Linux Mint is our Daily Driver OS

September 11, 2022 1:15 am
Linux
We look as to why we use Linux for our everyday tasks over windows OS

The Upgrade Issue

When Microsoft decided to end Windows 7 support in 2020 many users like us were stranded with limited options. Upgrading to Windows 10 was very demanding for hardware resources. Without security updates we can no longer continue using Windows 7.

We have been using Windows for our business since 2001 and upgraded from XP, Vista and then to Windows 7 without much difficulty. But upgrading to Windows 10 did not really work for us and we knew that we have to seek alternate.

The Linux Options

Linux was unarguably the next on our mind as most of our low end Point of Sales applications are browser based and low hardware resource like Pentium 4GB ram. So it does not matter which OS we use as long as it is stable and low on hardware resources.

What we looked for in OS before selecting

  • Stable and Reliable
  • Maintenance Free
  • Easy to use
  • Low on Hardware
  • Run Automated jobs for maintenance

The Linux Distro Selection

Linux world is very mature and wide. Selecting a particular Linux Distro is very confusing for a fresher. We used Distro Watch first to check which are the trending Linux Distro.

Linux Distribution Families There are three major distribution families:

  • Debian Family Systems (such as Ubuntu)
  • SUSE Family Systems (such as openSUSE)
  • Fedora Family Systems (such as CentOS)

Other distros mostly are derived from these tree.

First we tried all 15 distro ranked as top 15

Rank Distribution

  • 1 MX Linux
  • 2 EndeavourOS
  • 3 Mint
  • 4 Manjaro
  • 5 Pop!_OS
  • 6 Ubuntu
  • 7 Fedora
  • 8 Debian
  • 9 Garuda
  • 10 openSUSE
  • 11 Zorin
  • 12 Lite
  • 13 KDE neon
  • 14 elementary
  • 15 antiX

Linux Mint wins

After trying all distro for a week in real situations we learned that some distro are Rolling Distro like Manjaro means they give latest updated and we had to upgrade like 1-2GB every week and that made our system unstable. So we removed it from our selection.

We then tried MX Linux which is the #1 spot but we found that it is not so stable as Ubuntu. We tried Ubuntu but found many things happening in the back like Windows without our knowledge. Then finally we tried Linux Mint and that changed every problems we faced with using linux.

We found all unfavourable issues about Ubuntu were fixed by Community.

Pros and Cons of Linux

Pros of Linux

  • Open Source Nature
  • Secure
  • Can revive older computer
  • Perfect For Programmer
  • Software Update
  • Customisation
  • Variety Of Distribution
  • Free to Use
  • Better Community Support
  • Reliability
  • Privacy
  • Solid file system format
  • Configuration data in text file so easy to modify and maintain
  • User limited access prevent accidental system damage

Cons

  • Difficult to select a linux distro
  • User might not be willing to learn basic Linux commands
  • Some commercial software does not run like Solid Works and Altium
  • Difficult GUI development
  • Difficult to get programmers willing to work
  • Should have knowledge to get the linux system back running in case of failure