Posted on 03/17/2022 10:38:46 AM PDT by ShadowAce
For some users, Linux is far better than other OSes. There are a whole lot of things you can do with Linux that are not possible on Windows.
Linux has gained significant popularity in the last decade or so. Despite having a relatively low market share compared to Windows, it is well-adapted to the evolving user requirements through its constant development.
Linux has some state-of-the-art features that other operating systems lack for now. Such features, along with its solid support, are continuously growing within its community.
So, let's take a look at 10 things you can do on Linux that you can't do on Windows.
Linux has various distributions that offer tons of unique features. The great thing is that distros let you test the environment first using a live boot feature.
If you are thinking about shifting to Linux, there is no need to delete your current OS. The live boot feature enables you to run any Linux distro in real-time through a USB drive. So, you can evaluate a distro while keeping your current operating system intact.
This feature is not just limited to testing, however. It also allows you to keep Linux portable on a USB drive. You can start using any Linux distro without configuring your PC's hard drive partition and other settings.
Live boot is safe for your system as it mostly runs on RAM. But first, you'll have to create a bootable USB drive using the distro's ISO image.
As you may know, Linux has several distributions and flavors. You can find distros that are suitable for a specific audience like gamers, novice users, system developers, ethical hackers, network engineers, and more.
Each distro has some unique features and optimizations for particular types of users and systems. The competition between distros improves the quality of the Linux ecosystem as a whole. You can even use a particular distro for personal use and another for work.
This variety helps provide you with a personalized experience. You can get a targeted Linux distro if you want to use the OS for specific tasks.
With so many distros and their flavors, Linux offers you choices that you don't get on Windows—you get just one flagship OS from Microsoft.
Linux is open-source, and you can install it for free, unlike Windows, which comes at a rather hefty price. Linux creator developed this OS because he wanted a free operating system to use. So, you can select any Linux distro and install it without worrying about spending a dime.
Moreover, most applications that come with Linux, such as LibreOffice, Firefox, GIMP, and a lot more, are also free, unlike the costly Microsoft Office subscriptions. This freedom is one of the main highlights behind the success story of Linux.
Relating to the point above, as Linux is open-source, it means anyone can use, edit, and distribute its source code. You have access to the complete code, and you can modify it or even add custom features to it.
This step is considered pretty innovative, and it is one of the reasons behind its popularity. Imagine the features you always wanted—now you can add them yourself and develop a customized operating system.
The open-source nature of Linux has helped in growing its community support. You can easily get solutions and fixes for any problem you face through discussions on forums. It's all because of the open-source code.
Clearly, you can't do such things on Windows due to the unavailability of source code. Microsoft prefers to keep Windows closed-source.
Antivirus and virus and malware threats
Another perk of using Linux is that Linux-based systems don't need antivirus software. This is because most viruses and malware target Windows PCs.
The Linux system has a protective layer over core OS files, which doesn't allow anyone except superusers to access root files. That is why virus attacks on Linux are rare. So, you don't need to buy costly antivirus software for your system every year as you do with Windows.
Reboot after each system update or a software uninstall is a pretty annoying thing on Windows. It is usually not the case with Linux, as installations don't require the system to reboot at each step.
Windows systems require a reboot after a change in any of their configurations, for example, configuring the speakers, webcam, and more. Linux is smooth in this respect—it barely asks you to restart the system after a change in settings.
However, Linux does need to restart at times, but only after updates in the Linux kernel. So, all in all, the experience is pretty smooth, not requiring long hours of waiting for a system to reboot and configure after an update.
OS support for old systems is continuously discontinuing. This is mainly because of the rapid improvement in hardware technology.
Recently Windows, with Windows 11, has discontinued its support for various older PCs. However, Linux provides solutions to address this issue.
You can resurrect your older laptops and PCs by installing Linux distros suitable for your device specifications. You can easily find the right one that supports low-end and old systems as there are plenty of lightweight distros on offer, specially made for this purpose.
Not only distros, but you also get lightweight applications that run seamlessly on old hardware, without bogging down the system.
Again, as Linux is open-source, it means anyone can use, modify, and test its code. This feature allows you to add custom features and improvements to your system.
Even if you are not a developer and don't want to play with the source code, Linux lets you customize almost every aspect from within the settings and through the terminal.
You can customize things like themes, metrics, filing systems, and much more. You can even change the default file manager, desktop environment, and other primary components of your OS.
Don't believe us? Try it yourself. Windows forbids creating a folder named CON. This is because CON is reserved to use for specific system tasks.
Linux allows you to create a CON folder, however. In fact, there is no restriction in naming folders and files. This feature is something you can't have on Windows.
Desktop environments like GNOME, KDE, XFCE, and more are the beauty of Linux. You can go a step further and install multiple DEs on the same Linux distro. This ability lets you taste different flavors of the same distro simultaneously.
Some Linux distros come pre-installed with multiple desktop environments, while in others you've to install and configure desktops manually. You won't find this functionality on Windows altogether as there's only a single Windows desktop you're bound to use.
Linux is an innovative operating system backed by an enormous community that continuously expands its feature set. It is growing in terms of features, performance, and stability.
As listed above, Linux provides various unique features missing from other proprietary OSes like Windows. If you are looking for any of these features in your operating system, feel free to switch to Linux. It's free, and you can test it through a live boot with just a USB drive.
Updating with windows 7 used to be really really aggravating, especially if you reinstalled windows and had to update it all again. It woild take days. With many many reboots, and the downloads a,ways seemed to,either get stuck/freeze, or take forever. It was os bad I had to download something to ‘fix windows updates’ before it woild even begin to search the computer (which took forever, sometimes hours) for needed updates, then again the s,ow as molasses downloads of,the actual updates.
That used to,be very aggravating. Linux takes at most about 20 minutes or so to fully update from a scratch Install. And now I can’t even update windows 7 which I bought along with my machine, so I own an operating system I can’t even use safely anymore. Thanks ms!
So, thank you Microsoft for driving me to Linux. Much appreciated.
LMAO. That is so wrong what you said.
Yep, Almost everything can be used universally on all. Old on new or new on old, there are very very few “this is not supported” issues. :)
Something else I should have commented on. You hit on something very important. There is no such thing as “Your computer is too old to use this version of windows”.
You can resurrect almost ANY old computer with Linux. No matter how old, there is at least a light version of some kind of Linux out there that can be installed and make it work.
Although pretty techy, I have talked with those who have resurrected old IBM 286 models and used them with ELKS Linux. Floppy drives and all.
https://github.com/jbruchon/elks
Absolutely, same here. I tried Linux a couple times back when it was Redhat. Everything went well with Win XP and Win 7 and then came the Win 10 thing. In no way was I falling for the MS BS anymore. So as a last ditch before giving up on PCs altogether I decided to take a look at Linux again even if I had to use it with the terminal. I read reviews and settled on Mint because of the “Best Distro” reviews.
I was blown away by what Linux used to be and what it is now. I was now set and good to go. And like I mentioned, that was six years ago and that same first install is still running like it was new. That laptop is so old now most of the keys have popped off it and I have to use an external keyboard. That is the only “hardware problem” I have ever had with Linux... lol
i just noticed that linux mint 20.2 doesn’t have the chocie to choose which updates I now want- no place to choose from- i have to get all of them apparently?
Ok. What does that have to do with a desktop OS?
I have run and managed open systems for 24 years and never felt the need to create my own distro. I worked with a chap to help him create a custom build based off gentoo and it was so much work it just wasn’t worth it unless you are in a highly specialized area of compute.
Know what? I never noticed because I always just turn mine off until I want it to check everything, my current 20.0 Manager is the same. So they obviously upgraded it and removed that. Sorry to steer you wrong. Guess it will have to propagate “everything”, and then we will have to clear and then line item checkbox. They usually put the important security updates at the top of the list.
yeah i dunno why they changed this- maybe cuz folks weren’t allowing critical updates and woudl run into too many problems as a result? But still- we should have the choice- the dang thing is daily updating practically- I’ll update at night, get hte green check mark that the system is up to date- go to bed, wake up and it ‘needs’ updating again-
You can do this in Windows 7, 10 prior if you want to upgrade.
Otherwise you can follow the directions below for a clean install.
No need to buy a new expensive computer.
Get Windows 11
https://tweaks.com/windows/67321/download-windows-11-now/
How to Install Windows 11 on just about any Device
https://tweaks.com/windows/67324/how-to-install-windows-11-on-just-about-any-device/
Using the tricks I’m about to share with you I was able to install Windows 11 on my $79 8” NuVision Windows Tablet I purchased from the Microsoft store in 2017. Originally shipping with Windows 8, this tiny tablet is packed with 2GB of RAM, 32GB hard drive, no TPM, no secure boot, and a 1.4 Ghz Atom processor that is no where to be found on the CPU requirements list.
Need 64-bit processor
Plug in your USB installation media and boot up the installer on your PC. When you get to the main Windows Setup screen shown below, stop
Next, hold down the Shift and F10 keys to open up a secret Command Prompt window. On this screen type in regedit and hit Enter to open up Registry Editor.
In Registry Editor, navigate through HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SYSTEM, and then Setup. Right click on Setup and select New and then Key.
Name the new key LabConfig and then hit Enter.
Next, under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SYSTEM, Setup and then the new LabConfig key we just created, we need to create three new DWORD (32-bit) values. Right click on the background and select New and then DWORD (32-bit) Value and create a DWORD named after each item below:
BypassTPMCheck
BypassRAMCheck
BypassSecureBootCheck
And now for the final step, set the value for each DWORD you just created to 1 by either double click on each item or right clicking on each and selecting modify.
Simply close Registry Editor and Command Prompt and begin your install by clicking Next back on the Windows Setup screen.
Probably because no one was using that feature so they just removed it. But Linux updates don’t any cause problems. They are open source inspected and tested real good before sent out.
Seriously, just go toggle it off. It will keep running great without the updates, most are unneeded. Then once a month go turn it back on and update it if you like.
Or... Set it to auto and it will just keep everything updated all the time. Or if these are apps they are promoting and you will never get or use you can blacklist them in the update manager and they will not pop up anymore.
I don’t begrudge anyone taking on the task of learning and working in Linux. I know some people who’ve spent the last 10+ years working solely in Linux. Good on them.
Making a list that touts some level of immunity to bad actors for any operating system is dangerous. I’ve worked in cyber for almost a decade, and the misunderstanding around how easy it is to compromise an organization let alone a home user is frustrating.
I spend half of my week just talking to engineers and executives to enlighten them on the latest scams and dangers in the field. It’s a constantly moving target, and articles like these don’t help matters.
Where do I toggle it off or to auto though? I either missed the option, or there wasn’t one in the new update manager? I’d rather update like once every few months or so, but then i suppose the updates woild likely be huge considering how many updates there are in just even a week.
Sorry, I should have included that path again. :)
To shut off:
Menu/system settings/startup apps/update manager in list-toggle off
To set as auto:
Click update manager icon/edit/preferences/automation/apply updates automatically-toggle on
And that IS one of the very few that you will have to reboot for it to change.
Thanks, ill do,that when I get back to Computer. I might do,the automatic though, or just do updates like every couple of months and just set some time aside for it (I usually,watch a classic movie every night, so,it can ru. While I watch the movie.)
I,really really hope though that updates don’t become as aggravating as windows 7 updates were. So,far its just a minor aggravation witn Linux hope it gets better
I check mine once a month and it usually never takes more than 5 minutes. If you have i on auto it will just do it every boot in the background and take no time at all. Probably never even notice it.
nailed it. And your clients probably read sugar pop articles like this and then authoritatively say, “I need Linux bc it doesn’t get viruses, or windows doesn’t do x.”
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