Switching to Linux – overcoming the obstacles

Introduction

Linux is a free, open-source operating system. It was created by Linus Torvalds in 1991 and has since become one of the most popular computer platforms in use today. It is used by many corporations, governments, and individuals to run their websites across thousands of servers across the world. Despite their wild success on servers but Linux did not get mainstream adoption on the desktop computer for the past few decades.

There is always groups of hardcore Linux supported that runs various Linux distros on their personal machine; it was pretty appealing to the IT folks like myself to try to follow suit. For one it sets you apart from the others (hence the cool factor) and also the control you get in interacting with your machine since the operating systems provide far more access to the underlying hardware compared to Microsoft’s Windows Operating Systems. I have tried switching several times but failed miserably mostly due to a lot of the applications I need for my work do not have a Linux version (or a very poorly supported version with only the barebone functions). Also, IT refused to support anything outside of the corporate standard and they will go as far as accusing you of violating corporate security compliance.

That is until recently…

In the past few years, the stars are starting to line up for Linux.

• Linux distributions are now easier to use than before.
• System vendors such as System76 and Tuxedo ship their machines with Linux distro and they spent a lot of time create resources to support their customers.
• Strong FOSS communities are popping up on and provide useful support for newbies like me.
• You can play games on Linux! No more jumping through the hoops to try to get a game to run on a non-Windows machine.
• Most importantly – companies are now switching to Software-as-a-service (SaaS), which means you can access the corporate application so long as you have an Internet connection and a browser.

Is it time for me?

Since last year, with way too much time on hand (since I stopped traveling around). I had tried different GNU/Linux distro so that I could get comfortable with CLI again (I used to spend days in Cisco terminal sessions to troubleshoot and fix problems, but that was a while ago). After experiencing Fedora, Ubuntu, Mint, Arch, Manjaro, ParrotOS, and Kali (ahem**), I ran into Pop_OS and really enjoy my experience with the OS and the community that supports you when you are stuck. Pop_OS is a GNU/Linux distro maintained by System76, a North American company based out of Denver, Colorado focusing on building GNU/Linux-based systems.

When my company-issued laptop failed (the fan was out of order, and it will take a little over a month to get me the replacement part due to Covid),  I decided to convert the Intel NUC in my lab to become my temporary workstation. I set it up with Pop_OS 20.10, and loaded all the apps I need onto it (not all apps supports GNU/Linux, so I will have to use the web version). These are some of the applications that I’ve tested to be working correctly:

• Zoom
• Google Chrome
• NordVPN (personal subscription)
• Tabby
• 1Password
• Discord
• MS Team – Office Use
• Slack
• Telegram (via Snapd)
• Evernote (Evernote has not officially release the linux version – still in beta mode but here’s a link from github to download the software https://github.com/search5/Evernote-for-Linux/releases). I end up using the Web version.
• OneDrive – This is a tricky one so I settled with the web version. 
• Authy (via Snapd)
• Grammarly (Web)
• Office365 (Web)

I was pretty happy with myself until I tried to install VMware Workstation. It ends up being some installation script issues with the newer Linux kernel, it took me 2 hours to figure out how to get it set up. But hey, I learned the hard way that I should check online for any clue before trying to troubleshoot issues myself.

Most of my company’s applications have a web interface and I can pretty much get everything done using just the Chrome browser. (Using chrome as I am using a number of the extension that helped with my workflow).

It’s been absolute joyful experiment of switching to Linux for all my job requirements. I wished the O365 web experience could be better but it did get the job done for me (the experience on the installed version is feel better). I have now switched back to my company issued machine but there are still days where I will switch back to my Linux machine just for fun.

Conclusion

The potential of Linux as a desktop operating system is huge, and it’s only going to get better over time with each new release. If you take the time to learn how things work in Linux, then you will be able to harness its power for your own needs on any computer or device that runs it!

Thanks for reading the post!

Coffee drank during the post: Bread and Brew - Driver