FREE OPERATING SYSTEMS

Linux is by far the most common free OS and is the only one discussed here. There are many versions (distributions) of Linux that are usually incompatible
with one another. The only one discussed here is Mint MATE, primarily because of its user friendliness and Windows appearance. Mint is based on the Ubuntu
distribution and uses many Ubuntu applications. As with all Linux systems, Mint also comes with thousands of free applications such as clones of MS Office
(Libre Office), Matlab (Octave), Photoshop (GIMP), and audio processing (Audacity), However, math apps such as Mathtype are not available (this is the only
reason I still use Windows) - the math editor in Libre Writer is terrible and cannot accomodate automatic equation numbering etc.
     Dual booting with MS Windows is not practical any more.