Why do you use Linux?

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Opensource.com

There are many reasons why people switch to Linux: cost, stability, security, flexibility, and of course, the value that comes from being open source. Which of these reasons first led you to Linux?

Regardless of what caused you to first make the switch, it's exciting to be a part of a community that supports so many different needs with a single ecosystem of overlapping project. The Linux community gives you choice, through a variety of distributions, to find an operating system that finely matches your individual needs.

So what brought you to the community? Let us know in the comments below, and consider sharing your story with us as a part of our My Linux Story series.

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1609 votes tallied
I like to tinker and understand my system.
19% (305 votes)
Open source and software freedom matter a lot to me.
29% (468 votes)
It runs great on low cost and older hardware.
7% (112 votes)
I can do things in Linux I can't on other systems.
21% (337 votes)
Security and stability are very important to me.
14% (231 votes)
The price is right.
3% (45 votes)
Other (tell us in the comments)
4% (59 votes)
I haven't yet seen the light. (Still using a different operating system.)
3% (52 votes)

Results

Comments

37 Comments

Yes I do like to tinker and understand my system, open source and software freedom matter a lot to me, I can do things in Linux I can't on other systems, security and stability are very important to me and the price is right. However the main reason is one of familiarity. I worked on Unix systems, mostly AIX, for 20 years and I didn't get a home computer until 2002. Heck I was even beaten by my Dad, who got one in 2000. When I finally took the plunge, the choice was obvious, an o/s that looked and felt like Unix.

So here we are in 2016 and my home box is still running in it's original case (it's on the third set of works) and the sixth incarnation of Linux. At work, I have to use a Windows PC and it never fails to amaze me how primitive the interface is. Where are the multiple desktops? Why can't I highlight some text, move the mouse and click and it is automatically copied in, without the need for the messy ctrl/c, ctrl v? What is this single item in the clipboard nonsense? Why can't I have a window always on top? Why can't I have multiple login sessions? Why can't I hightlight something that looks like a url anywhere and have the web browser automatically open it? The choice is clear - Linux or Unix.

I selected other, simply because there is no option "All of the above". I *exclusively* use Linux at home, because it is open source, because the price is right, because it gives me a choice, because it still runs on hardware that Windows would simply refuse, because the security is better on it, more seamless, and because I like to play with the inside of my system. Linux is the future, as far as I know, and Android, ChromeOS and other Linux systems are the ones powering most of the devices today.

You beat me to it. I want to say "All of the Above, .. except the last one."

[1] I like having an idea of how my system is working.
[2] I like how it is not beholden to a company whose purpose is to make money (and not for me).
[3] It works in some form on all of the toss-away computers I have received.
[4] I am able to run anything without having to do a "trial run" or pay money to purchase.
[5] I find Linux more stable and accessible than anything else.

[6] One thing that is missing, though, is "I love the community." :)

I use LiNUX because it is empowering. The stability doesn't stand out like it used to, because Win7 is very stable nowadays, as is the WindowsServer in the server room. However I can break LiNUX down into very small, flexible pieces, optimize the heck out of it, run it on very minimal or extremely powerful hardware, etc. I can script/automate the heck out of it using free, open tools. I use LiNUX because it's powerfully simple & simply powerful.

Bande de communiste. Linux parce que vive l'open source !

Security and stability are important but so to are usability and I can do a number of things on Linux that I can't do on other systems easily.

I like stability and free software. I switched because I wanted to have better performance in gaming (I was about 14-15), Minecraft worked much better :D Now I use it for coding and surfing the Internet :)

I just love Linux. (I cannot possibly imagine "loving" any of the alternatives). I love the variety of distros, the variety of desktops. I love fiddling with them, and the BIG plus is that it's FREE. I take my hat off to all those girls and guys that make all that is Linux possible.

First, I've chosen it for cost / patent issues, and because I've been impressed with the Ubuntu philosophy, the first distro that I've discovered. I've embraced the community, which adopted me in return. Then, it appeared to me that I was free to choose every single bit of bits running on my desktop. And I can share . Eventually, knowledge. The greatest gift I think, freedom to learn and teach. Ten years later, all the computers in my home are running Linux (including ChromeOs for one, and several android phones).

Security, stability and freedom. Freedom mainly to begin with.

when i had windows, poeple in my neiborhoud said that i don t understand . i began reading a book(linux mag) and i tried linux mandrake8 and ubuntu. year after year many poeple phone me telling me how works linux and if i can help then staying with windows, to get that new system which name is linus. now i go to my club alpinux in chambery to help to the install party. i m turning betterand better each year whith ubuntu .

All the above!

I agree: "All the above" would be the correct choice.
A Linux addicted from 1994.

Freedom and lack of 'headaches'

Other: unix was there first! I had been using unix at work and at home for years before Microsoft Windows and the Macintosh were introduced. "Windoze" and the Mac were overpriced and lame by comparison, so I never started using them. When Linux became usable for end-users in about 1992, it was already better than the SCO I was using at home, and BSD was still hard to get because of the lawsuits, so I upgraded to Linux. The quality and support remain superior to this day.

Other: Trustworthiness. I can not trust Windows or Mac OS. They embed malware and spyware to make a buck. They sell user information to advertisers. I can't do my banking and my taxes on a system with that kind of intentional vulnerability.

Why is there no 'it's faster' option? My hardware isn't nessasarily old or dirt cheap (it's a regular $600 laptop I added an SSD to bought just a few months ago) but Linux still boots, shuts down, opens applications and just generally runs better than Windows.

Like previous commentators "Other" as I think all of the above are relevnt to me.

I said other too because all of those things matter. I started using Linux because I just got sick of the windows slowdowns, viruses, choppy playback of music and videos, broken disk burns... just a whole waft of issues. After moving to Linux, it is now about the power I feel. Freedom I feel.

I use Linux because of the beauty, ease of use and superiority of the Gnome 3 Desktop.

As a Odoo developer all, my tools are on linux. I can do things on linux which i cannot do on other systems. The terminal has so many programs already developed for your needs. It is just cool. As for security, i don't have an antivirus on it. and it is working cool

I wanted to have all my software legally.

Not really any of the choices list here are the reason for me I got tired of the Windows BS a crash after every update hours of install time. The need to reinstall regularly. Tired of fighting the viruses. When my legal copy of XP became invalid and would no longer accept my registration number after a extremely frustration reinstall. And being told that I had to upgrade, I quit using windows, I eventually got windows 7 but by the time I did it was to late I had learned the superiority of Linux. I don’t dual boot normally if I want to use windows for a game (very rare I can get most game to work on Linux) I can hit the F12 key and boot to the Windows drive.

I use Linux due to security concerns with Windows.

I don't like Windows

I enjoy Linux/Solaris/BSD/Unix

While I stay for the open source. I was originally attracted to it for technical reasons. As many "competent" Windows users know who actually know what they're doing, you can enhance the functionality of Windows simply by replacing a lot of the included Microsoft software with third-party software, which made me wonder what would happen if I replaced the whole thing, and Linux was the best candidate I found. The functionality and design Linux offered made me want to stick with it, and this was before I even knew what open source was.

All of these are crucial reasons for my use of Linux:

- I like to tinker and understand my system.
- Open source and software freedom matter a lot to me.
- I can do things in Linux I can't on other systems.
- Security and stability are very important to me.

Can't easily pick one over the others.

After windows 10 came out, I needed to find an alternative fir this user controlling, home phoning, disorganized piece of software. I had been running linux for a while and as an IT student, it has been something I have been playing with for a while. I had actually used it for a semester of school and was able to do all my work with it (with some help from windows 7. I would consider myself an intermediate user of linux. The only thing is that i just wish it had the same compatibility windows has. I am always hitting some sort of hard to fix issue like power, gpu, or wireless. This time its pcie errors on this skylake system. I love linux, but unless you buy hardware for it, you can say goodbye to productivity.

It's really "All of the above" (as long as this comes right before "Other").

Like many here, I feel more inclined to say "all of the above". However, a close second to "FLOSS software is important to me" (and arguably a subset of it) is that I can do things in Linux that I can't do on other systems. I've got wonderful little scripts and custom elements all over the place that I miss dearly when I have to use other systems for stuff.

Not to mention, I still aspire to one day make a meaningful contribution to my OS!

Basically I use Linux if I have to.

Most of Linux strengths come from its UNIX-like nature but the clear differentiator is hardware support compared to BSDs and illumos since Linux has been supported by major companies in the past 15 years and is now very (too?) dominant.

If hardware support was better on BSD and illumos I would certainly not use Linux because I prefer how these systems are designed in a integrated manner as opposed to the loose coupling/bazaar style. Innovation seems sometimes too fuzzy on the Linux side and consistency suffers from it.

At the end of the day using an opensource system with a UNIX philosophy is what matters to me.

All of the above.

All points above the "other" button.

All of the above. :)

All of the above.

My dad started to learn me computers around -97 and I think it was 2001 I saw Linux in action for the first time. I told him, dad I want to learn Linux.and he said nah it's to hard. So I took it lika he challenged me.

The an i was stuck for good in the world of Linux and open source

Started to touch Linux/ open source software since 1998. Collect several reason of why I love Linux
- Free software
- Easy integration and learning curve
- Great community initiative and support
- Universal and ubiquitous