Since you're just starting with Linux, I recommend you stick with the distro's main interface. Most distributions have a primary user interface, such as Fedora and GNOME and OpenSUSE and KDE, but also enable you to pick from one to three others. On top of those are numerous Linux desktop interfaces, each with its own distinctive look and feel, such as KDE, GNOME, Cinnamon, Lxde, Xfce, and many more.
The future of the desktop aside, unlike Windows, where your only real choices today are Windows 10 or 11, there are hundreds of Linux desktop distributions. Indeed, we're moving to a business world where all you really need is a web browser to enable you to use a Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) platform. In any event, since most such programs, even Adobe PhotoShopare now available as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), there's less need than ever for Windows-specific programs. It won't run all Windows apps by any means, but it runs many of them surprisingly well. If you still need some Windows programs, you can always try Crossover Linux to run them on Linux. These make installing new programs as simple as pick and click. Under the hood, things can still be complex, but now almost all distros have application stores.
It used to be hard to install programs on Linux, but that's no longer the case. Good luck running any modern version of Windows on that.
For example, I have a 2007-vintage HP Pavilion Media Center TV m7360n PC with a 2.8GHz Pentium D 920 dual-core processor, and 2GBs of RAM and a 300GB SATA drive PC that's still running Linux to this day. Linux doesn't require much in the way of a computer to do just fine. Looking ahead, as Ed Bott points out, many of you may end up facing a security disaster if you keep using Windows 10.Īlso, Linux, unlike Windows 11, will run on pretty much any PC you've got lying around. So why would you move? Well, for starters, Linux is far more secure than its rivals. With both operating systems, you don't need to know the deep ins and outs of either one to get your work done. But that's also true of Windows and PowerShell.
Yes, you can get a lot more from Linux if you know how to do shell programming and the like. The more full-featured Linux desktop distributions are as easy to use in 2021 as Windows or macOS. Today, the easiest desktop of all, Chrome OS, is simply Linux with the Chrome web browser on top of it. Sure, it was difficult - when I started with the Linux desktop back in the 1990s. Some people still insist that using Linux is hard. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards.
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