Remmina: a great option for Windows remote desktops on Linux.

For about 4 years now, I've relied on a remote Windows desktop for work. At first I used a desktop using Windows 7 provided by employer, and it did a great job. To be honest, Windows 7 and Windows XP are the two best OSes released by Microsoft, but I prefer using Linux Mint as much as possible.

Then, the pandemic hit and forced us into home office to keep going. To be honest, I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to work from home since at home I used Linux Mint on my laptop, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to connect remotely to the work server in order to keep my job.

After a few hours of research, I found Remmina. Since I know my way around computers, yet I'm my technical skills are no really all that advanced, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to configure it correctly. Yet, it was easy to set up the remote desktop quickly.

So far, I still use my laptop even after we have come back to the office. I prefer to use it, because since we use WhatsApp and our email isn't run on the remote desktop, having 2 monitors really helps me to keep on top of what I've to do at work.

Not only that, I've been somewhat of a beta user at work in order to make a case to make the jump to Linux Mint on the end user computers, while only using Windows on the server used for the main software at work. There are some kinks to work out, like being able to use the network printer, but so far the user case looks really good.

For me Linux Mint, is an Linux distro that stands true to its slogan: From freedom came elegance. And it has become my go to OS for my personal and professional computing needs.

The best operating system depends of what you are going to use it for.

Every time I hear that Windows, macOS, or Linux is the best operating system, I can't help to ask the best operating system for what? Each one has its strengthens and weaknesses, that make each the best solution for different set of use cases.

The best operating system for me is Linux, in particular Linux Mint. Linux Mint just works for me, but I'm sure that it isn't the best option for everyone. Some of the people I know are better served by Windows while for other macOS is the better option. At the end of the day, it comes down to what each person does with the computer they own and/or the apps they use to get things done.

For example, I LibreOffice does all what I need from an office productivity software, even at work. For others, Microsoft Office is a most have, so Linux wouldn't make sense for their use case. If a user used Final Cut Pro, then macOS is the only way to go, since it isn't available for Windows or Linux. Most of the most used CAD(computer-aide design) software used professionally only works on Windows.

As such, which is the best operating system depends on each user needs it for. Personally, I'd like more software to be available for Linux. Yet, I understand why sometime that isn't viable, or why developers don't want to make it available for other operating systems.

And while I know there are alternatives for almost all apps in other operating systems, making the jump to those alternatives isn't practical for money issues or you can't make customers or providers to make the jump with you. At the end of the day, it may just boil down to that making the jump is just to muck work to make it work on the long run.

While I prefer Linux Mint, and would love more people to use it as their main operating system, I do understand that it isn't practical for everyone to use it.

Mozilla Thunderbird 115: a leap forward.

After a month of reading good reviews of Mozilla Thunderbird 115, I decided to give it a try getting the Flatpak version.

I've using Thunderbird for about 7 years now, ever since I made my move to Linux as my go to OS on my personal daily driver. While I've tried to use other email clients, like GNOME Evolution and Claws Mail, I kept returning to Thunderbird since I just adapts better to my needs. I can set it up faster to my liking, and just works as I want my email client to do.

Yet, with Thunderbird's new user interface, called Supernova, it really got an upgrade. It doesn't just looks better, but its also easier to use from configuring your email accounts to just using it. The whole experience feels a lot more intuitive, and the fact that my emails are store locally is a big plus for me.

When Mozilla dropped the Thunderbird to focus on Firefox, I was saddened and worried that it would stop being supported in time. Since then, the decision was reversed and it became a long-term support app. Thunderbird becoming a long-term support email client is a good thing for me, since my email client doesn't need to come to the latest and shiny add-ons, it just has to be reliable and easy to use. And Thunderbird also happens to be easily customizable to my needs and to how I like my apps to look like.

At the end of the day, with this version 115 Thunderbird has cemented itself as my favorite and go-to email client.