[ Happy New Year! ]

First of all, Happy New Year! 2025 has been full of challenges, and gave me some insights through my failures to watch out for. As my previous Squad-leader in my job told me once "
-Only those people don't make mistakes who don't even work one single bit" and turns out, I'm learning through my own failures, so... allow me to fail better next time!

I don't post much in my Journal, because I keep my projects unannonced and mostly to myself until things are laid solid and polished, ready to be handled confidently, and I don't feel yapping in the open about myself much anyway, however I thought I would share this one little update in life.

[ Prologue ]

I'm sure most of you must have heard by now that Microsoft has been crossing far too much red lines in relatively short time that it ticked off a lot of nerve in people. While Microsoft has not affected me much for having been running Windows 10 since 2015, and Win10 has served me well, still do. My concern is that I've seen what Microsoft is capable doing, even remotely with existing-, functioning Win10 installations. I don't want to wait for the day when they would remotely ruin the installation I spent days to fine-tune it with tools I need for art or every-day usage, nor do I wait for them to pull a stunt violating my privacy. So I had to make a decision.

[ Decision ]

Now, I've been planning this exodus for years, but where to move to? Mac? Initially I thought I would, and the moment I tried to migrate to it, I started to notice restraints that just personally wouldn't sit well with me. I had to turn the MacMini back to the retail and practice my right to reclaim my money (this is a law in Hungary you are entitled to use) within 14 days from purchase.

[ LINUX - Technical details ]

So this narrowed my choice down to Linux, the only dilemma I had to find solution to is: How to run Clip Studio Paint on it? Well, the answer was Wine, and still is Wine. To my surprise it worked, and still works. The only downside I faced so far is that you won't be able to use Clip Studio's launcher window much beyond a blank white window and the ability to click "Draw".
Long story short: Clip Studio Paint works on CachyOS Linux with compatibility mode Windows 8.1

I will keep Krita ready to use just in case one day this fragile setup on CSP would break all of the sudden, because we're on Linux, things MIGHT break, and it's a good practice to be prepared for it, and keep regular backups.

You might think I'm a bold / fool / madman for relying on Linux without even any dual-boot, yes. My reason is solid, and made with profound preparation: Microsoft has crossed lines far too much, I wanted an OS that respects my choices, works for me, and the system is without AI-agents snooping over my shoulder. My computer is mine, and so is the data on it. Win 11 Bitlocker isn't there to protect YOU, Win 11 computer's hidden spy
Then again I know that there are people out there who also use Linux and drawing on it well by now, and it has been inspiring to see them using them confidently, and while there were many features I've been missing from Krita, now it's up to me if I'm going to adapt to it, or flee from it relying on a (still working for now) CSP setup.

[ Final verdic ]

Thank you for reading through all this summary of sharing with you what I've been partially busy with among many other things. =) This journey has been a long one for years, and it's been planned for a while now as it's also a part of my profession. However the job I have earns me (enough) money, but stagnating in it will burn me up in the long run, so I thought I would have to ensure my hobby as well, which is arting, but also ensuring the integrity of privacy with it. Arting on Linux has been nothing new to me, but after nearly two decade I'm returning to it, and I hope this will positively impact the quality and the production! Wish me luck!