Linux Operating System

[Fyrtwuck]

I’ve read several mentions of the Linux Operating System. Everyone so far has said they like it, that it’s better than windows and Mac.

Im fed up with the constant advertising. I don’t want to pay a subscription fee for updates to programs I paid full price for.


If I wanted to switch over on a laptop, what’s the procedure? Is there a cost?

Would I still be able to access the documents I have saved on windows?

What about compatibility with printers and internet?

 

[Aries]

I’ve read several mentions of the Linux Operating System. Everyone so far has said they like it, that it’s better than windows and Mac.

Im fed up with the constant advertising. I don’t want to pay a subscription fee for updates to programs I paid full price for.


If I wanted to switch over on a laptop, what’s the procedure? Is there a cost?

Would I still be able to access the documents I have saved on windows?

What about compatibility with printers and internet?

There are several versions of Linux... some are free, some require payment. Download and burn a bootable CD of ubuntu and you can play around with it without installing, then it's very easy to install from the CD if you like it.

https://ubuntu.com/

If you're not especially technically savvy, you probably won't stick with it. The only support is internet web forums, and while some will say "You can get support anywhere on the web", in my experience it's not always easy to find. You will see tons of questions on web forums, and the most common answer is "Read the FAQ's".

There are some open source programs that are free and may let you use your existing data files... it probably won't be completely seamless compared to actually using Office or whatever you created them with.

It can be done without spending anything, but you'll probably need some patience and a willingness to play around, tweak, and learn new stuff. But there are free versions that also provide free updates.

Compatibility with internet is not really an issue... Ubuntu will have a web browser, and there are others you can get that are free, if you can get it to work with your Network Connection (which usually isn't difficult, and "may" work right out of the box) then the web browsers will work pretty well. You may have to find drivers for your printer, but unless it's nearly obsolete it probably won't be difficult.

 

[CHenry]

If its better than windows why doent the market represent that?

 

[Aries]

If its better than windows why doent the market represent that?

I mis-read your question, I thought you said "it IS better than Windows" but you said "IF it is better than Windows".

Whether it's better is completely subjective, but Microsoft's licensing system is really what controls the market. I've always said they are decent at producing software, but geniuses at marketing it... they pretty much own the market because of the way they license.

 

[KOPBET]

Im fed up with the constant advertising. I don’t want to pay a subscription fee for updates to programs I paid full price for.

What are your expectations from Linux to alleviate these issues?

 

[NightShade]

The problem is that there is some software that just does not play well with linux. If you game or have a particular application that you can't live without you probably won't like it.

I normally keep an older computer up and running with linux and while not exactly the same my server is based on FreeBSD which is a UNIX derivative the same as linux.

Constant advertising like in web pages isn't going to change. The BS in win 10's start menu can mostly be killed off with openshell https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu/releases and no more of the stupid tiles and other crap. You get a win 7 style start menu that works.

Too many programs are going to a subscription model. Options there are varied. Most of the time the new update brings very little to the actual program so using an older version is simple enough. For things like photoshop or office you can switch to GIMP and LibreOffice. To be honest if you hear of a program that you think you may want to use it's worthwhile to search for whatever program and open source alternatives and just go that route. You will probably be better off in the long run.

As far as linux as a whole, it's actually just the core or kernel that everything else is based on. That is why there are so many different versions, one of the more commonly known ones is Ubuntu. It has multiple versions as well like the regular version that looks more like a screwed up MAC or Kubuntu that has more of a windows feel to it. Funny thing is that it is based off another version of linux called Debian and Ubuntu has other operating systems based off of it like Mint which is also a more windows feel. If you are going to dive in to it the best thing I can suggest is download a few ISO's and try them. Get a feel for them and see what you like best. Using an older computer is the easiest way to do it but if you only have one then unplug your HDD or SSD and install to a second HDD or SSD or a decent sized USB flash drive and try it out that way.

As far as internet access the OS as a whole helps run a large chunk of the internet and is literally built with the internet in mind. Accessing files you already have will depend on the program, a lot of stuff is made to access it's paid counterpart and most of the programs are free and open source though they may not be able to save a file that is compatible with the previous program you were using. I have had little to no issues with printers but if you bought something completely obscure there are no guarantees there.

But as said it will take time to learn stuff, you have to sit down and make the effort but once you do some interesting things can be done with it.

 

[CHenry]

^^^ Got any aspirin? And whisky...my head hurts now LOL

 

[Shadowrider]

I've always said they are decent at producing software, but geniuses at marketing it... they pretty much own the market because of the way they license.

And I've always said MS sucks at producing software. LOL

I recently had to upgrade to Windows 10 against my will. Thanks Intuit, enjoy that coerced revenue! But anyway, W10 installs updates daily and sometimes multiple updates daily. That's not good software design, that's piss POOR product quality and design. Meanwhile my Mac needs an update 3 to 4 times per year...Maybe. Also, I've upgraded OSX at least 6 times (I've really lost track and don't know) and it's never cost me a penny. Over the years I think MS WIN upgrades cost me around $179 each and every time.

The way Bill Gates did it was making it affordable and more pretty with his windows GUI, he did a great job with that. Back in the day when he was taking over the computing world we were using Silicon Graphics unix based workstations, similar machines from IBM, and DEC Alpha workstations that ran VMS. Those cost real money as in multiple thousands and that's all there was that would do real work like drafting in CAD/CAM and graphics design/animation stuff.

O/P if you are like me and want to pull something out of the box and have it just work then you want a Mac. If you want to be a techno geek and enjoy tweaking things then Linux is what you want. These days Linux just amounts to an open source version of Unix, and Unix is what's underneath and runs the Mac. It was designed from the jump back in the '60s with security as #1 in mind and that's why hackers have a much harder time with breaking into it.

Yes, I admit I hate all things MS....

 

[Perplexed]

Wow, I had forgotten all about VAX/VMS...

 

[RickN]

I have to run Win 10 for a few things I do, but I run open source when ever I can. I use Libreoffice, Gimp, Firefox and other programs. I suggest you start out with them and once you are use to them you can look at Linux since these are the programs that run on Linux. If nothing else it might help you migrate your saved docs and stuff over before making the switch.