I am in need of advice on operating systems.
As most people know, Microsoft is really pushing Windows 10. I do not wish to switch to Windows 10 based on items mentioned in
this article, namely: mandatory automatic updates and privacy.
We will access, disclose and preserve personal data, including your content (such as the content of your emails, other private communications or files in private folders), when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary.
I also have friends who have been caught by
MS changing the function of the window-close "X" button to force the update, so I installed/ran Never10 before I accidentally hit the wrong thing.
Looking online, security upgrades and similar support will end for W7 in 2020. I could stick with it until then. But, then, I'm not sure if it makes sense to wait or if I should just switch now to something else, such as Linux. I have an interest in trying out GnuCash, so maybe I should just make this jump all at once? (Looking at Gnucash's wiki, I could start in Windows and later move to Linux, but it would require relocating multiple files.)
If I am to switch to another OS, please advise me on what flavor (?) and edition (?) of Linux (or other) to pick and where to get it as well as point me to any additional guides for installation. I have read through the thread
Netbook & Laptop: Wipe Windows XP and install Linux, so I would use the USB instructions linked there if I receive no advice otherwise.
Computer details:I have a Dell Latitude E6410 laptop that I acquired secondhand from OldJob six or so months ago. It was probably five years old at the time. I have had no issues with it.
The C: drive has 232 GB showing as total space (currently 176 free)
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 580 @ 2.67GHz
RAM: 4 GB (3.86 GB usable)
64-bit operating system
Programs/items I use frequently:Internet (Chrome as current browser, but I've used Firefox in the past and prefer its bookmark system), including for brokerage stuff and other things that need to be kept secure
LibreOffice Calc a LOT
Numeric keypad that connects via USB port
Sticky notes
Wireless internet (we have our own password-protected wireless device and router)
Streaming some movies and YouTube videos
Printing to PDF (via Chrome)
WinAmp
v5.34 (music playing program - I have an
old version (early 2007) that I keep because it was the last to interact well with my old Sandisk MP3 player for transferring music. Windows 7 gives me an error message every time I try to run it, but it still works.)
AVG (anti-virus)
Backup program (currently on AOMEI, willing to switch)
Programs/items I use occasionally:TurboTax (but I'm willing to switch to TaxAct online)
Printing to paper
Photo editing (not professional or high-level stuff, just basic resize/color shifting etc)
DVD drive
I am not a gamer.
My technology skill level: Poor to MediocreI was admired at OldJob for my spreadsheets and called upon by other coworkers to help with things when IT Guy wasn't available, though there was only a 50-50 chance I could get things working again. I was decent with very basic HTML and CSS in 2009 and haven't touched it much since. That is where it ends. I read through the 2013 - 2014 posts in the thread "
Get Rich With: Linux" and understood only half of it. I don't know my computer specs. In college my laptop at the time stopped booting and I was clueless as to how to fix it, but the engineers on my dorm floor were able to fix and get it running again.
What am I missing? Would I lose any of my laptop's functionality by switching to a version of Linux (or something else)? I would not want to switch and suddenly discover that I can no longer hear sound or use my numeric keypad. Is my tech knowledge level too low to deal with this?
If I do a full backup to an external hard drive before switching to the new OS, would that be adequate to let me switch back if I should botch it up entirely?