100% Linux

For quite a long time I’ve been considering myself a Linux user, and still – most of my free time was spent in Windows. The reason behind this was mainly force of habbit, but back in the days of my Sysadmin years – running games under Linux was a major pain, you had to twiddle and tweak everything with varying results. So for this reason I kept a dual boot setup with Windows being my “spare time” OS. Then came the drawing – my program of choice – ArtRage had no Linux version. Then came the guitar, which I installed and set up under Windows.

So… I spent more and more time in Windows. Until Microsoft decided to push me in the right direction. I’m not installing Win11. I have it at work and this is more than enough. So I decided to try to move most of my usage under Linux.

Gaming

That actually was the easiest part. Just installed Steam and everything… just works. Modding with r2modman was just as easy as it was in Windows – it has a Linux version, and importing mods was a matter of import/export. Non Steam Games can easily be added with Add a non Steam Games. So have my Blizzard games running, my Steam games running, and with “Add Non Steam Games” – I can add other launchers as well.

So yeah – 2026 might actually be the year of Linux gaming. At least for me 🙂

Drawing

This went easier than I expected. Krita already had a Linux version, and ArtRage – I just ran the Windows executable through Steam’s Proton (Add a non Steam game). It just works.

Guitar

This was the actual challenge. Initially my audio setup was busted, thanks to a relatively old Linux installation and multiple reworks of audio. Had to uninstall, purge and install again pulse audio, then add jack and pipewire. Then with the help of coppwr – I managed to setup Reaper so it can use Jack and connect to the audio card. The plugins are a bit trickier, but there are ways of adding Windows plugins, but for now – I’ve been able to use stock VSTs to get a decent metal sound.