I've thought about posting this for quite a while. I'm not selling anything, and in fact it's the opposite. I wasn't sure if this discussion really belongs on this forum, but it does fit into the idea of the Great Awakening and sticking it to these tech corporate oligarchs. With Tim Cook you have a loathsome buttpuppet who fancies CCP enslavement, and Bill Gates is a villain obsessed with reducing the world's population through vaccines. Both are New World Order turdcopters who only seek to kill, oppress and enslave.
For myself, I've been getting sick of Bill Gates's crap for years and I'd been wanting to switch to Linux, but did not have the motivation. I was happy with Win7 and I refused the "free" upgrade to Win10. I did not want Win10 and every computer at work that was upgraded got slow. I'd resolved to never pay money for another Microsoft OS again. So when MS announced that they would cease support for Win7, that was my motivation to break free from my comfort zone.
In February 2020, I migrated from Win7 to Linux and I have not regretted it. Not only does Linux install on pretty much anything, uses less resources, makes older computers run more smoothly and it is completely free, but it is also far more secure. Say goodbye to malware, trojans, and viruses. You see? Bill Gates has conditioned everyone to not only become used to enduring a barrage of concocted viruses in real life, but for your computer too. On the day I migrated to Linux, I cancelled my Avast Antivirus membership, which was incidentally soon after they got into trouble for selling their users' data and apologized for getting caught.
Maybe 20 years ago, Linux was intimidating for most people. Then Ubuntu came along, and made Linux far more user-friendly. Because of its wide support base, it made Linux easier to acclimate to. You see with the Mac/Win situation, it's like Dairy Queen. You only get two flavors: vanilla and chocolate. With Linux, it's like Baskin Robbins: there are so many flavors you don't know where to begin.
Look: I won't give a whole presentation on the various types of Linux. Just know that there are many different OS to choose from, and each OS will have different user interfaces (GUI) to choose from. As I mentioned, Linux is far stabler, more efficient, and more secure. Linux Mint seems to be the most popular OS as it is built upon Ubuntu as a version that is tailor made to appeal to Windows users who liked XP and 7, but do not like the bloated puke that 10 is. Its foundation is the user-friendly, widely-used Ubuntu and it takes it a step further to appeal more to Windows users who look for a Windows alternative that is not outside of their comfort zone. With Mint, there are choices of GUI to choose from. Cinnamon provides a very Windows-like, elegant and charming presentation. Mate is more versatile and customizable. XFCE is more of a no-nonsense GUI that is best for older hardware. As for myself, I went with Mint Mate.
Another OS that is easy to pick up and learn is Zorin OS. I haven't used it myself, but I plan to test it out sometime. With Linux, you can't go wrong. Even Microsoft uses Linux for their servers rather than their own crap. https://www.cybersecurity-insiders.com/microsoft-uses-linux-instead-of-windows-for-its-azure-sphere/
I see a lot of Linux users recommend newcomers to install VirtualBox and make a test install on that. I tried that, but I did not care for it as I have an older computer and it was rather laggy. No, if you can just burn an install DVD, you can just boot up to that. I made an install DVD for Mint and once I had booted my computer off of the DVD-ROM drive, I could actually use the OS to get a feel for how it works. It's so no-nonsense that you can run programs right from the install disc. I got into Firefox, logged into my Gmail, and then I could do a Hangouts video call with my friend. He's a Unix admin and even he was floored that I was just running my computer off the install DVD. Give it a try. You can use the OS without even having to install it. When you have all of your stuff backed up and are ready to make it happen, then you just click the install icon on the desktop. It's that simple.
You really don't have to bother much with drivers. Drivers are the software that interfaces with hardware, but Linux acts like that software itself. I imagine that this is why it runs slimmer. All I can say is just try it out. Unless you really must use some proprietary software like Microsoft Access or Adobe Photoshop for your work or something, you can find alternatives. Best of all is that it's free. Linux was doing the whole "app store" before Apple did. You can easily just install software from the software manager, or you can just pull up the terminal and type in the request to install a program. No more having to hunt down installation files off of various websites. Give it a shot! Let me know what your experiences are with this.
Great post. I would recommend to ditch Firefox due to their wokeness and go at least for Brave. I really love that browser.
I mean, if I had a choice between a patriot musket and a Kalashnikov made in the USSR ...... politics is not really an issue, is there? Use case is more important, wouldn't you agree?
Since, I do not interact with firefox as a corporation, and firefox is still the default tor browser, I care not about their wokeness till it finds me. Then I will decide what to do.
However, firefox is customizable beyond comprehension. For instance, if you don't like the localization service, you simply switch it off, or use a different service. (yes, you can break it, but what the heck)
Another thought to keep in mind: DESPITE their wokeness, many users also belong to the anonymity proponents with views that do not align with yours. You can learn a lot from ANTIFA. AntiX for instance is a leftwing linux project, yet their anonymity / privacy efforts are top league in the field.
It all depends on your requirements, and those requirements may change over time.
Say for instance you want to incorporate the use of crypto. Then privacy and anonymity becomes more important. You'll find, across the political spectrum, many advocating the same thing.
I get that, but I just don't see what I could get out of Firefox that I am not getting from Brave - newbies would appreciate it even more, because they can get a lot of stuff out of the box with a basic installation...
Fair enough. Nothing is the is all end all. It is a matter of perspective.
Convenience is just one, albeit that convenience is a major driver. Another perspective is customization for threats you are not aware off. You simply do not know what you do not know.
Hence your argument is not convincing to me. But I guess time will tell, because over time, when you dive into the topic in light of current pushes by the bi tech big gov hybrid, they WILL go there and institute a state of total control.
As I wrote in the latter part of my post: there is a difference between privacy and anonymity.
Yeah, Firefox is still, for all intent and purposes, still FOSS. I like that it has a separate search box with a drop down menu to directly go to various searches (Duckduckgo, Google Maps, Wikipedia, YouTube Odysee, etc). Chromium and Brave don't do that. If they implemented that, I suppose I wouldn't mind it so much. Until then, I prefer Firefox. Although there is an experimental FireFox clone that is very privacy-centric, but for Ubuntu-based distros it is only an experimental program and last I checked, you have to run it from the terminal. Can't remember what it was called, though.
You'd have to be careful though.
For those enticed to read more about privacy settings for firefox: https://12bytes.org/articles/tech/firefox/firefoxgecko-configuration-guide-for-privacy-and-performance-buffs/
And there is an overriding reason to at the very least, be aware of what is going on and HOW government, big tech and jurisdictions play together to fuck you over by:
in the context of continuous digitization. Why else are they talking about digital identity, connected home appliances, smart meters, electric cars, etc.
For all intends and purposes: