Hi
My name is WizarDave and I'm a redneck geek computer guru.
(Anyone running a Linux desktop can officially use the title computer guru!)

I've been running a Linux desktop for about a decade now.

• My operating system of choice is Manjaro Linux.
  • When I installed it a couple of years ago, it was down around #15 or so on the most popular Linux distributions according to DistroWatch. Now it's #1 and I'm not surprised at all.
    • Why Manjaro?
      Quick Answer = It just works!
      Long Answer = read on...

WizarDave's Linux history

• I first ran across Linux when I decided to become a webmaster back around '95. The web servers I rented to put my web sites on were all running Linux.
• pssst Wanna know something kinda funny? Microsoft Corporation runs a lot of their web sites on Linux servers!
  Ho Ho Ho that makes me ROFLMAO!
  • Around '97 Caldera introduced their Caldera OpenLinux distribution. I got those disks and installed it. 99% of the commands were through Command Line Interface (CLI) using a terminal program. Here's a few of them and links to more, if you want to check those out. I don't mind the CLI, but not for nearly everything... Instead I hung in there with WinDoze.
    • I'm not sure when I finally discovered Redhat Linux, but it was around that same time. I tried it and liked it. They had created some graphical tools to make it easier to run commands. I ran 2 desktops then since I used CorelDraw and it was only available for WinDoze.
• Over the past decade Linux has really made some great strides. It's now got graphical interfaces for nearly anything you need to do to your desktop. Unless you have some program you must use that is not available for Linux, there is no reason to not make the switch to Linux. There are a couple of programs that simulate a WinDoze box and can run lots of their software, so you might want to check that out, too. But, really you don't even have to worry about that. My box can boot into either WinDoze or Linux. But, as you will read a bit later, I'm going to re-install the new version of Manjaro and completely do away with the WinDoze partition.
  • I was running the then #1 ranked Linux Mint distro and it upgraded. My screen went blank. I have an nVidia graphics card and at that time it presented a problem to most Linux distros... I tried to restore and couldn't. So, I hopped on my laptop, read about Manjaro Linux. Downloaded the live CD and video worked great. So, I then installed it and have been using it since.

Why I like Linux

It's decentralized computer software.

• Decentralization is the future of the world. You must agree, because here you are on Steemit, the de facto decentralized social media platform of the universe.
  • Meaning nearly every piece of software is open sourced, so you can actually read the code if you want.
    • If you are a programmer, you can update code to your likings and upload it so others can use your improvements.
• Have you ever said, I hate the way Windoze does ______fill in the blank______. You can complain all you want, but it does no good. The software is proprietary, meaning it can only be changed, if they decide to change it. In an open, decentralized operating system, anyone can make any needed improvements.
  • That's why there are so many choices.
    • 3 major desktops to choose from.
    • Hundreds of distributions to choose from.
    • Dozens of music players, graphic manipulation programs, CD/DVD burners, and the list goes on...

It's not spying on me!!!

• You do realize that Microsoft has access to everything you do on your WinDoze computer, right?

Linux automatically corrects errors on the hard drive.

• You know if the power goes off and your computer shuts down quickly, there will be errors introduced to the hard drive.
  • With WinDoze, you used to have to run chkdsk and defrag about once a week. I'm not sure with WinDoze 10.
    • Linux uses some magic they call journaling and it automatically corrects any problems it finds with the hard drive any time you reboot.

Speaking of reboot.

• I have WinDoze 10 on my work computer and have to reboot at least every other day.
  • Which is better than it used to be! I would have to reboot several times a day with some of the previous versions.
    • I only reboot my home Linux box maybe 2 or 3 times a month. That's only if I get waaaay too many windows going at once. Sometimes I will have problems. I tend to multitask, so get a lot of projects going at once. ::rolling eyes:: The only other time I reboot is after a major update. You don't normally have to, but sometimes you do, so I just do it every time.

A lot is built into the kernel. That's the base program that runs everything else.

• The last time I installed WinDoze, it was a very frustrating ordeal.
  • It took a couple of hours to format my hard drive.
    • It takes just a few minutes to format a Linux hard drive.
  • WiFi did not work. I had to locate, download and install drivers for my specific card.
    • WiFi works out of the box with Linux.
  • Sound did not work. I had to locate, download and install drivers for my specific card.
    • Sound works out of the box with Linux.
  • I could not burn CD's/DVD's.
    • Most distributions of Linux contain a CD/DVD burner program
  • and the list goes on.
    • I will NEVER install WinDoze on a computer ever again!
      Don't even ask me to...

#1 reason I like Linux...
It's totally FREE!!!
It's totally FREE!!!
It's totally FREE!!!
In case you didn't hear me...
I'll repeat one last time

It's totally FREE!!!

Your choice of distribution

There are hundreds of distributions. (distro for short)
Basically a distribution is a collection of software programs together with an installation program and updater.

• Some distributions focus on different user groups such as educators, scientists, game players, hackers(not all hackers are bad!) and the list goes on...

Why I chose Manjaro

1. As mentioned above, it just worked. It was the first distro that conquered the nVidia graphics card.
2. It is a rolling distribution. With most distros, every so often (6-12 months), you have to completely reinstall when there's a major update. You never have to do that with a rolling distribution. It just updates as you go along, never having to be reinstalled.
3. It just works!

Arch Linux is a distro that gives you complete control over your computer and what software installs. I ran Arch for about a year maybe 6 years ago. It worked really well for me, but I got tired of manually doing everything, so I tried something else.

• Manjaro is based on Arch Linux, but it took care of most of the time consuming chores of Arch. For example, it will play mp3's as soon as installed. It has few nice graphical installers/updaters. ... Manjaro took the good Arch Linux distro and made it great. They made it useful for anyone, regardless of your computer skill set.

Your choice of desktops

Basically, the desktop is what you see on your screen and the way you interact with your computer.

There are 3 major choices when it comes to desktops.

• KDE is my favorite
  • https://www.kde.org/
• Gnome has a few different flavors like Mate and Cinnamon.
  • https://www.gnome.org/
  • https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Cinnamon
  • https://mate-desktop.org/
• XFCE - lightweight meaning it is great for older computers.

They all have their strong points and weaknesses.
I've tried them all and still prefer KDE.
It just feels right to me.

• One cool thing about Linux is you can usually easily switch desktops, so you can try out several and find one you like. Find the one that "just feels right to you."

Here's what someone else thinks about Manjaro

Get it here

https://manjaro.org/get-manjaro/

Manjaro Community editions:
meaning they are not officially created by Manjaro.
Someone or a group created and maintain these editions.
https://manjaro.org/community-editions/

• Awesome - read about it here
• Bspwm - read about it here
• Budgie - read about it here
• Cinnamon - read about it here
• Deepin - read about it here
• i3 - read about it here
• LXDE - read about it here
• Mate - read about it here
• Openbox - read about it here

Preview releases (alpha)
https://manjaro.org/manjaro-preview-releases/

• Manjaro XFCE Edition (18.0-alpha-3)
• Manjaro KDE Edition (18.0-alpha-1)
  • I've just downloaded this and will be installing it soon. Everything is working just fine. I just want try out something new. I'm like that sometimes! haha
    • Actually, I haven't booted into WinDoze for way over a year, so want to just completely delete it from my hard drive.

Caveats

I recently caught a color laser printer on sale. Oops. I didn't think to make sure there was a Linux driver available for it.

• I cannot directly print to it. But it's an easy enough workaround. I just print to pdf. Mail it to myself. Open that on my smartphone and print it from there. It's worked flawlessly.

So, as you can see, if you have the latest greatest widget, it won't always be supported on Linux.

There you have it Ladies & Gents

My name is WizarDave and I'm a redneck geek computer guru.

• I've been running a Linux desktop for about a decade now.
  • My operating system of choice is Manjaro Linux.
    • My desktop Environment is KDE

If you have any questions or comments,
that's what the comment section is for!!!

Who I am @WizarDave	The KEY to Life!