I've been happily using Linux for many years and for some time now it's been my primary operating system on my main home PC. I did have XP on a laptop, but that's redundant now and there's a Chromebook for couch surfing.

![Desktop](https://steevc.keybase.pub/steemit/2017-01-31Desktop.png)

Some may wonder if Linux has the applications they need. Well here are some that I use:
* The system is running [Ubuntu](https://www.ubuntu.com/). After years on the KDE desktop I'm using the default one and it gets the job done. At least as easy to use as Windows and possibly more responsive.
* Google Chrome is the most widely used browser and it works perfectly well on Linux. I think all the extensions work too, which opens lots of possibilities.
* I need Skype to talk to friends and people at work. I'm using their newer version that is still lacking some features, but I hope it's going to get those soon. This is Microsoft developing for Linux.
* Email is in [Thunderbird](https://www.mozilla.org/en-GB/thunderbird/) as I've used it for years and it just works.
* [LibreOffice](https://www.libreoffice.org/) is a very capable office suite that will do 99% of what most people need from such apps. Alternatively there's Google Office on the web.
* I use [Audacity ](http://www.audacityteam.org/) to record my podcast. If I need full multi-tracking then there's [Ardour](https://ardour.org/).
* [Rhythmbox](https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Rhythmbox) is one of many music players on Linux. There's also [VLC](https://www.videolan.org/vlc/) that can play most media.

All this software is available for Free. Skype and Chrome are not open source, but I'm pragmatic about using whatever gets the job done for me.

Linux may not be for everyone, but I think it can meet the needs of many users whilst being cheaper and more secure than the alternatives. You can put it on a flash drive to try it out on most computers. Why not give it a try?

<p><div class="pull-left"><img src="https://steevc.keybase.pub/steemit/steevc.png"></div>
I'm Steve, the geeky guitarist. Get free cryptocurrency at <a href="http://www.grantcoin.org/get-grantcoin/basic-income/?referral-code=ej74g43dgi">Grantcoin</a>, <a href="http://moondoge.co.in/?ref=8664b36d5124">Moondoge</a>, <a href="http://moonbit.co.in/?ref=603edc10a045">MoonBitcoin</a> or <a href="https://www.eobot.com/user/513333">Eobot</a>. You can earn from chat using <a href="https://www.wowapp.com/w/steevc/Steve-Clark">WowApp</a>. If you use these I get a small reward. You can recruit others to do the same.</p>