Fellow trader Randall T. replied to my original post on avoiding Windows Updates. Not only does he avoid the updates, but he also avoids Windows entirely.
Here’s Randall’s response with a link to his tutorial on giving Linux a spin as a desktop computer (as opposed to simply a headless server, which I’m already a huge fan of). (Name and response posted with permission.)
Randall T.
I hope all is well. I’ve been running Linux as my sole OS since 2010 and miss Windows like the common cold. When I am not running native Linux applications (e.g., TradingView, Thinkorswim, Trader Workstation), I run my Windows applications such as Excel in Crossover which spoofs the Windows environment so that they run natively. In the rare case that I need a true Windows environment, I run Windows as just another application within VirtualBox.
This way, I retain control of my computer at all times. I started 15 years ago with Ubuntu (which is on the Debian evolutionary branch) and have moved to Linux Mint, which is also on the same branch.
I strongly recommend giving it a look!
Here’s a link to Randall’s tutorial on using Linux Mint as a desktop.
This is a step too far for me due to the custom applications I run for my trading business, but I’m sure other readers will find this interesting.
Thanks for sending this, Randall!
QUESTION: Do any other traders out there use non-Windows environments? I’d love to hear more about your setup. If there’s enough response, I’ll summarize it in a message to the list.
-Dave
