With software support for Windows 10 ending in just a few years, it’s a great time to
look at and try alternative operating systems that will allow you to get prolonged use out
of your computer for many years to come.
With Windows 11’s stricter system requirements that may prevent you from being able to update,
the end of support for Windows 10 would leave many computers that may function completely
fine without software and security updates.
Fortunately, if you look beyond Windows, there are many operating systems that you may be
able to use – at no additional cost.
Let’s look at three distributions of Linux that you can try for yourself.
Linux is a free and open-source operating system that can be run on a wide variety of
hardware and systems.
Linux comes in many different varieties and distributions, today we’re going to be taking
a look at Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Pop!_OS which are all free distributions which you can download
and write onto a bootable USB stick using a tool such as Rufus.
Each distribution of Linux will have its own features and software packages that it can
run, they will all share some similarities but there will also be some differences which
may make you want to use one over the other to better suit your preference and needs.
Firstly, we’ll be looking at Ubuntu, which is one of the most well-known Linux distributions
out there and supports a wide array of hardware from laptops and desktops to servers and IoT
devices.
Ubuntu comes in two versions, one which has feature updates every 6 months as well as
a long-term support version which releases every two years.
The Ubuntu interface has evolved over the years, but the core principles remain the
same, with something that is approachable and easy to pick up – even if you haven’t
used Ubuntu before.
A docked area for applications is found on the left-hand side and a global menu bar with
your open a window manager, clock, and system options across the top.
There are a few applications installed with the Ubuntu system by default, although for
the most part it is kept fairly light.
The essentials are here such as LibreOffice, Firefox as well as some games and software
utilities.
More software can of course be downloaded from the internet, or you can use Ubuntu’s
included Snap Store to install applications such as Spotify, Audacity or Krita to name
a few.
There has been some controversy towards Snap from the Linux community and other distro
developers such as Linux Mint, opposing the self-contained and sandboxed format of Snap
as the store is proprietary and is maintained by Canonical, a private company that oversees
production of the Ubuntu Project – very much the opposite of the general open-source
nature of Linux.
It’s worth noting that the self-contained format of Snap packages may be more secure
than other package managers since they are isolated from other parts of your system.
This aside, I have always had a positive experience with Ubuntu, its wide range of hardware support
is great for those getting into Linux as in most cases you do not have to worry about
manually installing drivers, which I have sometimes run into when installing distributions
such as Debian.
Performance is also very good on a variety of hardware and the choice between a slower
paced LTS variant, or a more bleeding edge version is great for both the everyday user
and enthusiasts alike.
For those looking for a bit more of a familiar looking experience to Windows, Linux Mint
is a great option – making it the second option on the list.
Linux Mint is a distribution of Linux that comes in a few different flavours, Cinnamon,
MATE and Xfce with the latter two offering higher performance and less usage on system
resources for older or lightweight systems.
I’ll be looking at Cinnamon today which contains the latest features and a slick modern
interface.
Upon logging into Linux Mint Cinnamon, you’ll immediately see an interface that is welcomingly
familiar if you have used Windows before, with a taskbar across the bottom of your display,
system tray in the bottom right and an application launcher that is like the Windows start menu.
Linux Mint is ready to go out of the box, with Firefox and Thunderbird from Mozilla
to cover internet browsing and email reading as well as the LibreOffice suite of programs
for documents and presentations.
All of this is easy to find from the application launcher, categorised into various sections.
Installing additional programs is also easy, this can be done using Software Manager which
allows you to install applications seamlessly from Linux Mint’s package repository or
from Flathub.
There’s a wide variety of available applications such as Skype, Discord, Blender, and Spotify
to name a handful.
The other element I was pleasantly surprised by with Linux Mint was the encouragement of
regular software updates as well as setting up system snapshots so you can restore your
OS to an earlier time if something starts to play up – these options are presented
as part of the welcome screen when first setting up the operating system so they aren’t easily
missed.
Linux Mint has a long lifecycle per version, featuring 5 years of software updates per
version.
So, for example, the currently released 21.1 version from December 2022 will be fully supported
until April 2027 which means there will be little maintenance or substantial upgrading
needed aside from the regular software updates.
If you’re looking for an operating system that is slightly more tailed towards creative,
engineering and STEM applications, Pop!_OS is well worth taking a look at – making
it the third option on the list.
Pop!_OS is developed by System76, a US-based computer manufacturer that produces Linux
laptops, desktops and servers – the OS is primarily focused for their own hardware but
can be downloaded from their website to install onto your own computer.
Once at the desktop, the interface of Pop!_OS is well-presented, with an interface pulling
inspiration from macOS, with a dock at the bottom of display and toolbar across the top
– but this is certainly not a macOS clone by any means.
The dock gives you easy access to open applications, application launcher as well as workspace
browser for navigating virtual desktops.
Pop!_OS features minimal bloat, leaving it with a snappy feeling that is great to use.
Firefox and Geary are included for web browsing and email and the Pop!_Shop can be used to
easily install additional applications as well as keep operating system components up
to date, it is very nice to have everything related to updates in one place as it saves
digging around the settings menus.
You’ll see that the Pop!_Shop has a focus on STEM and creative applications, with Visual
Studio Code, Bitwig Studio and KiCad as some suggested applications on the store.
Now we’ve taken a look at a few different Linux distros, you’re probably wondering
how you can get stuck in and try these for yourself – fortunately it’s really easy
to get started, all you need is a USB stick, I’d recommend using one that is at least
8GB, and Rufus downloaded which we’ll be using to write the OS disc image file to the
USB.
To demonstrate this, I’ll show you the process using Ubuntu.
Firstly, lets head over to the Ubuntu website and download the ISO, I’m going to download
the LTS version.
Whilst that downloads in the background, lets also download Rufus so we can write the ISO
to the USB when it is ready.
Launch Rufus and insert your USB stick, make sure you’ve copied any files from the USB
to a different location beforehand as this process will delete all files on the USB.
Within Rufus, select the USB stick from the “Device” menu, if you have multiple USB
storage devices connected you’ll see them all appear in the list – make sure to select
the correct device.
Once your ISO download has finished, click the “SELECT” button in Rufus and navigate
to where your ISO has been downloaded to.
When you’re ready to write the ISO to the USB click “START” this will begin the
process.
You may have some pop-ups appear on your screen to download additional files, click “Yes”
to this and if asked about “ISOHybrid”, keep Write in ISO Image mode selected and
click “OK”.
As mentioned, this will delete all existing data, including any partitions that may be
set up, on the USB.
You can later format the USB to delete the Linux installation files and use it as normal
when you no longer need the USB to be a bootable Linux USB.
The process will take a few minutes to copy over the files to the USB as well as set it
up so it is bootable, so sit back, relax and pop the kettle on.
Once complete you can use this on any computer to try out your Linux OS!
Turn off the computer you want to try Linux on and, whilst it turns on, open the boot
menu, and select your USB from the list.
If you have issues booting from the USB, you may need to disable Secure Boot in your BIOS.
I’d recommend referring to your manufacturers documentation if you don’t know how to do
this as it can vary depending on the computer and manufacturer.
One great thing about many Linux OSes is that you’re able to use a “Live CD” to try
it out without needing to install it on your computer.
This allows you to run the OS from the USB directly without needing to format or delete
any data on your computers internal drive, perfect for giving it a try.
If you do like it, you can then go ahead and install it on your computer, either to replace
Windows or many will give you the option to dual-boot Linux and Windows together.
That’s been it for this video, what’s your favourite Linux distribution?
Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for watching and I’ll see you in the next video.