PROBLEMS WITH WINDOWS? TRY LINUX!

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 -