Top 10 reasons why you should move to Linux

  1. Linux OS is FREE. Yes, you read that right. BYO PC, reformat the hard disk, then install Linux. Well of course you have to pay your Internet connection to download the installer image. But, the actual OS it self is free.
  2. Linux applications are mostly FREE. Yes, again you read that right. Almost all applications on Linux are free. Name what you need: Office tools, file managers, multimedia players, browsers, games are available to download in every distro’s (or its parent’s) repositories.
  3. It’s open-source. What the heck does that mean? Open source means you have access to most of the source codes of the applications written for Linux. Why would people do that? Under certain copyright license agreement, you are allowed to modify as long as you make your modifications available for public. The whole idea is to make software better when there are more people contribute their ideas and lines of codes to it.
  4. It’s virus-free. Again, this has been a pain for Windows users where you have to purchase, update, then upgrade your anti-virus to make it virus free, but then again, you are not distraction free, because it will prompt you to get an update every now and then. How annoying! Linux is designed to be so secure that each modification requires you to enter a password. Virus is unwanted program that intrudes into your machine and make changes. With Linux being immune to it, it’s pretty darn hard to crack the password as well, at least for the viruses.
  5. Hundreds of distro to suit your taste. Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSUSE, Arch, Mint, Debian, Antergos, PuppyLinux are amongst the most popular distros to choose from. These come with a variatey of Desktop Environments, Windows Managers, and default applications.
  6. Modify it to your taste. If non of the hundreds distro options is suitable to your liking, Linux distros are highly customisable. Pick Arch Linux for instance. You get to build your own Graphical desktop look & feel from the ground up. Or if you want a readily made package with lots of goodies, try Linux Mint, Ubuntu, or Fedora. You can take on and off any software you like.
  7. User-friendly. “Ummm but I am not tech savy, I only use Windows”. Nothing against Windows, but try Windows 8 for instance. See how its interface wishes to be an iPad as well as desktop PC? It’s crazy! Or confusing at the very minimal. Is that what you call ‘user-friendly’? If you want the cleanliness of things, you can prompt for the XFCE4 DE. This is available by default on many distros of your choice. If not, you can always download and install, it will take less than 15 minutes to prepare it on most fast and modern PCs with decent Internet access. If you want fancy and innovative, then try Unity, or if you prefer Windows XP style, Cinnamon DE is the closest thing to it. If that is not user-friendly enough, you can always change the position, shape, and colour of  the status bars and icons.
  8. Support multiple distros. In Linux, distros are not against each other. In fact, they even support each other by sharing a common home. What the heck is that? Each user would be assigned a home directory where you store your desktop settings, your documents, and other crucial personalized information. With GRUB2 you can have multiple-distros running and sharing the same machine and home directory. As long as your hard-disk space allows it, you can install dozens of distro. Another option is to run different distros on a virtual machine, a software app that allows you to boot and try another distro from within a distro.
  9. Upgraded frequently. Each distro has their own version upgrade schedule. Ubuntu for instance has a version upgrade every 6 months. A few other distros keep a rolling update, which means you don’t need to upgrade a distro or kernel version, but as soon as an update to app is available you will get to have it. You can elect not to upgrade if you don’t want to.
  10. Awesome communities. Linux contributors fans are very active worldwide, and they are very approachable through various online forums.
  11. BONUS! For those who want to keep their Windows apps, you can also run these apps on Linux with the help of Wine and PlayOnLinux apps. What the heck are they? Try a distro and give it a go your self!

Linux is better, faster, more flexible, and more reliable. There are dozens more advantages of using Linux than Windows or MacOS. Add yours in comment section below.

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