By far the majority of today’s computer users are on Windows OS or macOS. Both of those operating systems have their strengths. I am a Mac guy, always have been.

There is an alternative to all of this. If you are not happy with Windows OS spying on you or the locked down nature of macOS, you can always try the Linux OS. In the last 10 years or so, the Linux Desktop has come along way. It is very user friendly. Many people are installing it, especially in place of Windows OS. Linux is FOSS (Free and Open Source Software). It is not controlled by a company. Almost all the software on Linux is free. You can buy third party software if you need it, of course.

One of the beauties of Linux OS is you can install it on older computers. A good way to try it out is to install it on an older machine that is not “mission critical”. Maybe you have an old laptop sitting in the closet. It installs on Mac computers quite nicely as well.

All you have to do is download an .iso file of the Linux distribution of your choice, burn it to a thumb drive, then boot from the thumb drive on the old computer in question and proceed with the installation. There are several hundred different Linux distributions because they all use the same kernel. However, there are about 15-20 more popular distributions that most new people use.

The Linux Desktop is very modern looking. It has nice features and is fairly easy to use. I have run Linux machines for about 3 years now, just for fun. I like playing around with it and tweaking things. I have learned a lot over this time.

Here is the thing about Linux. If you are an average computer user, then Linux has all the Apps you need. You could definitely do well on the Linux platform. If you need specialized software like the Adobe suite or Microsoft Office, you might want to stay on your current system. There are Apps in Linux that can open and use Office documents just fine. But, sometimes people need to interact with Microsoft stuff.

Approximately 95% of the world’s servers run Linux. A form of Linux is used for other things like gas pumps, cash registers, etc. It is supported by people all over the world, not just one company like Microsoft or Apple. It really is “we the people’s” operating system. Linux has just reached 5% Desktop market share in the US. Not a huge amount, but it continues to grow.

Again, the best way to try Linux is on an extra, older computer. You can get a good feel for it to see if it will work for you. If you want the most privacy and security, Linux is the way to go.

Doug