Recently I made a ₹10,000 PC build guide that included everything from the PC itself to peripherals. But the only thing it didn't account for was Operating system. If you go to Microsoft website, the cost of Windows is more than the PC itself. Yes, I mentioned that you can get OEM license locally for ₹300-700 or even for free if you have good relation with the shop owner. On top of that, there are ways to activate Windows for free, although those methods are neither ethical nor legal.
That's where Linux comes into play. Almost 99% of Linux Distributions/distro are free to use. Yes, there are some cons of using Linux, like none of Adobe(photoshop, premiere pro, illustrator, etc) products will run natively on Linux. You also loose the support for Microsoft Office suite. Technically you can run them through Wine or similar compatibility layer, but there are no guarantees of supporting the latest version of these apps.
But these cons can become pros when you are getting a cheap home PC for your kids. Just like many Windows apps are not supported, many games aren't supported on Linux either. That means, Linux has less distractions for your kids. Again, there are ways to make the games work on Linux, but if your kids are smart enough to figure it out, I think that's a win for you too. [Note: Although Steam is natively supported on Linux, I'm assuming anyone building a ₹10,000 PC will most probably pirate games].
And now comes the confusing part with Linux. One of the main reason for popularity of Windows and Mac OS is lack of choices. Apple PC come with MacOS preloaded so users have no confusion regarding OS choice. DIY PC users can just go to Microsoft website and download latest Windows. There are some minor variations of Windows but basically activating your Windows with right license unlocks related features based on the license. Other than that, there aren't any major differences between windows types(at least for average user). But Linux, is a mess when it comes to choice, specially when you aren't a nerd like us.
For example, there are some core/main Linux distro: Debian, Red Hat, SUSE, Arch, Gentoo, Slackware. Every other Linux distros are variations of these. There are literally hundreds of distros to choose from. And the amount of choices becomes overwhelming, even to nerds like us. But, after years of distro hopping, I noticed few features that can make Linux experience pleasant for new users. That's why I recommend Zorin OS Education for students when there are other options with arguably better feature set for education.
Zorin is Ubuntu based, which means you are most likely to find solutions to distro specific issues as Ubuntu/Debian based distros take up like 40-50% Linux userbase. And there is collection of software included with Zorin OS Education. Realistically, you can install all these software in any Linux distro. But Zorin OS Education saves you the hassle of looking up these software and installing them. Yes, Skolelinux(DebianEdu) has tools that lets you centrally manage all systems in an institute, but for a home PC, that doesn't help very much. In fact, it adds more work for parents to use those tools. And I'm not trying to ridicule anyone but it is a known fact the parents and technology aren't compatible. Kids will always be more tech savvy than parents(Generally speaking).
So save yourself time and trouble of setting up repositories & apps and just install something that your kids(and you) can use right away. I could mention all the apps and games it comes preloaded with it, but it will make this post unnecessarily long. So I will tell you the steps to download and install the Zorin OS Education.
- Step 1: Visit Zorin OS download page.
- Step 2: Scroll down and find Zorin OS Education edition, click free download.
- Step 3: It will ask you to subscribe to Newsletter which is optional and you can skip to download.
- Step 4: Save the iso file wherever you want.
- Step 5: While you wait for the download to finish, visit bootable USB making tool website like Balena Etcher or Rufus to download the utility. If you never made bootable USB before then Etcher is recommended over Rufus although I personally prefer Rufus.
- Step 6: When downloads are finished, use Etcher(or whichever tool you downloaded) to create bootable USB.
- Step 7: If you are installing Zorin on a brand new PC then just plug in the USB before turning on the PC, then it will enter installation after pressing power button, proceed with default options.
If you want to do a dual boot then I recommend watching few YouTube tutorials before proceeding.
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