You probably already use at least two OSes now – Windows 11/10 plus either Android or iOS. Possibly three OSes if you have a Chromebook. Heck, TV’s ‘n Cars ‘n etcetera have OSes nowadays!? 🤔

Android ‘n Chrome OS are proprietary OSes that are Linux-based. They are fast, efficient, stable, secure, user friendly and lightweight. They also don’t force nonstop annoying “Authenticate” popups and/or other pestering types of ‘Pesky Passwords’ demands that slow their users’ workflow down. Well, Chrome OS has one password requirement at login, but nothing else after that. Want to know what a Linux “Authenticate” popup looks like?

  • In that upper right corner is a pic of “Tux” as a Linux Root User, and in the Linux root user’s section there are *NO* “Authenticate” popups to slow workflow down.

If you count all the Linux Distros, their Flavors, their SPINS, their Desktop Environments (DE) and their Who Knows What else you’ll end up at around 3,000 to choose from. I made it to 3,001 and quit counting! 😉

Wikipedia calls too many choices – ‘Overchoice or choice overload’. Harvard Business Review calls it ‘choice paralysis’. Barry Kauler thought Linux was becoming too strict – becoming loaded down with rules ‘n restrictions ‘n requirements. He wanted to emphasize speed, efficiency and being lightweight as the strong points of Linux, and created Puppy Linux. Speed, efficiency and lightweight remain some of the strong points of Puppy Linux 9.5…I would add ‘Portability, HW Support, Rescue ‘n Reliability!’ ‘n note that Barry Kauler retired in 2013.

Puppy Linux 9.5 has been a favorite ‘Companion OS‘ to my primary Windows 10/11 OSes for about 19-months; however, other versions of Puppy Linux have been my Windows’ ‘Companion OSes‘ since around 2007. More on Puppy Linux later in this post.

“Year of the Linux Desktop” advocates have proclaimed each year_for the past 24+- years_to be the “Year of the Linux Desktop.” There are over 1,500,000,000 Windows 10/11 users, and last I heard Linux Desktop had about 5,000,000+ users.

Linus Torvalds has said: ‘One of the problems Desktop Linux has is it’s not made for normal people, and by normal people I mean, obviously nontechnical people…‘ (NOTE: A brief update to that, i.e. to now define ‘Technical people‘ as Developers, Programmers, IT Specialists, Maintainers, etc.)

It will never be the “Year of the Linux Desktop,” but Linux offers many many other uses ‘n options, e.g. Special *PURPOSE* Linuxes.

Companion: ‘one of a pair of things that go together‘

Leave it to the “Kids” to come up wid such an excellent definition for two OSes! 😉

You’re using Windows 11 or 10 so you don’t need one of the *BLOATED* Debian, Ubuntu or Ubuntu-based or ‘Submissive‘ user Mint, forget the unstable Arch ‘n Arch-based, and basically any Distro wid an ISO over 1GB as your ‘Companion OS‘ to your Windows OS.

Windows 11 ‘n 10 are Plug ‘n Play OSes that offer all kinds of supported hardware, e.g. printers ‘n scanners. Basically, Hardware manufacturers make their hardware compatible wid Windows OSes or they don’t stay in business long. Not so wid Linux OSes…heck, most Linux users don’t even know what the simple autoscroll or continuous scroll functions of a Basic Wheel Mouse is/are. Forget document autoscrolling in Linux; however, Firefox ‘n Waterfox offer autoscrolling if you select “Use autoscrolling” in the Browser settings.

I offer suggestions for a Windows ‘Companion OS‘ on the Karmi’s Top 10 Linux Distros & Distros w/ *NO* “Authenticate” popup or other ‘Pesky Passwords’ pages. Two of the ones I’m focusing on in this post are Puppy Linux & a new arrival (for me) – Porteus Linux 5.0rc3 Cinnamon.

Puppy Linux – a Brief

If Puppy Linux offered a Cinnamon DE or KDE Plasma DE it would probably be nigh impossible for any other Linux OS to beat, IMHO. JWM and/or Openbox DE’s are just not to my taste.

The Cinnamon DE is very similar to Windows 11 & 10 desktops, and probably the easiest for those users to try first.

A Windows’ ‘Companion OS‘ has to be USB portable ‘n Puppy Linux practically invented OS portability so it is perfect on a USB drive.

See the Puppy Linux page & the Puppy Category link for more info.

This will conclude Part 1. Part 2’s focus will be on Porteus Linux 5.0rc3 Cinnamon.

LINUX IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES – you never know what you’re gonna get!

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