(IJCH) My 15 y/o Daughter and I Just Switched over to Linux! (Here's Why)
(IJCH) My 15 y/o Daughter and I Just Switched over to Linux! (Here's Why)
IJCH - Inside JaiChai's Head (meaning: My warped, personal opinions and musings)
From the Author:
Salutations.
I am JaiChai.
And if I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you before, I'm delighted to make your acquaintance now.
I invite you to interact with everyone, learn, and have as much fun as possible!
For my returning Steemian friends, "It's always great to see you again!"
Weird Philippine Business Practices
Lazada.com is the Amazon.com of the Philippines (or the Alibaba.com of China).
I love ordering things from Lazada.com. They are very reliable and offer a "Cash on Delivery" option for almost all their items.
And I don't blame them for the way Philippine commerce and advertisements tend to mislead customers.
Discounts for buying in bulk are VERY RARE. If you buy one item at X price, the 3-pack costs X price times three (or more).
"Half price" means "by one, two get delivered, and you pay double the half price". In other words, you cannot buy only one item at "half price".
"Buy one, Get one" usually means that the non-sale item is probably priced at double its normal value.
So there I was...
I promised to get my daughter a new computer.
Browsing the Lazada.com page I noticed a strangely great deal:
"All-in-One PC, runs Windows, Half Price"
It sounded interesting. And after I saw the specs, I decided to buy it at "Half Price" (meaning: I bought two of them).
They arrived unscathed in three days. Cool.Very cool!
The REDFOX Evolve All-In-One PC
REDFOX is the Philippine version of ASUS.
Your all-in-one PC
Browse your social media account in between commercials? REDFOX EVOLVE AIO is perfect for you. This device is a desktop and TV rolled into one! Watch your favorite TV shows, browse your gallery, search the top songs on billboard and connect to the other side of the world with just a click of REDFOX Evolve AIO because you can connect it through Wi-Fi or LAN!
REDFOX offers a device that fits your lifestyle. This all-in-one PC is also ideal for the entire family. Whether you prefer a desktop or a TV, everything you need is what REDFOX EVOLVE AIO offers.
I love the systems.
They cost me $150 each and are beautiful.
BUT...
I failed to read the fine print.
Yes, they do run Windows, but it is Windows 7!
And the RAM that was advertised was the total of BOTH SYSTEMS!
Why My 15 y/o Daughter and I Switched Over to Linux
Given the fact that the system had just enough RAM to run Windows 7 and the support by Microsoft for Windows 7 ends in 2020, I decided to wipe both machines and run an OS with less hardware requirements.
I didn't want to try React OS because it's still in pre-Beta.
Since I have MANY Linux friends, I convinced my daughter (an avid Windows and Mac user) to finally "go over to the free side" - free and open software world.
Linux Mint is the BOMB! I Absolutely Love It!
I have never tried any flavor (distribution - "distro") of Linux before in my life. So, the term "hesitant" was an understatement!
Visions of really screwing up two brand new systems plagued me up until the point I wiped them clean and installed Linux.
I chose Linux Mint because, from what I read, it's the best distribution of Linux (Ubuntu users may argue) to run when coming from Windows.
(For Mac users, the Elementary OS Linux distro is recommended).
Within 3 days of using Linux Mint, I could confidently say that I am NEVER GOING BACK TO WINDOWS!
The reasons why will surely be the subject of many articles to come.
But here are just a few reasons:
It's Free.
It requires VERY MINIMAL hardware to run great.
It's much more secure.
No more wasted time on Anti-Virus/Malware issues.
Selective Updates that do not take over present operations.
Thousands of apps (called "packages" in Linux).
I haven't had to reboot my new, continuously on 24/7 system in over two weeks!
And the list goes on and on...
Now I am a believer.
My daughter loves the speed of Linux. And I could kick myself for not switching over to Linux years ago!
My next project is to resurrect all my old laptops and desktops that are just sitting around collecting dust.
How?
By installing and running a distro of Linux that's compatible with their hardware. And there are many of them.
Again cool, very cool!
Parting Shot:
Linux is so efficient that many distros can be run off of a thumb drive! Remember that when you're using an unsecure Wi-Fi...
By JaiChai
Thanks for stopping by.
About the Author
Believing that school was too boring, he dropped out of High School early; only to earn an AA, BS and MBA in less than 4 years much later in life – while working full-time as a Navy/Marine Corps Medic.
In spite of a fear of heights and deep water, he performed high altitude, free-fall parachute jumps and hazardous diving ops in deep, open ocean water.
After 24 years of active duty, he retired in Asia.
Since then, he's been a full-time, single papa and actively pursuing his varied passions (Writing, Disruptive Technology, Computer Science and Cryptocurrency - plus more hobbies too boring or bizarre for most folk).
He lives on an island paradise with his teenage daughter, longtime girlfriend and three dogs.
Welcome to the world of open source. The thing that keeps me from fully switching to linux only is Photoshop. GIMP (PS equivalent) just doesn't cut it.
I've been a Linux user since I can remember. Ubuntu, Debian, Centos, Mint, Arch. Tried most of them.
I have always used windows myself (on 7 at mo)- is everything running smoothly.
Did you say free?
....is there any down side ?
Yup. yup, yup. Absolutely free.
And NO SNOOPING by people you don't know!
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
May you and yours be well and love life today.
Namaste, JaiChai
P.S.
The downside is that you have to know exactly what you want (meaning: Linux doesn't force you to receive bloatware and you only install what you want/need).
P.S.S.
I think you will be interested in:
https://steemit.com/blockchain/@jaichai/ijch-why-do-i-use-the-brave-browser-because-it-s-freakin-awesome
To add, if you're a heavy Photoshop user, Linux may not be for you.
I'm a comp moron, so probably beyond my capabilities- but I do know people who do know...
interesting...
Believe it or not, you are much more savvy than most. How do I know that? Because of your success on steemit.
BTW, ALL Linux distros can be installed on a "Just trying Basis" (meaning: You can run them side by side - dual boot - on your present Windows machine - albeit a little slower because it's running "virtual", not native.)
Namaste, JaiChai
...if I find an old laptop - I'm gonna give it go - but I can't afford for my other 2 to screw up!
Very wise strategy, my friend.
Namaste, JaiChai
I love linux
Linux is awesome. If I wasn't so dependent on Adobe Suite, I would totally switch. I just don't have time to learn a whole new software suite. Such a terrible waste. Perhaps one day I'll just keep Windows on one PC and switch the rest over. You're right, with only a few exceptions, the pro's outweigh the cons by far.
Yeah. I know. I'm still learning Gimp as we speak!
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Namaste, Jaichai
I have a love/hate relationship with Linux. I love that it's free and is becoming more and more user-friendly. I hate that (in my experience, anyway) it always seems to run slower than Windows on the same PC - no matter how big or small my hard drive or how great my RAM is, or how wonderful my processor speed.
I'm grateful that it's becoming easier to use for those of us who do not have a BS in computer science... but I still tend to find it more limited.
So far, my favorite OS from a user perspective remains OS/X for Mac. I've even been tempted to try to build a Hackintosh - putting the Mac OS on a PC! (My one complaint with Mac OS is that it doesn't keep up with the progression of the internet so well... and upgrading hardware has only limited and semi-satisfactory results.)
So, unfortunately, I'm still mostly using Windows, though I have one Linux machine running right now - and we're out of Windows COAs now, so until one of those is found, we'll be installing Linux for awhile again.
Anyway, I've nearly written a separate post! Take care and keep it up!
Thank you for visiting and the excellent comment.
Namaste, JaiChai
I have Windows 10 on my laptop and my partner has windows 10 but I have Windows 7 on my main computer, my desktop and I quite like it. I could agree if your sentence was "Yes, they do run Windows, but it is Windows 8!" or "Windows Vista" but I am finding 7 good and no worse than Windows 10 (it was definitely better than Windows 10 in the early early days of Windows 10, but even now Windows 10 has improved - and also given you can turn off a lot of the "bad" settings it had privacy wise -I still find Windows 7 to be a solid OS). Disappointing to hear support will be dropping in a couple of years though.
I intend to try Linux myself at some point though. I'm studying Digital Media which is in the IT area and from what I'm seeing in job adverts etc, Windows is the most important OS to know for most positions but I should also get somewhat familiar with both Linux and Mac as well, both of which I have very limited experience with. I'm glad to hear using Linux has been a good experience for you.
I was ok with Windows 7. But with barely enough hardware to run it and the looming 2020 kill date, I decided to begin fresh with Linux on the new machines.
Thanks for visiting and submitting the solid comment.
Namaste, JaiChai
Fair enough. Is 10 actually easier on the hardware than 7? Still enjoying Linux? I haven't seen much of stuff like this with people talking about giving it a try and what they thought. I've mostly seen people deep in the computer world mention using it but they aren't new to it and when it has been mentioned they haven't really given an idea of how it compares to other OS. To me this post is quite interesting simply because before I've only heard the opinion of it from people like IT lecturers and they often haven't said much in detail about it and what it is really like to use.