(bkmk)
Toss in VirtualBox for your favorite old Windows Apps on their native O/S and you are now good to go...
I also need Office 365 to do my work and think the web browser version of Office 365 works well enough in Linux to merit consideration for use as well.
So anyone who's dependent on MS Office, give Office 365 a try via Web Browser. It's quite good, Microsoft is doing a great job at making their products work via browser for other desktop / laptop / mobile device platforms.
(No, I don't work for Microsoft .....)
Linux crossed that barrier some years ago. I had this "challenge" to Linux that I had to be able to hand my now ex-wife a CD/DVD that she could install without any assistance from me, in order for me to consider Linux "consumer ready."
My memory isn't that great on this part, but I think it's been at least 4 or 5 years now that Linux has been consumer ready (meaning anyone who could install Windows on a machine could also install Linux.) I happen to think some Linux desktop versions are actually easier to install than Windows (including pre-installed versions of Windows.)
Just my own opinion, of course.
Long time LINUX user - its all true - but you do hit stumbling blocks. But there is usually a solution.
EXAMPLE: Love Linux Mint - but they don’t have a good file picker dialog. This stinks when trying to upload multiple pictures to say eBay for example. There is no preview mode - best you can get is smallish, but useless, thumbnail. SOLUTION: The only combination that offered dialogs I wanted was KDE + Chrome. And even that took a few trips to the settings panel to get it working as I like.
I’ll say this - of all big OSes - LINUX is pretty much the easiest to install and manage.
But yeah - I’m pretty much all in with KDE.
Android is Unix running on the Linux kernel.
The difference from Linux is it can’t be run as root.
This is to prevent users from trashing their system or unintentionally compromising it with malware.
On the whole, Unix OSes are safer than Windows.
The noob distros of linux are generally very easy except occasionally when you need to do things offscript then they become aggravatingly difficult.
Do I still need to compile the OS before I manually install it using shell commands?
Linux is only “free” if you don’t value your time.
Easier to install and use than it was in the past, but not on par with Windows, yet.
I run both.
Not everyone hates Windows. If Linux had to run and be kept current on the wide range of platforms and massive software base that Windows has had over the years, it would be just as unwieldy, maybe more.
I cut the Microsoft chord 4 years ago. I’ve run 2 different versions of Zorin Lite and now the latest version of Linux Mint. You can run most windows programs under “Wine” for those few programs that you can’t find equivalents for in the Linux-world. Libre Office is great!
Can any regular windows (Word, Excel, Access, Visio) program run on LinuxMint? Can Firefox and Thunderbird run on LinuxMint? All WITHOUT creating a “virtual” windows environment for them under Linux?
I have often wondered if the “security” of Linux is less related to less coding errors but instead due to how it is less popular and thereby not a major target of spyware/hackers/viruses because those that produce that malware are going for the bigger targets. Is there demonstrated failed attempts to intentionally infest a LinuxMint machine with such malware?
Because the primary reason I have a computer is for video games and Linux will not run them without endless tweaks?
I’ve used several distros but I finally settled on kubuntu.
It’s so secure, you can’t run any good games on it.
I use Linux Mint on my main Desktop and Manjaro on 2 laptops and I can run about 75% out my old Windows programs in Playonlinux if I need them but I don’t ,some run a little funky but they run
I have a Linux Mint box. It’s great. No reason to stay on the Microsoft plantation.
Some apps have to be run using PlayOnLinux (a Wine front end) but the ones I use run wonderfully without so much as a hiccup.
I'll never go back.
I'm a Linux bigot, but this is FUD. From a security standpoint, I figure OSX and Linux are about equal with a slight edge to OSX due to the AV scanning that is a part of OSX.
That said, I like the way Linux works better than OSX. At the moment Mint is my distro of choice, as I got tired of living on the bleeding edge with Fedora. :-)