Top 5 reasons why you should move to Linux

Hereโ€™s why you should use Linux operating system on your PCs

The Windows family of Operating System (OS) ever since its launch has ruled computers across the world, and continues to do so till this day. Even though other OSโ€™ (e.g. Mac OS X, Linux) are undoubtedly used, their user base fades in comparison to the number of users (ranging from individuals to enterprises) that use
Windows based PCs as part of their daily workflow.

Linux is still regarded as the OS that mostly “geeks” use. Further, when it comes to servers and mainframe computers, Linux is the dominant OS. Basically, people abstain from using Linux because they consider itโ€™s too complex to work with.

While part of it might hold true, the fact is that Linux has come a long way, and is no longer considered to be complex as it used to be. Actually, there are quite a few reasons why you should be using Linux.

Free and open source

Linux is completely free and open-source, unlike Windows, which is proprietary and needs to be legally purchased in order for you to use it. In other words, you can download Linux and install it on any number of computers as you wish. Also, the open-source nature of Linux allows anyone to make changes to its source code and distribute it.

Performs well on older computers

Linux performs well even on older computers with moderate hardware specifications, as it is known to be exceptionally resource efficient. For instance, if you have an older PC that is struggling to work with the latest Windows version, you can try installing a Linux distro on it. You will be shocked to see the difference.

Lots of distributions available

There are now loads of varied distributions (often called distros or flavors) available for Linux. Thanks to its open-source nature and wide community support.

You can download and use anyone that meets your usage requirements. Some of the -most well-known Linux distros are Linux Mint and Ubuntu.

Here Are The Best Linux Distros of 2016

Availability of all popular software applications

While itโ€™s true that the availability of software for Linux is less than it is for Windows, there is no need to be worried. Majority of popular software applications (e.g. Web browsers, Image editors, IM clients) are now available for Linux.

Additionally, to run Windows programs on Linux, you can always use the “Wine” compatibility layer software.

Less prone to viruses and other malware

Admit it, Windows based PCs/laptops are worse off with viruses and trojans. Although modern Antivirus programs and the inherent security features of the latest Windows versions help in reducing the data loss that viruses and other types of malware cause, they still exist. The simple reason for the majority of viruses and other malicious programs being written for Windows is its popularity.

On the other hand, malware is all but non-existent for Linux. So if you use Linux, your data is going to be much more secure. That being said, any Operating System is only as secure as its users.

If you consider the above reasons are valid enough, we suggest you ditch your Windows today for Linux. Choose the best distro that suits as Linux comes in all shapes and sizes. You will thank us later on!

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Kavita Iyer
Kavita Iyerhttps://www.techworm.net
An individual, optimist, homemaker, foodie, a die hard cricket fan and most importantly one who believes in Being Human!!!

6 COMMENTS

  1. When are you going to write Top 5 reasons why you should move to Windows 10 I would like to make a comparison of what the best option’s are.

  2. I do like Linux, but I feel like your Top 5 could be stronger. The points are alright, but they might just not be good enough points to truly switch from Windows to Linux.

    This is opinion based, not factual.

    1) I don’t feel Linux being open source would be a huge reason for the average person to switch. Most computers you buy already come with Windows installed, so you aren’t going to pay for it. Even if it didn’t come with it, it isn’t too hard to find a license key on an older Win7 desktop and use that to directly instal Win10 or Win7 if 10 isn’t your favorite.

    2) Performance on better computers. This is a valid point, I like this one. Though I’m sure you could instal a 32-bit operating. Who wants to do that? If you can’t afford to buy a new computer, this would be a good option to get more life out of your device.

    3) Lots of distributions available, this can be good or bad, depending on the person. If you dont know a thing about computers, you would probably get lost once you heard the jargon that comes with Linux. Distro? Mint? Ubuntu? How do is em pronounce that?!

    4) Software Avaliability, this one is very opinion based. It’s true that you can find lots of software for Linux that is on Windows. It’s also true that there is big software that isn’t available. I can’t install Office 365 on a Linux machine, and please don’t refer me to Libre Office, that software looks like it came from Windows 98 or XP!
    At least there is Steam… Hallelujah!

    5) Less prone to viruses. There is two sides to this coin. It’s true that Linux is less prone to viruses due to a lack of a user base. But it is also true that to get a virus on Windows, you are usually doing something you shouldn’t be. Going to a bad website? Your child downloading Minecraft mods from a totally trustworthy site. Clicking on links in emails to places you aren’t sure about. It just requires security knowledge.

    I feel like Linux is a good thing, but just these reasons alone aren’t enough to convince me to switch. I challenge you to find a reason for the average uninformed PC user could realistically switch to Linux.

    • In fact, when you buy a computer with Windows pre-installed, you do pay for an OEM license of the OS. Fortunately, lately there are alternatives – you can buy a new computer with Linux pre-installed.

      Lots of distros: the Linux comunity at large will gladly lend a hand in choosing what’s best for you. You just have to ask. Go ask MS’s support what Windows is best for you, should you not be happy with what comes pre-installed, and essentially the answer will be “the most expensive”.

      LibreOffice: some people actually hate the ribbon-based UI that the newest MS Office uses. The only reason LibreOffice doesn’t provide a similar interface, at least as an alternative to the classic one, is that MS has patented the ribbon idea. If that isn’t a trivial patent I don’t know what is.

      OTOH, I was recently forced to switch from Google docs to Office 365. My opinion so far is that it sucks. Big time. You may not have such fancy visuals with Google docs, but you surely get the functionality that matters, and way better reliability than with Office 365.

      Viruses: on Windows, due to some historical bad decisions, you can easily to something wrong that can compromise your whole system – some portions of code a user runs frequently run with elevated privileges for backwards compatibility reasons. With Linux, you have to go out of your way to make it possible for a virus to do something similarly wrong – you have to provide root credentials to a virus explicitly.

      Here’s what got me hooked, years ago already: way better experience with community-provided support than with commercial, paid support from MS (which I was unfortunately enough to use), way simpler software installation and upgrade (only lately has MS come up with chocolatey, but it’s not built into Windows and way poorer, in terms of packages, than the average Linux distro), way better performance – I mean, really, Linux finishes transcoding a video before Windows even gets to start properly on it, and way better stability – I can leave my computer open to download a file with essentially zero risk to find it frozen or crashed when I’m back. In time, if using Linux, you get to appreciate the ease with with you can automate and customize stuff too – nothing ever on Windows comes close.

  3. I agree with comments from Watson.

    But I heavily doubt that author has even used Linux at home reading from her description which has nothing to do with technology. “An individual, optimist, homemaker, foodie, a die hard cricket fan” just copied and pasted points from various websites by adding her optimistic touch. The points have been mentioned million times since 2000 and nothing new.
    Linux on the desktop is unfinished product and multiple distros support that. It does not offer anything special and follows catch up to Windows. Libre Office is good example of that. Linux is slow and huge learning curve for common people.
    If Linux on desptop was so good why even less that 5% of people are using it. People prefer good products. A good example is Android as mobile OS (80% market) compared to Windows Mobile OS (<3% market).

  4. Well, it depends on the viewpoint.
    Free and open source – freedom is for the mature people. With all of my respect the majority of the end users are IT infants, regardless of the generation.
    Performs well on older computers – just ponder for a minute, how likely is for someone to put new different OS on his/her OLD PC?
    Lots of distributions available – this is the same as the first bullet. There is a verse in a Bible about people who could not distinguish between left and right….for someone to choose a distribution, that person should at least to know the difference between compiler and interpreter. The alternative is a choice based on the color scheme ๐Ÿ˜‰
    Availability of all popular software applications – this is a bit misleading as there are a number of alternatives to the apps for Windows but they’re not even close when you come to portability of the produced files on Windows based systems, i.e. working from home on Linux and at work on Win based PC. And I’ll definitely disagree that Google Docs are more efficient than Office 365.
    Less prone to viruses and other malware – that’s also misleading. Malware is targeting specific platform, app or system. For example you could look compare the volume of malware for Android and WP. The reason for the low volume of malware for Linux is that there are no interesting enough pieces of data there.
    As a bottom line, Linux offer excellent alternative to the MS Windows based desktop Operating Systems, but the price is: higher learning curve (a couple of months in the best case), portability issues (be prepared your work to look differently when opened on Windows PC) and different social circle ๐Ÿ˜‰

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