Many consider Linux to be the operating system of nerds. Linux can be extremely user-friendly. It’s free, secure and sustainable anyway: It runs on computers that Windows has long since abandoned.
Linux. What was that again? Exactly: The operating system with the penguin as a symbol animal. Linux rarely runs on private laptops. For a simple reason: “The normal PC user usually buys his computer with a pre-installed operating system such as Windows and usually has no incentive to do the work and install Linux,” explains Keywan Tonekaboni from the “c’t” specialist magazine .
Four reasons that speak for Linux as a system
The emphasis is on mostly. Because there are four good reasons to get Linux on your laptop:
1st reason: freedom and flexibility
“With Linux, the focus is on the freedom of the user,” says Matthias Wellendorf from the “Inside-digital.de” portal. In principle, anyone can reprogram or further develop the system according to their own ideas. “Free also means free of charge. The operating system can be downloaded free of charge and installed on any number of computers,” says Wellendorf.
There are also work interfaces that differ only slightly from Windows in terms of appearance and operation. “Basically, Linux is made up of a number of individual parts. The basis is the kernel, the core of the operating system, which is combined with other components such as the graphical user interface. This combination is then referred to as distribution,” explains Wellendorf.
The good thing: Linux distributions for everyone have been around for years. “Ubuntu, Mint, and Manjaro are considered beginner-friendly distributions,” says Wellendorf. “They are easy to use, have broad hardware support and are characterized by a wide range of software.” Distrowatch.com provides an overview of available Linux distributions.
The user-friendly Manjaro, for example, comes with the Office package, mail program, browser, video player, image processing and much more. What is missing can easily be installed on Linux laptops. “There is a software solution for every problem,” says Matthias Wellendorf with certainty.
Also read: Windows 11 is here! The innovations to look at
Reason 2: security and privacy
An important security advantage of Linux: An installed office package such as Libre Office is by far not as closely integrated with the operating system as Microsoft’s Office is with Windows, explains Keywan Tonekaboni. For example, the notorious viruses in Office documents could not harm Linux.
And as a Linux user, you are also well protected against other malware. “Because the number of users is small, there is practically no malware for Linux,” says Hubert Popiolek from “Computer Bild”. That’s why you can completely do without antivirus software with Linux. That saves computing power. Privacy is also better protected under Linux, according to Popiolek. There is no data collection there.
What many do not know: Linux is not a regular guest on private laptops, but it is much more common in everyday life than you would think. “The Android smartphone operating system, for example, is based on Linux, just like many Internet services run on Linux servers or smart home devices use Linux under the hood,” says Tonekaboni.
3rd reason: test and parallel operation without risk
Linux is easy to try out without making a single change to the computer. It works like this: On the project page of the desired distribution, for example Manjaro, download the operating system as a so-called image (ISO file). This then with the help of a so-called flash tool, for example etcheronto a USB flash drive that is at least four gigabytes (GB) in size. instructions can also be found on YouTube.
The computer can then be restarted from the USB stick under Linux in so-called live mode, explains Tonekaboni. The computer’s hard drive is not written to in live mode.
If you like Linux, you can also install it as a permanent operating system from live mode – either as a replacement for Windows or parallel to Windows. In the second case, the computer always asks after booting whether you want to start Windows or Linux. Caution: It is essential to back up data before installing.
Reason 4: Linux runs well on older laptops
For example, while Windows 11 places very high demands on the hardware, simplicity is a major advantage of Linux. “Linux gives old computers a second lease of life, so to speak,” says Keywan Tonekaboni. Linux components also support significantly longer: Older PCs or laptops that are on strike, twitchy or lame under Windows can often continue to be used under Linux.
When in doubt, adjustments are made downwards: A Linux distribution can also be put together without performance-hungry parts, explains Matthias Wellendorf. Example: Ubuntu is 2.9 GB, the light version Lubuntu only has 0.7 GB.
Also Read: 5 Tricks to Make Windows 10 Faster
Special case Linux gaming
“The situation for gamers has improved significantly in recent years,” says Popiolek. On the game platform Steam, for example, there are many titles for Linux. And: “If a game isn’t officially available for Linux, there are quick software solutions for adapting it.”
Overall, however, Linux gaming still suffers a little from the chicken-and-egg problem: “Developers shy away from the extra effort of adapting their games for Linux because there are so few Linux gamers,” explains Popiolek. “And there are so few Linux gamers because a lot of games aren’t made for it.”