Me, coder, student, cant afford mid range PCs, interested in learning computers, gamer, not professional. What about you guys?
It’s free, it doesn’t track everything you do, it doesn’t restrict your options in terms of how you use it, it runs well on underpowered machines.
Every alternative is worse.
Grew up with programming, Windows, and Visual Studio. That was fine, back then. After Microsoft released Windows 8 I knew this was so stupid and would only get stupider, that I said my next computer will have Linux. Never looked back. It’s not as good as Windows 7 unless you have really specific needs. It’s miles better than Windows 11.
Was building a PC years ago, while in college, and forgot to get a Windows license (eventually got one through my university). After finishing the build I was so hyped to use it I just installed Linux (had played around in it in a VM in the past, so I knew my way around).
Got used to using Linux as my main OS after that, and stuck with it. Paying for a $100 OS is silly when the free alternative is just as good (though, I admit I do still use Windows for work).
Note: I used to game in Windows as well, I don’t do that anymore. Thanks, Steam!
Better privileges over my own hardware and the software I install on it. Less interruptions, annoyances and adware.
I can continue using the hardware I already own, and it still runs well. And now I have a reason to learn how to make it work even better, so that’s fun
Microsoft is clearly not making decisions to benefit the customer. The best they can do is accidentally benefiting customers every once in a while. It’s simply not good enough, since Linux is literally made by customers with the express purpose to be the best for us. 😊
I’ve never liked Microsoft but grew up using it and naturally when I came into adulthood I stuck with what I was familiar with. Then my longtime girlfriend got me into Mac which for me was definitely a step up because it didn’t have a lot of the annoying bullshit bloat that MS has but as time went on and I started to care more about digital privacy I realized that Linux had been here this whole time and dipped my toes in while also using MacOS and then once I was familiar enough with Linux that I felt confident I could do anything that I would need to do on my Mac on Linux I made the switch completely
It’s open source and not owned by an evil corporation. It doesn’t have ads. It doesn’t mine my data and sell it to the highest bidder. It doesn’t have AI shoved in every nook and cranny. It’s much lighter to run. I can easily run it on a 10 year old laptop.
I think I can handle the ads part, but the ‘lighter’ part, thats a good one.
Serious question: Why can you handle the ads? I’m serious. Why do you accept that something you have purchased, something you own, should be pushing ads at you? Broadcast services makes some sense, they have to make money somewhere. But something you bought? Why?
not op but people generally get desensitized to ads because they are everywhere.
corporations then sneak it in for an extra buck because they can.
Not just about delivering ads but also to track your browsing history across different sites and devices. This is why their installing flock camera alprs to capture your device signal and correlate it with things like Bluetooth headphones, smart watch, even your tire pressure monitoring system. Basically anything with RF signals.
Its called ELSAG Signal Trace and their everywhere now for use by law enforcement.
Ads are bloat aswell.
It’s not light if it has ads.
- I have the radical idea that when I own something, I should actually own it.
- I’m a software engineer, both professionally and hobby. Developing on a non Unix platform is bullshit
- HaikuOS is 20 years too late
- What is the alternative? Windows is user hostile ad infested crap, MacOS is a prettier flavor of user hostile ad infested crap. The BSDs have their place, but a daily desktop or laptop isn’t really it.
- Copyleft FOSS or GTFO
- I don’t do a massive amount of customization, but the things I do I want to have. I know that will be the case with Linux. Who the fuck knows with closed source software
- When I find a bug, missing feature, or something just isn’t right I can fix it, file a bug, or just talk to the actual human beings who wrote it. Good luck with any of that in non-FOSS unless you are spending $$$ on a corporate account.
A complete and total lack of bullshit.
If something is wrong, there’s a concrete reason, no matter how deep the cause and you can always dig far down enough to catch and deal with it.
this had been an unexpected benefit to me when I first jumped ship from Windows. Linux may be daunting to troubleshoot as a newbie, but as you learn to navigate the system’s ins and outs, it really becomes apparent how user friendlier the deeper than surface level troubleshooting is compared to Windows. you still have to build that knowledge though, no way around it.
Originally because fuck windows 10
Since then it’s the sheer joy of it all. It’s just fucking cool that a bunch of people just get together and make something that benefits everyone, with dozens of forks that allow for freedom of choice.
I want to use open-source software, developed from people for people. I don’t want corporates to exploit my data and take away my freedom.
powershell sucks. RegEdit sucks. Start menu sucks. Can’t use Niri. Slow. Can’t use it while updating. Inverted backslashes for paths are horrible. The only useful feature is WSL, and if you get rid of all other bullshits, you get Linux.
Windows decided my perfectly functional PC couldn’t run 11, and Linux Mint has no issues running. I’m not getting rid of a perfectly good computer just because Microsoft wants me to. My husband has to use Windows for work and it seems like a huge pain in the ass. I’m not into fiddling with computers, and Linux is at the point now where it feels no more complicated than Windows (and often significantly less complicated).
