No Windows? No Problem?

Windows 10 went End of Life (EOL) last year on this day. Let me tell you about how Uplift Cleaning Company has handled this.

October 14, 2025

This was the last day that I used a Windows computer. Since then, all of the devices I use run Linux and sometimes something runs Mac OS. I was the last to use Windows 10 at Uplift Cleaning Company, and only did so because I had a computer set up for work that ran it at the time.

For Uplift Cleaning Company, since it began in November 2024, the business was being operated mostly on computers using a Linux operating system. At first it was laptops using Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, then another computer was added that uses Linux Mint Cinnamon. In February 2026, I switched from Ubuntu on a mini PC to a Raspberry Pi 500 running Raspberry Pi OS and I have been very happy with it.

FOSS

Free and Open Source Software. This is what often runs on Linux operating systems. It means software that is available at no cost to you and has code that is auditable, if someone has the skills to do that. 

While the FOSS community can be particular about what they consider to truly be free and open source, the main point is to get away from closed-source software that often comes as a subscription that you pay for monthly or annually to retain access to it. 

Free and Open Source Software is available for many things, like office productivity suites (work processors, spreadsheets, slide presentations, and sometimes databases), video editing, music players, web browsers, and even games. They may not be exactly what you have previously used and need a little bit of learning to get into the rhythm using them. However, the fact that most FOSS solutions are free and compatible with closed-source software could make them appealing to many people.

What About Office Work?

There has been no problem replacing specific software that would run on Windows 10 with other productivity software. In fact, what I have found is that what we have been using is basically one-for-one compatible with non-FOSS options that we could use.

For businesses, there can be cloud software applications that work in a web browser that are used day-to-day for operating the business. These open in a web browser on a computer with a Linux operating system just fine, in our experience. 

In my opinion, unless someone needs a very specific software package in an application, like a statistics module in Microsoft Excel, they can probably get their work done using Libre Office or Only Office just the same. For example, I have made spreadsheets in a variety of open and closed-source software and the experience was about the same for all of them, with details like how the interface looks being different between them. Excel commands in a spreadsheet work the same in Libre Office Calc, Google Sheets, and Gnumeric.

What About The Learning Curve?

We have found that the learning curve is pretty shallow and short with the Linux operating systems we use. 

I am not only the Administrative Assistant of Uplift Cleaning Company, but I also function as tech support for my whole family! If a computer is acting strangely, guess who is going to be fixing it? 

For myself, using Linux started with a large learning curve. I started by doing a difficult thing right from the beginning, back in 2012, when I installed Ubuntu on my old MacBook. If you want to do something difficult with your life, try installing Linux on a Mac. I spent a whole week trying and failing before I finally figured it out! After that, working on old Windows PCs was very easy for me.

However, when using regular new, refurbished, or used computers with Linux, there hasn’t been any major issues. I provide tech support to keep the computers of Uplift Cleaning Company working and have had a few questions about where something is or how to do some specific thing at the beginning. Altogether, it hasn’t been a problem for us.

Minding Our Own Business

You may have heard about some operating systems collecting data about the user and sending it to different parties to be analyzed and stored. One appeal to us about using devices that run some version of Linux is that the telemetry and invasive monitoring on the operating system level is not happening. We are doing our work and minding our own business. 

Canadians Should Switch To Linux

As far as I know, the only operating system that is made in Canada is the security oriented Berkley Systems Distribution operating system called OpenBSD. I have tried to use it and found that it was beyond my abilities. That is not to say others can’t figure it out though. Give it a try, you might have a great time with it.

Switching to Linux (or BSD) for Canadians is about data sovereignty, preventing companies outside Canada from harvesting our data to use for some unknown purpose through gathering data on users. Most Linux operating systems have respect for user’s data privacy, but you would need to check that for yourself to be sure.

There are many YouTubers in the Linux community who provide excellent information and tutorials about how to get started with Linux. My favourite is Explaining Computers. His videos every Sunday are an important event on my weekends.

Should You Try Linux?

If you have a computer that is less than fifteen years old, you have a device that can probably run a modern Linux operating system. Of course, a blog from a cleaning business is not an exhaustive tutorial on this subject, but we do encourage you to give a Linux operating system a try for yourself. Linux Mint Cinnamon would be my recommendation, with Ubuntu a close second. Please feel free to disagree with me if you have a favourite Linux distribution. Here we are talking about beginners finding their way into Linux, not an advanced user hyper customizing Arch Linux. 

Uplift Cleaning Company is an independent cleaning business based in Fort Erie, providing service throughout the Niagara region. We provide residential and commercial cleaning services.