Well, not really a switch to be honest. However, due to my recent dead HDD I decided to switch to Linux as my primary OS. Find out why …
I have had Windows 7 desktops and laptops and assisted many people with Windows since Windows 98. However, I grew tired of Microsoft and started to look. My first venture was VirtualBox, which allowed me to “keep” my older Windows versions running (e.g. for old applications and hardware). The convenience of Virtual Machines (VM) soon allowed me to experiment with different flavours of Linux.
Having failed miserably in setting up a VPS with CentOS and Fedora I ended up finding my way around Ubuntu which has served me well. I also helps with my different explorations into the use of Raspberry PI – since Rasbian is just another flavour of Debian.
I got a license for Windows 8 (not yet 8.1 at the time) and NEVER bothered to install it. Neither did I bother with 8.1 when it arrived. Eventually I saw 8.1 when I visited my mother and someone had gotten her a new Laptop – with 8.1. My conclusion was simple – stay with Windows 7, if anything. When Microsoft announced “free” upgrades to Windows 10 I was reinstalling Vista for my aunt and troubleshooting Windows 7 for my uncle. My aunt was explicit that she (still) did not want any change … My uncle was interested in Windows 10. I advised him to wait. Today we are discussing to move both of them to Linux … Same for my sister and mother … May be we will become an Ubuntu family yet.
So, for ease of use I found LinuxMint to be my choice. I would consider it my daily driver. VirtualBox is a mandatory companion as are a few other items I will discuss further down this page. My old Windows “was” a multi-boot and included a “fresh version” of Ubuntu since Mint lags behind for stability (the approach I like for my daily driver!)
While I am writing this there are several terminals running in the background as I am creating a “new” consolidated back-up from several old HDD which had been abandoned after past upgrades. While these lengthy file operations are running I am installing and setting up what I think is needed to operate.
I will be discussing my new LinuxMint setup in the next post.