Posted on 04/17/2022 10:59:50 AM PDT by ShadowAce
I've used pretty much every desktop out there, and the Linux desktop is still the best of the best.
I've been working with desktop computers since CP/M-80 was the operating system of the day. Since then, I've used MS-DOS, Windows, OS/2, AmigaOS, System 7, macOS, Xenix, SCO OpenDesktop, and more versions of Linux than you can shake a stick at. Even today, I have Windows 10 and 11 and macOS running on test boxes. But what I run on my production PCs and laptops is Linux. Here's why.
First, long before there were PCs, I was running Unix on minicomputers. My first "desktop" was the Bourne shell on a VT-102 terminal. I cut my teeth on shell commands. So, naturally, early Linux came easily to me. Linux turned 30 last year and it was about this time 30 years ago that I started using it on a desktop.
But, enough of techie nostalgia. True I'm still comfortable running a Bash-based terminal for my desktop, but I don't have to. Despite the eternal garbage about how hard Linux is to use, anyone – anyone – can use it today. Heck a decade ago, I taught my then 82-year-old mother-in-law how to run Linux and we didn't even share a common language! She's a native Spanish speaker, I grew up with English, and neither of us has a lick of talent in learning other languages.
So, the bottom line is, no matter how much someone tells you that "Linux is hard!" They're wrong. Oh sure, I'd never have a newbie try say Arch Linux, Knoppix, or Slackware, but it's 2022. You don't have to do Linux the hard way.
Personally, I recommend Linux Mint both for newcomers and for seasoned old pros, like, well … me. Why? Because its default Cinnamon interface is easy to use. If you can run Windows, you can run Mint. If anything, Mint is much easier.
True, unless you buy a PC with Linux already installed, you must install it yourself. But, hello, you can buy PCs with Linux already on them today.
Just go to Amazon and you'll see Linux laptops from HP and Lenovo. Alternatively, you can order one directly from Dell. I particularly favor the Dell XPS 13 models. Or, you can order one from a company such as System76. They make great boxes and have their own easy-to-use Linux distro, Pop!_OS.
If you elect to install Linux, you need to know a little bit about your computer. But, honestly, it all boils down to knowing how to burn an ISO image to a USB stick, rebooting your computer from it, playing with it to make sure it works, and then pressing the install button. That really is pretty much all there is to it.
Another perpetual complaint is "It's so hard to install programs on Linux!" Oh please! Sure you can still install software with apt-get etc., etc., but why bother? You just use the GNOME software installer, the Mint Software Manager, or a similar search for a program and press a button installer. There's nothing to it.
Why bother at all? There are so many reasons.
First, Linux is far more secure than Windows – or macOS for that matter. I mean Windows has its own day of the month – Patch Tuesday – just for fixes.
True, "more secure" is not the same thing as perfectly secure, but security is a process, not a product. Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to sell you something. But, in the 30 years I've been running desktop Linux I have never – never – even encountered malware or a virus. My Linux servers on the net are attacked dozens of times a day and to date, the score is Steven 100 - Hackers nil.
Linux software is almost always free. LibreOffice, for example, is every bit as good as Microsoft Office and won't cost you a penny. Sure, there are some programs, Adobe Photoshop, that can't easily be replaced on Linux thanks to its third-party software ecosystem. But, if all you need is basic image manipulation, Gimp will serve you well and it's also free.
Say you must – must! – have Microsoft Office. Fine, then run the free Microsoft Office Online web apps off your favorite Web browser instead. There are other ways to run the full versions of Office, and other Windows-only applications, on Linux with programs such as Wine, CrossOver, or just run Windows on Linux with a virtual machine software such as VirtualBox. But, mea culpa, all these methods are complex.
Finally, unlike Microsoft and Apple, Linux distributors are not looking over my shoulder. Microsoft has made it perfectly clear that they see the future of Windows is on the cloud. Apple, of course, controls everything on its Macs. Me? I like having control of my systems. I'm old school that way. If you're not concerned with your privacy or who ultimately owns your PC, that's fine – but that's not the way I roll.
Looking ahead I don't see myself ever not running Linux on my desktop. Give it a try, you just might find it's exactly what you need as well. ®
Thanks to Dayglored for the link to the article!
Because you don’t have to donate your money to the likes of Bill Gates or Tim Cook.
ANYTHING is better then that.
I work almost exclusively in a Linux desktop environment every workday, and it's great.
Ubuntu 20.04, augmented with classic Gnome and the Flashback/MetaCity packages.
Bump For Later
Up until recently, various flavors of Linus had trouble with standard browser videos.
Mint 18 improved on that, but there were still problems with some videos. Mint 19 made better stride and Mint 20 seems to have eliminated the problem.
My cable co internet app for TV still does not support Linux, even though it does support android products.
Since I am retired, I do not do much heavy processing. Whenever a significant task comes along, I usually load up Word 97 or Excel 97 or Publisher 98 or the appropriate software in Windows and get the job done.
I recently upgraded to Win10 about 6 months ago. I still prefer Win7, but have found Win10 tolerable. Neither my Win10 desktop and tablet support Win11, and I don’t intend to upgrade until my Win10s die.
I’ve run a Linux desktop (KDE for me) from 2000 on - it works. They are not trying to sell you stuff or sell your info.
I also maintain several Linux machines - takes very little time to do the security updates - the one Windoze machine takes more time than all the Linux machines combined.
Certain folks at 3 Ltr agencies have pushed ‘secure boot’ - it is the opposite of what it sounds like - any machine connected to the internet is simple not secure.
Does this guy ever do any work? Or does he just load and configure operating systems all day?
But I have some spare parts lying around - so it is now
time to cobble together a daily-use Mint machine. (Why not, eh?)
The IPAD doesn't do everything, and I'm sick of the
perpetual Windows 10 McCafee fake virus attack warning
fishing malware.
And by the way - I taught my 80 year old Dad how to use
OS/2 Warp Server for E-Business (WSEB - OS/2 version 4),
and then Windows 7. If he could do it, anybody can.
He was TOTALLY intimidated at first - but then he became a
Web surfing, emailing DEMON. LOL.
God rest his soul.
HAPPY EASTER, DAD!
[[Flashback/MetaCity packages]]
?
I use my systems for the apps, not for the desktops. And Linux just doesn’t have the depth that Windows does or some of the big name ones ported.
Like a 40 year old concert pianist who can finally play Chopin with the proper inflections telling a 9 year old “it’s easy”.
I earned a Computer Science degree from a University in Seattle.
I was offered a job at Microsoft. I got better grades than the guys that went to work for Microsoft. I stayed at Boeing and did real-time software and electronics design. I did not get as rich but I had happier customers.
All 6 of my computers dual boot with Linux as the default.
I retired at age 55.
Gobbledygook, technobabel, or basically ls -lt, or ls -lt Not?
Ok so for CAD, SPICE, board layout, etc apps, which of those run on Linux and not Windows?
Linux Mint Cinnamon edition for the win.
I’m running Kubuntu 20.04 with the Plasma desktop on an 8 year old Thinkpad W530 and it’s the fastest PC I’ve ever used. For kicks, I do a 5 second countdown when shutting down. I never make it to zero and that’s right after having shut down 2 browsers and a handful of programs right before shutting down Kubuntu.
Several years ago, Plasma was buggy but they got it all straightened out.
Only time I hit the command line is when I want to add a software repository specific to a program so that I can install said program. It’s all copy and paste from a website to the terminal. I’ve never had an issue installing 3rd party, free software with Linux because the code is always Open Source. I don’t know what the code says but other people do.
I remember trying to get freeware for Windows. The malware/adware it came with was also free and usually took over the browser completely. Once upon a time, download.com was fairly trustworthy but eventually, half of what they had was malware. I became fairly expert at removing malware.
The alternative was spending $20, $50, $200 for each piece of software, on top of paying for windows.
“Let’s Go Windows.”
You've been using the wrong browsers. I haven't owned a television since 2008 and all the TV I've watched at home since then I watched online and in a browser, usually Tor/Firefox browser, on Linux Mint.
The single biggest reason people won't try Linux is fear, and they're afraid of it because of anachronisms, misrepresentations and outright lies that told about it. I sincerely believe that if you went to a desert island where no one had ever seen a PC before and gave half the residents Windows 11 PCs and the other half PCs with Linux Mint 20.3 Cinnamon, the Linux group would become proficient sooner. People cling so desperately to Windows mostly because it's the devil they know.
And a lot of people are afraid of command line. If you're one of them, I've got news for you. It's possible to do Linux and remain utterly command line-ignorant, but you leave a lot of potential untapped that best is accessed through command line interface. Then again, if you consider yourself a sophisticated Windows user and don't do CLI, you're only kidding yourself. You're only tapping a fraction of the potential of that OS.
The Linux crowd embraces the truth that command line makes computing better. Th Windows crowd still has their heads stuck in the sand.
Does this guy have ONE computer where it is some BINARY choice, Linux or Windows?
I have multiple servers running virtualization hypervisors hosting Linux. They do “server type stuff”. I use a primary desktop system running Windows. From there I can run Windows apps and/or Linux apps on the servers.
Computer Marxism as follows ... lol
“To each app according to it’s ability, to each app according to it’s need.”
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