Whoa, there cowboy! You’re stepping footing foot in unexplored territories. Are you sure you want to take this risk?
Well, yes. You should.
For the longest time, people have been complaining about growing problems with Windows. Recently, Microsoft announced the Recall feature in Copilot+, which is essentially a huge security and privacy risk on Windows. This is what mainly prompted me to explore the greener pastures promised by Linux.
And I couldn’t be happier. However, after experiencing Linux, I’ve realized why some people might be hesitant to switch to it as their main operating system.
So, here are some of the reasons why you should switch to Linux.
It Can Run on a Potato
You Can Customize It to Your Heart’s Content
Linux Is Much More Secure
Free and Easy to Use
It’s Not Windows
A Strong Community
It Can Run on a Potato
Linux is well known for being able to run on virtually any platform.
Not only can you run on Windows PCs and laptops, but also on Macs, Tablets, Chromebooks, and gaming consoles including the PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Wii.
With so much universal compatibility, Linux is the most versatile operating system yet. This is mainly because Linux is open-source, which means that it has no restrictions on how you use it. Anyone with coding knowledge can modify and run Linux for their purposes.
This allows you to mold Linux based on your needs, which is a luxury you can’t enjoy with other operating systems.
You Can Customize It to Your Heart’s Content
Because of its open-source nature, developers have the flexibility to customize Linux to work exactly the way they want.
These customizations start with the aesthetic changes you can make to the operating system. You can change the desktop environment you use. These are bundles of different components that provide the graphical user interface including icons, wallpapers, toolbars, and desktop widgets.
Some of the popular ones include MATE, GNOME, Xfce, Cinnamon, KDE Plasma, and much more.
With proper knowledge, you can create your desktop environments from scratch as well. Based on the hardware you run Linux on, you can also add or remove elements from the desktop environment to tweak the performance.
Linux Is Much More Secure
Some people have the misconception that since Linux is open-source, anyone can access the code and make changes to it, which can cause hackers to inject malicious code.
However, this simply isn’t the case. Since the code is open-source, anyone can identify vulnerabilities in the code and fix them. This means that the code is more robust and isn’t vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
Linux also has privileges, designed to restrict access to the ones that don’t belong. Root access is only accessible to the developer. Other than that, users are only given access at a lower level, which doesn’t allow them to make a lot of changes.
Free and Easy to Use
Linux has developed a reputation for being designed to cater to hardcore developers. While that was true during the inception of Linux, it’s not the same now.
Linux offers a great user experience with tools and applications that come pre-installed. Not just that, Linux updates are much easier to install compared to Windows and can be installed while you work.
You won’t have to stop everything you’re doing just to wait for an update to install. I’m looking at you, Windows.
The best part of all this is that Linux is entirely free to use. You can install it on as many platforms as you want with zero costs.
It’s Not Windows
All of this brings me to my biggest point. Linux isn’t Windows.
While Windows used to provide a great experience, the Operating system has been on a steady decline since the launch of Windows 10.
Windows is buggy to the point where my network drivers simply refused to work, making me think that there was something wrong with my internet. After a frustrated call to the Xfinity phone number, I was told that maybe there was an issue with the drivers.
I decided to reinstall Windows, which fixed the issue for a few days until it finally crept in with the newer updates.
For me, Microsoft’s recent privacy policy changes have ruined my perception of Windows, to the point where I’m never going to go back to it.
A Strong Community
Let’s be honest. Linux is still a niche operating system that not a lot of people know about.
Because of this, Linux attracts a loyal and enthusiastic community that wants to contribute to the operating system. Due to this, there are entire forums dedicated to flavors of Linux. Some of the most popular ones include Arch Linux, Linux Mint, Kali Linux, and Ubuntu.
This means that if you’re having an issue, you’re likely to find a solution in any of the forums. If not, you can always ask and helpful people will try and help you with your problems.
But, when you decide to switch to Linux, you’re going to face one huge problem.
Which Linux flavor should you go for?
I can’t give you the answer to that since every flavor is different from the other, and it depends on the user’s needs. So, I urge you to head over to YouTube and Reddit and check out other people’s experiences to find the Linux flavor for your needs.