There Has Never Been a Better Time to Switch to Linux

[LPBBEAR]

Nice article. I have been a Linux user since the late 1990's. Switching away from Windows is much easier than it used to be.
https://fosspost.org/there-has-never-been-a-better-time-to-switch-to-linux

[GreenWave]

1. I had Ubuntu for over a decade. It remembers previous pages for zoom.

I had to switch to MS for job. I got a refurbished desktop with MS 10. Damn thing loses connection 50% of the time.In my PC the WWAN was not activated. So far , so good.

Mint is a good distro of Linux.

[hunter]

2. I quit Microsoft Windows on my personal computers after 98SE...

... and don't touch Microsoft or Apple products unless someone is paying me.

Linux was fairly easy for me because the first real operating system I used regularly was BSD. Switching to Linux was like going home again.

There is still a learning curve and a few pitfalls along the way if you are installing Linux on a new computer, especially one fresh from the factory with Windows already installed.

Used or refurbished machines that sell for $100 or less run Linux well, as do inexpensive new machines such as the Raspberry Pi. The Linux Mint and Raspberry Pi communities are friendly and helpful. I've installed Linux on machines I've found on the curb. If you've got an expensive new computer I think it's best to learn Linux on a second machine, thus avoiding any risk of messing up the expensive machine.

[usonian]

3. Linux May Be the Best Way to Avoid the AI Nightmare

Same general idea.
https://www.lifewire.com/install-linux-avoid-ai-8655664

Microsoft's Copilot+ PCs are so jam-packed with AI that it's even in the name. We expect Apple to add lots of new AI features in iOS 18 and macOS 15 at next month's WWDC, and Google is, well, Google. But what if you just don't want AI on your computer? What if you care about AI's environmental impact, privacy holes, and the ethical problems of training on data without the creators' permission? The answer might be to switch to Linux. Yes, Linux.

"As someone who has worked extensively in tech and cybersecurity, I can tell you that Linux is indeed a viable alternative for those who wish to avoid AI integrations found in mainstream operating systems like macOS and Windows," Reade Taylor, ex-IBM Internet Security Systems engineer and founder of cybersecurity company Cyber Command, told Lifewire via email.

Out of Control
As they add more features, we have less and less control over our computers. Dropbox, iCloud, Copilot, and all of Apple's Continuity features rely on the cloud, sending data back and forth. AI is already firmly embedded into our computers, powering text autocorrect, recognizing our friends and family in the pictures we add to our photo libraries, and so on.

...

Linux might still not be for everyone, but it is now for anyone. Anyone who wants more control over their computing life or just wants to keep using their old computer instead of being caught on an upgrade cycle now powered by the needs of AI. Take a look. You might like it.

To me, the unix philosophy: If you want something, add it. If you don't, it's not sardind-canned into the system, and generally easy to delete. (actually, it's "a command does just one thing and does it well. Plays well with others." )

When I give away old hardware, it's generally with Linux Mint installed on it.

[msongs]

4. sure if you know how to write code and it will run your most used programs nt

[LPBBEAR]

5. I don't write code

and yes Linux does run my most used programs.
Firefox, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, Audacity, GIMP, Quake, MidAir2, Tribes1, Audour, Brave, Google Chrome, UnReal, SweetHome 3d, Space Cadet Pinball, NoMachine, AnyDesk, TeamViewer, Kodi, Plex, K3B, FreeTube, Steam, Wine, VirtualBox, VMWare, Adobe Acrobat, Calibre, VLC, Windows Media Player, OBS Studio, thousands of games through Steam as well as native Linux games, thousands of Windows applications through Wine and on and on. More programs than I have the energy to type to off set your pitiful effort to keep a myth that comes from the 1990's alive that Linux requires users to "write code".

Microsoft has always been and still is an abusive corporate monopoly that does not respect consumer user rights and privacy.

NO progressive Democrat should support them or act as a shill for their products.

The Republicans under Bush are the reason the company wasn't broken up in 2000.

Do you really believe that while using Linux I have to "write code" to participate here at DU????

[Torchlight]

7. Same assertions we heard about the PC in 1985.

[LPBBEAR]

8. I remember back

in the early to mid 2000's when I was more active with online gaming in Linux being in game when players, who were mostly using Windows, would start to bash Linux with another obsolete myth. It went something like "Nah, you can't use Linux for gaming. It can't run games." All the while I was using Linux and playing in the same games as they were.
The myths weren't true then and they still aren't now.

[jimfields33]

9. Good year.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. Linux is wonderful

Though requires some initial settings, and an hour or two of learning how to operate, update. There are help communities. It is way better than a few years back. I've been running it since about 2016 when Vista went out of support. I am no longer dependent on MS bloatware, and offers to buy AntiVirus, 365, Word. Recently I added an almost new Windows 11 PC, as a portable, but had to disable a pile of things. Added LibreOffice and a generic AV. Good,but when Win11 goes out of support, I'll ditch it for Linux Mint.