A Linux Moment: What Does It Offer the Everyday Computer User?
An earlier article explained what Linux is and what makes it special. It can help you appreciate one of its big advantages: When you use Linux, no one controls which applications you install or cuts off service if you decide not to upgrade to some new version.
Linux also has a history of running under conditions where efficiency is key. Data centers with potentially tens of thousands of processors are concerned with speed, low power consumption, and reduction of heat loss. Embedded systems have limited processing power and need to conserve every possible joule of electricity. Linux has evolved in conformance with these demands, and appears in many different guises that meet the needs of different users whle sharing the basic operating system.
Linux’s efficiency benefits you as well. It can work on older hardware, extending the life of computer systems. A large volunteer community has grown up around gathering old hardware discarded by corporations or users forced to upgrade Windows. These supposedly obsolete computers work perfectly well for running Linux. They often respond faster to user input than supposedly more “modern” systems running proprietary software.
Thus, free and open source software provides more stability and reliability than most proprietary operating systems.
What Linux and Free Software Enable You to Do
Programmers and professional computer users have embraced Linux for decades. It gives them more control over their computing environment.
Even for people without technical backgrounds, Linux offers more freedom and flexibility. Let’s take the graphical interface: the animated screen that takes input through mouse clicks, keystrokes, and voice. That interface is built into Windows and macOS, with limited opportunities for customization. In contrast, Linux boasts several interfaces (called “desktops”) that are wildly customizable. Some designers have even made their Linux desktops look and feel just like Windows or macOS.
You don’t need to spend much time to learn some basics. But Linux also has powerful tools that let you do in a few seconds what might take you hours through a graphical interface. If you are interested in deepening your technical knowledge, Linux also offers the ability to experiment easily with countless free tools and applications.
With free software, you don’t face the perennial risks of proprietary software: companies going out of business, raising fees drastically, forcing you to pay for tools and features you don’t need, or simply withdrawing the product.
This doesn’t happen with free software because its code is available free for download. So long as somebody, somewhere in the world, wants the software enough to pay for maintenance and hosting, it continues to live. With free software, you choose what to install and whether to upgrade.
Linux’s stability and lack of surprises can also make a big difference to small businesses that don’t have unlimited resources for IT support.
The average middle-class computer user in an affluent country might not feel constrained by proprietary operating systems. But free software, often with Linux at its base, is a crucial player in many areas of computing. It brings powerful capabilities to parts of the world that don’t want to depend on American software or can’t afford the costs. And people who care about privacy—such as journalists and political activists—find Linux and free software safer than the common proprietary systems.
So even if you don’t use Linux, you should be happy that it’s there for people who need it.
Trying Out Linux
At this point, your best starting point is a site called Upgrade to Linux. It offers more background and reasons for using Linux, along with videos and other resources to get you started. I’ll end this article with a few general observations.
Before you decide to switch to Linux, make a list of the things you do on a computer. You’ll probably find that you do a lot of work in your browser. For instance, many people have moved to web-based email services instead of using specialized email applications. Similarly, businesses tend to manage their employees through web-based services that record hours worked and other activities.
For anything using a web browser—Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, or one of many others—the operating system you use is irrelevant; Linux (and free software browsers) will serve you just fine. Any services that you use on the web should work identically on a browser in Linux.
How about applications that don’t work in the browser? You might not find the same software on Linux that you have now, but you can probably find similar applications that work very well. In fact, before you switch, I recommend that you download Windows or macOS versions of that software on your current computer and get used to them.
Some games are available only on one operating system, but Linux has plenty of good games and you can certainly find something you enjoy.
So let’s say you want the advantages Linux gives you. Without much technical background, you could consider getting Linux pre-installed. There are computers for sale from both major vendors and small shops. You can ask a computer-savvy friend to install Linux on a PC; it doesn’t take a lot of technical background to do so. And several Linux distributions are specially designed for non-technical users and are as easy to install as Microsoft Windows.
Be patient with yourself when you start with Linux. Any technical change people make requires some exploration and re-adjustment; even kitchen appliances nowadays have a learning curve. Don’t be afraid to ask questions of friends or online forums, and give Linux time to reveal its riches to you.
In short, a switch to Linux can be done smoothly and with minimal change to your way of using your computer. But underneath, Linux is a tremendously empowering development in the spread of computing worldwide.
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