First of all, what is Linux?

Put simply, Linux is an operating system just like Windows but the big difference is whereas Windows is owned and developed by Microsoft and Mac OS is owned and developed by Apple, Linux is developed as open-source and has various versions known as “distributions” available.

Each distribution has slight differences to each other so you can guarantee there is one to suit your needs.

How much does Linux cost?

As Linux is open-source, it’s generally free! There is also a massive support community online to help with any issues you may have.

I’ve never seen Linux used much, how does it compare to Windows?

Linux is used in a lot more scenarios than you think, you just don’t realise it! Many devices are based on the Linux operating system, including smartphones, cars, home smart devices, computer servers, televisions etc. Even the Android operating system used is Linux based.

Many consider Linux to be a far more secure and stable operating system than both Windows and Mac OS.

Can I run Windows programs on Linux?

Straight out of the box, Windows programs are not designed to run on Linux however there are applications available such as Wine that will let a good number Windows applications work on your Linux system.

There are many Windows applications such as Firefox, Thunderbird, Libreoffice, Google Chrome that also have Linux versions too available. Alongside that, there are many programs written specifically for Linux which are generally free that will cover every use you need so there are very few tasks that you cannot do on a Linux machine.

Does the Linux interface look like Windows?

There are many different distributions of Linux available. The most popular ones include Mint, Ubuntu, Chrome, Zorin, Debian and Fedora. However there are many different ones all gear with a slightly different interfaces and towards different roles in computing.

They all now have graphical interfaces in the same style of Windows so are generally quite east to navigate.

Give me a good reason to change from Windows to Linux?

There are many good reasons to change including cost, stability and the fact Linux distrobutions are constantly being developed to do more and more for the home user along with ease of use.

Unless you specifically require to run certain Windows-only based software that cannot be run on Linux, then there is plenty of free software available that will do all the usual tasks such as office work, web browsing, media playing, photo editing etc.

However, perhaps one of the best reasons to change to Linux in the near future is the end of Windows 10 in October 2025.

Come the end of Windows 10, there will be many older but perfectly working machines unable to officially run Windows 11 around.

If you fall into that category, rather than send these to the scrapheap, why not install a distrubution of Linux on them and give them a new lease of life to carry on doing all the usual tasks?

Linux is generally not as demanding as Windows for spec requirements so most distributions will run on most machines, if a distribution does’nt because a machine is very old then you can always guarantee there is another Linux distribution that will run on it!