Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

The DU Lounge

Showing Original Post only (View all)

VBNMW_Realist

(50 posts)
Tue Jul 14, 2026, 02:53 PM Tuesday

"Macrosoft" Resources Issue [View all]

RAM (random access memory) is the part of the computer which holds the information about what is currently running in the OS. It's like the computer's thoughts. Macrosoft (what I like to call Microsoft because of the data showing that Windows takes up far more space than Linux or even MacOS) has been getting a lot of heat given the increasing price of RAM because of AI projects that aren't living up to their promises.

Meanwhile, Ubuntu runs very comfortably on 8 GB of RAM and even works with no problems on 4 GB if you don’t do that much and know how to adjust the software with compression and swap usage (not to mention lightweight distros designed for old hardware that can sometimes fit on less than 1 GB). For this reason, the dislike for Windows in Linux groups is not merely ideological/philosophical. Increasingly, it is also technical, with this part of the opposition being backed by measurable data. RAM is the biggest area where Windows bloat is visible, especially because RAM is precious, but it can also be seen in disk and even CPU cycle bloat.

Ironically, many Linux users exploit this gap by buying machines with Windows on them and then wiping the OS. One of the benefits is it can make it feel like a supercomputer even though it isn't purely because the OS is lighter and is not running programs that they didn't ask for and may be invading their privacy.

Another thing that Windows can't do easily but Linux can is switch TTYs because each desktop on Linux is on a terminal. On most modern distros, if you create 2 different user profiles, you can switch by pressing Ctrl Alt F2-F12 and log in with Ctrl-Alt-F1.

4 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
"Macrosoft" Resources Issue [View all] VBNMW_Realist Tuesday OP
Is there anything happening in particular that prompted this post? AZJonnie Tuesday #1
RAM Shortage VBNMW_Realist Tuesday #2
I was joking about the obscure/arcane part AZJonnie Tuesday #3
Arcane: Ptah Tuesday #4
Latest Discussions»The DU Lounge»"Macrosoft" Resources Iss...