My first full year with Linux

For years I’ve been curious about Linux and have tested it on numerous occasions, mostly on virtual machines or on older hardware. That changed a year ago when I decided to go for Linux Mint on a new SSD drive on my main Quad Core i7 machine with 16GB RAM. It was a couple of months before the release of Windows 10.

So what is my first year experience with Linux Mint as my main OS ?
It has been just GREAT!!. No errors, controlled updates, no unwanted reboots. A intuitive user interface and fantastic performance!
I’ve found replacements of Windows software to fit all my needs and my appreciation for open source software has grown every day. It has not been free of charge. I have donated to a lot of projects to show my gratitude.

It’s fair to share that I’m a relatively conservative user. I think I’m a bit experienced over the years on what to do and what not do to avoid breaking systems. I have probably avoided some crashes just because of that.

A ground rule for keeping a system is to have backups. Naturally I have it for Linux also.
I have quarterly backups (full image) of my SSD using Clonezilla, and daily, weekly and monthly backup of my system installation using Timeshift.
My personal data files are mostly stored in the cloud (at least the important ones).
I have not needed to restore any backup yet, but it sure is a good insurance.

A Linux geek ?
Not at all…. I’m just a regular user of an operating system. If I can avoid using terminal, I will. Although some knowledge is gained around folder structures, terminal, ssh, sudo apt-get install, ls -l, mv, cp and let’s not forget htop.
My main argument is that Linux (as of 2016) is VERY user friendly. It just works….

I actually now think Windows 10 is harder to learn. Microsoft have made it even more difficult with its inconsistent interface having two ways to solve some of the same kind of tasks (old vs new convergence). And what’s up with the forced upgrade ? Many inexperienced users are now using Edge as their main internet browser and wondering, what did just happen ? where is everything ?

Don’t think Microsoft is the only OS. There is many good alternatives out there and most are free -unless you will donate to a good cause…

I will go for Linux Mint for yet another year!