Now in the year 2017 the use of the Windows operating system is
still ubiquitous on personal computers. This of course includes the
new Windows 10 as well as older versions – Windows 8, Windows
7, Windows Vista, and even Windows XP. The major reason for this
is that for years Microsoft has had a lucrative arrangement with
manufacturers to have Windows pre-installed on their line of
personal computers. So most people just buy the Windows computer
of their choice and end up using it just as it is regardless of what
problems they may have with it. They may not even be aware that
they can install an alternate operating system such as Linux, or they
may feel that it is too technical and complicated for them to do. Why
would someone even want to install something other than Windows?
Well nowadays Windows isn’t what it used to be, and I’m not talking
about the so called improvements that have been made over the
years. Years ago Windows XP was considered a major improvement
over Windows 2000 but still had major security problems –
Microsoft was constantly coming out with security patches to try to
thwart the relentless malware and virus attacks. Windows Vista then
was released but had so many problems that many people continued
to use Windows XP just so they could be productive and actually get
things done. Microsoft then released Windows 7 to address many of
the problems people were complaining about, and in fact Windows 7
turned out to be a major improvement over the Windows Vista
fiasco. Fast forward to the release of Windows 8. Microsoft couldn’t
leave well enough alone. It was their grand vision to have an operating system that could be used on both the desktop and mobile
platforms. You were supposed to be able to use Windows 8 either
with a mouse or a touch screen easily – except that it didn’t turn out
that way. The new tile interface was a nightmare to use with a mouse
and the elimination of the traditional start menu didn’t help things
either. Microsoft tried to correct some of the problems with the
release of Windows 8.1 but it was still very difficult for many people
to use. Today in 2017 Microsoft has released the highly touted
Windows 10 operating system complete with a redesigned interface
and start menu along with many other improvements. The problem is
that Windows 10 is not what it’s cracked up to be for a lot of people.
It’s turning out that there are major driver problems with some
legacy hardware and peripheral devices. Also, Windows 10 can be
very unstable and security problems are still quite bad. Updates can
pop up at any time making it very difficult to get any serious work
done. It is a resource hog using up a lot of ram and cpu which can
actually make some computers run excessively hot. If all this wasn’t
enough Windows 10 has dreadful privacy problems. Since Microsoft
thinks that it has the right to control your computer when Windows
is installed, everything that you do can be viewed by Microsoft with
it’s built-in privacy backdoors. Most people never read the user
agreement that they must sign off on in order to use Windows 10 but
it’s all there – Microsoft has the right to spy on everything that you
do on your computer as they see fit.
What can you do? This is were Linux comes in! Linux is no
second rate operating system – it’s used on most of the world’s
supercomputers. It is open source and free to use. Anyone can see and review the code so you don’t have to worry about any secret
spyware. You never have to pay a fee to download a distro iso(Linux operating systems are called distros) and
install it, although if you wish you can buy an installation dvd or usb
drive for a very reasonable price from online vendors such as osdisc - https://www.osdisc.com/.
Some distros may ask for a donation, but that is not a requirement.
Linux has a reputation for being rock solid stable. Some people
claim they have used a given distro for years without a crash. Debian
based distros are probably among the most stable of Linux distros
and have a tremendous user base. This includes arguably the most
popular distro Ubuntu which is based on Debian. Unlike Windows
Linux is inherently very secure since it is based on a superior filing
system and an open network. Microsoft’s Windows operating system
is based on a closed network that many private companies used and
so security was really an afterthought in it’s design. I have never
heard of a Linux user getting a virus – Linux is basically immune to
any Windows based virus and an actual Linux based virus is so rare
as to be virtually non-existent. That is a far cry from the hundreds of
thousands of Windows viruses! Speaking of a superior filing system,
Linux distros do not need to have their files defragmented like
Windows constantly has to. Besides being more secure and stable
Linux distros are fast, requiring much less ram and cpu, so they can
run on older hardware with ease and make newer hardware run even
better. Of course this will vary – some distros are lighter and faster
than others – but even the heavier KDE distros tend to run faster and
much more stable than Windows. There are hundreds of Linux
distros to choose from, most of them with multiple desktop
eniviroments. With Windows you have one desktop enviroment and if you don’t like it too bad. Linux distros come with many possible
desktop enviroments – KDE(which includes the new Plasma 5),
Gnome, Mate, Cinnamon, Enlightenment, Budgie, Openbox, XFCE,
LXDE, LXQT, and others – you get the idea. Linux is not difficult to
install, although there can be a little bit of a learning curve. And
some distros have better installers than others. You can even install
your preferred Linux distro alongside Windows and dual boot it if
that’s what you would like. So really the choice is clear – Linux is a
much superior operating system than Windows. Yes, it does require
some technical ability to install and use properly. But Linux has
come a long way in the past few years and I think most people can
use it very successfully. Ubuntu Mate is one of the very best distros
out there in the Linux world and is renowned for it’s simplicity, ease
of use, and polish. It has such a fantastic ability to configure in so
many different ways that you can easily make it look just the way
you want. And although the tremendous software choices have been
an argument for using Windows, Linux has tens of thousands of
software choices of it’s own. Just one great example is Microsoft
Office. A lot of people feel they couldn’t do without it but how many
of them know that Linux has it’s own great equivalents such as the
fantastic Libre Office, WPS Office(very similar to Microsoft Office),
the great cloud based Only Office, the QT based Calligra, and others.
Not only that, all of these are much less expensive than the
Microsoft version – as in the word FREE! Thats right, you can
download and use these without paying a penny! This is just one
great example I wanted to give, there are many others. Let’s see –
security, stability, flexibility, easy maintenance, privacy, saving money, software choices, beautiful aesthetics – the list goes on and
on as to why you should consider giving Linux a try. So go ahead
and get that Linux distro that’s just right for you and take back control of your computer!
Here are a couple of links to learn more about the advantages of Linux over Windows -
