Windows Sucks. The Solution is Free.

Microsoft has gotten increasingly invasive, pushy, and PRICEY. A trend that has been going on for years, but becomes worse exponentially faster each day. If it weren’t bad enough that Windows 10 is an overpriced, bulky system, that drains your PC’s resources, it’s spying on you as well. Microsoft makes little attempt to hide this fact, they collect every detail of your personal data 24/7/365. Of course, dedicated windows users find a way to disable all(or most)of Microsoft’s tentacles in their personal space, but this hardly makes it practical for the average user.

I switched to Linux as a free alternative several years ago, but returned to windows, saddened that Linux just wasn’t developed enough to completely replace Windows. It was buggy, and lacked compatibility with practically everything. That said, the times they are a-changing. I am writing this article from Linux Mint 20 Ulyana. It is a visually beautiful, blazing fast, surprisingly functional, and completely free operating system. My laptop contains two hard drives, so I dual booted with windows, for the few specific tasks I still need it for. These are dwindling, as I replace all my software needs with either cross-platform, or purely Linux based programs. The only relevant program I haven’t replaced in its entirety is Adobe Photoshop. That said, GIMP does almost everything Photoshop can, and it is available on all platforms for the hefty price tag of $0.00

In reality I could remove my Windows SSD today, set it on a shelf, and never look back. And I’m considering it, because Windows(the power-hungry software monster that it is), has a habit of heating up my laptop doing basic tasks, way more than Linux Mint ever does on CPU intensive tasks, and occasionally crashes, whereas Mint hasn’t crashed a single time since installation.(Gotta love the benefits of paid software, HUH??) I have grown to hate Windows with a passion, even with all the modifications I made to my version(clearing the bloatware, spyware, and giving it a Windows 7 style interface). Speaking of, if you like the windows 7 interface, you’ll love Linux Mint. It is laid out in a similar fashion, but more cleanly if I’m being honest.

So why is it that Linux is still barely used? I’ll get into that shortly, but lets look at the statistics of operating system use for a moment.

Windows: 87.76%

macOS: 9.61%

Linux: 2.06%

Unknown: 0.38%

Yes, its low. That’s sad, but I predict that’s about to change rapidly. Linux isn’t widely used for a few reasons:

A: Until recently it just wasn’t polished and compatible like Windows or Mac. I say until recently, because it is now. It’s caught up in terms of functionality, stability, and has exceeded in terms of efficiency.

B: Gaming. Ouch. That’s been a bit of a problem for the Linux community for a long time. The reason is that game developers saw no major incentive to make compatible releases, considering the statistically insignificant user base. But that is changing, the user base is growing, and companies are taking notice. Steam for example has been releasing Linux compatible games for quite a while, and the list keeps growing. They aren’t the only ones either, and more are bound to fall in line.

C: Learning Curve: okay I get it, if you aren’t tech savvy, Linux has historically been difficult. That is almost a non-issue at this point, due to a huge amount of attention to simple, GUI based functionality. Yes the terminal will always be a part of using Linux, but its normally unnecessary. When the terminal is needed though, you don’t need to understand what it all means to work it quite efficiently. Lets say you needed to install some specific software that needed to be done by command line, you can always find copy and paste tutorials that require no thought to execute.

To sum up, Linux has risen to the challenge and now matches windows in terms of function and aesthetics, free of the Bloatware, Spyware, Power-Hungry Processes, and Massive Price Tag.

Go install Linux.

Now.

Do it.

FASTER.

I’M WATCHING, I KNOW YOU’RE STILL USING WINDOWS.

The Linux Gods will have their revenge for this.