Why not Linux ?

The Linux system is an open-source system available to the general public, based on a large community.

The system has become popular, especially in the professional domain. However, over the years, it has rapidly evolved and become simpler to use for the general public.

Why Linux: 

The reason I'm talking about this system is that most people use commercial systems Windows and Mac (for Macintosh) without really needing the features added by default in commercial systems. What annoys me even more is the belief that Linux is just a black box (terminal  saying that it's not meant for beginners or that it's very difficult to handle (I assure you, that's nonsense).

The latest recent distributions have become much simpler than what's in Windows or Mac.

Well, it's not that I dislike other systems; in fact, I use Windows along with Linux in dual-boot.

Speaking more...

History:

The history of this system began with the creation of two poles  Red Hat (download), Debian (download),  these two being reused to build other poles. We're also talking about Ubuntu, which is the most popular, Fedora (download), Mandriva, ArchLinux, and many others...

    I've tested Debian, Ubuntu, Mandriva, and for the others, I've seen experiences from people who used them. They seem content. Before installing a system, check its characteristics and consider your needs. There are systems tailored for the professional world and others for the general public.

Installation :

The installation is very simple, like  Windows or Mac. Recent versions have made installation even simpler; you hardly need to use the terminal. The system comes with preinstalled software, and updates and package installations are done using graphical tools.

Even if you encounter a problem, which is quite rare, forums and documented sites associated with the installed system will most likely provide a solution to your issue.

In reality, I've run into problems quite a few times (I'm not really skilled with the terminal). I search for my problem online, and I usually find reassuring results in the forums.

A piece of advice for beginners: avoid very recent distributions; they might have uncorrected bugs. Instead, choose versions that are considered stable and have a long lifespan.

Note : If you get lost, try Ubuntu (14.04 (for 32-bit) or 15.04 (for 32-bit) stable version). It's not popular for no reason. Choose the desktop environment you want, like plain Ubuntu for Unity, Kubuntu (K for KDE desktop), Xubuntu (X for XFCE desktop), Lubuntu (L for LXDE), or explore what you prefer. We'll discuss this further in the next paragraph.

Window Manager (WM):

The WM is the desktop interface used when starting a session. You can use as many WM interfaces as you want, but it really depends on the capacity of the PC. The more recent and powerful it is in terms of features (RAM, CPU, GPU), the better chance it has of working with any WM. The older it is, the more it will be limited to a number of WM options, often referred to as "Light" WMs.

Contrary to many documentations I've come across, I've chosen to categorize WMs into 3 groups. In my experience, dividing them into two groups creates difficulties for those in between (which is also my case).

1. Hard WM:

Starting with those who have high capabilities, if you want a combination of looks, design, and performance, you're in the right category. However, it's not recommended for systems with less than 2GB of RAM and a CPU slower than 2GHz (at least an i3 processor is recommended) with a graphics card that has at least 512MB of memory.

 

• KDE: For those seeking effects, reflections, a stylish look, and speed, KDE is the right choice. This WM is greatly enhanced in terms of visual appeal and effects. It can be used with any distribution. You can install KDE 16.04 (64-bit or 32-bit). If you already have a distribution with a default WM, you can add KDE by installing the package kde-desktop (check the distribution for the specific name; for Ubuntu, it's kubuntu-desktop).

•  Unity: (the default WM used by Ubuntu in recent versions) is the most documented among all. If you want to save time, just use Ubuntu as mentioned in the note above, and it will install Unity by default.

And, of course, explore on your own. There are as many WMs as there are distributions (you can even create your own interface).

2. Medium WM:

These WMs are suitable for most existing PCs, except for very old ones (with a minimum requirement of faster than P4 and between 1GB and 2GB of RAM). They are not recommended for recent versions.

• Xfce: Xfce is one of the interfaces I really liked. It's completely customizable to your liking, and you don't need to use the terminal for that. It's simple and fluid, with fewer effects. It's used in many Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Debian, and other distributions. Suitable for Xubuntu (64-bit or 32-bit). Xfce is fundamentally a panel, as mentioned in the document on panels.

 Note: Many documentations claim that Xfce is a light WM, but from my experience, that's not entirely true. On a virtual machine, Xfce works quite well with 750MB of RAM.

• Mate: : Mate is based on Gnome and is designed for simplicity. It's often used in Ubuntu to replace the heavy Unity version. Mate brings the simplicity and fluidity of Gnome, using fewer resources compared to Unity. (64-bit or 32-bit)

3. Light WM:

The concept behind Light WMs is to provide the minimal tools and programs necessary, giving users the choice to do as they wish. Many Hard or Medium WMs were initially based on these Light WMs, but not all of them.

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• LXDE (or LQTE): The Light version of a very simplified desktop for minimal configuration and a minimal look. This focuses on performance, and it works well with Ubuntu under the name Lubuntu (64-bit or 32-bit)).

• Openbox (Another Light WM): Openbox starts from scratch, with the principle of providing a minimal empty desktop. By clicking the left mouse button, you can access the terminal and the web (Firefox is installed by default). A configurable file allows you to add applications to start with Openbox (including customizing the desktop).

For an older PC, I recommend starting Openbox with just two packages: wbar and nitrogen. You can place desired applications in the wbar panel, eliminating the need to open the terminal every time to start an application (I tested this on VirtualBox with a single core and 700MB of RAM, and it works very well).

Note: For more information on installing Openbox as the sole WM for the Ubuntu distribution, check out this page: https://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/openbox

There are many light WMs; among them is i3, which is not referring to the processor but rather a WM called i3. It's somewhat similar to Openbox but works differently and is somewhat optimized for programmers.

For more information: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/LowMemorySystems

Ultimately, WMs are a matter of taste; they're just interfaces and ways to interact with the distribution.

Software:

Most necessary software is installed by default in most Linux distributions.

 After all, the popular software used in Linux (excluding games) is generally provided in most cases and in almost all distributions (also referred to as distros).

For the internet, there's Chromium-browser (the open-source version of Chrome on Linux) and Firefox installed by default in almost all distributions.

For multimedia, there's VLC, SMPlayer, and Gnome-player (installed by default in WMs based on Gnome).

For text editing, Gedit is widely used, and nano and vi are installed by default in the terminal.

For images, there's Image Viewer, Gpicview, and many others. There isn't much difference; usually, the default ones are sufficient.

For writing, LibreOffice is recognized as the leading open-source office suite. It provides about 80% of the writing quality compared to Microsoft Office. It also supports reading Microsoft Office documents and saving in Microsoft Office-compatible formats. However, it still has room to improve. If you're used to Windows Office, you can install it with PlayOnLinux if you don't want to use Windows anymore.

Of course, there are many categories; explore the distribution's repositories to find a variety of software to install. Good luck.

Conclusion:

To conclude, I advise Linux beginners to seek information from forums and websites before attempting any risky actions (unlike Windows, Linux won't give you warnings, and a wrong move could be costly). It will greatly assist you. Having some terminal knowledge is essential to using Linux nowadays.

Don't be afraid; why not give Linux a try?

*I've included links for Ubuntu version 14.04, which I consider the best. You can search for whatever you need on the internet. The latest version of Ubuntu is 23.04 (64-bit), as 32-bit versions are no longer widely supported in most distributions unfortunately.

PC Optimization with Windows System:

1- Soft Solutions:

First and foremost, check for the presence of viruses or malware on your PC. They can render powerful PCs unusable (I assure you of that). Avast is certainly one of the antivirus solutions I prefer for startup analysis (many viruses are not easy to remove).

For malware, an anti-malware solution will suffice. Many people struggle with PC slowness due to unknowingly using malware, mixed with page advertisements, or completely opened pages automatically. It might seem like they are part of ordinary browser behavior, but they are NOT. Be cautious of the pages you access and the software you download and install. This is where malware is often injected.

On another note, please check your web browser's cache. If it exceeds a certain threshold, it can slow down your web browser.

If, after using an antivirus and anti-malware program, your PC remains the same or continues to perform slowly, it might be time to investigate further. Otherwise, your PC is likely not the source of the issue.

For RAM:

- If using Windows XP: Install CacheMan (to optimize disk usage) and install BootVis (to optimize startup).

- If using Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10: Advanced System Settings è Performance è Settingsè Advanced è Virtual Memory : increase virtual memory

- You can disable Aero and modify settings in: Advanced System Settings è Performance è Settings: for optimal performance (I recommend using custom settings to maintain the appearance while disabling smoothing settings, animations, and Aero).

- Use CCleaner to manage startup applications by pressing Windows + msconfig

- Open the registry with Windows + regedit, search for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/ SOFTWARE/ Microsoft/ Windows/ CurrentVersion/ Explorer.

Create the DWORD AlwaysUnloadDll value if it doesn't exist, in the right-click menu, choose New and set the value to 1. Then restart your computer to apply the changes.

- To increase the buffer memory, do the same with Windows + regedit, open the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/Session Manager/ Memory Management. Create a new DWORD 32-bit value named IoPageLockLimit, choose Decimal and set it to 983040 (1966080 for 2 GB of RAM), then restart, of course.

For the processor :

- Using a tool like ReadyBoost can lighten PC usage (optional if you have a free USB drive)

Disabling Unused Services:

 -Stop unnecessary services (for you). You can even reduce the number of cores for a specific processor (CTRL+shift+ESC to access Task Manager). Adjusting process priority can also play a role. Lower the priority for a process when it's not in use and increase it otherwise.

Be cautious not to modify system processes as it could potentially damage the system (even though, in most cases, the system will reject such modifications).

A tip: Setting the process explorer to Real-Time can make Windows system usage smoother and prevent crashes when using many resources.

Web Browsing:

-For those with very old PCs, avoid using Chrome as it works best on more recent PCs. Instead, use Maxthon. I've used it and I'm quite impressed. Opera will also work better for slower connections. Don't forget about cache. Firefox can work well too with a special optimization configuration.

 Note: Using private mode can also help (no cache, cookies, or saved history).

Hard Disk:

-Perform error checking on your disk during startup.

-Defragment your disk every 6 months (recommended for the NTFS file system used by Windows).

Network Card:

-Disable unused network cards (DHCP and DNS services may still run).

-Use static addressing if possible (unless you're familiar with it, as it can minimize connection time, but there's a risk of router security issues).

Others:

-Disable network printer search in folder settings (primarily for businesses).

 -Remove the IIS service (mainly for businesses).

-Disable hibernation: windows + type cmd and run as Admin, then type powercfg –h off.

2- Hardware Solutions:

If after all these steps your PC still isn't performing well, it might be time to:

-Check if the inside of your PC is dirty. Dirt can hinder normal operation (trust me, I've experienced this before). Keeping it clean can improve screen visibility and PC performance.

-If that doesn't work, consider adding more RAM to your PC (currently, 1 GB is the minimum for Windows). If you have a desktop PC, consider adding a graphics card (if available). If not, and you have an older PC, switching to a Linux-based operating system might be an option (many Linux-based OSes are optimized for minimal configurations).

For online browsing, the live mode of Linux could suffice (remember that everything is erased when you shut down the system, and at least 512 MB of RAM is necessary, but the processor isn't an issue).

If all else fails, it might be time to consider buying a new PC.

The most powerful, simple, and flexible panels in Linux

According to my research on the panels used and those I've tested, I've found quite a few panels created for Linux.
But the ones that caught my attention the most are 2 panels:

1- xfce-panel :

This panel is used by default in an Ubuntu variant known as xubuntu (x refers to xfce-panel
Used instead of the Unity theme).
What's nice is that you can use multiple panels, configure the background of the panel, lock it, move it,
put all sorts of applications on it, and even customize a menu according to your needs.

To install it, the simplest way is to use the command: apt-get install xfce4-panel
Or if it's not provided in the distribution, you can download it via the following link:

http://archive.xfce.org/src/xfce/xfce4-panel/4.12/xfce4-panel-4.12.0.tar.bz2

2- wbar :

This panel is one of the favorite panels used for its flexibility and lightness. It doesn't offer as many
parameters as xfce, but in terms of simplicity, it's the best.
To configure the panel, you either need to install wbarconf (recommended),
or simply modify the wbar configuration file in the home folder.
Adding an application is done by:
1-Title (displayed when hovering the mouse below)
2-Command (the necessary command to execute the application)
3-Icon (the path of the image associated with the application)

To install it, the simplest way is to use the command: apt-get install wbar
(this will also install wbarconf automatically)
Or you can use the command:

wget http://wbar.googlecode.com/files/wbar_1.3.3_i386.deb

to download the .deb file and then install it using dpkg or directly via command.

Well, there are others that I've tested, cairo-dock might also be interesting
(but for me, I didn't like it, not recommended for PCs with less than 2 GHz processor).
I'm not claiming perfect results, I might be mistaken.
Please share your thoughts on this article.

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I will do my best to work diligently in the blog.

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