5 Questions That People Have About Linux

Despite the fact that Linux is not as widely used on desktops as Windows, some people are interested in learning more about it.

People have asked all sorts of questions about Linux over the years.

Today, I am going to provide answers to some of those questions of theirs.

1.) Will Linux Work With My Computer?

Linux will work on most computers, but not all.

One way to find out if Linux will work on your computer is to do a query via a search engine of your choice; you will be searching with the intention of finding out if Linux is compatible with the brand and model number of the computer that you have in your possession (Now, do not be worried if you have discovered that the information pertaining to Linux being compatible with your computer is unavailable on the internet, because I will let you know the things that you can do to know whether or not Linux will work on your computer).

First, you will need to download an ISO image of Linux (Linux Mint comes highly recommended).

Second, create a bootable USB flash drive using Etcher (Christian Cawley’s article, How to Write an ISO Image File to USB Flash With Etcher, will teach you the important steps).

Third, go into your BIOS or UEFI settings and change the boot order to boot from your USB flash drive (Andre Da Costa’s article, BIOS/UEFI Setup Guide: Boot from a CD, DVD, USB Drive or SD Card, will show you what you need to do in order to make that possible).

After you have booted into the USB flash drive with Linux, you will be prompted with the options of trying it out without installing it on your system or installing it right away (I recommend trying it out without installing it because doing so will let you know if the WiFi, touchpad, and other essential things are working).

If those things are working well, you can go right ahead and install Linux on your desktop or laptop computer.

2.) Is Linux Easy To Use?

Well, it all depends on which distribution of Linux you are referring to; there are those that are:

• Quite easy to use (Distributions of Linux like Linux Mint).
• Intermediate (Those distributions that require way more time to learn; for example, Manjaro).
• Advance (Distributions of Linux like Arch Linux and Gentoo).

If you are new to Linux, I advise going with Linux Mint.

In all honesty, you will have to learn the ins and the outs of your chosen Linux distribution; much in the same way, you had to learn your way around Windows or macOS.

Once you have learned your way around your chosen distribution of Linux, you will gladly say, “Yes. Linux is easy to use!”

3.) Can I Buy A Computer With Linux Already Installed On It?

Yes, my friend. You can buy a computer that comes preinstalled with Linux.

As a matter of fact, you can purchase:

• The HP Dev One.
• Laptop computers and desktop computers from the folks over at System76.
• Laptop computers and desktop computers from the folks over at ThinkPenguin.
• Electronic devices straight from Manjaro’s own online store.

If you are the type of person who is way too lazy to install Linux on your own computer, you can always choose the easy-peasy option of buying a computer that comes preinstalled with Linux (Hey, you cannot go wrong with that option).

4.) Can I Use The Same Software That I Use On Windows Over On Linux?

The answer, my friend, is both, “Yes,” and “No.”

Okay, if my response left you perplexed, I would not hold it against you. The truth is that there are certain programs that you are used to using on Windows that will function on Linux, and there are some programs that you are used to using on Windows that will not work on Linux.

In regards to running Windows software on Linux, people use Wine to help them with that (The sad news is that you will not be able to run all of your Windows software via Wine; some will work, others will not).

On a positive note, you can use alternative software; such as GIMP instead of Adobe Photoshop and LibreOffice Writer instead of Microsoft Word.

Linux is filled with a ton-load of alternative software (Many of which you can put to good use).

5.) Is Linux Better Than Windows?

We Linux users will always tell you, “Yes, Linux is better than Windows!”

Why would Linux users say such a thing?

We say that proudly because:

• Linux is free.
• Linux does not spy on its users like Microsoft does with Windows 10, Windows 11 and the rest of the other Windows operating systems.
• Linux does not force its users to buy new hardware in order to use the latest version of Linux.
• Linux can be customized to look exactly the way that you want it.
• Linux is more secure than Windows (Since Windows is more popular, bad actors concentrate more of their efforts on creating malware for Windows).

The very act of saying, “Linux is better than Windows,” has the potential of starting a fight (Most Windows fanboys and fangirls will defend their operating system to the death).

Final Thoughts

I hope that those answers have demystified some of the things that you have thought about Linux.

Also, I would appreciate it dearly if you gave Linux a try.

After all, Linux is amazing!

Advertisement