Switching to Linux

Ubuntu is not the best Linux distro. It has privacy issues and sometimes things don't work out the way they're intended to. However, Ubuntu has the most features and compatibility for out-of-the-box usage, and it has a huge active community that helps a lot when bugs creep their way in. Ubuntu also has great support for drivers, including Wacom tablets (that work flawlessly with GIMP).

Sure, I could've chosen Pop!_OS as it has even more features and is more well-designed with fewer bugs, but that takes me to the second entry:

Unity was the default desktop environment for Ubuntu until 2017, when it was abandoned by Canonical. But the Linux community never leaves a good thing to die, and Unity has risen again just three years later from the hands of a really young and talented developer, who released Ubuntu Unity Remix and is trying his hardest and best to make it an official Ubuntu Flavor, just like Kubuntu, MATE and Budgie. Unity is out-dated, for sure, but this developer has made tweaks to bring it to this decade, and now it has gained back its crown for best Linux DE.

Unity is fast, easy to use, keyboard-centered, works really well with multiple monitors, has lots of tweaking options to let us, the users, make the most out of the system, and it is truly beautiful, specially with the new 21.04 version theming (Yaru-Unity) and third party icon theme Suru++.

Great tool. Lightweight, privacy focused, modern and always up-to-date. Firefox and Firefox Sync are essential.

Not the best search engine, but certainly more secure than Google. It's been doing the job for me for almost 3 years with no problems. Whenever I don't find what I want I can quickly jump into a Google Container in Firefox and use Google with the peace of mind that Google won't be able to track me.

Firefox used to have its own password manager, but it has been discontinued. Bitwarden is the obvious choice after that. You only have to install an extension, set up your account and use it. It's completely free (with the option to pay if you want to support the project and get sweet premium features) for any number of devices and it's widely available on Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Web, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera... you get the vibe here. It's safe, it's easy, it's private, it's great. It also stores notes, credit cards, personal info, generates passwords with various complexity levels, and has now announced the Bitwarden Send, from which you can upload files and send them in a secure and encrypted link to someone. All free.

Mailspring is the to-go mail app if you have Linux and need all your proprietary and open source email in a single place. It works like a charm, even with iCloud.

I trust Apple more than I trust Spotify, and they also pay more for the artists, while I pay the same price. It doesn't have a dedicated app, but it has a decent web player, and I mostly use it on my phone anyway.

Discord is one the best communication apps available. And it works on Linux. Great plus.

Steam is what saved Linux computers from becoming an enterprise OS focused only on stability (or cutting edge, depending on what you use), coding and hosting. It brings to Linux everything you love about your Windows gaming machine, including a compatibility layer for games that were not developed for the Linux system and works with most games available on the store, including Microsoft titles such as Age of Empires (one of my personal favorites). Steam and Proton are simply amazing if you want to game on your PC.

Okay, starting out with the Microsoft Office suite, because its web apps are getting more and more attention lately, coming closer to beating Google Docs. Also, if you have a phone or a tablet, it's the best mobile office suite available. Microsoft redesigned all of its apps for Android and iOS to be mobile-first experiences, and it is really paying off. I've used MS Office for years and I'm not giving that up now.

"But how are you gonna use OneDrive on Linux?"

OneDrive has a great terminal client available, fully open-sourced. It manages sync, download, upload, and you can fully integrate it onto your desktop. The only downside is that you won't be able to access cloud files unless you download them via terminal before usage. But I can simply select the folders I want to keep on my computer all the time and let the ones I don't use as upload only. There's so many configurations available you won't really miss the clunky, badly designed and buggy OneDrive Desktop Client.

LibreOffice is the standard for Linux Office use. It can open Office 365 files without any errors now, is packed with useful resources and simply works well. You will, however, want to change the default fonts on the apps, as they seem to have been brought back from the 90s.

I'm not an artist, but GIMP is a great app for light work on pictures, drawings and photos. It can replace your Photos app edits if that's what you use it for, but it is almost as good as Photoshop for heavy duty.

Kdenlive is one of the best and easiest to use video editors I've personally used. Works for both light and heavy editing (although you'll probably want something a little more well-thought-out, such as DaVinci Resolve if editing is your job).

Timeshift is a great backup and system restoration tool that puts Windows System Restore on its place.