From Windows to Linux

In the past few days I've made a dramatic transition from Windows to Linux. I have been a Windows user since Windows 95, and I liked Windows 7 but it just ran slower and slower until it was finally intolerable. After many tries and extra help, I could not figure out what was wrong. Probably a re-installation would have worked. But I decided to try something else first.

I have always been curious about Linux, so I installed Ubuntu 11.10. It took some getting used to. There were many positive features, but Ubuntu included some features that I could not get used to. I was not happy with the Unity desktop. The absence of a taskbar was irritating.

So I happened to see a mention of Linux Mint in PCWorld of all places, and liked what I read about it on the Internet. The installation went well but with one or two hitches. The first time I ran Mint it would not boot up. After a second installation it did. This has been a problem.

I chose Linux Mint 13 (64 bit) with the Mate desktop. Yes, one reason I like it is that it's a lot like Windows. It has the familiar taskbar. The Menu on the bottom left of the screen corresponds to the Start menu, but of course different. My Word documents work well in LibreWriter, and even my docx documents quickly load, which Ubuntu could not do at all.

I had trouble setting up network printing in Ubuntu, working on it for days. But now that I understand more about how to do it, I had network printing working in Mint right away. 

My curiosity about Linux, however, is not satisfied. I'd like to know more, and I might be willing to try other distributions. But for now I'm happy with Mint.

Microsoft update

This report indicates that Microsoft is selling fewer copies of its Windows OS, which may indicate that more people are moving to tablet computers. Times change.

After playing around with Windows 7 more, I'm happy to find that it does come with the usual games that were on Vista. You just have to activate them. Start button, > Control Panel, > Programs, Turn Windows features on or off. You select them one at a time. They are installed, but do not show up until they are activated.

Windows of course always had Solitaire going back to the 1986 version, and it became one of the greatest time wasters ever devised. But probably the real purpose of it was to get people to use the mouse. 

Are PCs or Macs safer from internet security attacks? Of course PCs are widely considered the greater risk, but Macs are at risk more than is commonly known. This study says they face about the same problem with cybercrime.

My granddaughter has Macs at her school, and she says they crash all the time. Any school lab is probably a risky place.

Windows 7, which I installed yesterday, comes without an anti virus program, so I installed the free version of AVG, and if I like it I will upgrade.

I'm running Windows 7 Professional. The installation was easy, only about 30 or maybe 40 minutes. It seems to be fast, but it's a stripped down model:  It contains the usual Windows accessories, but no email and no anti-virus built-in. Other than that, so far, so good.

End User: Windows 7 is looking good so far and avoiding the problems that Vista had at this early stage. I'm still unconvinced.

End User: How to tell if Windows 7 will work with your stuff.

 PC World: Don't upgrade to Windows 7. Buy a new PC instead. Probably good advice. But I'll stick with what I've got and save my money.

Windows 7: To buy or not to buy?