Why you should replace Windows 7 with Linux
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I have been a longtime PC user, since operating systems were various flavours of DOS in fact! PC's were novel then, came in many different flavours with several different operating systems. Amateur programming was all the rage, mostly in BASIC, but gradually C and C++ took over and there was a great community of budding programmers publishing their programs for all to share.Then along came windows in all its variations - 3.0, 3.1 XP, 7, and so on. Apple too was hot on their heels (well, fairly hot). These two sounded the death nell of the amateur programmer and certainly the novelty has long worn off for me. Now I regard them (PC's) as just tools used, as one correspondent disparagingly put it, for shopping, accounts, record keeping and other such mundane tasks. What else can you do with a PC these days that is worth spending any time over? Fiddling around the OS? Come on! With those thoughts and getting thoroughly pissed off with Windows. I recently switched from windows 10 to Linux Mint (may change that to Ubuntu) and wish that I had done it sooner. And, at 83 yrs old had no problems! One thing I have noted that hasn't changed at all over the years, the, 'My PC/OS is better than anyone elses' syndrome!
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@agedone Welcome to the Vivaldi Community! Always good to hear from someone who's been around the block a few times
Good on you for making the switch to Linux - I guess it's more familiar anyway for those of us who grew up using the command line
the death nell of the amateur programmer
I guess you've not had a look at for instance Github or Sourceforge lately? I think the amateur programmer is very much alive and productive these days.
PS it's "death knell".
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I used Windows 10 to replace to Windows 7,as in my opinion,Windows 10 is more helpful to me than Linux.
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@Ayespy I have to wonder what you do to your Linux setups to bring them down. I can break a setup with the best of them just tinkering. Left alone Linux can last for years for me.
I'm writing this on Mint Linux 18.3 (KDE) that was last installed a couple of years ago. Same with two setups I have at home, and several more that I have installed for family and friends. I have Mint KDE running on computers used by children right up to 85 year old seniors. I always install the same versions so if they do have a problem, I can lead them to the fix over the phone. Generally speaking I very seldom need to do anything for anyone.
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@Joey21 In every case, what has broken Linux for me has been an update. Once an update makes a build unbootable, I have not figured out how to roll it back to a bootable state.
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@Ayespy - I've done that too. Frustrating. Seems as though there should be a CLI command to reset everything to "like new" (default) from the recovery menu. When the OS failed it is because I've tinkered with the Linux OS 'til I broke it.
I'll agree with others' comments. The average person (perhaps Americans mostly?) seems to be adverse to change or intellectually lazy. Rather than learn a tiny bit to avoid reoccurring computer issues such as viruses - they would rather beg people like me to fix it for them or pay me pizza money to repair their mistakes.
I don't work on computers these days b/c along the way the value of my spare time exceeded the value of the money people wanted to pay me. I still do favors of course. When someone has a repeating problem either it is time to learn what not to do to keep Win10 alive or its time to listen to my OS lecture. I steer people towards Linux, Apple and Chromebooks these days. Win10 is okay and we have it on our family computer (dual booting) for a few games but I consider it delicate and always subject to attack.
Our kids have used Mint Linux (KDE) from the start. Today they use all the OSs. They use open-source software for school work and personal projects. We want them to be able to be productive with computers and software in general - and not be the type of person who struggles when they need to use a different OS or browser or office suite.
Until the average person is more like our kids, Windows will likely remain at the top of the stack for no reason other than familiarity and the default OS that came on a new computer. I prefer "better tools" such as Vivaldi or Linux.
I think Win7 was the pinnacle of the Windows OS series so far. While Win10 might be better under the hood (faster and more secure than Win7), I see the rest of the OS as necessarily complicated. Too many layers for settings. The OS seems to get in the way of just getting things done.
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@Ayespy said in Why you should replace Windows 7 with Linux:
@Joey21 In every case, what has broken Linux for me has been an update. Once an update makes a build unbootable, I have not figured out how to roll it back to a bootable state.
Linux Mint has a program called Timeshift for this issue. It can be set up to perform timed back-ups, or you can manually create a system snapshot before you try to install something.
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@JohnConnorBear Perhaps there's "laziness," and then there's "laziness."
A carpenter who also practices as a blacksmith might consider a carpenter who simply buys a new hammer or screwdriver, or maybe even never replaces the handles - but simply buys new ones when they break or wear out, as being "lazy." Because, after all, everyone should have the skill and the will to forge, repair, and refashion their own tools.
Most users of tools, however, do not expect to forge them or repair them.
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Linux is cool - no question. But a lot of work to keep it up to date. If you are firm with your PC - try it. If you are "only a user", Windows is easier!
Btw: Win 10 is current not 7!
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@JohnConnorBear Then people who don't learn languages are also "lazy."
I think a degree of discomfort with the unfamiliar is a greater or lesser part of every human's nature. I'm not sure it equates to laziness.
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@JohnConnorBear , today I had an update on Windows 10, this in the W7 would have meant giving me my head against the keyboard and making myself a coffee and showering afterwards, while Windows is updating. In Windows 10 it was a procession like other times and does not take more than 2-3 minutes. So fast it wasn't even the Kubuntu I used.
For me an OS is a tool and there is very little time that I enjoy another UI than that of the browser, therefore it is quite indifferent what OS is under the window of Vivaldi or UR, which is Windows or Linux, what I want is that it works without having to worry about this.
Today all OSes are very valid and the differences are only personal preferences, none of them cover all needs and all have their pros and cons.
The only advantage I see on Linux is the variety that there is to suit any use and personal tastes, but none of them have the ease and convenience of use that Windows has, nor the availability of all kinds of applications even in the scope of OpenSource that Windows has. -
Or the "I do'nt know" solution: Dual Boot: https://www.howtogeek.com/187789/dual-booting-explained-how-you-can-have-multiple-operating-systems-on-your-computer/#:~:text=CloudSavvy
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@JohnConnorBear , that Windows by default has a habit of tuteling the user is nothing new, but it also allows to disable this custom (and telemetrics), which I usually do first on a new PC.
With this he will become an obedient lamb, fast and stable like a rock, without further headaches.
For me the comfort zone, as I said before, is the browser I use in 99% of the time on the PC, and this is the same on Windows, as on Linux. -
@JohnConnorBear As I said: Linux has more options to make your "own thing". But for "simple users" Windows is easier. I tried both an thats my resΓΌmee.
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@JohnConnorBear Coincidentally I just had to fix a botched Windows update to 2004... First it screwed up the update, which then reverted and screwed up the existing installation. Then I wasted a couple of hours a day for two weeks trying to fix the broken Windows Update system. I tried every trick I knew and every tip I could find online. Of course, none of the error messages or Microsoft tools/pages were helpful at all. Eventually I think I deleted something which broke Windows completely - making it revert to a clean Windows install (wiping all program files and settings) and in French not English (because I bought the PC in France ten years ago).
Luckily I made a full backup before the first update so I've been able to get back all the software and settings (after another wasted week or two).
I am always amazed just how crap Microsoft software can behave - especially considering the billions of beta-testers they have!
Edit: I agree with people that Linux package management (now*) works flawlessly for everything installed on the system. Microsoft's problem is that they a) only want that kind of thing to work with stuff they control or can sell you and b) they're crap at implementing the many, many such things they've tried (Games for Windows Live, anyone?).
(*) certainly wasn't always the case back in the day
If only Lubuntu hadn't dropped 32-bit support right after I installed it on my ancient netbook...
Now I have to get out of my comfort zone and waste yet more weeks trying out the handful of alternatives I eventually downloaded (thanks to those who gave suggestions in whatever thread that was!). I'll get that netbook updated one day - if only I wasn't so lazy. -
@Koolio I switched from Windows years ago and found Kubuntu the best alternative to Windows. The KDE variants of Debian work the best.
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@JohnConnorBear That's one of the distros I downloaded (ironically, all of them stored on the affected Windows machine...).
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@mossman Necro-bumping the topic to say "hello from a ten year old netbook now happily running Q4OS"!!!
I got hold of an old 2GB memory card a couple of weeks ago (doubled the capacity) and installed a new Linux yesterday... Of all the distros I selected (lightweight, 32 bit...) Q4OS was the only currently maintained one which worked with the WiFi card straight out of the box (I spent most of Saturday trying and failing to get stock Debian to switch WiFi on...). I have to say that with KDE Plasma it's a pretty slick interface... and works much better than the Lubuntu I had installed a couple of years ago; better power management (fan speed actually changing, getting much longer life out of the battery - currently recalibrating as it's been stuck at 8% for about the last hour); hassle-free connection of Windows network drives etc.
I'm actually looking forward to using this when travelling again!
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A lot of good information in this thread, though I did notice one glaring omission as a seasoned Linux user that still keeps a Windows environment on most of his machines for duplicating reported issues and the occasional work with Adobe products: rEFInd, a graphical boot manager for UEFI systems.
If you're thinking about setting up any kind of dual-boot configuration and you're running a UEFI system, this is the only way to go about it, trust me. It lets you pick the environment you want to boot with the mouse or keyboard, and also makes netbooting a cinch too, so you can run things in memory the same way you would off a flash stick, minus the USB drive.
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