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About OS-College

OS-College's purpose is to teach people how to use various software applications through written instructions, videos, and images. Several of the applications are designed to work equally well on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux operating systems.

 

The main focus is on office suites. Microsoft Office, Google's office applications, and LibreOffice are covered.

 

There are also instructions for other types of software.  These work equally well on Windows, MacOS, and Linux operating systems. The software includes  photo editing applications, video editors, and Web browsers.

 

In addition to applications, there are also tutorials about several different desktop Linux operating systems.

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Videos, Web pages, articles, and social media posts will be the delivery formats for the tutorials. Free videos will be posted on the Website, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn. There also will be videos for subscribers on the Website. Social media posts will be on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X.

Applications and operating systems

Office suites

  • Microsoft Office (Windows, Mac OS, and Online)

  • LibreOffice

  • Google office

Office suites are used by everyone - business professionals, students, members of volunteer organizations. People write letters, organize information in spreadsheets, and use slides to augment presentations. Microsoft Office is the most popular, and it is the standard other office suites compare themselves to. This is why OS-College has tutorials about the different versions it comes in.

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Alternatives to Microsoft Office applications are Google's office applications. They are the number 1 competitors to their Office counterparts, and they can be accessed through all the major Web browsers. 

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The LibreOffice suite is also covered because it is a powerful set of applications  with many features that is available on almost every desktop operating system. It runs equally well on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux operating systems.

Photo and video editors

  • Gimp

  • OBS Studio

  • OpenShot

Most people have smartphones that can shoot photos and videos. Therefore, there are many applications that can edit photos and videos. The ones OS-College covers in videos, Web pages, and blog articles are open-source and work equally well on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux operating systems.

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Gimp, an application that is similar to Adobe Photoshop (though with less features), edits photos and can create raster graphics. It is found in most Linux operating system's repository, and the latest version is available as a direct download or in the Windows 10 and 11 stores. There are versions for Intel and silicon Macs. 

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OBS Studio and OpenShot are video editors that are both robust and easy-to-use. OBS can record screens and sounds coming from the computer. OpenShot is a general video editor with a simple interface.

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Other applications

  • Balena Etcher

  • Web browsers

Etcher flashes operating systems to USB drives, or other types of external drives, so they can be used to boot computers. Linux operating systems are typically tried and installed this way. 

 

Most people use Web browsers, and probably do not need much instruction on how to use one. However, there are a few features each browser has that many people are unaware of. OS-College has tutorials and blog articles about various features for several browsers.

Linux distros

OS-College has videos and blog articles about Linux operating systems. These operating systems serve as alternatives to Mac OS and Windows, and many people are considering trying one or several of them, so they can switch from Windows or Mac. These operating systems also can give them more computer options and hardware. OS-College will not cover these systems exhaustively. The Linux page has more details about hardware built for Linux.

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is the most popular desktop Linux operating system. All of the computer manufacturers that create machines with a Linux operating system preinstalled offer it as a choice or the sole system. It is also the operating system that many operating systems are based on, so it has more documentation than other Linux systems.

Linux Mint

This is one of the most used and easy-to-use operating systems. It's primary user interface is Cinnamon, which gives it a look and feel similar to Windows. The organization behind it offer other user interfaces, however. It can easily be installed on most computers created in the past 15 years.

Zorin OS

Zorin offers a few versions. All of them have several different user interfaces that can be switched to with a few clicks. The professional version, which needs to be purchased, has the most user interfaces, and it comes preinstalled with several applications, such as Gimp.

Fedora

Fedora is a project of Red Hat Inc. It is one of the foundational desktop Linux operating systems, and it works on many laptops made in the past 15 years. There is even versions that works on Mac PowerPC computers and ARM-based computers, such as Raspberry Pi. It is not based on Ubuntu, and it uses the RPM package manager.

Manjaro

Manjaro is based on Arch Linux, not Ubuntu. It has become one of the most popular Linux distros. Several manufacturers offer it as an option that can be preinstalled on desktops and laptops they ship to customers. The company behind the operating system has designed versions to work on specific ARM-based systems, such as a Pinebook Pro. There also are general versions that will work on most Intel systems.

Other Linux distros

OS-College has information about several other desktop Linux operating systems. These include ones that work well on low-powered, older computers, such as MX Linux and Debian.

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