As some may have seen from earlier posts I am fairly annoyed with Microsoft products, most particularly the Windows Operating System.
They keep modifying the system and taking more and more control over it every time they "upgrade." Now, with the current version of Windows 10 they require a monthly update, regardless of whether we want one or not, regardless of not being informed about what they keep "updating."
They keep loading crap on my computer I do not use...it's a PC not a hand-held communication device! I neither want nor need all these applications they seem to think I need and upload without my knowledge or consent. Moreover, with all this proprietary legal legerdemain they keep adding to their terms of use and service...who knows what monitoring and data-collecting programs they are inserting?
Seriously, just how many "critical updates" does a system need? Isn't that was frickin Anti-Virus software is supposed to handle?
In any case, I was looking at the possibility of replacing Windows with a less intrusive operating system and LINUX seems to be the top of the list for alternatives.
So, for any of you PC experts out there with some good advice? I am listening.
I've been using Linux for nearly 10 years, and exclusively for probably the last 5 or so.
I have to say the downsides are getting to be very few, with Steam addressing the gaming issue and desktop Linux truly coming into its own since around the turn of the decade.
I would recommend Linux Mint Main Release without reservation, to a Linux newbie of any level -- including someone who's a newbie to computers themselves (yes, I've gotten people like that using Linux fluently in under a week). My total computer geek of a dad, who had been in IT since the 80's, also used Linux Mint as his main operating system.
The entire focus of Linux Mint is to be a user-friendly desktop OS that is uncomplicated and doesn't get in your way, but can still be customized if you want to.
In terms of the general way it functions, it's a bit like old-school Windows. Remember proper taskbars? Yeah, those are still a thing in Linux.
It's very low resource, and it will add life to your aging computers. I've gone from a computer dying with Windows, to quick on Mint main release, and then when even that got slow, I eked out another year by switching to Mint XFCE. :lol:
It's a very easy install -- 10 minutes, fully graphical. It comes with all the stuff most of us use: a browser (Firefox typically), an office suite (Libre), music player, basic image editor, Flash, etc...
Now, downsides. Pretty straight-forward: sometimes, the program you're used to doesn't work in Linux.
This isn't as bad of an issue as it used to be. Skype, Spotify, Chrome -- all that works in Linux. And like I said, gaming is starting to make the leap too, thanks to Steam.
But sometimes, it's just not there yet. And other times, the programs are proprietary and won't give Linux licensing. For example, you can't have Windows Office, iTunes, etc.
But there is always a decent substitution. You just might have to try stuff out.
Now, speaking of software, the way it works with Linux is a little different. Some things will just have a regular download link for Linux users on their website, like Skype for example. But sometimes they won't, or sometimes you need to use a different Linux-compatible program.
So, you go to your package manager. This is the place where software lives for you to download, that is essentially guaranteed to work on your OS. The package manager is really the only thing that is definitely different about Linux compared to Windows, but it's very simple. Either type in the program name to the search box if you know what you want, or select a category if you just know what SORT of program you want. And then there's programs for you to choose from.
Updates are fairly frequent, but non-intrusive. I can carry on doing whatever while they download without any notable lag in performance. I can also just not install them -- there are NO forced updates. Linux is also pretty hardcore about user rights and privacy, as you might imagine.
Oh, and it's also pretty hard to get a virus.
I'd say Linux in 2016 is a very competitive option, especially with a price tag of "free." It had more compromises back when I started using it, but that is less and less the case every year.
Hell, the computer I'm using now came as a Windows machine with a touch screen, and when I installed Linux, the touch screen worked without any additional fiddling, which was not the case in, say, 2010. Quite impressive really, for an operating system to be able to accommodate something like a touch screen without even having any idea what sort of machine it's going to be installed on.
It's come a very long way, and I think if you want an OS that's light on its feet and stays out of your way, you'll be very pleased.
