CRT Design - Linux - IT consulting and web design services

What is Linux ?

Linux is an operating system, just like Windows, Mac OS or Chrome OS. There is a variety of Linux flavors for all tastes, whether you are a simple user or a developer. Unlike the operating systems of large corporations such as Microsoft, Google or Apple, Linux is built from a developer community and values free and sustainable over time.

Isn’t Linux only for servers?

Although Linux is widely used on servers around the world since it is an ideal platform for this use, it is false to claim that Linux serves only servers. Indeed, for several decades already, Linux has evolved greatly and now offers user-friendly interfaces, is secure, focuses on privacy, and is now much more compatible than before.

I've heard that Linux is complicated...

One of the perceptions that has stuck to Linux for a long time is that it is difficult to learn to use, that you need to understand coding, that you need to know the terminal requests, etc. For a long time, this statement was true, but for several decades, many flavors of Linux, such as Ubuntu, Mint, Elementary OS and others offer user experiences as friendly and simple as what you know with Windows, Mac OS or even Chrome OS.

Why should I change to Linux ?

We've all been used to Windows, Mac OS or even Chrome OS and many people say 'Why should I change my habits?'. The answer has become increasingly obvious in recent years.

Windows, Apple, Google	Linux
Large corporations such as Microsoft, Google or Apple ensure that their operating system will only be compatible and fully functional for a limited period of time to encourage you to purchase new devices or buy their new operating systems or others. This principle is called the 'Programmed obsolescence'. Although this practice is legally prohibited and despite the multiple convictions, this practice has still not disappeared and the most recent to date is the forced update of Windows 11 which forces a large number of users to have to buy a new device for compatibility reasons.	Linux, being designed by a community of developers, does not have mercantile practices of programmed obsolescence, which means that you can keep the operating system on your device until your device completely stops working naturally. There are regular updates and "Upgrades" to new versions of the operating system, but these do not affect compatibility with your device. Also, there is no cost to get a Linux operating system, you can simply download it for free.
Platforms like Windows and Mac OS have long been the primary target of hackers, and you usually need to use intermediary licenses to increase the security of your devices.	One of the great reputations of Linux is to be secure. This security is largely due to the fact that Linux was designed and continues to be developed for servers that require superior security. Also, there are a large number of Linux flavors, all with discrepancies in their structure, which makes them more difficult to be vulnerable to hackers. In addition, some Linux flavors such as Ubuntu are now overseen by firms such as Canonical which have since added layers of protection to those already existing.
With all the convictions received, especially in Europe, it is no longer a secret that Microsoft, Google and Apple do not respect the privacy and personal data of users when they use their operating system and even resell this data. In addition, the recent deployment of AI without user consent across platforms and tools has further diminished privacy protection as big companies now collect everything you do on your devices without your consent. Despite options to disable these features, many developers have demonstrated that, despite disabling data collection features, large corporation operating systems still continue to send non-consensual data, which violates several laws in several countries. Without counting that these large corporations are subject to the "Cloud act" of the United States which allows the US administration to access, without your consent and when it wishes, all the data collected by the major companies about you.	Linux is a champion of privacy. From the installation, there is no data collection carried out by the operating system on your use and actions. You can, if you wish to contribute to the development, activate a diagnostic tool that sends telemetric data about the operation of the operating system, but this option is entirely voluntary and must be manually activated by the user in the settings, since it is not active by default. Also, even when you enable this option, the only data usually transmitted are operating system errors, operating system performance, etc. There is no personal data collected.
It is true that most of the softwares designed on the market are compatible with Windows, Mac OS or Chrome OS and this is largely due to the fact that few users until recently used Linux.	Over the past few years, Linux has seen a nice growth that continues and more and more softwares are now compatible with the Linux flavors. It is true that some softwares remain incompatible. However, with the increasingly advanced web, many of the non-compatible softwares are now accessible via web browsers and therefore no longer need to be installed directly on the device, which eliminates the compatibility issue. Also, the Linux developer community has developed a vast store of alternative softwares compatible with the file formats of Windows or Mac OS softwares and offering almost identical interfaces and functionalities, further eliminating the compatibility issue. And, the softwares in the app store are mostly free and open-source.

And now...

Now that you've read of our little introduction about Linux, you feel ready to try it out and see where this might lead you ?

So consult the services we offer to support you in your approach.

Demystify Linux

As the saying goes, "To try it is to adopt it." We evaluate your technological ease and, based on it, we make you try one or more flavors of Linux by installing it on one of your devices, either in the main partition or in the second partition or even in a virtual machine on your operating system. From that moment, we conduct several workshops together to guide you on Linux and its functioning.

Linux tools

We analyze with you the softwares you commonly use. We are evaluating those that are linux compatible, those that can run in a web version and those that will require alternative softwares from the store. We accompany you in the configuration on Linux and guide you through the differences in operation until you are comfortable.

Linux trainings

You want to try Linux by yourself, but want to learn Linux through training courses that you can then reproduce on your side? You have a group of employees to train to make the transition to Linux? CRT Design offers two types of Linux training programs. The first is for unique individuals who wish to discover Linux by themselves but wish to receive the basic knowledges about Linux and, for this, CRT Design has a universal Linux training program of three one-hour sessions each. The second program concerns businesses that have tried Linux and are ready to adopt it within their organization and wish to offer personalized training to their employees before the transition and, for this, CRT Design offers a personalized training service that we jointly set up to meet all your expectations.

Linux conversions

Are you or your organization ready to make the transition to Linux and have identified the Linux flavor and all the sofwares to install ? You are uncomfortable doing the complete installation yourself or your IT team does not have sufficient resources to make the transition on all workstations. CRT Design offers to do it for you or with you.

For more information, we invite you to contact us.