Many Linux users have these problems in Windows

Oct 30, 2014 10:10 GMT  ·  By

Many Linux users out there dual-boot with a Windows system, or they just use the two operating systems separately. An interesting thing happens when you're in Windows and you try to do something that you think is normal, but that feature doesn't exist.

Not everyone can move completely from one operating system to another. It would be nice to stop relying on the OS made by Microsoft, but some tools and situations really require this particular system. I found out that some of the features in the Linux systems I use, mostly Ubuntu or Linux Mint, are taken for granted. We don't appreciate them enough and they are sorely missed on Microsoft's platform.

It happened to me more than once to try to do something, only to realize that it's not supported by Windows. It seemed logical and I couldn't understand, for a fraction of a second, why it didn’t work. I soon realized my mistake, so this list could be something to actually look for in Windows 10, although I seriously doubt that it will happen.

Some features you didn't know you liked

I fancy a number of features in Linux, like holding the Alt key and dragging the window. This is a normal thing on Linux and it's extremely useful. You can't really do this in Windows. It's an ingrained gesture for me and I tried it more than once in Windows before realizing it's not supported.

Looking for the close or minimize button in the wrong place is also pretty common. On Ubuntu, for example (and on Mac OS, although it doesn't make any sense there), the window buttons are on the left-hand side of the screen, and the reason for that is simple. Everything else is there as well, including the dock. On Windows, the buttons are on the right side, even for the launcher (the start button is on the left as well).

Showing the hidden files in a folder is done with great ease in Linux systems. Depending on the distro you're using, the key combinations might be different. In Ubuntu it’s CTRL + H, but there is no such shortcut in Windows. I tried to reveal the hidden files a couple of times with that key combo, but that obviously didn't work as planned.

In Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, the developers added the option to see the menus for an application in the header bar, on the same level with the window buttons. This freed some of the applications, and it makes sense. Well, it makes sense in Ubuntu, not in Windows.

The last one on my list is not really that important, but it happened more than once in Windows 8.1. I started typing "terminal" in the Metro interface to open the Command Linux prompt. It didn't work, and related to the same topic, typing "sudo" is also pretty useless, since there is no sudo package in Windows.

I can't be the only one going through the motions, so if you have a funny story about this issue, please share it with the rest of us.