WHICH LINUX DISTRO?

I've had a few more friends asking about switching to Linux, as the great 2025 exodus from Windows 11 spyware begins.

Searching for info online, they encounter Linux geeks who make everything more confusing by saying things like "There are more than 600 Linux distros, and here are the top 10 beginner distros you should consider".

But these are ex-Windows users, so they don't want 10 options, they just want one operating system that works. For Windows users who want a good Linux operating system to replace Windows, here are the two best options in my opinion - Mint or Zorin.  

I use Mint myself - https://linuxmint.com/ - I like it because it looks like a modern version of Windows 7, but with dark mode and a bunch of other upgrades.

Here is a screenshot of my desktop, but pretty much everything can be changed, it's all about personal preferences. 

Zorin - https://zorin.com/os/  - is often recommended for ex Mac users and people who want a more modern Windows 11 look, but the Mac version (where it looks like a Mac) requires paying for the pro license (cost NZ$90 one off) - the free version is fine but it looks more like Windows 10.

Having such an easy way to switch between desktop layouts is a really cool idea - no other distro has quite set this up so well - but Zorin have taken a lot of flack for charging for the Pro version, because it sort of goes against Linux principles -  https://zorin.com/os/pro/ - I think it's fair enough because their free version has everything that is actually needed, just not all the extras. 

Both those distros come from Ireland - Ireland is now considered one of the most tech savvy countries in the world - it's odd how these things work out!

Another big advantage of Linux is that pretty much any hardware will do:

Linux has much lower requirements than Windows or Apple - pretty much anything that is 64 bit will work - some distros even have 32 bit versions for really old computers - but the two I'm recommending here - Mint or Zorin, don't make 32 bit versions, so just make sure it's 64 bit laptop or PC you are using - so anything less than 10 years old shouldn't be a problem.

 But no system is perfect - whatever you decide to do on a computer there are always issues, and they always seem to take ages to sort out - there is a myth online that switching to Linux can be easy - people say things like "My mum switched to using a Linux laptop and she never had any problems" I suspect they set everything up for her, and she only uses the browser. 

As well as getting used to the new operating system, you also have to learn so much new stuff it can be overwhelming - for example if you are used to Photoshop you have to learn to use Gimp instead - everything is similar, but a bit different. But Gimp is free while Photoshop costs NZ$44.50 a month, so there is that extra incentive.

There are multiple free options in Linux to replace any Windows software, and it's easy to install them using the software manager, but each choice usually requires trying several out and choosing which one you like best, and then getting used to using it. So all this takes time & effort.

ONLINE PRIVACY

 Lately I've seen even more discussion about all the AI spyware that is currently being rolled out. But most people seem to be blissfully unaware that pretty much everything they do online is being monitored and recorded by big tech companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft, along with advertising companies, and deep state agencies like the CIA.

A common response upon being informed that they are being spied on, is to just accept it as "normal" and pretty much give up even trying to maintain their privacy. But as we saw with the covidhoax and the death jabs, unless people take responsibility for their own freedom, the deep state plans to enslave and kill us. 

Yes it is possible to maintain your privacy in a surveillance state, but not if you are using a regular "smart" phone or a modern commercial operating system. You can actually keep using computers, phones and the internet, if you want to, and maintain your privacy, but you will need to make the effort to stop using big tech spyware and switch to using different technology. 

If you want any privacy, Google, Microsoft, and Apple are total no go zones. They are all spying and have been for years, but their latest tech is next level. An example is Windows 11 which has a new "feature" called Recall that is essentially taking a screenshot every five seconds and using AI to analyze it. 

If anything, the AI on recent Apple I-phones is even worse, but some normies seem to be more open to the idea that Microsoft is spying rather than Apple, so callinng out Microsoft is often a good entry point to the whole AI rabbit hole.

Normies are so addicted to their spy-phones they will pay thousands of dollars to be tracked, recorded, and monitored by the deep state. On average, an Android smartphone sends data to Google 90 times a day and an iPhone communicates with 51 servers per hour. 

So what do I recommend doing to maintain privacy? Here are some good first steps:

Switch to using a Linux operating system such as Linux Mint 

Stick to using Free Open Source Software (FOSS) such as GIMP

Use a "de-googled" phone such as a Brax 3

 Use a privacy browser such as Brave or Floorp (& especially avoid Chrome)

Use privacy mail services such as Proton Mail (& especially avoid Gmail)

Use online aliases and avoid using your real name, especially on platforms like Facebook

TESTING OUT FOSS

For the past year I've been mainly using Linux Mint as my daily driver, but sometimes returning to Windows 7 when I want to use Photoshop. 

My laptop is running Mint Cinnamon 21 (a two year old version from July 2022), while my PC is set up with the latest version, Mint 22, which was released in July 2024. Part of the Linux learning curve is choosing which software to use from a huge range of Free Open Source Software (FOSS) available on Linux. 

I'm trying out all sorts of programs and this is what my laptop looks like at the moment - so much software to try out! Once I decide which option I like best I uninstall the other options that I won't be using.

 I'm running a tighter ship on my PC and not installing or testing as much new software. There is really not much of a difference between Mint 21 & 22. One of the things I like about Mint is that they don't change much with each new release, just gradually refining things rather than trying to be spectacular. 

I tried out about half a dozen Linux distros and Mint Cinnamon was my pick. Other distros I liked were Mint LMDE & Zorin 17. What I'm looking for in a distro is simplicity, reliability, & a user interface resembling Windows 7. And no geek stuff or use of command line.

I'm not a fan of Ubuntu and expect at some point in the future to be switching to the Mint Debian Edition in order to escape the woke clutches of Ubuntu. Clearly Mint are preparing themselves for that day.

 https://www.linuxmint.com/

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_Mint

LINUX NEWB PAGE

Several of my friends have been asking about Linux lately. In the past it was mainly just an idle curiosity, but now it is a serious alternative to Windows. In the past Linux was aimed mainly at geeks and was difficult for regular computer users to come to terms with. When I first tried Linux in 2010, I soon gave up and went back to Windows XP.

As of 2025 some of the Linux Operating systems (Distros) are pretty good, as they have been slowly progressing, while Windows has been going backwards since Windows 7. 

In 2025 Microsoft will be ending support for Windows 10 and ramping up their efforts to push their Windows 11 full blown spyware operating system with "Recall" taking constant screenshots of your desktop and sending them back to Microsoft. I'm expecting that even non security minded Windows 10 users are going to start having concerns about this level of spying.

Anticipating that this year I'm going to be trying to help more people make the switch to Linux I've started compiling all my Linux notes and blog posts into one big "LINUX NEWB" page on my blog.

The page is an ongoing work in progress and in 2025 I plan to continue adding a copy of anything I post that is Linux related to it as I go. New content will be added at the top. I'll mainly be focused on Linux Mint because that is the distro I use.

 

 I'll also get into some of the open source software I'm testing out such as the Japanese privacy browser Floorp which is a cleaned out fork of Firefox

COMPUTING WAS A DEEP STATE SET UP

At some point in the past few years, the penny dropped and I realised  Apple, Microsoft, and Google, were all set up by the deep state, they were never real businesses – we can use their tools, but they are all playing us.

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were both actors working for the CIA. Jobs faked his death and Gates was replaced around 2013. As was “Melinda” who is a very obvious tranny. “Bill” probably is as well – they appear to be inverts.

Linux – is there is something not right about the development and marketing of Linux? – by keeping it hard to use and underground for decades it has never posed a real threat to the deep state operating systems. It slowly improves, but is never really sorted out for mass use. Maybe it’s always been too controlled by geeks, but some distros, like Mint, are so close to being suited to mass use, I always wonder what is holding everything back? Has the deep state infiltrated Linux development too and deliberately held it back?

All those Windows software updates are not just for copying our data, one day all of those programs could “unexpectedly” create irritating and time consuming problems in unison – mass distraction at a key moment, and those trojans are being constantly set up.

Logging us out of accounts and demanding that we SUBMIT (rather than just logging back in) is obvious mind programming. Any site that does that has revealed it’s true intentions. Pay attention to these little signs!

Another trick is spell checkers. Making spell checkers only work properly in US English has forced us to use US spelling – more programming. But it’s not just our computers that are trying to control us, nearly everything on the internet is a distraction, whether intentional or not, and social media is almost all just there to distract us – that is a major part of how we are being controlled.

Microsoft crossed the line after Win 7 – Microsoft is all spyware but I don’t ever want to use Win 10 on, not even for day to day use and certainly not for anything to do with cryptos. What I’m using on my computers these days is both Windows 7 and Linux Mint 20, but I’m gradually moving more to Linux and less Windows. I’m not a tech geek and having used Windows 98, XP, and 7, for quarter of a century, I do find it a stretch fully escaping the clutches of Microscum, mainly because of things like changing from Photoshop to Gimp.

Mint is a decent operating system though, and Gimp is pretty good too. It wasn’t a good situation being locked into old software. Photoshop CS6 (2012) was the last version that you can use without having to rent it off Adobe for a monthly fee, which I would never do, so I was using an 11 year old program that I would never update. Same with Windows 7 (2009).