Honestly, if I want a system that will replace a desktop, why shouldn't I just get a better desktop? It should be possible to find a prebuilt that is more powerful than the laptop replacement for the same price.

Even what I call my "big" laptop isn't a monster as far as laptops are concerned, and it is still not particularly heavy, though it *is* more powerful and heavy than my "small" laptop.

(I really do liie my small laptop, and I note that Windows isn't really viable on a laptop with Chromebook-tier specs, whereas Linux is.)

Also, one other date point: I have both a laptop HDD and an SDD on my desk, and feeling them, the HDD definitely feels heavier. (The SSD is currently attached to the Raspberry Pi I'm typing this on, while the HDD isn't connected.)

Or you could use a system that rarely needs major updating, like Debian stable or Alma/Rocky Linux.

(You still get security updates as long as the OS is supported, which is a very long time, but there shouldn't be any breaking changes.)

A sect of Linux fanatics is coming after you.

These days, I think the only major modern Liunux distribution where users are expected to compile their own kernels is Gentoo (and maybe its downstream Funtoo), and even then there's genkernel.

Two words that strike fear into any Windows user:
Blue Screen

A desktop replacement is a laptop that is intended to serve the same function for the user as a desktop would, while still being portable. You can't seriously be this wonk, can you? Do you even play games? A chromebook, seriously?

Actually, I *have* played games on my small laptop, with Ikenfell being the most recent one.

(Worth noting that the game wouldn't play on my desktop because the integrated GPU was too old, but it runs smoothly on this laptop. Not every game needs a powerful machine.)

and be stuck in 1990 (like the previous debian website (as a web developer I found it hilarious).
Joke aside debian is good and I like stability, but I also like some not-breaking changes once in a while. Using Debian is like using a really old system like xp (of course better since it's still supported)... There is nothing wrong with it, but I prefer modern system.

I used linux a lot, in dual boot, even as a main system in the past, even without windows for a while (I was even able to convert all my software to open source native alternatives and I still like that, that's why most of my software on windows is still what I used on linux)... And for every game I made a wine wrapper (if the game was not native).
But I had to continue to use windows/mac at work (I switched work a lot and some used a macbook for reasons). At some point I switched to mac for a few year just to try it (i was curious and wanted to develop something for ios), it was a good experience... like a linux distro with a better interface and more regular software and to my surprise most of the thing I used on linux was there too.
When apple decided to switch off 32 bit compatibility wine for mac stopped working so I had to switch (not only for that reason of course, the hardware was too expensive. It seems trivial but it is not given that there was a short period in which on ultra-light laptops apple was convenient).
I switched back to windows/linux dual boot with linux as my main system... but when windows 10 was out I just started to like it more and more until I decided to just go with windows as my main system again and when I tried the sub-system Linux I removed the dual boot.

Right now I use a desktop pc (my needs have changed over time) and I think I'm done with distros... I just use open source software on windows, it works great after all. And when I need linux there is the sub system.

Also, there are closed souce software that I like and I want to use like games, Unity3d and Affinity Photo (sorry but Gimp sucks even for basic stuff... I'm a developer so I don't need photoshop or even affinity photo... but I still use affinity sometimes because it was cheap and it works great, gimp it's free but don't even work for my basic usage (the text on images is really bad)).
Of course most of the open source software is amazing (I still cannot believe that blender is free and open source, suck a great software).

I'm not saying that Microsoft offers backwards compatibility out of some high ideal / the goodness of their heart, but Apple not caring for it and pulling the plug on 32 bit - I saw that coming 500 YEARS AGO. Ok, maybe I exaggerate a bit...
In the 90s, Macs were fine machines for graphics and audio/midi... I would've bought one if I could afford one. Nowadays, I don't see the incentive (for me personally).

Wow, you were serious, you actually are that wonk! I mean, you probably don't even know what a dedicated GPU is which explains why you're having this odd conversation with timppu where you're pretty much asking someone why and how he has a laptop that can run modern games.

Modern technology is much more powerful than your chromebook, we've moved on since then. The weight difference between a gaming laptop and a chromebook really only matter if you're an 85 year old man who is too weak to pick up a newspaper. Timppu wasn't saying that an HDD and an SSD are physically the same weight, but that compared to the whole weight of the laptop it wasn't something to make a fuss about.

I still can't believe you were serious about all this... it's really wonk.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_replacement_computer

"Desktop replacement" is a commonly used term that refers to bigger, heavier and more powerful laptops that people can consider even as their only computers. So they are powerful enough to replace the need for a more powerful desktop PC, unlike some smaller and lighter laptop that one might buy only as their secondary PC, not used for e.g. heavy gaming.

Also they are not the kind of laptops that one takes out of a bag and starts using on their lap on crowded bus, but mainly taken out when there is a table, ie. a desktop, where one can use it more comfortably.

It does not refer them to be used exactly like desktop PCs, e.g. that they will always remain in the same place, or use an external monitor (I don't use an external monitor with that particular laptop as its 17" internal screen is big enough for comfortable all-around use) etc.

So, no, a real desktop PC does not replace a "desktop replacement" laptop. :) I still sometimes move it around to different rooms, I've even taken it with me abroad to Thailand a couple of times in the past etc.

Maybe, but then moving around such desktop, along with its monitor, speakers, keyboard etc. even inside my home would be a bitch, and I wouldn't want to take it with me abroad either, or bring to our summer cottage.

And, it can't run on battery power either, if needed. Unless I bought a big and bulky UPS unit for it as well.

didnt those die out like years ago?:O
old tales dont frighten me

I guess that there are plenty of other users like me, who are using only Windows (not counting using android on mobile devices), but not exactly with too much "love" for Windows or Microsoft. Not to mention about my, rather negative, attitude toward Bill Gates activity, ironically, more related to his "non-Microsoft" activity.

It's rather due to practical things (of course games, but also some software and "getting used to", plus not finding the reason to even try using Linux).

I'm not especially proud of it, that I don't have skills to be fluent with Linux. I know about those more "user-friendly" distributions with adequate interface/etc, but... Truth be told, I was observing my brother who is using regularly Linux for some time and usually it's just a matter of time before you will need to make some tweaks or operations via console.

To conclude - Yes, I'm using Windows and from perspective of a bit lazy user, who "got used to" Windows, I could tell that for my needs Windows is better than Linux. But it still doesn't change the fact that I don't like stuff like forced updates, internet activation, being vulnerable for viruses and malware etc.

Blue screens can still happen. If there's a hardware issue, or a bug in the kernel or a device driver, the kernel can still get into a situation that shouldn't be possible, and at that point, the kernel has no choice but to panic, which results in a blue screen of death. And, of course, there's a way to force a BSOD to occur, as I mentioned earlier in this thread IIRC.

(For example, if you were to open the computer and pull out a stick of RAM while it's running, a blue screen is likely. Or if the drive fails in a way that corrupts the kernel or a device driver, or corrupts the swap file in a way that the kernel can't recover from. Or, if a page fault occurs in the code that handles page faults.)

(In any case, a BSOD either means a hardware problem, a kernel or device driver bug, or the user manually triggered a BSOD, with the third case being the least likely.)

I don't think there is anything wrong in not wanting to even try out something (like Linux) if one is already comfortable enough where he is, doesn't have any real reason to try out "alternatives", not even out of curiosity.

For instance, if someone told me I could install (dualboot) MacOS (or OS X or whatever it is called nowadays) on my PC along side Windows (or Linux), I would be like "ok, cool, I guess?". I just don't have any real interest to try it out, I don't see what benefit there would be for me either. (On the other hand, I am somewhat interested in trying out those Apple M1 laptops, but not for the OS, but the ARM-based CPU performance, battery life etc...)

Or in the past, when I was perfectly happy with Windows 95 while my friend was raving about how great OS/2 Warp is... I was like "ok" but had no real interest to try it out, even though he kept harping how much better and more advanced Warp is and can run Windows programs too and whatnot. I was already happy with Windows 95.

Or that ReactOS. I dunno, I am somewhat interested in the concept that some is trying to make a free "Windows replacement"... but at this point I have no real interest to try it out.

So sue me.

* You actually can install MacOS on a normal PC; it's called a Hackintosh. (Or you can use Boot Camp on an Intel Mac.) So, there, I've told you that.
* There's an effort to port Linux to the M1; it's called Asahi Linux. So, it looks like you can have an Apple M1 laptop running Linux (though only a few things currently work; according to the wiki they've only been able to log in through serial so far, which is not enough for me to consider it usable)

Macintosh OS version 10. I have Windows 7, Windows 10, Arch (Lxde) , Mac OS 10 (High Sierra), a partition for Clonezilla. so I can back all of the OS's up and do whatever the heck I want. Despite all this, I stick with Windows 7 because I only have everything else for compatibility reasons (things that don't work in windows 7).

Linux isn't immune to viruses, in fact if you install WINE you're vulnerable to viruses that target windows!

If you really believe linux is immune to viruses, try running this command sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda , Arch makes things perfectly clear and informs its users that there have been man in the middle attacks on the infrastructure in the past to distribute viruses instead of the actual updates people were hoping to download (and they emphasize checking the checksum because of this.)

I've tried ReactOS, it's very unstable and failed to even boot on my hardware.