Windows 7 End of Support
If you are still using Microsoft Windows 7 then make sure that you are aware that Microsoft will no longer offer support or security updates after January 14, 2020. This does not mean that Windows 7 will stop working, it simply means that Microsoft will no longer provide technical support for any issues pertaining to Windows 7, it will no longer receive software updates, security updates or fixes. However, using Windows 7 without receiving these updates will increase the risk of you getting viruses and malware. This will also make your system more vulnerable to cyber attacks. Also, be aware that Microsoft Windows 8 and 8.1 will reach its end of Extended Support on January 10, 2023.
What does end of support mean?
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-7-end-of-life-support-information
If your hardware can support Windows 10 then you have the option of upgrading to Windows 10. "While it is possible to install Windows 10 on your older device, it is not recommended." -- Microsoft
Windows 10 system requirements
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4028142/windows-10-system-requirements
"Here's what it takes to upgrade to Windows 10 on your PC or tablet:
Latest OS: Make sure you're running the latest version—either Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 Update.
Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor or SoC
RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit
Hard disk space: 16 GB for 32-bit OS or 20 GB for 64-bit OS
Graphics card: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
Display: 800 x 600"
If you decide to upgrade to Windows 10 then you will find a lot of websites that explain how you can still upgrade free (like the websites below). However, be careful installing free Microsoft products that cliaim to be free from websites across the Internet unless you trust the site. You may find cracked versions of Microsoft products that contain keyloggers or malicious code to steal your personal information or identity.
How to upgrade to Windows 10 for free
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/you-can-still-upgrade-to-windows-10-for-free-heres-how/
or
https://www.news18.com/news/tech/microsoft-is-ending-windows-7-support-on-january-14-heres-how-to-upgrade-to-windows-10-for-free-2443399.html
The safest way to get Windows 10 is to purchase it on disc or purchase it from Microsoft's website or trusted sites.
Windows 10 Products
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/b/windows?activetab=tab%3ashopwindows10
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-7-end-of-life-support-information
If your hardware can support Windows 10 then you have the option of upgrading to Windows 10. "While it is possible to install Windows 10 on your older device, it is not recommended." -- Microsoft
Windows 10 system requirements
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4028142/windows-10-system-requirements
"Here's what it takes to upgrade to Windows 10 on your PC or tablet:
Latest OS: Make sure you're running the latest version—either Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 Update.
Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor or SoC
RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit
Hard disk space: 16 GB for 32-bit OS or 20 GB for 64-bit OS
Graphics card: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
Display: 800 x 600"
If you decide to upgrade to Windows 10 then you will find a lot of websites that explain how you can still upgrade free (like the websites below). However, be careful installing free Microsoft products that cliaim to be free from websites across the Internet unless you trust the site. You may find cracked versions of Microsoft products that contain keyloggers or malicious code to steal your personal information or identity.
How to upgrade to Windows 10 for free
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/you-can-still-upgrade-to-windows-10-for-free-heres-how/
or
https://www.news18.com/news/tech/microsoft-is-ending-windows-7-support-on-january-14-heres-how-to-upgrade-to-windows-10-for-free-2443399.html
The safest way to get Windows 10 is to purchase it on disc or purchase it from Microsoft's website or trusted sites.
Windows 10 Products
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/b/windows?activetab=tab%3ashopwindows10
Switch to Linux
You can still use your old desktop computer or laptop by backing up all of your important data and installing Linux on it. Keep in mind that Linux is not Windows. You can install a lot of software that you install on Windows using a program called Wine. However, a lot of software designed for Windows machines have alternative software or Open Source Software that will work on Linux machines. Most of these software packages will also work on Windows and macOS systems too.
If you do decide to switch to Linux then I recommend that you install some of the free or Open Source Software on your Windows system to get used to them. Then when you finally do make the switch, you will already be familiar with a lot of the software.
You can still use your old desktop computer or laptop by backing up all of your important data and installing Linux on it. Keep in mind that Linux is not Windows. You can install a lot of software that you install on Windows using a program called Wine. However, a lot of software designed for Windows machines have alternative software or Open Source Software that will work on Linux machines. Most of these software packages will also work on Windows and macOS systems too.
If you do decide to switch to Linux then I recommend that you install some of the free or Open Source Software on your Windows system to get used to them. Then when you finally do make the switch, you will already be familiar with a lot of the software.
Browsers
Most of the browsers that work with Windows will also work in Linux.
Slide 1. - Brave Browser - Is a free and open-source web browser blocks ads and website trackers.
Slide 2. - Chromium (Cent) Browser - The most feature rich Chromium browser.
Slide 3 - Firefox Browser - Is a free and open-source web browser that blocks over 2000 trackers.
Slide 4 - Chrome Browser - Is a cross-platform web browser developed by Google.
Slide 5 - Opera Browser - Is a web browser built-in VPN to help you browse safely and a built-in ad blocker to help you browse faster.
Slide 6 - Vivaldi Browser - Is a cross-platform web browser that can be tweaked and customized. It doesn't track or store your data.
Most of the browsers that work with Windows will also work in Linux.
Slide 1. - Brave Browser - Is a free and open-source web browser blocks ads and website trackers.
Slide 2. - Chromium (Cent) Browser - The most feature rich Chromium browser.
Slide 3 - Firefox Browser - Is a free and open-source web browser that blocks over 2000 trackers.
Slide 4 - Chrome Browser - Is a cross-platform web browser developed by Google.
Slide 5 - Opera Browser - Is a web browser built-in VPN to help you browse safely and a built-in ad blocker to help you browse faster.
Slide 6 - Vivaldi Browser - Is a cross-platform web browser that can be tweaked and customized. It doesn't track or store your data.
Desktop Publishing
Desktop publishing is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal computer. "Scribus is free open-source desktop publishing (DTP) software available for most desktop operating systems. It is designed for layout, typesetting, and preparation of files for professional-quality image-setting equipment. Scribus can also create animated and interactive PDF presentations and forms. Example uses include writing newspapers, brochures, newsletters, posters, and books." -- Wikipedia
Scribus is a powerful desktop publishing software for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Below is an example of an Earth Travel Brochure that I created using Scribus. I then saved the brochure as a pdf file and uploaded it to my 6th grade science webpage, so you'll notice that it has converted at the top. Here's some more examples of using Scribus.
Desktop publishing is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal computer. "Scribus is free open-source desktop publishing (DTP) software available for most desktop operating systems. It is designed for layout, typesetting, and preparation of files for professional-quality image-setting equipment. Scribus can also create animated and interactive PDF presentations and forms. Example uses include writing newspapers, brochures, newsletters, posters, and books." -- Wikipedia
Scribus is a powerful desktop publishing software for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Below is an example of an Earth Travel Brochure that I created using Scribus. I then saved the brochure as a pdf file and uploaded it to my 6th grade science webpage, so you'll notice that it has converted at the top. Here's some more examples of using Scribus.
Microsoft Office Alternatives
You will find several alternatives for Microsoft Office that is sufficient enough for the average Office user. Below is a list of Microsoft Office Alternatives that works with both Windows and Linux.
LibreOffice is a free office suite for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more, You can then save your work into Microsoft Office formats.
* LibreOffice Writer has the features you need from a modern, full-featured word processing and desktop publishing tool.
* LibreOffice Calc is a spreadsheet application that you can use to calculate, analyze, and manage your data.
* LibreOffice Impress is the presentations or slideshows component of LibreOffice.
* LibreOffice Draw is a free and open source vector graphics editor. You can also use it to edit PDF files.
* LibreOffice Math is a formula editor that can be invoked in your text documents, spreadsheets, presentations and drawings, enabling
you to insert perfectly formatted mathematical and scientific formulas.
* LibreOffice Base is a full-featured desktop database front end, designed to meet the needs of a broad array of users.
You will find several alternatives for Microsoft Office that is sufficient enough for the average Office user. Below is a list of Microsoft Office Alternatives that works with both Windows and Linux.
LibreOffice is a free office suite for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more, You can then save your work into Microsoft Office formats.
* LibreOffice Writer has the features you need from a modern, full-featured word processing and desktop publishing tool.
* LibreOffice Calc is a spreadsheet application that you can use to calculate, analyze, and manage your data.
* LibreOffice Impress is the presentations or slideshows component of LibreOffice.
* LibreOffice Draw is a free and open source vector graphics editor. You can also use it to edit PDF files.
* LibreOffice Math is a formula editor that can be invoked in your text documents, spreadsheets, presentations and drawings, enabling
you to insert perfectly formatted mathematical and scientific formulas.
* LibreOffice Base is a full-featured desktop database front end, designed to meet the needs of a broad array of users.
OnlyOffice is a free, open-source office suite for Windows, macOS and Linux.
* Document allows you to create, view and edit documents of most popular formats such as docx, dotx, odt, ott, rtf, txt, and pdf.
* SpreadSheet allows you to create, view and edit spreadsheets of most popular formats such as xlsx, xltx, ods, ots, csv, and pdf.
* Presentation allows you to create, view and edit presentations of most popular formats such as pptx, potx, odp, otp, and pdf.
* Document allows you to create, view and edit documents of most popular formats such as docx, dotx, odt, ott, rtf, txt, and pdf.
* SpreadSheet allows you to create, view and edit spreadsheets of most popular formats such as xlsx, xltx, ods, ots, csv, and pdf.
* Presentation allows you to create, view and edit presentations of most popular formats such as pptx, potx, odp, otp, and pdf.
WPS Office is a cross-platform office suite that is compatibility with Microsoft Office, Google Docs, and Adobe PDF.
* Writer allows you to create and edit documents efficiently.
* Spreadsheets allows you to create and edit spreadsheets.
* Presentation allows you to create amazing presentations.
* PDF allows you to view, convert, and do some basic editing of PDF files.
* Writer allows you to create and edit documents efficiently.
* Spreadsheets allows you to create and edit spreadsheets.
* Presentation allows you to create amazing presentations.
* PDF allows you to view, convert, and do some basic editing of PDF files.
Microsoft Office Online is an online office suite offered by Microsoft, which allows users to create and edit files using lightweight Microsoft Office web apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. The offering also includes Outlook.com, People, Calendar and OneDrive, all of which are accessible from a unified app switcher. You will need to create a free Microsoft user account to login to each of the online programs.
* Online Word allows you to collaborate for free with an online version of Microsoft Word.
* Online Excel allows you to collaborate for free with an online version of Microsoft Excel.
* Online PowerPoint allows you to collaborate for free with an online version of Microsoft PowerPoint.
* Online OneNote gathers users' notes, drawings, screen clippings and audio commentaries.
* Online Sway allows you to create and share interactive reports, presentations, personal stories, and more.
* Online Word allows you to collaborate for free with an online version of Microsoft Word.
* Online Excel allows you to collaborate for free with an online version of Microsoft Excel.
* Online PowerPoint allows you to collaborate for free with an online version of Microsoft PowerPoint.
* Online OneNote gathers users' notes, drawings, screen clippings and audio commentaries.
* Online Sway allows you to create and share interactive reports, presentations, personal stories, and more.
PDF Reader/Annotator
You will find several cross-platform PDF Readers/Annotators that have some basic editing features. Below is a list of programs that work great in Windows and Linux.
* Okular is a universal document viewer that works on multiple platforms. Click the following link to download Okular or Webstore.
You will find several cross-platform PDF Readers/Annotators that have some basic editing features. Below is a list of programs that work great in Windows and Linux.
* Okular is a universal document viewer that works on multiple platforms. Click the following link to download Okular or Webstore.
* Evince is a document viewer for multiple document formats. Click the following link to download Evince Windows Installer.
* Adobe Acrobat Reader DC software is the free global standard for reliably viewing, printing, and commenting on PDF documents.
Click the following link to download Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobart Reader DC.
Click the following link to download Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobart Reader DC.
* PDF Arranger allows you to view, merge, rearrange, split, rotate, and crop PDFs. Click the following link to download PDFArranger.
PDF-Shuffler is a small application, which allows the user to merge or split pdf documents and rotate, crop and rearrange their pages using an interactive and intuitive graphical interface. Click this following link to download the compressed or zipped file of PDF-Shuffler. When the link loads, click the Download button in the upper right corner. PDF-Shuffler requires python-poppler and version 1.10 or newer of python-pypdf. In order to install PDF-Shuffler open open the Command Prompt as Administrator and then run: python setup.py install
Once that you downloaded PDF-Shuffler and python-poppler and you've uncompressed them in a folder, you'll be ready to open the CMD or Command prompt as an administrator. Click the Start button and search for cmd. You'll need to right-click on the cmd command when it appears in the search list. Then click on the command Run as administrator.
Use the CD command or Change Directory command and change the active directory to the location of the setup.py file that you uncompressed in the python-poppler zipped file. I unzipped the python-poppler file into the same directory as PDF-Shuffler files. Therefore, I changed directory by entering the following command: CD: C:\Downloads\PDF-Shuffler and then pressed Enter. Now the PDF-Shuffler directory is the active directory. I then entered: python setup.py install and pressed the Enter key.
Close the Command Prompt once you get python-poppler installed. Go into the location or directory or folder where you unzipped or uncompressed the pdfshuffler-0.6.0.tar file. Double-click the setup file to install PDF-Shuffler on your system.
It should appear in your menu once you get it installed.
Xournal++ is a handwriting notetaking software with PDF annotation support. Click the link to download the compressed or zipped up installer of Xournal++ 1.0.16. You'll need to uncompress or unzip the file and then double-click the file xournalpp-1.0.16-windows.exe.
Video Editors
In this section, I will point out some great video editors that works in Windows and Linux. You can find a lot more than what I have listed.
Avidemux is a video editor used for simple cutting, filtering and encoding tasks. It supports a variety of file types, including AVI, DVD compatible MPEG files, MP4 and ASF, using a variety of codecs. It allows you to automate tasks using projects, you can add things into a job queue, and it has powerful scripting capabilities. I use Avidemux a lot and I like how simple it is to use and how powerful the program is.
In this section, I will point out some great video editors that works in Windows and Linux. You can find a lot more than what I have listed.
Avidemux is a video editor used for simple cutting, filtering and encoding tasks. It supports a variety of file types, including AVI, DVD compatible MPEG files, MP4 and ASF, using a variety of codecs. It allows you to automate tasks using projects, you can add things into a job queue, and it has powerful scripting capabilities. I use Avidemux a lot and I like how simple it is to use and how powerful the program is.
Kdenlive is an open source video editor. This is a very powerful video editor that works in Windows, Linux, and macOS. There is a installation version and portable or standalone version for Windows users.
Olive is a free non-linear video editor aiming to provide a fully-featured alternative to high-end professional video editing software. You can install Olive on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Lightworks is a cross-platform professional video editor, available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. This is referred to as Freemium software and not open source and it can be used for professional grade video editing.
Vidcutter is a cross-platform app for quick and easy video trimming/splitting and merging/joining for simple quick edits. Supported operating systems: Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. You can download the program for the different platforms at this link: Vidcutter.
Video Players
In this section, I will point out some great video players that will play on Windows and Linux.
bomi is a multimedia player which is easy to use, but it has a lot of powerful features. is a multimedia player which is easy to use, but it has a lot of powerful features. You can install it on your computer by downloading and running the bomi-setup.exe file. bomi is very configurable and it has a user-friendly interface.
In this section, I will point out some great video players that will play on Windows and Linux.
bomi is a multimedia player which is easy to use, but it has a lot of powerful features. is a multimedia player which is easy to use, but it has a lot of powerful features. You can install it on your computer by downloading and running the bomi-setup.exe file. bomi is very configurable and it has a user-friendly interface.
VLC Media Player is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player that supports most video file formats. VLC is widely used in Linux because it is very powerful and customizable.
SMPlayer is a cross-platform multimedia player that is capable of playing most of the major video files across the Internet. It supports a wide variety of the codecs. You can play avi, mp4, mkv, mov, divx, h.264, and more. SMPlayer now supports Chromecast. You can now send the videos on your computer to your TV.
Image Editors
In this section, I will point out some great Image Editors used in Windows and Linux.
"Pinta is a free, open source program for drawing and image editing. Its goal is to provide users with a simple yet powerful way to draw and manipulate images on Linux, Mac, Windows, and *BSD." I created sections to help new users understand the commands and functions found within the menus of Pinta. You can download the program from the Pinta link.
In this section, I will point out some great Image Editors used in Windows and Linux.
"Pinta is a free, open source program for drawing and image editing. Its goal is to provide users with a simple yet powerful way to draw and manipulate images on Linux, Mac, Windows, and *BSD." I created sections to help new users understand the commands and functions found within the menus of Pinta. You can download the program from the Pinta link.
PhotoFlare is a very simple but powerful Cross Platform image editor. It has a very user friendly Grapical User Interface (GUI). It's an excellent choice for beginners, but it's also suitable for more advanced users. PhotoFlare makes it easy for you to add that special touch to your photos or images.
GIMP is a free and open-source raster graphics editor used for image retouching and editing, free-form drawing, converting between different image formats, and more specialized tasks.
Inkscape is a full-featured, completely free alternative to Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw, Visio, etc. You can also download and install additional plugins or extensions to increase the power InkScape.
Image Viewers & Photo Management
In this section, I will point out some image viewers and photo management software that works in Windows and Linux.
qView was designed to be as visually minimal and space efficient as possible. No cluttered interface, just your image and a titlebar. qView opens practically instantly, and switching images is just as quick, all while having low memory and CPU usage. With features such as animated GIF controls, file history, rotation/mirroring, and multithreaded preloading, minimalism doesn't have to be a compromise. You can download and install qView for Windows, macOS, and Linux from the following link. You can advance to your next image by using your right arrow button or back-up by pressing the back arrow button. You can access the controls or menus by right-clicking on an image.
In this section, I will point out some image viewers and photo management software that works in Windows and Linux.
qView was designed to be as visually minimal and space efficient as possible. No cluttered interface, just your image and a titlebar. qView opens practically instantly, and switching images is just as quick, all while having low memory and CPU usage. With features such as animated GIF controls, file history, rotation/mirroring, and multithreaded preloading, minimalism doesn't have to be a compromise. You can download and install qView for Windows, macOS, and Linux from the following link. You can advance to your next image by using your right arrow button or back-up by pressing the back arrow button. You can access the controls or menus by right-clicking on an image.
XnView MP Photo & Picture Viewer The enhanced Photo Viewer for Windows, macOS, and Linux. XnView MP is a versatile and powerful photo viewer, image management, image resizer. All common picture and graphics formats are supported (JPEG, TIFF, PNG, GIF, WEBP, PSD, JPEG2000, OpenEXR, camera RAW, HEIC, PDF, DNG, CR2). XnView MP is provided as FREEWARE (NO Adware, NO Spyware) for private or educational use (including non-profit organizations).
digiKam is a Professional Photo Management with the Power of Open Source. digiKam supports import of photos from cameras, creation of albums, tagging with dates, subjects and other properties, and excellent search facilities. Check out some of the other advanced features at the following link. You can install digiKam on Windows, macOS, and Linux at the following link.
Slideshow Makers
4K Slideshow Maker allows you to create amazing looking slideshows. You don't have to be an expert to create a professional quality slideshow. Just add your photos, music (optional), and then apply your slideshow effects and transitions. It's that simple. 4k Slideshow Maker is a cross-platform program that can be installed it on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
4K Slideshow Maker allows you to create amazing looking slideshows. You don't have to be an expert to create a professional quality slideshow. Just add your photos, music (optional), and then apply your slideshow effects and transitions. It's that simple. 4k Slideshow Maker is a cross-platform program that can be installed it on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
PhotoFilmStrip creates movies out of your pictures in just 3 steps. First select your photos, customize the motion path and render the video. There are several output possibilities for VCD, SVCD, DVD up to FULL-HD. Creates animated slideshows.
Archiver & Compressor Utilities
If you've been using Windows for a while then you've probably used WinZip or WinRar to compress or unzip (uncompress) files. These programs provide a GUI (Graphical User Interface) to help you compress or uncompress files without knowing how to type in any commands. WinZip and WinRar can be installed in Linux, but they do not provide the same type of GUI. If you want to use an archiver or compressor utility that has a GUI in both Windows and Linux then I suggest that you use 7-Zip or PeaZip.
7-Zip is a utility program to help you extract compressed files and create your own compressed files in several different formats. The GUI version in Linux is called P7Zip.
If you've been using Windows for a while then you've probably used WinZip or WinRar to compress or unzip (uncompress) files. These programs provide a GUI (Graphical User Interface) to help you compress or uncompress files without knowing how to type in any commands. WinZip and WinRar can be installed in Linux, but they do not provide the same type of GUI. If you want to use an archiver or compressor utility that has a GUI in both Windows and Linux then I suggest that you use 7-Zip or PeaZip.
7-Zip is a utility program to help you extract compressed files and create your own compressed files in several different formats. The GUI version in Linux is called P7Zip.
PeaZip provides fast, high compression ratio multi-format archiving to 7Z, ARC, BZ2, GZ, PEA, TAR, WIM, and ZIP archives (write supported), and works as opener / extractor tool for 180+ archive types including ACE, ISO, RAR, ZIPX formats.
Audio Editors
Audacity is a free, easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems.
Audacity is a free, easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems.
ocenaudio is a cross-platform, easy to use, fast and functional audio editor. It is the ideal software for people who need to edit and analyze audio files without complications. ocenaudio also has powerful features that will please more advanced users. ocenaudio supports VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plugins, giving its users access to numerous effects. Like the native effects, VST effects can use real-time preview to aide configuration.
Multimedia Utilities
DVDStyler is a cross-platform free DVD authoring application for the creation of professional-looking DVDs. It allows not only burning of video files on DVD that can be played practically on any standalone DVD player, but also creation of individually designed DVD menus. It is Open Source Software and is completely free.
DVDStyler is a cross-platform free DVD authoring application for the creation of professional-looking DVDs. It allows not only burning of video files on DVD that can be played practically on any standalone DVD player, but also creation of individually designed DVD menus. It is Open Source Software and is completely free.
MP4Tools is a collection of simple free tools to join and split MP4 files.
HandBrake is a tool for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs.
WinFF is free video converter for Windows and Linux users.
Text Editors & IDEs
Text editors and Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) are applications for writing code. In the programming community, there are an overwhelming number of opinions about text editors, IDEs, and other coding tools. You will also find an abundant of text editors and IDEs that it can be difficult to find the right tool for the job. In this section, I will highlight some text editors and IDEs that are used in Windows and Linux. I will not cover them all, but provide a few to help a young or beginning coder.
Lines is a modern and minimalist text editor - IDE with support for over 150 programming languages, embedded code inspectors and many other cool tools to help you write better code.
Text editors and Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) are applications for writing code. In the programming community, there are an overwhelming number of opinions about text editors, IDEs, and other coding tools. You will also find an abundant of text editors and IDEs that it can be difficult to find the right tool for the job. In this section, I will highlight some text editors and IDEs that are used in Windows and Linux. I will not cover them all, but provide a few to help a young or beginning coder.
Lines is a modern and minimalist text editor - IDE with support for over 150 programming languages, embedded code inspectors and many other cool tools to help you write better code.
gedit is the GNOME text editor. While aiming at simplicity and ease of use, gedit is a powerful general purpose text editor. fedit can be installed on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Notepad++ is a free source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages. Notepad++ can be installed in Windows and Linux (using wine).
Atom is a hackable text editor for the 21st Century. You can install packages to increase the power of Atom and you can change its appearance by installing themes.
Visual Studio Code is a source-code editor developed by Microsoft for Windows, Linux and macOS. It includes support for debugging, embedded Git control and GitHub, syntax highlighting, intelligent code completion, snippets, and code refactoring.
If you decide to upgrade your Windows 7 system to Windows 10 and would like to keep the typical Windows 7 look then download an Open Source program called Classic Shell. With Classic Shell, you can modify your Start Menu to look like earlier versions of MS Windows. You also have more control over the contents displayed in your Start Menu.
Most Linux distributions come with a Software Updater to update your operating system files and the software installed on your system. That prevents you from getting those annoying pop-ups reminding you that you have an update for a particular program. However, Windows allows you to download similar types of programs. A good one that I use on my only Windows system is a program called PatchMyPC Home Updater.
If you would like to add widgets or gadgets to your desktop then download and install 8GadgetPack. You can see the gadgets on the right side of the image below. This is similar to installing Conky Widgets in Linux. You have a variety of Widgets and Themes to install in Linux.
How-To Install Ubuntu MATE
https://learnubuntumate.weebly.com/install-ubuntu-mate.html
How-To Burn an ISO Image File to a DVD
https://learnubuntumate.weebly.com/burn-an-iso-to-dvd.html
How-To Create a Bootable USB Drive
https://learnubuntumate.weebly.com/create-a-bootable-usb.html
https://learnubuntumate.weebly.com/install-ubuntu-mate.html
How-To Burn an ISO Image File to a DVD
https://learnubuntumate.weebly.com/burn-an-iso-to-dvd.html
How-To Create a Bootable USB Drive
https://learnubuntumate.weebly.com/create-a-bootable-usb.html
Jan 2, 2020