so with Windows 7 being yo L aka
end-of-life we all have this situation
if we use Windows on our network that
well the operating system is now
depreciated it's no longer safe to use
Windows 7 that's right that's because it
hasn't been appreciated for a long time
well Windows 7 is is now what we call
end-of-life and and some folks have said
well I don't need Microsoft support I've
never once in my entire Windows usage
ever required Microsoft support sorry
and I'm all tangled up here there we go
now I'm better so if you do if you don't
ever have to call Microsoft support why
does it matter to you if Microsoft no
longer supports Windows 7 well yeah so
consider this that support so when we
think of support we think about being
able to pick up the phone and call
technical support well that's not at all
what it's talking about
what it's talking about is that the
support of basically them fixing
problems that they find is gone so what
that means is whenever a hacker finds a
way to compromise a Windows 7 machine
Microsoft used to fix it and roll it out
as an update and and probably break a
couple things that along the way but you
inevitably fixed the bug that was
causing hackers to be able to get into
your system well now they're not going
to do that so as hackers find exploits
in Windows 7 Microsoft is just going to
say well it's no longer supported right
so we are not going to be patching that
and now if you're running Windows 7
you've got this very bad situation and
you know maybe you've got a mix of
Windows 7 Linux Windows 10 and that one
Windows 7 machine or god forbid a
Windows XP machine sadly those still
exist they still exist
yeah right so if any of those exists
that are no longer being patched or
supported
it can be a really bad situation because
that's one it's a door it's a doorway
like a back door into your computer know
your network all of all of your devices
time so we have to move to Windows 10
but maybe our computer can't handle
Windows 10 I mean we've got to get more
RAM we've got to get an SSD in order to
be able to run it at a reasonably decent
speed so that means a a new hard drive
and by that point it's like do you
really sink the money into this old
thing
so you're speaking to my current
situation I have an old Windows XP
system that I'm I'm setting up for our
kids at home yeah so that they can use
it for school work and stuff separate
and then our family computer ok so
somebody's playing games there's still
the school or computer yeah but I don't
want to upgrade this old system that's
10 years old yeah are you really gonna
put a couple hundred bucks into
something when you can walk into a Super
Center and for 600 bucks walk away with
a pretty decent computer exactly you
know but low end but fast though will
say I'm looking for the free fix
yeah you've already got the gear so you
know what are you gonna do
so do we put more RAM into it do we put
a new hard drive into it an SSD and do
we do all that work or do you just now
you know wipe it and put something else
on there that's powered by Linux that's
the option that's the one yeah so that's
what I do that's what I've done and
that's what I continue to do so you will
also do once you hear why so personally
so this is kind of like a personal
opinion piece but personally what I have
been leaning toward is Linux Mint over
the past little while because the
question comes up well what distro okay
this is a new word if you're a Windows
user yeah it's short for distribution
what distro of Linux or what flavor of
Linux are you gonna use because a lot of
the Linux names are based on foods that
is true the Atlantic's mint what flavor
mint yeah right what flavor so the
computer that I was talking about I had
tried a few different districts
I had boo bun to Matei I had also a good
option
I had Lindos from the inspire inspire
yeah it'll inspire no longer yeah that's
like fire but I ended up settling on a
Linux Mint yeah yeah and I had was it
Zoran Zorin OS on here yeah before I
switch to cloud ready yeah yeah okay so
Linux Mint for me it's a Debian based
system so this is the same core that
Ubuntu is based on right so I don't have
to and I'm a very big Debian fan all my
servers are like Debian Buster stretched
before that and I'm always up to date
with the latest in debian systems and
and and so and I run stable I don't tend
to run testing unless it's its feature
locked and ready to go into stable and
what that means again if you're new to
the Linux world Debian is basically if
there's a hierarchy so you've got like
Debian you've got Red Hat you've got a
couple other ones as well but those are
kind of the big ones that I think you're
going to encounter we don't need to
really clutter the landscape but so
Debian being one that it's gonna be
based on it could be a boon - it could
be Linux Mint it could be any number you
mentioned a boon to matei another one
which is essentially Ubuntu with a
different interface yes has Mattei is
like the menu the the desktop
environment
so now linux mint is also Mattei but
it's it's based on a boon - correct
all right so it's like this whole it's
like this tree of hierarchy of where did
this Linux come from so you've got
Debian is like this fantastic server
environment but then a boon to canonical
is creating a desktop version of that
and it's fantastic it's called a boon -
and that's where a boon - Matei comes
from and then you've got Linux Mint
which is a fork of that another word for
yeah it's like they copied the code base
and then they've tweaked it and made it
the way that they want it and
that's the one that I've settled on and
it's fantastic so I get all the benefits
of Debian I get the benefits of Ubuntu
and I get the benefits of the Linux Mint
community as well and so I end up with
this extremely polished desktop
operating system that will run on my old
hardware that I don't have to upgrade
the RAM that I don't have to buy a new
SSD and it works fantastically in it and
it's fairly familiar I don't have to
relearn the entire desktop paradigm in
order to get used to it pretty intuitive
like I carry yeah yeah now you talked
about stable version versus yes
experimental I think was test yeah so
for somebody who's sit just getting into
this and they're like oh I downloaded
the experimental what's the pitfall to
experimental versus stable for them
testing or CID is what Debian calls it
so way up at the higher level of the
hierarchy which you're probably not
going to touch as a new Linux user okay
so remember that Debian is like up here
okay so Sid is a testing version of
Debian stable is is what they consider
stable it's been tested okay so it's
already gone through the testing phase
if you were going up here going to
testing is going to end up giving you
newer packages so like when the new
version of comes out GNU image
manipulation program you're gonna have
the latest and greatest right
immediately part of the operating system
but it may not be stable it may crash it
may have bugs and that kind of stuff
because it hasn't gone through that
testing phase yet once it hits stable
Ubuntu users would say it's older
version right right Debian users will
say it's stable yeah it doesn't crash it
doesn't have any problems okay so that's
a big difference between a boon to and
Debian Debian stable means it's gone
through a lengthy maybe two-year testing
process like proofreaders but are using
it ready to get is safe to use that's
stable okay so it's rock-solid
whoo boon to a little more bleeding edge
little more cutting edge and the
software versions are going to be a
little bit newer and the package
managing and everything else is a little
bit tweaked for end-users but you're not
dealing and
with testing versus stable it's just
here's a boon to ya and that's what you
get so it's now it comes down to is it
LTS any guess is what that means or is
it not LTS a lifetime service very close
long-term support long-term support yes
so what that means so when you see in a
boon to release that is LTS long-term
support which is currently I is it 12
point o4 is the current LTS no no it
can't be 12 no I'm on 22 one 1804 yes so
man I'm in the past okay you're in the
past because I talked about Lindos yeah
so LTS means that version is going to
continue being supported think of along
the terms of what I mentioned about
Microsoft is going to continue getting
those patches and fixes for a very long
time years okay so if you're new and you
don't want to have to reinstall every
couple of years or go through the
upgrade process go with LTS if you like
the brand new versions go with the
current version which right now it's
2020 it's not quite April but because
it's almost April that means that 2004
is going to be coming out in April
because it represents the date right so
it's every October and April its
birthday in April like I do is that what
happens Act yes like that so the most
recent version then therefore would be
1910 19 point 10 so and always vary
somebody's mind by explaining that yeah
a little bit cuz I was like yeah yeah no
it's October 2019
so that version would be the latest
current version of Ubuntu but it's not
LTS right so you you'd have to then go
to 2004 when it's released through the
upgrade path which is pretty easy now
Linux Mint I believe subscribes to a
very similar model but they base theirs
on the LTS of Ubuntu so you're gonna get
LTS I believe anyway well but they have
the iterations throughout as well so
like right now it's Linux Mint 19 and I
believe nineteen point two something
like that so so it's just it's how it
trickles down so that's what I've
settled on is Linux Mint because I find
for my laptop for my desktop it's like
the rock solid it's got its got current
software I can install whatever I want
on it
it's beautiful and it works great you
mentioned cloud ready yes which
basically has turned Sasha's laptop into
it's a Chromebook a chrome yes so you
took your old laptop and turn it into a
Chromebook and how how is that for you
it's great I mean it works well I have
all my access through the cloud right
yeah so I am already using Google Doc
yeah exactly I use Google Docs and
slides and you know all of that and and
so it was really intuitive for me like I
had no problem switching to cloud ready
but from what it was Sauron from Zorin
and before that before that I was was I
window I must have been Windows at some
point wait on Windows it was Windows 7 I
just got the sticker but I block things
out I don't like I don't remember this
and Jeff you mentioned Lindos Windows
and Windows XP yes so you're more old
school than me
what are you running at home for real so
on my we have the two system well we
have three systems there's my wife's Mac
she likes Mac yeah on our family
computer we have a dual boot system of
Linux Mint and Windows 10 nice and the
reason for the dual boot is because of
computer games yeah I was gonna guess
gaming yeah it's gonna be that's what
yep yep so I mean my kids are now at the
age where they're like you know they're
getting into some of those roblox oh
they're past that now what else requires
Windows what requires Windows it's also
some of our at night you got some of our
Steam games our Windows only what else
do I have
oh goodness trying to think of some of
the games that are windows-only you
don't game on your laptop I do not this
is strictly like the strictly business
yeah like the business I'm completely
blanking on what all's on the computer
that's not through Steam
okay so gaming on the Windows 10 yeah
and you Jeff has mentioned something
that we haven't talked about yet tonight
the dual boot dual booting so what that
means is that he's chosen so your
computer is obviously good enough to run
Windows 10 anyways yes okay so that's a
different scenario in some ways however
if your computer is able to support it
and you still want to go the route of
Linux yeah you can do dual booting can
you explain to us what that means yeah
so with dual boot I have partitioned the
hard drive that's a fancy word Jeff okay
so partition means I took the space of
the hard drive yeah and I segmented off
into different portions and so that hard
to do
knows really have to be a straight 50/50
it does not have to be a straight 5050
and so my initial boot was not Windows
it was Linux so originally it was just
Linux yeah originally because it was a
computer I built okay so it was a blank
hard drive and my first install was
Linux because when I'm doing the install
it says do you intend to do a dual boot
and so really yep so that was one of the
install options and I'm like yes I
intend to do a dual boot and so that's
what happened is I set up the dual boot
I'm blanking on what the dual boot
program is called um gee part head no no
it's the Installer process yeah I'm
blanking on what it's called anyway so
that popped up in the install and it's
like okay how much do you want to
partition on your hard drive okay your
Linux operating yankem and so I set up
it was not quite a 50-50 split because I
need a ton of space for the games that
get installed so it was more Windows I
think it's 25/75 split ball and all in
the hard drive that was the first time I
did the install I've since wiped the
computer reinstalled it and so that was
when I had my spinning hard drive ok and
then after I installed Linux I booted up
again installing windows on the second
partition since wiping out that
going with my SSD it's the SSD I think
is 500 gigs and I have two terabytes
spinning hard drive yeah for it and so
that's where my data is on the spinning
hard drive yeah
and then I'm using the SSD for the
operating system and that's a 50/50
split okay
very complicated sounding but it's by
taut but from the scenario of a user who
say is using Windows and wants to
experience Linux and and and use Linux
because it's safer because I know I can
surf the Internet my kids can use the
computer I don't have to worry about
viruses like I do with Windows those
kinds of things so let's say your kids
sit down at the computer and they want
to switch between Windows and Linux or
vice-versa how is that process so all we
have to do is we if I'm in Windows we go
through a system restart and then on the
boot it brings up the dual boot screen
the default if the computer just starts
up by itself
yeah is to go into Linux yes I wanted to
go into Linux automatically if say
Windows does a system update in the
middle of the night or something right
and the computer boots I want to know
that I'm going into Linux where it's a
safe environment for the computer to sit
as opposed to Windows okay where it
could be exposed to something so it's an
automatic boot into Linux but at the
dual boot screen they can drop down the
menu and select the Windows boot
brilliant and the kids the kids know how
to work it it's totally easy and they
know when they can switch between Linux
and Windows yeah not a problem it's a
game get into Windows if you want to do
anything else
Linux is where it's at that's right I
mean our daughter just turned nine and
she's been doing it now for two years so
if a seven-year-old can do it
yeah like it's not that hard yeah
awesome oh yeah Linux Mint Ubuntu all
these technologies that we're talking
about Debian they're available for free
they're absolutely free mm-hmm and you
can just download them off of their
respective websites cloud-ready
same thing how much did that cost you is
zero dollars
so you can't even say this is a sales
pitch because it's free hey you know
here you go take it so that's that's
that's where it's at so that's good I
think it's a good solution so hey let us
know comment below how you're utilizing
open source operating systems
technologies and how it's able to
you know in Jeff's environment help keep
his kids safe help to keep his computer
safe from infiltration Sasha it's
breathed new life into an old laptop
it's given her the ability to access her
cloud-based applications like Google
Docs and and you've mentioned
spreadsheets is it all that kind of
stuff and and you can do it from there
you can jump onto any other computer and
you've got access to it for me I just
need a powerful Linux desktop operating
system on my laptop and that's where
Linux Mint comes in for me how is it
impacting you what is open-source doing
for you lately comment below I'd love to
hear
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