Introduction

Hello internet people of the internet! In this post, I will explain the reason why I use Linux and how I know Linux. Well, the correct term here should be GNU/Linux but it’s way too long let’s be honest. So, whenever I say Linux, what I mean is GNU/Linux. Let’s start with how I know Linux.

Origin

My first laptop

It all started when I want to buy my first laptop. Roughly about 9 months ago. It runs Intel Celeron N4000 processor, which is pretty bad (yeah, I know). At that time, I didn’t know about Thinkpad which most of people said has the best value for its price. So, I do some quick research on how slow fast this processor runs. It turns out, it’s pretty bad.

How I know Linux

I heard a lot of people say that Windows 10 is heavy for a slow processor like mine. It’s bloat, it’s too heavy, too many things going on, there’s some malicious virus that can easily infect your computer, yaddi yadda. To be honest, I became a bit sad at that time. Then I came across a post on Facebook saying something like “Try Linux if your laptop/pc isn’t powerful enough to run windows.” Then I start to wonder, what is this guy talking about? Linux? I never heard that before.

I became interested in that. Bare in mind that I don’t have any laptop yet. I don’t know why I love to read some articles about Linux and joined on several groups even if I don’t have any machine that runs Linux (I even help people solve issues that they have on their Linux machine even though I don’t have any laptop. That’s quite something if you ask me). It’s an interesting operating system (mainly because I never heard of it). Somehow, I like the fact that most people don’t use it. I like to be different. Finally, after about a month, I bought my very first laptop.

My first distribution

Linux has so many distributions. Like, a gazillion of them. But from what I observe, there are only a few “big boys” that stands out from the others. Some of them are Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, Manjaro, OpenSUSE, Fedora, RHEL, PopOS, etc. I got confused easily on which one is the best for me. Then I decided to check what’s that guy is using on Facebook.

The guy on Facebook runs Manjaro Linux. I was like, “Why did he choose that? That’s a silly name for Linux.” Not gonna lie, that’s my first impression lol. About a week later, I tried to install one of Linux distribution after getting convinced enough. The one that I chose was Linux Mint. At that time, I installed Linux Mint 19.1 XFCE Edition. I was so happy to be able to install Linux. Unfortunately, I lost my first screenshot on Linux Mint.

Changing distribution

A month has passed. I feel pretty comfortable with Linux. Then, there was this news saying that Ubuntu dropped their support for 32bit libraries. Do you remember that news? I was like, “Well, that’s fine I guess. What’s wrong with that?” Little did I know, 32bit libraries are what most games depend on. Then I started to panic and confused lmao.

I was like, “Oh come on. I’m already comfortable with my current setup. I still want to play some games but I don’t want to change my distribution.” Yep, that’s literally what I said. And you know what? f*** it. Imma change my distribution. I decided to choose Manjaro since it’s not based on Ubuntu. Yep, the one that I’ve mentioned before. A distribution that I thought has a stupid name (I felt so guilty now lol). Then I started to think, “Who cares about names anyway. As long as it is usable, it’s good.”

Finally, I installed it. I took a quick screenshot after installing it because I was so excited. Here, take a look!

Manjaro is based on Arch. Some people say that it’s Arch without all of its fuss. I mean, it’s true. At the time I’m writing this, I use Arch. For beginners that want to try Archlinux, it’s a good starting point. I ended up using it for nearly 8 months. It was a great experience.

Why Linux?

So, why do I use Linux then? Well, let me give you a quick list of why Linux is better than the other OS

• It’s free

  Linux is free both in price and free as in freedom. You don’t have to pay for license and you can do anyting you want with it. You can customize your Desktop Environment (look and feel) or even build your very own kernel!

• It’s lightweight

  Linux is so lightweight. It can bring your old hardware to life. There’s this joke that says “Linux can run on everything”. Starting from business card (yes, there’s someone out there who built their business card with Linux inside it) until your high end $50000 beast or whatever.

• It’s secure

  Linux is very secure. That’s why most of servers around the world is using Linux for it. You don’t have to worry to install antivirus to prevent ransomware getting into your system. No need to worry on that stuff.

• There’s always something to learn

  Like, seriously. You can always learn something new everyday. There are so much good stuff that you can learn from Linux. If you like something challenging, go ahead and try Linux.

• Package Manager

  Now this is the stuff that makes me really love Linux. Linux has a centralized place to download any app that you want. You don’t need to go to some kind of obscure website and find the correct download link. You just need to apt install or pacman -S any package that you want and it’s totally secure.

Conclusion

At first, I’m afraid that I can’t install Windows on my new laptop. Who would’ve thought that in the end, I use Archlinux which some people say that it’s difficult to install. I think it’s not that hard, follow the wiki and you’re set (said someone who had failed to install Archlinux 3 times lmao).

Alright, this post will end right here. I might post why I use VIM/Window Managers next time. See ya in the next post everyone, have a good day!

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