Switching to Linux from Win10

JackRab

JackRab

Is anyone familiar with Linux? I'm thinking of switching off Windows 10.

Main purpose is for my laptop, which seems to slow to the speed of a concrete block after a while. I don't trade very often from my laptop, but that's my only option when I'm at home. Laptop is about 4 years old, so it might be just acting it's age... just like my 4 year old son ;)

So I'm going with Linux Cinnamon as a dual boot option. I'm not experienced with Linux... so I still want the option of Windows 10, at least for the first few months.
I've got Interactive Brokers TWS as trading platform.

Any tips or remarks on the switch to Linux? What do I need to look out for? I think I can still use certain Windows programs... excel?

JR
 
I used to run Ubuntu (Mint is an Ubuntu-based distro) on my laptop. It's super stable, fast and not memory-hungry. You can run Excel via WINE, Excel 2010 works perfectly, macros and all.

PS. switched to a MacBook recently which is Unix and yet it's so nice :)
 
OpenOffice rather than MS Office. Not Excel. I couldnt use VBA as i recall so I didnt get far with switching to Fedora. i went dual boot as well and the best part was the internet speed with Linux. Maybe I had Windows viruses etc... I threw the entire machine in the alley eventually and remain in life long Windows shackles. Not tech savy here so I'm sure others can help.
 
sle said:
I used to run Ubuntu (Mint is an Ubuntu-based distro) on my laptop. It's super stable, fast and not memory-hungry. You can run Excel via WINE, Excel 2010 works perfectly, macros and all.

PS. switched to a MacBook recently which is Unix and yet it's so nice :)
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I read somewhere that Mint Mate or Mint Cinnamon might be a better option for laptops that are a bit older... that's why I need to switch... I guess I could buy a new laptop, but I find that eventually laptops can't cope anymore with Windows.

WINE is like a windows environment that runs those programs?
 
a 4yo laptop is not old.

and they dont slow down with age, unless the op sys is corrupted

if it doesnt have an SSD drive, consider that
 
You can install Cygwin and run a Linix OS under Cygwin and see if you like it or not. What kind of HW do you have on your laptop? HD? 5400 vs 7200? RAM? Processor? Graphic card? How much free space do you have on your HD?
 
SoesWasBetter said:
a 4yo laptop is not old.

and they dont slow down with age, unless the op sys is corrupted

if it doesnt have an SSD drive, consider that
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Yeah I know that it's not old in the sense that my dad is old... but techwise it lacks some capabilities now, was pretty good back then.

Also, if I do a full reinstall it's fine for a while, but eventually it grinds to a halt. When it's donwloading or checking for Windows 10 updates, the entire system just stops... can't do anything with it then. Just a bit sick of it and gonna try something different.
 
hajimow said:
You can install Cygwin and run a Linix OS under Cygwin and see if you like it or not. What kind of HW do you have on your laptop? HD? 5400 vs 7200? RAM? Processor? Graphic card? How much free space do you have on your HD?
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Will check when I get home... I think it's 5400, 4gb ram... enough space on the HD.

I was trying to hold out in buying a new laptop until something like that Razor with 3 screens would come to market... that would be pretty darn good as a setup.
 
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