One day in, and here are my thoughts...
The things I miss from Windows: the ability to use ASCII characters; the ability to easily modify things on screen like drop down boxes; decent games; the ability to run certain programs I use a lot;
Things I like about Linux: the many programs included (Libre Office, Google Earth, Firefox, etc); the worry-free virus/malware environment; auto update of programs;
Things I don't like about Linux: the need to enter a password to do almost anything; the limited list of programs available; the fact that I'd have to be an IT geek to do many things;
Rocky,
Regarding your dislike of Linux for requiring a password: This is honestly a security feature. Windows was/is sooooo easily breached specifically because installing malware in many cases did not require a password. Your system was cracked in the background without your knowledge, just by clicking on something that seemed innocuous. This, because either the user was running as Administrator, or because the user had opted to be automatically elevated to Administrator privileges.
The fact that UNIX was designed from the ground up to be a multi-user OS meant that there were always going to be different classes of users. And regular old users, which is what WE ALL ARE, don't use administrator/root level credentials. UNLESS they are performing administrative/root level tasks. Hence the need to enter passwords when prompted, and the use of sudo, or to su to root.
Please feel free to reach out to me via PM at any time if you hit any hurdles during your transition.
For instance, knowing that all you needed was an HTML template for your check printing - that's a 20 minute job to get you 90% of the way there. So while I don't run Linux Mint at present, I'm currently using Ubuntu, which is similar enough that a lot of knowledge transfers.
Regards,
Scott
