Windows operating system alternative

So what's the point?

1. Linux (most) distributions are free to acquire and use forever
2. It's often accepted in the community that you won't need to run anti-virus software costing on-going fees due to the nature of Linux
3. Plenty of open source and free software
4. Avoid re-purchasing software for other OS's because of incompatibility reasons
5. Gain a new skill
6. Get old PC's running again on a light-weight linux OS
7. It's open source. That means if you have the skill you'll be able to alter the OS to suit you.
8. Comes standard with many distributions...  an office package that can rival other costly options...
9. etc etc

Bailing on the Microsoft Windows operating system and making my daily driver a Linux box was one of the best moves I made!

Nothing against Windows as far as an operating system goes. It done me well for many many years after all! While I do have a couple of Windows devices (x3 in fact), my daily driver is in fact a Linux box.

The turning point came when one day after a Windows OS upgrade I realised I had to re-purchase a handful of apps that I had already purchased as prior versions simply were not compatible.

I put aside some time and installed one distribution after another. Ubuntu, Open Suze, Fedora etc and gave them a good whirl. Some for a week or so and others I dumped immediately and tried the next.

When I got to one of the Linux Mint distributions I was pleased to see that after a single download  and install, all the basics were running pretty much out of the box. Sound, video, mp3 playing etc etc.

From there I tried one Mint distribution after another and gave each a whirl then choosing the best for my circumstance to stick with.

At first, I settled for Linux mint Cinnamon

I'm now on Linux mint Mate

I moved to Mate when one day I did some work for a client and experimented installing a slightly lighter OS on his machine as his machine was a bit down on specs. 

Often after an install of an OS the first thing I'll do is check video playback on YouTube since it's an easy way to quickly check practical usability for video rendering and internet access all in one go.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that video playback was smooth-as-can-be on my 4K monitor. Yes the video was up-scaled but it didn't matter since running Cinnamon seemed clunky, jerky etc.

In short. I moved from Cinnamon to Mate simply because of video playback smoothness on my 4K Monitor.
On the surface they run very similarly so I was happy with that!

For those who don't know, most Linux distributions are Open Source, free to acquire, and free to use forever AND they often come bundled with open source software packages such as

• libreoffice a pretty damn good office suite
• Video/audio playback packages
• Browser
• Email clients
• and others.

What was not already bundled and was something I needed, I was able to find easily in the Software Center and install.

And in fact those software packages that I had to re-purchase for the newer Windows OS??? I was able to find a linux alternative.

All free.

I don't mind paying for my software packages if it makes my job faster quicker etc etc but to repurchase over and over again just seemed lunacy at the time.

Give Linux a whirl and let me know your experiences...

Cheers