I got rid of windows a while back. My last version was win7. I liked win7, but I had security concerns. Also, I didn’t want to upgrade to the newer versions as they had a host of issues, and 10 in my opinion was a huge, memory eating laundry basket (full of holes) trojan.
I went to Linux mint. I totally wiped my hard drive and installed linux mint 16. My one issue with linux mint involved pc’s with an AMD processor. It works with AMD, but MY pc’s tended to run hot and one of them warped out even. So, I managed to get my hands on a windows 8 laptop with an intel processor, and put Linux Mint 17.3 on it. I LOVE it!! You couldn’t pay me a million to go back to windows..well, you could. I’d buy a windows pc but I’d stick it in a closet.
There are 4 varieties of Linux Mint 17.3. It depends on your computer’s capabilities, and on your personal preferences as well. I like the cinnamon version, others might like the mate version or may need something lighter on the memory which they have, too. You won’t know which your favorite is until you try them out and see which works best on your particular computer.
I use an Acer with the intel processor and have absolutely NO issues. The acers I had with the AMD processor had heat issues. AMD tends to run hot so it may not be a good idea to use mint on an acer laptop, but might work like the dickens on a desktop with some extra cooling mods.
There’s a newer version out...Mint 18 but I’ve not used it and don’t have any basis to praise or criticize it for that reason. If Im not mistaken, there are parts you have to download after the initial install, so I’m thinking that if you aren’t Linux savy, stick to a version that comes with all the programs, and learn the OS first.
I know a lot of people get glib about switching, but honestly, this isn’t one of those posts. I don’t have to worry much about security updates...yes, we have them but our security problems tend to be a lot fewer, and we don’t have to keep a ton of security programs to keep our pc’s safe.
There are a couple of different ways that you can use windows programs on Linux, and if you do, you DO have those old security concerns once again. But, there are solutions for things.
You can run the two OS’s on the same hard drive and choose which system you want to use at boot, or you can make a cd of the linux os and run a live OS on any pc to see if you like it, AND you can use a live linux os to repair a virus damaged windows os...way kewl! Or you can use it to retrieve your personal files if windows gets broken and you can’t boot it. :) Or, go online to get the tools you need to fix your broken windows etc. It’s always a good idea to have a bootable linux disk on hand.
If your machine is too old for win10, you can breath new life into it using Linux,. I tend to favor the mint versons, but Ubuntu is good also. Mint is based on Ubuntu. That’s another option!
Just tossing this all out there in case some of you might have use of it.
There IS a bit of a learning curve...some things are similar, some things are done differently. The syntax and lingo are different as are the software names. Software is free too.
have fun!
It's really not hard. But it's definitely different, and it can be scary at first because of unfamiliarity.
Being an old computer nerd from the 70's, I have had the opportunity to fine tune my system more than most. My setup is Mac Mini hardware configured as follows: