Personal notes on my Transition form Windows to Linux - Part 1 : Prolouge

Deciding to move to Open-source/Free software and Linux for everyday task is not a small decision. Especially when living in Bangladesh where almost 80% of the people still uses ASCII font based system for typing Bangla language, paying for software is a very remote idea which happens to only to the “Other people”.

It becomes tougher when planning to use it in Office, where MS Office is the only standard and even the formal communication contains documents with propitiatory file formats like “RAR” for archiving, “VSD” for drawings. When you send a document in PDF, you are asked to share the Doc (by that they mean both “doc” and “docx” as they don’t even bother to know the difference). Embedding fonts in document and files are also very remote idea and almost everyone uses Proprietary Bangla fonts.

In most of the offices, whenever a new employee joins who is supposed to get a PC or laptop, the IT department prepares the system in with a cracked version of Windows 7 or Windows 10, along with it comes Microsoft Office 2010 or Microsoft office 2013 and very rarely version 2016. The system also packs, WinRAR cracked, firefox/chrome, Outlook, Adobe Acrobat reader (the only free software in the bunch). On special requests, they may get, Acrobat Writer cracked if they need to create PDF from Ward or Excel, also Photoshop/Illustrator of the full suite from Adobe in cracked form. I had the privilege of working with the software development team who tend to use MySQL and PHP. But as MySQL client, they prefer SQLyog, a cracked paid software. For PHP I have seen some use IntelliJ Idea with crack. And some use Sublime Text which is also a closed source paid software.

So, why I decided to move to the world of Linux? 2 reasons, or to tell the truth several reasons.-

• Firstly and mainly, Ethical: If I can get something for free, why do I need to steal? And I myself, in the core believe, software and knowledge should be free for everyone. 
• Secondly, Convenience: well in the long run, I have found the Free and open-source software are more convenient then the paid options. Especially when you are short on budget and need support.
• Thirdly, Knowledge: The free things are not as easy, as smooth as the paid ones. This results in a regular cycle of facing with problems and bugs, and troubleshooting/solving them. In the long run, it results in knowledge, a clearer & deeper understanding on the overall software ecosystem.
• Fourthly, Portability & Compatibility: most of the open-source and free software supports multiple platforms like windows, Linux even in MacOS. Paid systems are usually bound to Single platform. So whenever presented with a different platform, I would have the same interface, thus same workflow if I am already working in the Open-source based environment.
• And... the 😎😎😎 WOW!!! Factor  or Geek Factor 😎😎😎:  It boosts My geek-factor to thousandfold when everyone sees that I’m working in Linux. In Bangladesh, Linux is considered as a system for only Tech Gurus/Geniuses and it is considered only for servers. Using it for day-to-day basis makes me look super-genius, I eat servers and administrators for snacks 😈😈 Muhahahahaha !!!! 😈😈

Well, these are all good things. But at what price?

Be warned!!!

You're going to pay a serious price for this. You are going to loose a few things when you have transitioned.

• Stability: yes stability. THough its very good on servers but for day to day computing Linux Sucks. It's not stable enough. Many time many things will crash. After a long and treacherous journey, you'll find the system settled a bit, it will become stable. At least for a period.
• Good Looks: You will loose the polished look of windows. The colors are always dull. Unless, you go for a desktop like Deepin, it will take years of work (by you) to find a good looking desktop.
• Games 😭😭😭 : You will loose games.
• Photoshop 😭😭😭 : Well, this is obvious, you cant use Photoshop to edit your facebook profile picture. I can't help with that. But you'll have alternative which are if not better, as good as Photoshop. 
• Drives & My Computer: Believe it or not. Linux don't have drive. It has harddisk space, but not as drive. It stores those as folders (but folders should be called directory, because it is the actual standard term)
• MS Word, MS Excel, MS Outlook: Yup, these are not available as well. but there are alternatives. Maybe not better (in terms of features), but sufficient for what you do. I mean, come on, do you use explicit VBA programs and macros in your Word document? or Do you really use mail merge? Do you actually know the advanced options which are provided by MS Word or Excel if that matters? I didn't think so...

The way ahead

Now, taking the decision is only the first step. But really moving to Linux, deleting all instance of windows from the work and personal computers is a long and tedious task. And it needs practice, patience. The path is treacherous and torturous.

Why Am I writing this?

I am writing this note to show the path but it will not be a tutorial. because, there is no easy way to do it. You can not like following some step by step tutorial and Poof!!! you have transitioned. Everyone has to be determined and have to study. there is not short-cut to success. And there is no short-cut to using a system efficiently, not even in windows. remember the first time you faced a computer? I'm sure everyone stumbled, everyone fumbled. And then after years of practice, it became a habit to use Windows. For transitioning to Linux, one has to unlearn these years of practice and learn from the scratch.

I will divide the tutorial in several parts but I have not decided on the ending. Does it even have an ending? I don't know.

Let's Dive into the world of Linux...