I just got home from the local cheese distributor, which happens to be a bar downtown. Some of the best cheese in town, hand delivered straight from the cheesery every thursday. Most of it, I'm told, is sold in Pennsylvania, because it's Amish milk from Amish cows with free-range salt and I guess they dig that stuff in Pennsylvania... but we're lucky enough to have a bar/sometimes church that sells it by the pound for around $3.
I like the garlic jack, it's real cheese, not PPCF, and it's got plenty of garlic. However, their 5-year cheddar is some of the best i've ever had... a crystally, salty, cheddar-upside-the-head cheese. It's kind of a tough decision. On the way home, on NPR, i heard about the new, improved Windows the Tenth.
This diary is about why YOU (yes, you) should try Linux.
Linux is off-putting for anyone who has ever had to deal with a command-line interface, left DOS for Windows in '98™, and never looked back. The idea of backsliding to command-line instead of a flashy UI with a talking fucking paperclip-dog is something I wouldn't enjoy myself. Coding? Not me, thanks.
I'm not some power user. I don't need to deal with having to compile stuff or deal with unknown file types, because all i need to do is edit photos, get on the internet, and do some office stuff every so often, so why Linux? Here's my take.
Linux is Free, Dammit
Its many different derivations are developed by teams of independent enthusiasts instead of ConHugeCo. The list of Linux distributions is long, and represents many different styles of user, from hard-core code monkeys to Joe Average who just wants to upload his kitty photos.
Linux is Not Command-Line Anymore
...and it hasn't been in decades. You can expect to see a terminal every once in a while, but after you've got your system tweaked, never. If you don't feel like system tweaking, it's likely you'll never have to learn any Linux code.
If you like a command line OS there are, of course, Linux distros that still exist only in terminals.
Linux is Not Built on 30-Year-Old Code
The linux kernel (the core of the OS) is updated. Constantly. The major distributions are updated. Constantly. When you find something that Windoses just won't do, you have the option of switching over to Mac. When you find something that Linux won't do, all you need to do is wait a couple of weeks, and someone will have a fix. Most of the user friendly distros have autoupdate functions similar to windows update, but of course they allow you to choose what you want to update, and won't break your system because you just installed a new cpu. Like Winderps does.
This also means that bot kiddies/scammers/hackers will not be able to abuse 30-year-old exploits in your 30-year-old code. Linux is so much more secure than Winhax it's a miracle workplaces don't demand it.
Linux Will Do What You Need
Linux hosts open-source versions of pretty much everything that will run on Zindows, with the exception of a few high-end games. GIMP is a powerful, excellent photo editor, one that i've used instead of Adobe products (another dinosaur, Adobe..) for years professionally. Blender is powerful 3D modeling software, used by many indie game studios. OpenOffice is something most of us probably know about, but if not, it's an office suite with no idiotic talking office supplies, pets, clowns, bicycles, or beer cans. Inkscape, the open-source community's answer to Corel Draw. Kdenlive is powerful video editing software.
And when the shit hits the fan, there's WINE, which allows you to run windows programs in a virtual box on your Linux OS.
What About Customer Service?
Linux can be frustrating. Finding a fix for your issue is as easy as googling "myProblem Linux", but with all the different distros, you're going to get a lot of useless info for myProblem. Luckily, the solution is to add the name of your distro: "myProblem Linux Debian" or "myProblem Debian". It's pretty much that easy.
You're going to find that the answers are not as well organized, because you've got half the internet wanting to help you. Fortunately, most online fixes include excessive hand-holding (god knows I needed it at first, and still do sometimes, no shame there) which usually involves conversations like
1. turn your computer on
2. open a terminal (command-line window)
3. copy and paste this exact stuff [insert stuff here]
4. in this order
5. you should get this output
If this type of fix doesn't work immediately, you try another one. It really isn't much work. I'm not going to lie, it's not usually a one button fix, but performing the few tasks involved also forces you to learn things about your OS.
Holy Shit, That's Fast
That's my next door neighbor's take on my Linux install. My computer isn't junk by any means, but it's no CERN-based UberGamingPC. It boots from power off in less than 15 seconds, and you can restart the entire file system (read: what people like about Winwins) in less than 5 seconds from your desktop. yeah, no restarts required, and it won't even interrupt what you're doing, whether it's filling a spreadsheet with sheep futures data or playing World of Tanks. Don't expect to see Linux loading very often; frankly I can't even remember what the loading gif looks like right offhand. (UPDATE: it's some dots)
Linux accomplishes this by being very small, and very refined. Again, the kernel you're using is probably only a couple of months old. The file systems are very fast, very efficient, and very refined. Linux is incredibly friendly with any sort of plug-and-play storage, as well as most peripherals.
But I've Got Winslows On My System Already =(
Toss Linux on a thumb drive. It will boot from there. Try it, see if it does what you need it to do, and then stop supporting ConHugeCo. (Oh, and once you've got it installed, a full Linux install will actually run off a thumb drive, which is kind of entertaining at your local library.)
For more advanced folks, Linux takes a miniscule partition, and can run in tandem with Winblows. Alt+Tab to a whole new computer, whenever you want. That's like, meta, or something. This is the normal fix for the above mentioned problem of high-end Winblap games not being so Linux friendly.
Ok, Tourniquet, Which Distribution?
Haven't used Linux before? Mint. Windows user? Select the KDE version, the KDE desktop is basically identical. There are a lot of options for desktop UIs though, should you feel like exploring.
Someone is screaming "MINT?? GAH WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU??" If you don't like the distro, try another one. Debian is incredibly popular, as is Ubuntu, and many others.
Don't put up with Windows anymore. Try something better.
Linux is worth the headaches, in the end, in exchange for a rock-solid, fast as hell, extremely capable, fully modern operating system. Just try it. Get it working, and see if you don't realize what a pile of shit Windows truly is.
You're going to want more info, of course, but if this diary has nudged you in that direction, the info is out there and easy to find, from the nooblest answers to "building your own distro 101". The link to the Mint distro, above, provides a wealth of Linux Newbie info.
*disclosure: I am not in any way affiliated with any sort of Linux distribution, nor am i a paid shill for Linux, nor am i even much of a computer nerd, I'd just like to spread the word. SUPPORT OPEN SOURCE!