Talking with a customer (and friend), the question arose: “and why do you use Linux as a desktop operating system?”
The answer can be complex but like everything in life, it has simple motivations:
- It is free. We use the Linux Mint Mate distribution that can be downloaded and installed for free.
- It is robust: there are virtually no viruses and a user can not load the system easily.
- It is easy to use: although people believe that no, once you configure the PC, nobody (almost) perceives the difference when using it, nor do you see problems with Windows.
- It is not necessary to update the PC hardware regularly. Requirements: 512 MB of RAM, 9 GB of hard disk and 800×600 graphics card.
- At the user level, it does what Windows do and faster.
- We use Facturascripts as management software in the cloud that allows access to it through any web browser and internet access. It’s free and Open Source.
- There is software for all kinds of uses and free:
Outlook -> Thunderbird + Lightning
Ms Office -> LibreOffice
Photoshop -> Gimp
Internet Explorer -> Firefox - There is a very active and participative user community that makes when you search in google, you find a solution to any problem.
- Operating system updates are on the fly. You don’t have to restart the system immediately and it doesn’t take 2 hours to update.
“But it will have some inconvenience.” Yes, as everything in life also has drawbacks:
- To set it up, the administrator must have computer skills.
- There are printer brands that are not easy to install. But for example, the HP installer is incredibly useful and as simple as windows.
- You have to be convinced of the change and endow yourself with infinite patience, since some user can complain that the icon is no longer there (and there is almost identical).
- There are still hardware companies that only think of Windows for their device configuration software but as a Linux user (and fan) I can tell you that I have connected my pcs to photo cameras, mobile phones, scanners and very, very rarely I found that my Linux did not interact correctly.
As a summary, after more than a year of use we have observed that the time devoted to resolving system crashes due to viruses, to fixing problems caused by users who like to “customize” their operating system has been reduced and the money saved in software licenses, makes up for it enormously.
Source header image: http://diocesanos.es/blogs/equipotic/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/12/Linux.jpg
