Did you you know that my novels are written using free software? Not only is the writing program free, so is the operating system that I use. Both pieces of software are FREE as in free beer, but they are also free as in free and open. My current operating system is Ubuntu, and I write mostly in the the Libre Office suite.
I’ve been using Linux as my main OS for nearly twenty years now. I started back when you had to use a crowbar and several floppy discs to install it. Then you had to chose wisely or potentially blow up your monitor. Linux has come a long way since then.
These days, Linux and LibreOffice together are more stable, more secure and in many ways more easy to use than Mac and Windows. There are far fewer hackers trying to break into my system and the software is updated without rebooting on a nearly daily basis.
You may be asking if Linux is right for a non-technical person and I would tell you that it’s perfect for everyone. You no longer have to be a command line junkie or a computer nerd to install and use Linux. There are many easy to use distributions out there, Ubuntu is one of the easiest.
Ten years ago I could lure new users by simply telling them how infrequently I had to reboot. These days, Windows has become much more stable, so now I play up ease of use and lack of really damaging virus attacks as a bonus for switching. Of course it also looks amazing and will cost you less over time than any OS you pay for. But if you like spending money on software, you can still do that on Linux. The key point is, you don’t have to pay if you don’t want to.
Now days, you can even get your OS on a laptop that has free and open firmware too. This means every aspect of your computing experience is free for you to tinker with or just use as is. Check out some of the amazing products available from System76, Lenovo and Dell, that all come preinstalled with Linux.
