Try Linux today!
2025年10月14日
The end of support for Windows 10 is inevitable and, honestly, pretty sad. Say all you want about it, but in my opinion, Windows 10 was a pretty solid operating system. It had a nice, consistent UI, it corrected many issues from 8 and brought back the good old Start menu we all missed. Sure, it was a little more resource intensive than Windows 7, but overall it was quite versatile! It had good driver and hardware support, running relatively well even on older machines with 4GB of RAM and a basic dual-core processor.
I tried to ignore Windows 11 for as long as I could. I didn't agree with the minimum requirements, the lack of consistency in UI, relocation of features place for no good reason, the annoying ads and of course, more bloat, more spyware, AI… the list goes on. Not to mention, I was already very tired of some Windows-like behavior, such as forced updates whenever it wants to, settings get reset after reboots, updates that often break functionalities and many more. My laptop is compatible with the demanding requirements of Windows 11, so I knew it was a matter of time until my beloved Windows 10 would be automatically updated.
With this situation in hands, I started looking into Linux distributions. I didn't know much about Linux systems other than they were free of charge, generally more lightweight than Windows and worked better on older hardware. On an older machine, I've tested Linux Mint, both XFCE and Cinnamon, and Zorin OS Lite on it. I gotta say, it was a lot of fun to play around with these systems, customize the UI the way I wanted and play old games on emulators. The only reason I didn't completely moved to Linux before were modern games, but to be fair, that was back when only half of the Steam library actually ran on Linux. Thanks to Steam Deck and Valve's Proton, game compatibility improved massively. I then studied what software worked or not on Linux, and from that I started looking for alternatives that did the same kinds of things and functionalities I used to do on Windows. After the end of semester, I backed up all my data, plugged in a flash drive with Zorin OS on my laptop, and installed it, never to go back to Windows again.
I have to admit, it wasn't easy, but Zorin OS sure helped me feel comfortable using Linux as my daily driver. Along the way, I met some pretty cool people who helped me solve problems, discuss interesting topics and share ideas. I learned a lot too, and this experience changed the way I see Linux today. I went from knowing almost nothing about it, to becoming a curious and hands-on user, always looking for better alternatives to the tools I use every day! And I also I like recommending Linux and other FOSS programs to other people, so they can have a more practical, free, and personalized digital experience, just like I did.
Recently I wanted to experience something more simple and clean, so I did the minimal instalation of Lubuntu and from there I only installed software I actually use. Now, I understand that for newcomers, it's nice to have a pre-installed web browser, office, and others, plus, Linux distros in general doesn't come with nearly as much bloatware as Windows operating systems, too; that being said, I already know what I like to use and want to make my system my way :) For people who want easy linux recommendations, try Zorin OS or Linux Mint, can't go wrong with these two.
Now, here's a bit of history. In January of 2009, months before Windows 7 came out, Microsoft's family of systems were dominating with 95% of the desktop market. At the same time, Linux systems on desktops represented timidly about 0.64%. In October 2025, Windows usage would drop to 72% (of which 49% are using 11 and 40% are still on 10), still dominating, but with a noticeable and consistent decline. Meanwhile, Linux has grown up to 3% of the desktop user base, which sounds low, but it means hundreds of thousands if not millions of people using it everyday. There has been a clear decline of a a once dominating system, backed by one of the most valuable companies in the world, and yet despite all their potential, they are slowly losing market share to Linux systems, which basically have no marketing to promote them, growing consistently in use on domestic hardware over the years. These data were taken from Statcounter and Diolinux's video.
To conclude, I just want to be clear that Linux on Desktop is not for everyone, if you need or want to use Windows, and that's fine. What I expect to happen is those who are unsatisfied with Windows to look for alternatives to best suit their needs, even if it means learning something entirely new. It's okay if you can't figure something out instantly, take some time, do something else… with some research and community support, sometimes the solution can be simpler than you'd thought! So, if you're holding on to an old computer that doesn't support Windows 11, or if you're tired of the bloat, constant updates, and privacy concerns… then get yourself some Linux ;)