On 06/22/2017 10:12 PM, Mr William Balthes wrote:
A suggestion from the list is that I use linux.
I switched from Windows to Linux years ago. I ran Win 7 and Linux in
parallel for a while, but I have not used Windows (other than when a
guest someplace) in at least a decade.
I know nothing about it. Does it have automatic updates that you
can't avoid where the system restarts.
No. There are lots of different Linux distributions, but every one I'm
aware of gives the user full control over which updates to install and
when to install them. Also, Linux updates various components of the
system in a more granular manner than does Windows. On both, application
programs are updated separately from the operating system. In Linux,
though, changes to the user display/desktop are separate updates from
changes to the file system and so on, whereas in Windows that would all
be handled by one system update.
Is it more stable and do you avoid the crashes out of the blue and
when selecting large amounts of text with the mouse.
In the days when the acronym BSOD was in common use, Linux was
demonstrably more stable. Windows has improved a lot in that regard, so
I'm not sure whether I would claim one to be more stable than the other
today. My current system, for instance, will occasionally refuse to wake
from a suspended state and have to be restarted. I've never experienced
a crash selecting any amount of text, but then again for large amounts I
usually click at the beginning and shift-click at the end rather than
doing a mouse drag.
Does linux still have back-ups and save temp files.
Saving temp files is up to the individual application, and making
backups is up to the user. There are ways to make automatic backups,
such as using a Dropbox or Google Drive folder. Cloud drives can be
integrated into the system to look just like any other drive.
I tend to believe that Linux Mint (which is my choice of distribution)
is an easier transition from Windows than most of the others. That said,
users do need to learn some of the technical aspects of Linux. I would
say that someone who is not comfortable opening a terminal (command
prompt in Windows), navigating around the system and running a few basic
commands should think twice about moving to Linux (unless they had easy
access to someone Linux-savvy who could guide them a bit). Fortunately,
it's easy to find guidance on line when you're stuck on something,
starting with a Google search and, if necessary, going to a discussion
forum.
Cheers,
Paul
Thank you
William Balthes
