If you can’t upgrade to Windows 11, or don’t like what you’ve seen of it, install Linux instead. Here’s how to make the switch to an open-source operating system and install apps.
Microsoft has officially closed the door on Windows 10 support. Now, if you’re not on Windows 11, and didn’t sign up for the extended support, you’re out of luck. But if you’re sick of embedded advertisements, data collection, and rising hardware requirements, I don’t blame you. There is also a very real possibility your Windows 10 machine can’t even upgrade to the next iteration of Windows, so what are you supposed to do?
If you’ve ever considered making the jump to a different operating system, now is the perfect time. You could switch to Mac, part of Apple’s walled garden, or Google’s lightweight Chromebook platform. Still, you’re likely to find many of the same issues here, so I’d like to turn your attention to Linux. Despite what you may think, it’s easy to make the jump with just a little patience and some command line acumen. Here’s how to install a Linux distro and download apps to get you started.Choose Your Distribution
Unlike Windows and macOS, there isn’t just one version of Linux. Instead, Linux is packaged into many different distributions, or “distros”, each with their own interface and set of features. One may use a Mac-like interface with a dock and “app store”, while others may be more minimalistic and require installing apps from the command line. For your first installation, you’ll likely want something popular and beginner-friendly, so it’s easy to use but also has a large community from which you can get help when you need it. Zorin OS mimics Windows in layout and functionality, but it won’t have as big a community. Ubuntu, on the other hand, is arguably the most popular distro, but it isn’t very Windows-like these days.
This is why I recommend starting with Linux Mint for the first installation, since it’s a perfect in-between option: It’s designed for beginners, offers a familiar environment, and is based on Ubuntu, so you can ask for help from the enormous Ubuntu/Mint community. I’ll be using Mint for the purpose of this guide. It’s not my personal distro of choice, but it’s great for new Windows migrants. It’s also easier to explore other distros once you’ve nailed down the basics.Create Your Installation Drive
Head to Mint’s download page and you’ll see multiple editions of the same OS version. Cinnamon is sleek and modern, and the desktop environment I recommend for former Windows users. Xfce offers a lightweight experience for old or low-powered PCs, but it lacks some of the features that come with Cinnamon. MATE looks a bit less modern-looking as a continuation of an older version of the OS.
Click Download for your preferred version of Linux Mint. You can view the installation guide or release notes from the link at the top of the page. If you’re a BitTorrent user, I recommend grabbing the torrent file, which will download much faster.
