How to Break Away from Windows or Mac

Breaking Away from Windows or Mac with Linux

Note: A USB with at least 4GB of memory is required

If you're like I was about a year ago, you probably think it takes some incredibly advanced set of knowledge to be a Linux user. In some cases, that can be true. However, there isn't just one version of Linux; there's a ton of different versions called distributions or distros for short. Some distros are designed for the advanced user while others are targeted to users who are new to Linux. Most of these distros are free and open source

What is Open Source?

Open source projects (software, books, etc) are specific kinds of projects in which the copy right holder allows anyone to use or modify anything with said project. Open source software allows people to change specific parts of a program (for knowledge or to make the software better suit their needs) and then publish those changes to either the creator of the project so the changes can be implemented in the original version or as a whole separate project based on the original version. An open source math book would allow a professor to take problems right out of the book and put them in their own lecture slides or tests without having to worry about legal issues.

Quick History

What people refer to as Linux is actually GNU/Linux. In the early eighties, the GNU Project started with the goal to make an operating system, or OS for short, that was completely free and open source. They wanted anyone to be able to use their OS and change any part of it for their needs. After almost a decade of working on this project, another group of people (mainly led by Linus Torvalds) just happen to release their project Linux which is the last piece those working on the GNU Project had needed. Together, we get the foundation of almost all distros that are available today. I think it's important to mention this because those who started the GNU project did a lot of the work for what people incorrectly refer to as just Linux. It is easier to just say Linux without the GNU (pronounced as one syllable with a hard g, like "grew" but with an 'n' instead of 'r') part before, but it's totally worth understanding why it belongs there.

My Experience with Linux

A little over a year ago, I decided to take the leap and completely remove windows from my laptop. My reasons are little funny: I'm personally a huge fan of dark mode on every device I use and I think the windows 10 dark mode is pretty terrible because it only makes like 2 applications dark while everything else stays the same. I was looking around for ways to customize windows and unfortunately it's a huge headache. I had a friend recommend Linux to me and ever since then, I've been hooked. I could set a single theme for every single application and I could have all applications using the same font. Pretty neat! Another thing I really appreciate is the lack of bloatware (random programs installed by default). For the first time, I really felt like I could make my computer and all its aesthetics my own.

Why Should You Switch?

You should consider at least trying the demo mode (just runs on the USB, does not need to install anything) if:

You are a fan of customization. It takes minimal effort to get a global theme and font which I think is very neat
You are interested in understanding the technical side of things. With the distro we are using (I'll discuss more in a bit), you don't have to learn by setting everything up yourself. Everything will be set up for you by default (like windows or mac), but you will have the ability to peek at what is happening behind the scenes and even customize things yourself if you wish
You are concerned about your privacy or data

Some distros are designed to be secure first and anything else after
Companies like Microsoft or Apple are able to collect data about everything you do on your computer (not just browsing the web)

We Will be Using Pop!_OS

PopOS is designed for ease of use and productivity (not just computer science work either). A lot of people's fear of Linux is the terminal. It definitely is intimating at first and I tried avoiding it all costs when I first started using Linux. I use it more often now out of choice and the thing I really liked about PopOS is that you can use it without ever really needing to touch the terminal. Everything about the OS is completely open for those with the knowledge and curiosity to look at for themselves. It has a nice, intuitive user interface (UI for short) and comes with its own app store that you can download and update apps with. Here is one of PopOS's greatest features for productivity called Auto-Tiling:

Note: When they say "Super key," that's the windows or

command key on the keyboard

Applications

PopOS comes with the standard set of applications that you would expect like a file browser, text editor, calculator, calendar, Email, PDF viewer, weather, and much more
The default web browser is Firefox, but you can download Chrome or Chromium (an open source, more light weight version of chrome). Safari is not available
If you're a Discord (chat app) or Spotify (music streaming app) user, both of them are available (and not just from the web browser)
For anyone dealing with a particular pandemic, I'm sure you've been using Zoom a ton. Zoom is available, however I personally use the web client because it seems to be less buggy
Microsoft Office is not available, however there is an alternative called Libre Office. It is compatible with all files from Microsoft Office as well (Comes by default). Google Docs also works from within the web browser and is a great alternative
For any CS students:

Intellij-IDEA is a great IDE for Java
Clion is a feature rich IDE for c++ (it's paid but can be used for free with a student email)
VS Code is a free, open source advanced text editor with extensions for any language (has become my preferred tool)

Cloud services

There are third party applications that can connect google drive to your Linux install
Same for iCloud
I personally use pCloud (500GB for only $5 a month)

If I haven't covered anything you use, google the application name with "PopOS" or "Ubuntu" after. Ubuntu is the distro PopOS is based on, so anything that's available for Ubuntu, is available for PopOS

Installing

Now that you have an idea about what Linux really is and what applications you use are available, I think it's a great time to get into installing. Before installing PopOS on our computer, we need to put the PopOS installer on our USB.

We need to download PopOS's installer. Go to PopOS's website, click the blue "download" button, and a pop-up with two download buttons should come up. Click the one that just says "DOWNLOAD" unless you have an NVIDIA graphics card, in which case you would click the one that says "DOWNLOAD(NVIDIA)"
Now we need a tool to get that PopOS installer onto our USB. Go to etcher's website and click the green "Download" button
Once the downloads from steps 1 and 2 are done, plug in your USB
Run etcher, click the blue "select image" button, and select PopOS's installer file from step 1 (probably in the downloads folder with '.iso' at the end)
Click the blue "Select drive" button and select the USB
Click "Flash!"
After etcher is done flashing, you will have the PopOS installer on your USB

At this point, you have everything you need to install PopOS on your computer:

Leave the USB with the PopOS installer plugged into your computer and reboot. It should boot into PopOS's installer and an application called "Install Pop!_OS 20.04" should be running like in the image below
Select your preferred language language and click select
Do the same for your keyboard layout
Now you have the option to install PopOS or try demo mode. Keep in mind, demo mode may be a little slow because it's running from your USB
If you don't care for demo mode or once you're done with demo mode and choose to keep going, click clean install (Keep in mind, this will wipe all of the data on your computer, save all important files to the cloud or back up somewhere else)
Select the hard drive you'd like to install PopOS on
If you'd like to encrypt the drive you're installing PopOS on, click "Choose Password" (if you forget your password, there will be no way of accessing that drive). Otherwise, click "Don't encrypt"
PopOS should start installing onto your computer (HOORAY!)
After it's done installing, you will get the option to restart or shut down. I prefer to shut down, then unplug the USB, and power back on
Once booting into your new install of PopOS, you will be asked basic things like username, password, wifi connection/password, and timezone

You're done! Now you have a system you can customize to your desire

Tips

If you want the entire UI using the same font

Go to the pop!_shop and download gnome-tweaks. This application allows you to customize many things in the UI, along with font. When you open the application, select the Font section on the left and set all the fonts you want

To switch between dark/light mode

The default light and dark modes in PopOS are actually really nice. In the settings application, go to the Appearance section on the left. Click Appearance on the top (near "Background") and select the dark or light mode

If you're having trouble navigating around PopOS or opening applications

Take a look at these other videos from System76 (the company that makes PopOS)

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