Linux

I just like to hang out with you guys : )

Was bored one day and wanted something to do

Proprietary software just feels gross, low quality, and opaque. I want to feel like I've actually got some kind of control over the computers I own. Windows was feeling more out of touch with software developers. Installing a compiler in Linux is super easy compared to Windows.

Every time I boot into Windows, it tries to force me to sign into a Microsoft account. I have to unplug my Ethernet cable to get past it. I just got over it and installed Mint instead. I almost never boot into Windows unless it's for something specific.

So I still technically use Windows, but only because I need it because of some software for school, but I still use Linux most of the time. It's mainly the small yet super annoying things in Windows that caused me to switch. Like how everything has to automatically try and back up to OneDrive until you dig into the settings and disable it, or how it constantly badgers you to use insert Microsoft product here instead of what you want to use. Plus as a computer science student, and someone who spends a lot of time in the terminal, Powershell and the Windows command line feel so old and incapable compared to the Linux terminal (WSL has helped with some of that, but not all of it.) It's just small issues that cause big issues when you run into them, because it just makes simple things harder to do than they need to be, usually for the sake of pushing their products.

For vim, terminals, and keyboard-driven window management. It's nice to have full control and feel like a first class citizen instead of a product. Or like the developer actively thinks you're an idiot.

A variety of reasons really. Privacy concerns, not having full control over my system with Windows, ads being pushed on my computer that I can't turn off easily, Linux is more fun to use and learn about in general. Last but not least is community. The community around Linux is fun to be a part of and makes me want to learn more so I can contribute in any way I can to the projects that I like. Once you start really checking out Open Source software and what it represents it's hard not to care about it.

I don't have the most overpowered PC. I just have a small little desktop (Minisforum UM700) and Linux runs a whole lot better on it. My work also was giving out some old laptops that they were retiring (still better devices than my laptop which was a Lenovo T420) but they came without an operating system. I've always enjoyed using Linux but never made the full change because I would need MS Office and switching from Excel to LibreOffice Calc was just annoying. Since I didn't need to do work on my personal PCs anymore, I made the switch and I love it. Games run better for me.

I currently use Linux Mint but I might switch to just plain Debian (or Linux Mint Debian Edition once they release LMDE6 which will be based off Debian Bookwork).

As of W10 I stopped trusting Windows. Having ads bundled into a >$200 OS shows me that being an OS is no longer the primary goal.

Previous to that I had been using Debian as a media server so the switch was pretty painless. I can play 90% of my Steam library on Linux, edit photos, edit videos, stream, browse, and do literally everything I used to do on Windows.

I haven't switched. Not fully. Gaming is still far better on Windows. Yeah I have a steam deck amd the games that are supported run amazingly.

Anyway, I switched because as a software dev, Linux is such a better development enviroment. Getting a working C/C++ compiler working on windows without using VS is a huge pain, but most linux distros come with GCC preinstalled. Need to do Java? Just a command away.Rust? Ruby? Python? Same deal.

I switched once in college just because I could. But then I switched back when Windows 7 was released.

Then I switched again at work because our product ran on Ubuntu server, and I hate PuTTY with a passion, and it was just easier to manage Linux from Linux. But I switched back again when we were acquired by a larger company that required us to use more productivity tools that didn't run well on Linux at the time and had to to "just work" (Skype for Business, Zoom, etc).

These days I spend most of the workday in WSL via Windows Terminal. At home I run a handful of Linux VMs atop an ESXi hypervisor installed on an old desktop. But when I'm not working, I generally just stay as far away from computers as possible.

Windows kept annoying me. Somewhat ironically, the last straw for me was right after I tried linux for the first time using a live usb. Upon trying to go back into windows, BitLocker locked me out for changing secure boot settings. I thought, no problem, I'll go online and get my recovery key. I go online to discover there's no bitlocker recovery key. After some investigation, I found out if your OneDrive is locked down (for me because I went over my storage limit, something that only happened because windows insists on uploading all of your personal files to onedrive) you can't get your recovery keys. I deleted the stuff but had to wait a full day before onedrive was unlocked and I got my recovery keys.

So, in summary, windows locked me out of my computer that I own because I tried another OS, then didn't give me the option to unlock my device because I used too much storage in the cloud service they made me use. No thanks, I'd rather have control over the device I paid for and I own rather than it being controlled by some massive corporation.

And I gotta say, when you actually learn how to interface with your device on a deeper level, having complete control over everything is super nice. Also, the unix-style command line makes way more sense and is far easier to learn than the windows command line IMO. While a lot of newer Linux distros don't need you to use the console, it is really nice to know how for more advanced usage.

Windows is a spying machine if you don't work hard to change the default settings

There was no special reason for switching 25 years ago. A friend of mine used Debian and I tried it out. Not being a gamer must have helped because if you like playing, chances to encounter a game that only runs on Windows are quite high.

Now the reason why I never changed back. Once the system runs, which may take some rime depending on how customized you want it, it always runs the same way. I never had a slowing down due to updates. Another reason may be not having to think about viruses or malware. Never had it and most likely never will. Antivirus? They may exist for Linux but I have never used them.

In a few words. It just works.

The amount of bloatware in windows 10 made me very uncomfortable (and the fact that they stopped supporting briefcases infuriated me) so I stayed on Windows 7 until Microsoft stopped supporting it in 2020. Tried out some distros like Mint, Pop OS, Puppy Linux. The one I liked the feel of most was Zorin OS.

The main thing that surprised me was how little I actually understood about what Microsoft has become. I did not know, for example, that you can use the Office apps online until this week. I also had been completely oblivious to Minecraft Java Edition being forked into a Linux Edition until I tried to install it. It honestly feels like waking up from a 5 year coma, where everything seems familiar but slightly different.

My main regret is that I can't tell people I'm terrible with computers now, since my family and friends know I use Linux. The upside of this is I've gained some confidence with tech since I can't just throw up my hands and go "oh no, i cant fix this, my tiny monkey brain could never comprehend the arcane arts"

We had to do a presentation in the first year of secondary school, and somehow I ended up with Linux as my topic. I found it immensely interesting after doing the (admittedly limited, but hey I was 16) research, and decided to try it out after I found out that I can have both Linux and windows at the same time.

Long story short, I loved the sheer choice of distros, working with the terminal (which is so much easier than GUI working for a lot of things), how looks can be insanely customized with so many desktop environments, how you can install all (okay, most) packages you need from the terminal, how the updates are all handled by the package manager, then I found out about free and open source software as a concept and so on and so on.

Now I have only linux on my laptop, and windows on a desktop for gaming. Once you get used to it, it's honestly very awkward to go back to windows.

Windows XP was the last Windows that I wanted to use. When it became totally obsolete, I upgraded to Linux Mint. I will never go back to Windows. I did not even start off using Windows. MS-DOS was my first operating system.

Windows xp was really bad, and a little thing called Ubuntu was gaining traction. So I guess just curiosity for what else was out there.

I switched when my old Windoz XP install deflated in a blue screen of death. I didn't even know there was a difference between an OS and the computer as a whole, but a friend gave me four live CDs with linux distros on them (Ubuntu 12.04, Bodhi, PClinus, can't remember the fourth).

What made me stay was the FOSS ideals that make software available to all. I was so broke at the time that I didn't have the money to buy a new $100 windows install. Without Linux I wouldn't have had a computer. Since then it's always been the ethos that has kept me with Linux. That being said, here are the unexpected benefits:

• Entire file system is stored as text files. Super easy to back up and administrate.
• Support communities (Arch wiki, ubuntu forums, etc...) are filled with highly educated members who have very often asked and answered the questions I had.
• The app repositories. It blew my mind when I found out I didn't have to hunt around on the web for an .exe file that might be coming from an insecure source. Linux apps (distro repos, flatpaks, snaps) are centrally available from your terminal just for your distribution.
• Lastly a more overarching meta-point, the software respects thr user. Windows and MacOS don't respect you and make it difficult to maintain freedom in the way that you use your computer and manage your files.

Windows is just constantly trying to distract you from work. It's slow, hogs resources, kills my battery.

After tinkering a lot I have found a workflow that works great for me on Linux and I couldn't have found that with windows.

To be honest though. To switch to Linux I'd say you'd have a reason. If you don't work a techy job and don't plan on doing so and don't have much interest in it, you'd just have an easier time with windows.

But let me tell you once you go into Linux with an open mind and willingness to learn, you'll love it.

Privacy concerns and a growing view of closed source software as malware.

Back in the days of Vista, I had been dual-booting and using Knoppix (Live CD) as needed for a while. My main daily use outside of games was all open source that was available on Windows and Linux, OpenOffice (would recommend LibreOffice now), Firefox, Thunderbird, etc.

Windows used to get dreadfully slow, unless you reinstalled. Or maybe I was fixing something. Reformatted the hard drive, set up the Linux partition (Ubuntu 6.06 IIRC), Synaptic, tick all my usuals, apply. Come back a little bit later, fully up to date, do some logins, Linux is fully usable. Even installed Battle for Wesnoth in case.

Boot over to Windows, update, reboot, update, reboot, install drivers, more reboots. More drivers, more installables, more updates, more reboots

It was bedtime, off finish off later, and I ended up using Ubuntu as my main for a week.

After that week, I found I only booted to Windows for games. Never looked back. That week is the week I flipped from 60%/40% Windows/Linux to 60%/40% Linux/Windows. Since then Linux only gets better, and I use Windows less and less.

If something is happening, you know it does and you might have made it happen yourself.

Also, you are in full control. Use your machine (here OS specifically) however you want, and make it yours, and not a company's (Micro$hit im talkin about you mfs).

You use what YOU want to use, and not what they want you to use (cough edge, just accept that you're dogsh... cough, please).

For me, I had a netbook in 2008 and Windows 7 starter was a paywalled and slow mess, and Ubuntu 8.10 ran like a dream AND ran Windows apps! And looked cooler and the terminal was pretty awesome to use.

It's still that way, Windows 11 runs like shit and only lets you customize so much and makes decisions on when you update and what services you can have running and numerous other minor complaints, meanwhile Linux is free, fast, works well and doesn't get in your way.

W10 came out and W7 security updates was done. Had to move to W10 for work and our engineering software got slower. Moved home (older) computers to W10 and they became useless bricks. Found SUSE/OpenSUSE supported my CAD software with their linux release. Swapped to that. Speed was back for work and home stuff. That was 2017 or so. I haven't gone back to Windows except for some shared excel reports. Teamviewer, Webex, zoom, MS teams all have linux versions for work collaboration.

I switched for two reasons. First, I don't like how Microsoft is trying to attach everything to an online microsoft account. I prefer local control of my OS. I know there is a workaround for this, but it isn't worth the effort.

Second, I am Cheap. My latest hardware is a decade out of date, and linux makes better use of the limited resources that I have.

I bought a laptop just as Windows Vista came out that could barely run it despite being labeled as "made for Vista". Once I installed Ubuntu on (Gutsy Gibbon) on it everything worked much more smoothly...even World of Warcraft through Wine, which was why I wanted a new laptop in the first place. I haven't played WoW for years, but I never wanted to go back to Windows.

I actually like Windows. Not because its a good OS (it isn't) but because my software works with it, and it works with my hardware.

Only problem Windows 11 has decided thaty hardware isn't compatible anymore thanks to no security chip and because it requires a mandatory account to use.

The security chip is me being stubborn, but the mandatory account is an issue because I know people who live off the grid, and not entirely by choice.

So I wanted to find an alternative and Valve is showing that Linux is good enough that they can ship thei Steam Deck to mass market, without Windows.

I've jumped 4 distros since starting this. POP_OS, Manjaro, EndeavorOS and Fedora. What I've learned is 3 things

1. Linux has become stable, no matter what OS I used the experience was the same software was the same. And most if not all of it just worked. Its not Windows with exe installs (unless you're using Wine/lutris) but its similar to android/iOS that I was able to get into it easily enough

2. which distro you want depends on the software you need and how up-to-date the packages need to be. Ubuntu (and any is based on it) has packages that are too out of date for me.

3. find a desktop environment that you like, since it really narrows down which distro you use. I like KDE plasma and if the distro doesn't game with it pre-installed or an installable option I won't use it.

The end result was some productivity software shuffling fusion to freecad, Vegas to resolve etc. But almost everything I needed was installed out of the box, or installable without extra packages. With flatpak and community repos filling in the blanks.

Currently on Fedora, and it's the closest distro to user friendly Linux I've used. Manjaro is a close second, but how the manage aur and their own packages caused me to destroy my install with no hope in recovery. Thankfully I was able to save my files.

I was having issues with windows, and hate the look of windows 11 so I decided If I was going to have to re-install and deal with a new OS's problems I might as well deal with linux issues and learn something new.

I duel booted, and two months later thought back and found I hadn't gone into windows since the install.

A year and a half later and I can say that the issues I've had on linux have been easier to fix than windows. Two separate problems I've had on both. Linux was easy and took about ten minutes, windows took a day, and a month each.

with windows I get esoteric error codes that mean something generic like "failed to update windows" when it stops at 3% for two hours and crashes. The solutions for it including two magic fix all commands (didn't fix it), restarting it 'correctly' (nope), and copying a regedit value from another computer (did work). This all coming from the end of a random windows 7 forum post. My computer was on windows 10.

On linux it told me my arch keyring corrupted. When I googled the error I got an explination and the arch-update-keyring command. This worked.

With a swap file (167gb for some reason on windows) I got a greyed out GUI and twelve re-starts, 4 to get the screen up, 8 to make it work. On linux, I copy pasted commands.

Apologies for the rant, jt's early, but this is why I switched and stayed. I also like customization, alot

Back in 2003 my sister needed a computer of her own to do schoolwork on. We couldn’t afford a new computer and the only other system we had in the house other then the laptop I had just bought was still running Windows 98 on a failing hard drive and the Windows install disk we had was borked.

I replaced the hard drive, started looking for options and found Ubuntu. And it made sense to me. Once I wrapped my head around the idea of the console, everything made sense in a way that Windows and DOS before that didn’t. And I had the freedom to modify anything I didn’t like, a freedom you don’t really have in Windows or Mac OS.

And it was fast! This ancient computer (AMD Athlon, 256 MB Ram, Ubuntu) was running circles around my new laptop (Pentium 4, 1 GB Ram, Windows XP).

I wound up switching my laptop from XP to Ubuntu and ran smack into why some people complain about linux being hard to use. Some of my brand new hardware just didn’t work in linux. WiFi, no go ever (proprietary firmware), audio, ditto. I liked Ubuntu well enough that I decided to work around the nonfunctional hardware with usb WiFi and a audio expansion card until the next update to Ubuntu when the built in audio just started working.

I switch to Kubuntu in 2020 because Microsoft discontinued Windows 7. Then I switch to Debian to learn more about how Linux work, and after that I moved to Siduction to get the up-to-date packages. I still rice KDE to look like Windows 7 to this day :P

Embarrassingly enough, wanted to install Ubuntu on an external drive. It was early, still in bed, accidentally erased the notebook's main drive. Thought I might as well give it a shot. That night, tried to go back to windows. Turns out that creating a bootable Windows bootable USB is nearly impossible from MacOS and Linux nowadays.. gave up after a few hours.

So, giving Linux a forced try. I'll probably make a Windows installation USB as soon as I can get someone to lend me their Windows computer. If it takes long enough, I may not though 😞

I was trying to get some work done, I don't even remember what it was, and literally every tool that did exactly what I wanted was only available on Linux. Every time I looked stuff up, people just said, "oh yeah, type this into you command line and it works!" And I finally decided fuck it, and wiped my work laptop and installed Ubuntu.

I switched because Windows XP reached end of life and I had no interest in Vista. I was also pretty familiar with Gnome 2 and XFCE, both of which provided a very similar desktop experience to XP but way more customizable.

I need tools that powerful and less memory hungry on old device, especially thinkpad, WSL2 with Windows kills the HW, so in the end I ends up using fedora... because it's near EL standard (I work with Red Hat Enterprise Linux), and it's useful to be near the workflow I need.

Linux KVM with Windows better than WSL2 on Windows.. so.. I use Linux in the end.. and never looks back..

I’ve been using Linux since I was 14 like over a decade ago. I was forced to by my moms crazy boyfriend and when I had the chance I immediately installed windows. Long story short I absolutely hated it and switch back to Linux within 6 months, haven’t looked back since.

Windows XP looked like such a downgrade from Windows 2000. Lacked stability. Wanted something more customizable. I liked the idea of community powered software so Linux was the solution.

Call me a filthy casual or whatever, but I use Windows, Linux and macOS equally. My preference is Linux but I don't limit myself by just pretending the other two options don't exist :)

About the reason for switching, it was something pretty small, actually:
Windows' UX getting increasingly worse for keyboard-centric usage (it slowly but surely got to my nerves e.e" ). Added with my HDD with Win10 dying after 6 years, being impulsive and loving to learn new things, I set to test new systems, in search for the ideal UX for my needs. Then, the Linux distros fitted like a glove, even more so with how customizable they could be, and they became my main systems (Mint currently). Still, ever since stopping using Windows as my main system family, I don't shy away from testing other systems. Even got the chance of testing Vista (surprisingly functional despite its infamy) and Macintosh 7 (I got very lucky in finding someone with such a computer).

And as mentioned before, a good part of Linux is being customizable. And surprisingly (from an outsider's perspective), you don't need to know coding most of the time! You just need to know how to do troubleshooting (which Linux programs more often than not facilitate by showing the error in detail). Also also, from an ADHD point of view, it is good for non-linear learning, since small things you learn in one activity can help immensely in other activities, potentially even helping with non-Linux systems.

But as a cautionary tale, not all things work on Linux, so it's always good to have a back up system or system installation ISO around. And given Linux's open nature, you either have companies working behind them, such as Canonical, Red Hat and Microsoft (this last one with their "Azure" server system), potentially deteriorating their systems for the sake of profit, or systems made from users to users, which then depend on the devs being interested in continuing development, so don't expect your favorite distro to be supported or viable forever, and be ready to make the jump to other distros if you need to.

The things I was using my computer to do were becoming increasingly technical - I work in science, and I'm also a massive nerd outside of that. Many of the programs I was using were on both Windows and Linux, but often I was unable to find troubleshooting help for the Windows versions. I knew enough of Linux that I could jiggle things around and make the Linux advice fit into my Windows situation, but it was awkward and added another layer of uncertainty to the stressful troubleshooting.

At a certain point, it felt like a case of "you can't find Windows specific advice because who in their right mind would actually be using Windows to do this stuff?"

Who indeed

(That last part is hyperbolic, but it sort of does feel like I was trying to hammer in a nail with a screwdriver sometimes. Combine that with Windows being annoying and stressful in the personal use context too and I wasn't having a good time. Things got very messy.

I really liked Windows XP & 7, it was good in the time I was tech illiterated, but I buyed a new laptop and I have to use 10. I didn't hate it. But then, 11 comes. And was crap That time I was becoming concerned with privacy and decided to switch straight to Arch. Best thing I did in a computer. And I was more convinced when I saw that Windows 12 desktop concept that Microsoft showed, basically crapier MacOS.

I am happy with Arch KDE. The only problems I had until today were caused by my unknowledge. I don't plan to ever return windows.