Post by mslo79 on Aug 3, 2019 5:58:20 GMT
www.linuxmint.com/ (NOTE: 'Cinnamon' is their most popular option) ; which is 100% free. download links are in this general area... www.linuxmint.com/download.php
basically this is a good replacement/alternative to Windows, especially on aging hardware. but for those on aging hardware I suggest using 'Xfce' instead of the more popular 'Cinnamon' since Xfce is the lightest on resources of the three releases (i.e. Cinnamon/MATE/Xfce). either way, Mint requires 1GB of RAM although 2GB+ is recommended for smooth operation and just about everyone should have at least that much unless their computer is pretty ancient. you can't really go wrong with any of them as they just have different interfaces is all as it's basically a personal preference kind of thing in which one you choose. if unsure, I suggest Cinnamon since it's their most popular and if you got a older slower computer I suggest sticking with Xfce.
about aging computers... I think Linux Mint is especially better than Windows on under powered CPU's as I have one laptop that the CPU get too taxed when running Windows 10 on it (to where doing tasks are slowed down because of it especially on something that needs all of the CPU cycles it can get like playing a video file on YouTube etc for example) and the overall experience is quicker/smoother on Linux Mint than Windows 10 for sure. part of this is that Linux does not really need anti-virus software which helps save on CPU resources which is especially beneficial for under powered CPU's.
also, if your computer is from roughly 2006 (as in the year) or newer there is a good chance it will work with the 64bit version of Mint which 64bit OS's are generally preferred over 32bit in general. so if your not sure, chances are you want to download the 64bit versions of Linux Mint, not the 32bit ones. but it just depends on whether your CPU supports 64bit or not. if not, then obviously you will have to use the 32bit version. but I would assume there are not too many people who are reading this who have hardware that does not support 64bit.
also, one of the more beneficial things about Linux over Windows in general is one is much less likely to get a virus, or other malicious software, on Linux than Windows in general. so for those more computer illiterate types, Linux is definitely safer browsing the web (like with random websites) than with Windows since you generally don't have to worry about those types of people installing random software online and getting a bunch of junk (virus/malware and other unwanted things) onto their computers since that software tends to be Windows specific and simply won't work on Linux. hence, it stops those computer illiterate people from screwing up their computers.
one of the first things I would do after Linux Mint is up and running is install the uBlock Origin (by Raymond Hill) extension into the Firefox browser (in fact, anyone running Firefox or Chrome in general should have that installed as it cleans up a lot of junk off the internet and makes ones web browsing experience better) as Mint comes with Firefox by default. if you want Chrome you can install that by going to the 'Software Manager' from within Linux Mint and type 'chrome' into the search and scroll down and find 'Google-chrome-stable'. if that for some reason don't work you can always download it from here instead from within Mint... www.google.com/chrome/ (click 'download' and then select the "64 bit .deb (For Debian/Ubuntu)")
with that said... updating Linux Mint, with security fixes etc, is easy as you just use the built in 'Update Manager' (which can be accessed from the task bar, which is nice and easy) to install updates as it's pretty straight forward. but on the side of caution... it's wise to setup 'Timeshift', which is built into Linux Mint, as it basically can make a snapshot of your OS (operating system) in good running order and in case something gets out of whack you can restore it to it's previous working state. NOTE: while Timeshift is probably best/easiest for most people, I tend to prefer making a occasional image with Clonezilla (free software) instead.
but once your up and running basic tasks are easy enough. so don't let what I said above intimidate you
p.s. if by some slim chance someone reading this has a computer still running Windows XP, it's a good time to replace it with Mint since this receives security updates and is safe to use online unlike Windows XP which has not received updates in over 5 years now.