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Windows is ruining Linux
Or; How a Windows VM is ruining my computing life
I run Linux Mint. For work purposes, I have to use a Windows Virtual Machine, as my emails and access to work datasets and the like are limited by various security requirements. Over the last few months, this Virtual Machine is revealing how much I dislike Windows and its detracting from Linux as a usable and pleasant desktop experience.
Some context: For me, Linux Mint has been rock solid. I’ve used it on an old MacBook Air 11 and a new Framework Laptop 13. All the media codecs work out of the box; it runs all the software I need and it offers surprisingly good battery life with me reaching around 10 hours of light usage on a Framework Laptop. It is, in short, a delight. I’ve even managed to customise it fairly quickly so it doesn’t look like it has come straight out of 1998 but retains its core and robust functionality.
Here’s the rub: You’ll see in the little dock there a Virtual Machine icon. Oh how I hate clicking that icon…
The Belly of the Beast: Windows Daily
I have a Windows VM set up in Oracle VirtualBox. I’ve tried to give it a decent amount of resources, but I don’t want to go nuts. Here’s the setup:
