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    #1

    Why do you use Linux?

    What is it that has drawn you to using Linux? For me, mainly it is that I generally feel safer/more secure. I don't like the idea of needing anti-virus software etc to keep my stuff safe. The fact that the system generally runs quicker than it does on Windows and doesn't appear to slow down a great deal over time (unlike Windows) is also very beneficial. Then there is the fact that it is free! Most software that you use on Linux can also be used on Windows too, but at least you don't need to pay for the OS. There are a couple of pieces of specialist software which means I need a Windows machine, but on the whole I just use Linux unless I need that software.

    So...over to you!
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    #2
    For me, it's about control. While on one hand, there are some hacks that I don't think should be necessary for an OS that is billed as stable, at least there is the potential of my being able to fix it, versus having to wait for someone to determine 1st if it's worth fixing and then 2nd actually implementing a fix that does it's job without causing an issue elsewhere (and then wondering if the vendor is going to fix that new issue).

    Also, to be honest, it's put the fun back into computing for me. I was a young kid during the DOS 3-3.1 days when I started using the computer. Other then a few lapses into the Apple world, I've mainly been on Windows. Didn't know about Linux until 2010 and didn't start using it full time as my daily driver until 2015 (between Win 10 and Adobe going CC is what led me to the switch). For a couple of yrs I had to VM Win 7 due to one very niche software that didn't have a Linux equivalent of any worth until recently. Thankfully, that has really gone away.

    As far as cost, I think that's a double edged sword. Yea, it's nice low to 0 cost, but someone is always there paying for something. Nothing is truly free. I value more the freedom part of it then the free price tag part of it.
    Lenovo Thinkstation: Xeon E5 CPU 32GB ECC Ram KDE Neon
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      #3
      Simplicity, control, freedom, and more relaxing to use (than MS products).
      An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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        #4
        My journey into Linux started simply because I wanted to try it. Back then, it was trying to get Debian installed in a dual-boot scenario on a Windows XP laptop. I never was able to get it to work 'fully', and gave up. That was, I think, just a couple of years before I came across Kubuntu, and the rest, as they say, is history.

        I use Linux because it's an alternative to Windows (yes, to all other commercial 'pay for' OS's) that has a huge community support base. While it is 'free to me', as are so many of the applications that run on it, I often contribute financially to developers for apps they've developed and maintain that I'm using and find beneficial.
        Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007
        "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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          #5
          Well, I started using Linux in '95. That makes... 24 years, how time flies.
          I had a MajorBBS/Worldgroup based service in Mallorca. It ran on DOS. Pretty soon, DOS wouldn't cut it, I had to learn some sort of Unix.
          Slackware Linux. I liked it immediately. No GUI, just CLI. Used it for years, but only on servers and dedicated machines, not as a client.

          I tried Red Hat and Mandrake back then, but they didn't suit my needs. So I kept using Windows for a lot of things.
          Then in the mid-noughties - say 2006 - for some reason I tried Ubuntu.
          Really liked it, haven't really used any Windows since.

          Then Unity came out, I went Aaargh, got lucky, tried Kubuntu as a first alternative, thought, this is just the thing for me, I've tried many other distros since, and... I use Neon :·)
          Which is the same thing except for minor details.

          So, basically I use Linux because:
          - I can, and
          - Any alternative I know of just isn't up to it. By far. In power, simplicity, plain usability, and customise-ability.

          And I use Kubuntu/Neon in particular for... much the same reasons :·)
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            #6
            I started using Linux because about a decade ago I used Ubuntu on a computer in a hostel in Africa and was amazed that it wasn't just some black terminal screen with a blinking cursor like I thought it was. I had an aging laptop with Windows XP on it that took about 15 minutes to boot. After a few days of struggling with graphics driver issues, I got Lubuntu running on it and got back a normal boot time. I messed around with it for a while and eventually put Crunchbang on it. I built a new computer and put Kubuntu on it. I got bored with just playing around with the OS so started getting into bash scripting so I could write utility scripts to take care of things that Kubuntu used to suck at (like managing different audio channels and multiple monitors). I got bored with that too and so started learning some different languages like C, Python and PHP. I really got into that and eventually changed careers to be a web developer.

            Now I use Linux daily at work. I am much more comfortable on a Linux machine than on any other OS. I have thought about moving to a mac but...nah.
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              #7
              Years ago I wanted it to try because it was open source. Didn't work out: too difficult. About ten years ago I tried again, and since that time it's my main system.
              So mainly because it's open source.
              But the second reason: after years of therapy I stopped being a masochist. For working I use a desktop with Linux. Since I use Windows 7, 8 and 10 and OS X for testing, I can compare them. Linux is by far the most easy to maintain system. OS X is reasonable, but Windows is really some kind of torture compared with Linux.
              And when something goes wrong in Linux, I can solve it myself (most of the time), since nothing is hidden.
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                #8
                About 12 or so years ago I bought one of those computing magazines with a CD--it had Ubuntu on it. I burned it to a CD and tried it out. Iliked it, so somehow i got the courage to dual boot it onto my HD and used it for awhile. I then tried Kubuntu, and liked that even better, and have stuck with it it all these years. I like being able to customize it, I like the ease of use, I like the forum which has helped me fix any problem which has come up. I also like not having to mess with antivirus programs or buying expensive software. It's faster than Windows and much easier to upgrade/update. Now that I'm retired I no longer use Windows and I'm happy with Kubuntu, Neon, and other Linux distros I've tried out in QEMU.
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                  #9
                  You burned the CD to a CD?
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                    #10
                    Oops--what was I thinking?
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                      #11
                      Choice: how it looks, what it does, flexibility, stability, ease of alteration, straight up ease of installation (at least in the past 10 -15 years), constant improvement, there's probably more but it's late. Oh yeah, and price! From Slackware snobbishness, to Red Hat friendliness, to a dozen Linux and BSD distros, and the smooth that is Kubuntu.
                      The next brick house on the left
                      Intel i7 11th Gen | 16GB | 1TB | KDE Plasma 5.27.11​| Kubuntu 24.04 | 6.8.0-31-generic
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                        #12
                        Some interesting comments, largely what I expected though
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                          #13
                          Do these comments align with why you started using Linux?

                          There is no "right" answer
                          The next brick house on the left
                          Intel i7 11th Gen | 16GB | 1TB | KDE Plasma 5.27.11​| Kubuntu 24.04 | 6.8.0-31-generic
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                            #14
                            I've got Windows 10 to thank.

                            After making the decision to work remotely full-time I bought a Lenovo Desktop with Windows 10 installed. The problems started from day 1 of my brand new computer: would restart every time I turned it off, would shut down randomly in the middle of typing documents and conference calls. The first problem I solved after a few hours, the second I was never able to resolve.

                            I'd tried Ubuntu years back back couldn't get on with it but remembered that a friend used Linux and asked her advice. She recommended Ubuntu Mate so I dual-booted and after about a week found that I never needed Windows again so made the switch full-time.

                            With time I found Mate's bugs too many and too annoying so switched to Mint Cinnamon and then to Mint Xfce. I'm in the process of switching everything to KDE.
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                              #15
                              Linux was far easier than warez-ing back in 2000.
                              That and BeOS died
                              A Mandrake 7 disk in an issue of Maximum PC made it even easier and quick, especially on 56k....


                              I do miss BeOS a bit sometimes, and every now and then check out the latest Haiku OS for a trip down memory lane
                              https://www.haiku-os.org
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