{"id":9524,"date":"2021-05-13T16:19:13","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T20:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/?p=9524"},"modified":"2021-05-17T16:43:19","modified_gmt":"2021-05-17T20:43:19","slug":"thinking-of-using-linux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2021\/05\/thinking-of-using-linux\/","title":{"rendered":"Thinking of using Linux?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have a Windows computer but I use my Linux laptop for most work and prefer it over Windows. I describe myself as a ‘normal ++’ user, not a power user. This post is for those of you who are thinking about Linux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why use Linux?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
  1. Linux is faster than Windows. Linux distributions are bloat less (with some exceptions). <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    2. Linux is more efficient. Do you have an old laptop you’d like to rehabilitate? Install a Linux distribution on it and you’ll be amazed at how fast and useful the laptop becomes. Windows eats computer resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Read more<\/span>New computers<\/span><\/a><\/div>

    3. Linux is free. All major Linux distributions are free, although some have premium versions that provide support and other niceties. But almost all non-enterprise users install a free distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. Linux is powerful. It’s filled with an insane amount of shortcuts and power tools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Read more<\/span>Another birthday<\/span><\/a><\/div>

    5. If you are thinking about going into IT as a career, then Linux is the best platform–by far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    6. Linus is completely customizable. Want to turn your desktop into a Windows or Mac lookalike? Or do you prefer a completely unique kit-out? Not a problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Read more<\/span>Move-in day in the new studio<\/span><\/a><\/div>

    7. Linux runs the world. The vast majority of servers and cloud-based services run on Linux. Some important tools such as container technology are designed to run on Linux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why not Linux?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    For me, there are only two reasons to pass on Linux: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. As mentioned, Linux is powerful. With power comes complexity. Linux providers have worked hard to make versions suitable for casual users, but even the most user-friendly versions still have a learning curve.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      Read more<\/span>Trip to University of Cincinnati (fail)<\/span><\/a><\/div>

      2. Some popular programs don’t run on Linux. This was a headache several years ago but today most programs run on Linux or there are compatible applications with the same features. There are still exceptions. Adobe products, for example, do not run on Linux. There are (free) professional-level substitutes for Photoshop and Illustrator. Some AAA games don’t run on Linux but Steam is working hard to correct that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Recommendation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Finding the right distribution can be challenging for newcomers. Linux is available in different versions–called distributions, distros for short–from numerous providers. Each distributor tries to include unique features that make their distribution stand out from the crowd. Some distributions are intended for the newest newcomer, while others are designed for seasoned programmers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Read more<\/span>Sunny December studio<\/span><\/a><\/div>

      My advice is to review the information on Distro Watch<\/a> and then try one by downloading it. Instructions for downloading and installing Linux can be found there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Most authors suggest newcomers start with Ubuntu. It was the first distribution I used and after trying many, many others, it’s the one I use today. Actually, I use Ubuntu Studio<\/a> which comes with the most popular audio, animation, and graphic tools installed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      I have a Windows computer but I use my Linux laptop for most work and prefer it over Windows. I describe myself as a ‘normal ++’ user, not a power user. This post is for those of you who are thinking about Linux. Why use Linux? Linux is faster than Windows. Linux distributions are bloat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":9527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[170],"tags":[485],"class_list":["post-9524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-computers","tag-linux"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/linux1.jpg?fit=474%2C322&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12284,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2023\/03\/rip-faithful-laptop\/","url_meta":{"origin":9524,"position":0},"title":"RIP faithful laptop","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"March 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"My 10-year-old Dell XPS laptop finally died. With its core i7, it was pretty hot back in 2013. I replaced its Windows OS with Linux some years ago and it was still performing acceptably. There were issues, of course. I prefer lightweight devices these days but the XPS is on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "computers"","block_context":{"text":"computers","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/computers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/zzztitdell.jpg?fit=800%2C754&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/zzztitdell.jpg?fit=800%2C754&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/zzztitdell.jpg?fit=800%2C754&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/zzztitdell.jpg?fit=800%2C754&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13686,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2024\/09\/adobe-vs-affinity-photo\/","url_meta":{"origin":9524,"position":1},"title":"Adobe vs Affinity Photo","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"September 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Adobe got into trouble earlier this year after they updated their terms of service and users discovered that Adobe claimed the right to use user-created content to train their AI. Adobe defended its action by pointing out that it had already implemented a similar policy on its stock photo service.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "cameras"","block_context":{"text":"cameras","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/cameras\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8142,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2018\/12\/sunny-december-studio\/","url_meta":{"origin":9524,"position":2},"title":"Sunny December studio","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"December 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Sunshine has been rare in NE Ohio. The sunlight lighting the studio is cheery and warming--and winter has barely started. Yes, I have five computers on my desk. I am using three of them to investigate Linux distributions--CentOS, Manjaro, and Ubantu. I spent the morning drawing, then applied an oil\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "computers"","block_context":{"text":"computers","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/computers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/2018-12-studio-sunny.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/2018-12-studio-sunny.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/2018-12-studio-sunny.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/2018-12-studio-sunny.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8419,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2019\/05\/a-look-at-rublev-oils\/","url_meta":{"origin":9524,"position":3},"title":"A look at Rublev oils – video review","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"May 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Link to the review on Turpentine diaries YouTube page. Last week I finally got off my behind and started podcasting, and this week I've produced my first video. In this video I look at two oils from Rublev: Sun-thickened Linseed Oil, and Sun-bleached Linseed Oil. Rublev produces a lot of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Grumpy review"","block_context":{"text":"Grumpy review","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/grumpy-review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/podcast2.jpg?fit=1200%2C677&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/podcast2.jpg?fit=1200%2C677&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/podcast2.jpg?fit=1200%2C677&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/podcast2.jpg?fit=1200%2C677&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/podcast2.jpg?fit=1200%2C677&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3834,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/07\/studio-plans\/","url_meta":{"origin":9524,"position":4},"title":"Studio plans","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"July 6, 2014","format":"status","excerpt":"To address my acute storage problem, I decided to convert our two-car garage into a full-time studio. Unlike my current studio, the garage has a high ceiling, which means I can work more easily on large-format paintings. Besides, I already use the garage to stretch and prepare canvases. In order\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bio"","block_context":{"text":"Bio","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/bio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4375,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/11\/move-in-day-in-the-new-studio\/","url_meta":{"origin":9524,"position":5},"title":"Move-in day in the new studio","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"November 19, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"My first session in the new studio! In this photo, you can see two easels set up and ready to go. The third one is off the frame to the left. The old studio had room for just one easel. I have \u00a0a bank of natural daylight lights running along\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bio"","block_context":{"text":"Bio","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/bio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/new_studio1.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/new_studio1.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/new_studio1.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Gw6F-2tC","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9524"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9560,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9524\/revisions\/9560"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}