08:57:43 am
content: Quote from: hans on October 11, 2025, 08:48:30 amThis can also be distro dependent. Namely, the bleeding edge distros like I mentioned have a lot of extra support. Mint, being based on Ubuntu should also be pretty comparable. I've had the most issues with plain Debian.I was surprised on Fedora that it had inbuilt support for my Logitech steering wheel. The wheel is initially in "Xbox mode", Fedora then sends a message to it to switch to PC mode on connect. Pretty cool.

author: woofy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 10:08:06 am
content: Quote from: MathWizard on October 10, 2025, 11:41:42 pmYes, but there's no reason you can't have both.I'm primarily a Mint user, but I always seem to need Windows for something. My PCB software (Proteus) is windows only and for work I need to support both Linux and Windows. My computer is dual booted with Mint and Win10, but with a separate drive for each.Install windows first and get that running. Then install Mint on the other drive. Mint will detect the Win drive and put it in the boot menu. Make sure the bios is set to boot the Mint drive. I prefer that to using two computers as I have 4 monitors attached to it.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 10:39:08 am
content: I have a few Windows only programs run from Ubuntu, for example LTspice. For those, WineHQ will run most of them. Some Windows programs will run in WINE only after some manual tuning, for example QucsStudio. Some might not work at all under WINE, but usually there are alternative Linux programs that can do the same job.I'm using Kubuntu LTS 2204. BTW, going for the latest and the shiniest version is usually not a good idea. Go for a stable Debian (Ubuntu is based on Debian, and Mint is based on Ubuntu) of at least 1-2 years old. Go for the LTS (long time support) versions, not the yearly rolled versions, those are in fact experimental releases, needed to detect and fix bugs in newly added features.Last time when I've tried Fedora, it felt very corporation-like to me. And it was a rolling distro with almost daily updates, almost like Windows. I don't want changes each week, and don't want new bugs added all the time. I only update for security bugs, and even those updates are manual updates couple of times a year or so.Arch can be tricky to install, and overwhelming for a newcomer. I didn't like it. After all, the distro doesn't matter. The less demanding for me was Ubuntu, and was heaving the biggest repository of programs to install, so I've stayed with it. Kubuntu is Ubuntu but with KDE (now called Plasma) instead of Gnome GUI.The most important thing,don't try to make your Linux to look and behave like Windows. You'll have to change your habbits. Different OSs, different working styles. If you need something that looks and behaves just like Windows, then use Windows.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 10:50:36 am
content: The biggest hurdle when switching from Windows to Linux is the learning curve of figuring out where and how to configure things.

author: u666sa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 10:53:29 am
content: Whether it's mint, ubuntu, or fedora, they all lack something -- ease of use.You want to be able to install any software out there. Anything under the sun. At that, latest version. Plus without monkeying around with the installation half the day to make it work.You need arch linux, with a simple yay command to install anything under the sun, it's the best, and simplest linux out there. It beats them all other linuxes.Choose any desktop you want during the install. Whatever you prefer. You can make it look like mint or anything else out there.With a simple yay -S <package_name> you will be able to install any software out there.As far as dual boot? No. It has to be a didicated machine. You'll be using CrossOver by CodeWeavers to run windows apps. A must, perhaps a must is word and excel, so you'll be running those using CrossOver.

author: u666sa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 10:58:33 am
content: I'll also throw out there another option. That be FreeBSD. It's pretty simple to install, configure and run. Has lesser software base, but none the less, absolutely most things just work. It's stable, error free, and secure. Some people find it a lot more attractive than linux.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 11:43:42 am
content: Same in Debian based distros, like Ubuntu or Mint or who knows what other Debian flavor, except the package manager is apt. You writeapt install <whatever program>and that's it.The difference between the main Linux distros is the package manager, and the repository servers. The rest is the same.- They all run the same Linux kernel. They all use the same GNU programs.- From there, the distro maintainers will pick which kernel version and which GNU programs they make available in their repository, the servers from where one would install new programs.- On top of the Linux kernel and the GNU tools, there is a GUI (Grafic User Interface), or Desktop Environments, which gives the main feel and look of your GNU-Linux. Can be Gnome or Plasma (or KDE), the most widespread. There are a few more to choose from, XCFE, etc.All these components come from "upstream", and each program/tool/component is maintained by various developer groups, or by individual programmers. The distro maintaners make a selection of what software to compile and make available in their distro repositories. Sometimes they might group/adjust/tune the upstream sources, and prepare for you software packages ready to install.- To download and install one such program/package (from the repository servers to your installed Linux), you use a package manager. This is what differs between distros, the package manager. The rest of the software is all coming from upstream.Of course, the size and the skills of the distro maintainers team can make a big difference for the end user. They are the one that choose what to make available and what not, they chose the fine tuning, and they keep track of reported bugs. Also, they might be the developers for scripts or programs specific to a given distro.Roughly speaking all the GNU-Linux distro's are the same software in terms of kernel, tools and programs, except the package manager which is specific to each main distro. Sometimes a distro is based on another main distro, like Ubuntu is based on Debian, so Ubuntu has the same package manager as Debian, which is calledapt. Mint is based on Ubuntu, so I expect it to inherit the same 'apt' package manager from Debian.Aside from that (Linux distros seen as a selection from the same software pool existing upstream, and brought to you by a distro specific package manager) there is another particularity worth mentioning:- some distro's will keep rolling new versions every time the distro maintaners have time to replace the old version with the new one, and this is a continuous process all year long- other distro's will have yearly versions or so, which means once a year, or once every 4 years for LTS, you'll have to migrate your entire Linux distro to a new version, which sometimes might break some things, or add/remove features that might break some of your habitsBoth are OK, so it's up to you if you prefer to have possible annoyances all year long from the updates, or only one big annoyance when the entire system is migrated to a new version. I prefer the former, because I rather prefer older programs but stable, than the most bleeding edge features that I'll never use anyway but with bugs.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 12:12:26 pm
content: IME wanting to run the latest & greatest software is a recipe for a disaster. It takes time to test software and work out incompatibilities. Just like you don't want to run the newest Windows when it is just released, you don't want to run a Linux distro with the latest software. Debian 'stable' is typically behind on versions due to thourough testing but upgrading to newer versions works surprisingly well.

author: u666sa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 03:48:30 pm
content: Quote from: RoGeorge on October 11, 2025, 11:43:42 amOh, don't forget to add custom repo first and sort out any compatibility issues with package dependencies.yay is much more powerful.AUR is where it's at.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 04:40:31 pm
content: Not as powerful as Gentoo's Portage.But since you like yay so much, and since you are such a big fun of Arch, congrats for using the best for you package manager, and the best for you Linux distro.I don't know which incompatibilities you are referring to. The packages in the Debian repository are tested, and should work without problems, or else it's a bug that gets fixed by the distro maintainers. Debian doesn't have AUR-style user repositories.To me, it's an advantage tonothave yet another set of user/community repositories, in parallel with the distro repositories.FreeBSD is BSD, not Linux. It has a certain clarity, and it is more truthful to old UNIX style, but I wouldn't recommend FreeBSD as an alternative to Windows, especially not for beginners. It is very different, requires one to know a lot of details and a lot of inner workings for day to day use and configs. You really have to read and do whatever the install messages asks you to do, and so on. Unless one is a very skillful programmer, with lots of UNIX and Linux knowledge, FreeBSD is too complicated to maintain as the daily workstation.Same for Gentoo (a Linux in which you select and compile only what you want to have). Unless you are a Linux developer, or a programmer with consistent interest and skills in sysadmin task, highly not recommended for beginners. And even if you have the time to tinker with all the details, it was too often (in my experience of only a few months of trying to stay with either Gentoo or FreeBSD) when there was no answer online, and had to debug/fix it by yourself.All you can do is ask the FreeBSD or the Gentoo forums, both have great community, knowledgeable and willing to help, but that is nowhere as easy as finding solutions about how to fix (or about how to do something) in other popular Linux distros.

author: gamalot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2025, 04:51:06 pm
content: I've got WSL2 set up on my main Windows 11 PC, and that pretty much covers most of what I need. That said, I also have other computers running Ubuntu, macOS, and even Windows 7.