I posted this as a comment in another post but when I got done I realized it would probably just be better as its own post. I'm sure I could find the answers I need myself but frankly I trust the userbase here more than most online articles.
As my username hints at, I'm a lawyer. I'm considering starting my own firm as a solo practitioner. I need a computer and/or laptop for it, and as a new business my budget would be pretty tight. I've mostly only ever used windows, but I'm getting fed up with the bullshit, so I'm considering going with Linux.
I assume Linux is capable of doing everything I need, which is primarily handling word documents, viewing PDFs, watching evidence videos, and online research. But my concern is that some of the more commonly used video types might have trouble on Linux, or that some of the word document templates I use in Windows might have compatibility issues.
I'm also nervous about using an OS I'm not familiar with for business purposes right away.
So I guess I'm asking a few questions. What is a reliable yet affordable option to get started? Are my concerns based in reality or is Linux going to be able to handle everything windows does without issues? What else might I need to know to use Linux comfortably from the get go? Is it going to take a lot of time and effort to get Linux running how I need it to?
For reference, I do consider myself to be somewhat tech-savvy. I don't code or anything, but I've built my last two home computers myself and I'm not scared of general software management, I just don't make it myself.
So, yeah, sell me on Linux, please.
It's about being in the free software ecosystem, which is really a licensing issue.
Forcing people to contribute their modifications to software when they are editing free software ensures we're never dependent on the decisions of one entity. This is what the GNU General Public License (GPL) is all about.
If we don't like what someone did, we can take that part out and redistribute a better version that we can continue to modify. This might not matter to someone who doesn't program, but it should.
You don't have to be the one to get your hands dirty with code. Just being a user in the ecosystem opens you up to these benefits. Other people are going to take advantage of them, and you can just piggyback on their work.
I, personally, think it's always just a matter of time before businesses make products worse by charging more/giving less. Look at Adobe. Look at Microsoft. Look at Apple. All of them want to lock people into endless subscriptions because they're dependent on their ecosystem. What happens when Adobe decides they're not charging enough for photoshop? They charge more, and everyone just has to deal with it. Same goes for Office. Same goes for Apple, they just do it the old-fashioned way by charging for the latest versions and making you buy new hardware.