Why you still love using linux?

Linux is great for the open-source benefits, which encompass not only the freedom of the software but also that a lot of the open-source projects do not track and sell user data like closed-source projects have been known to do. The customizability of Linux is a second-tier factor, but still super imperative for users like you and I. I love to be able to use different shells, the package management solutions, the wide array of software to choose from, and the community support offered by the service. With Windows 10, so many trackers come on the system now, I would say privacy is a big win for Linux right now.

On the flip side, let's look at some of the cons for it. The customizations and large software ecosystem can be a downside. Sometimes and the user just wants to log in, install familiar software, and just use the pre-system. Now, Linux has become so much better about plug and play support. I remember my first install in 2003 left me with no wireless support on my laptop and trackpad not working. Compare that to the install of Ubuntu 20.04 I just did and I didn't have to do anything. All of the out-of-box drivers were just there. This can have a lingering effect on people, both from experience and from hear-say.

I find myself switching back and forth constantly for work reasons. Most of the software my company uses is exclusive to Windows. Sometimes, I just don't have the energy to boot back my PC from Windows to Linux at the end of the day. I can see both sides of the argument and at the end of the day everyone is going to find their own best use cases for everything.

Why Linux?

It 'just works'. I never have to install drivers. Even XBox controller support works out of the box.

Software installation/updates are streamlined. I can automate 95% of my setup. If something breaks, remove and install and it's fixed.

It's lightweight. I use ElementaryOS with very little customization. I have never run into a performance issue. Even running a ton of Electron apps.

Systems running Linux run forever. I have only ever thrown away my linux machines when they get too physically beat up to use.

Why not Windows?

Focus stealing. I absolutely hate being interrupted when applications steal focus. It completely breaks my flow state.

Updates and application management are a tire fire of broken usability. Not to mention viruses are a huge deal. In Linux, I wipe my system when I want to not b/c I have to.

Telemetry. For some reason Windows has gradually turned into a behavior tracking skinner box since 10 shipped. Hard pass, I block as much of that crap as possible.

I tried WSL, and WSL2. WSL2 is miles better and addresses most of the gripes I had with the first version. For certain workloads it's actually just fine. Docker based stuff with the new WSL2 backing, Node, Python, it's usually just fine.

But it's not quite there for some things. USB devices are still not properly supported. I work with some embedded stuff that just plain doesn't show up under the WSL2 VM. It still has a tendency to gobble up RAM and never release it without manually clearing the cache. Editor support is spotty. It also still feels just like developing in a VM, as filesystems are separate, as well as applications. Networking is a bit special and has some magic going on.

It's definitely not perfect. I'm gonna keep dual booting for the foreseeable future, I think. Windows for media (music/video production) and gaming, and Linux for development. Rebooting is not as painful as it used to with SSDs anyway.

It doesn’t interrupt me to randomly install updates. On a more honest note it just feels more snappy, is easy to setup my config on a new machine, and is fun to rice to your liking.

That's Mac OS, this post is talking about windows and linux

I have strongly opinionated preferences about using machines.

If I wanna play games - I play consoles, few of games I have interest or want to play are working on Linux just fine, never cared and never will be 'PC master race'

If I do it for work I work on Mac, I work on hybrid apps so I need to have XCode, been working on it last few years I just love to work on Mac.

Personally I use linux (been using several distros trough the years, currently on ubuntu but before was on mandrake back in the days, also tried arch and ElementaryOs for significant amount of time before)

there are lot of things I don't like while using windows, just remembering it makes me angry and sad at the same time.

• had to have RAM hog apps like antivirus and firewall
• had to manage start-up apps as almost everything you install is kinda there
• had to change global variables frequently because projects used different versions of .net and TS, which is PITA
• no privacy whatsoever
• forced updates messed with my settings and reset those on defaults every time, especially ones for automatic updates (what an irony)
• scheduled tasks appeared out of nowhere like a wild pokemon in the grass, I didn't scheduled a thing in my life but there were some scheduled tasks to send my usage data to MS at certain times every day, at that times CPU is on fire as it hits 100% in 3 seconds, after some struggle to breathe computer freezes for a while then restarts, tries to repeat that scheduled thingy when it is on again - very frustrating

same machine using linux, none of those issues there, works smooth, no lags and no shenanigans so that's why! =D

bear in mind that last time i used windows (it was win10) was somewhere in early 2016, on linux and Mac since then, never looked back, never will

I migrated from Windows to Linux, or i would say reverted back to Linux because of the fact i loved Linux, its open source repositories as well as himself as well as the security and Command Line (I love Command Line), The use of proper hardware resources and no need to just stare at the Microsoft Telemetry and Compatibility Service after a boot up, man it take ages for these services to process, However i use Windows just for work due to Visual Studio as the only good thing in Windows, However i am not here to criticize, windows not to mention most famous software run on windows like a charm, but still loved Linux.

As a desktop (or as a server) I think that far better OSes were designed (Solaris comes in mind) but unfortunately none of those can run on a modern hardware nor run modern apps.

So Linux is still good because its design is acceptable, there is a great community, and when a vendor decides to throw what you like out the window you can still use it as long as you'd like (look at MATE and Trinity for Gnome 2 / KDE 3.5 fans).

On other OSes you have no other choice than to get restricted release after release. By example, MacOS 10.15 makes network calls before starting processes rendering the system slow overall and unbreathable for developers. As for Windows, I have to use it regularly and there is so many bugs (especially hardware bugs) than anybody thinking that Linux has driver issues didn't compare Windows and Linux for a long time. Needless to also say that their UX choices are more and more dividing and you have no say in it.

Also I could go on and on about why I hate the Windows and OSX user interfaces or why the Mac keyboard is so dumb but that's a matter of taste and fingers flexibility.

So why I still use Linux? Because I know it's not going to fuck me in the butt when I don't expect it. In short

• Don't bet on software whose source you don't have — Libre software is essential for a long-term strategy
• Don't rely on capitalistic companies to make choices that are in your best interest
• If you don't go buy some hardware that Linux can't handle then everything is going to be smooth (you wouldn't install OSX on a PC would you? Same thing here)

For me, Linux is more enjoyable to use, and I really like how I can customize it to my taste. On the other hand, it still lacks some of the de-facto standard apps like Adobe CS and Microsoft Office. That makes difficult for me to use it at work. But. I really wish I could.

all my workflow is based on the gnome way of doing things and i really like that, windows doesn't come with gnome, or a decent package manager, nowdays most games run just fine on linux, and that's why i still using linux