Hpoonis

I have a local account. I do not use online anytihng for this win10 debacle.  I have SHUTUP switch off almost everything. I have no one drive, I have no microsoft accounts.
microspasm have, over the years, clearly demonstrated their mistrust, disgust and lack of customer service for the very people who made them the global garbage patch they now are.
As for a Linux recommendation, clearly, the front runner for new folk is Ubuntu.  The GUI has evolved vastly over the years, it is stable, useful and easy to get to grips with.  The standard desktop version contains all the workable software you would likely need. Installing more software is a doddle and there is a world of passionate, dedicated expert-like folk who will gladly offer any free assistance.
There is NO activating online. There is (almost) no snooping - firefox, etc will have crash report info sent off but these things can easily be disabled. Almost everything you could want will be available as Open Source or GPL, etc so no worries about purchasing things.
Virtualisation runs far better on the Linux platform than windows via KVM/QEMU. The only caveat that I have encountered is that cut/paste between host/guest and shared folders are a bit trickier to set up than would be the case with a windows setup. However, if you don't want a more hardware-centric virtualisation then you can still employ virtualbox which operates as well as virtualbox does anywhere.
Software development tools do NOT require 10Gb or more of install as one gets with visual studio. By the same token, no registration is required such as microspasm force one into so they can spy on more of your activities.
If one is a non-gaming user, Linux is ideal. If one is a business user, it could also be ideal but for the fact that the bulk of businesses use BackOffice tools - especially exchange/outlook; the latter of which has been altered so it is not so user-friendly any longer.
I was weaned on UNIX (SYSV) and have been a ms/windows tech-type since MSDOS 3.x and windows 3. With every subsequent release, I have disliked windows less and UNIX-like more.
The day windows is history will be a glorious day for the whole world!
P.S. Once you feel confident enough you can even recompile your Linux kernel to streamline it to your tastes and speed-up your boot times.  Personally, I have not recompiled a kernel since using Slakware but it is fun to try and would take far less time today than the 4-7 hours it used to take using pre-pentium intel chips back in 1993.

I have a local account. I do not use online anytihng for this win10 debacle.  I have SHUTUP switch off almost everything. I have no one drive, I have no microsoft accounts.
microspasm have, over the years, clearly demonstrated their mistrust, disgust and lack of customer service for the very people who made them the global garbage patch they now are.
As for a Linux recommendation, clearly, the front runner for new folk is Ubuntu.  The GUI has evolved vastly over the years, it is stable, useful and easy to get to grips with.  The standard desktop version contains all the workable software you would likely need. Installing more software is a doddle and there is a world of passionate, dedicated expert-like folk who will gladly offer any free assistance.
There is NO activating online. There is (almost) no snooping - firefox, etc will have crash report info sent off but these things can easily be disabled. Almost everything you could want will be available as Open Source or GPL, etc so no worries about purchasing things.
Virtualisation runs far better on the Linux platform than windows via KVM/QEMU. The only caveat that I have encountered is that cut/paste between host/guest and shared folders are a bit trickier to set up than would be the case with a windows setup. However, if you don't want a more hardware-centric virtualisation then you can still employ virtualbox which operates as well as virtualbox does anywhere.
Software development tools do NOT require 10Gb or more of install as one gets with visual studio. By the same token, no registration is required such as microspasm force one into so they can spy on more of your activities.
If one is a non-gaming user, Linux is ideal. If one is a business user, it could also be ideal but for the fact that the bulk of businesses use BackOffice tools - especially exchange/outlook; the latter of which has been altered so it is not so user-friendly any longer.
I was weaned on UNIX (SYSV) and have been a ms/windows tech-type since MSDOS 3.x and windows 3. With every subsequent release, I have disliked windows less and UNIX-like more.
The day windows is history will be a glorious day for the whole world!
P.S. Once you feel confident enough you can even recompile your Linux kernel to streamline it to your tastes and speed-up your boot times.  Personally, I have not recompiled a kernel since using Slakware but it is fun to try and would take far less time today than the 4-7 hours it used to take using pre-pentium intel chips back in 1993.

Microsoft are intent on relegating the desktop PC into a -poor child of their crappy surface tablet.  There is little or no point in promoting all this geoloating twaddle on a PC which is, for the most part, quite static in its movements.  Laptops are not that mobile really,  except for business types.
Windows 10 is dire, intrusive, bland.  If Linux could offer me better gaming options I'd blow windows out the door and not waste a minute more on it.