Why did you use Linux(in general) and Ubuntu(in particular)?

[kenweill]

I know you guys have reasons why you like using Linux(in general) and Ubuntu(in particular).

Me?
I use Linux because its free. I choose Ubuntu(in particular) because help is available right away when you're connected to the internet. I have tried using different distributions but in time of problems, nobody seems to help. I've tried posting help in forums but nobody replied. Or take some time before I got a replied.

Well, here in Ubuntu forum, I receive a lot of replies. Very informative. And I've learned a lot in this forum. Every minute, theres a lot of Posts. Questions, Answers, Solutions, and Suggestions. Even HOWTO's.

Thats my reason why I stick to Ubuntu.

How about you guys?
Why do you choose to use Linux instead of Windows, or Mac, or anything else?

And why Ubuntu?

[xequence]

Well, I am about to install FreeBSD in a couple of days, so its close enough ;)

Because it doesent get slower and slower over time, like windows does.
Something different. Not like Macs, who are sort of manufacturered corporate different. BSD/Linux is really different and cool :P
Securtiy and stability. I want to leave my computer doing something unattended for hours or days and have it not crash or freeze.

[majikstreet]

Why linux? I have no idea.
Why ubuntu? I dunno... At first I thought it was only a n00b distro and forgot about it... But then for some reason I tried it.. and it rocks.

[Luffield]

Linux - because I'm getting tired of taking care of my Windows installation (viruses and so on), because I wanted to try something different, and because I LOVE firefox and it showed me that open source software can be amazingly good in some cases.

Ubuntu - I came because of the philosophy and stayed because of the community.

[infoburner]

Linux because my computer should work for me, not the other way around

Ubuntu because its easy, because it works on the first try, and because apt-get is way better than yum.

[23meg]

Linux, because of the ideals behind it, and its open source, community driven, free nature, POSIX compilance, plus a few killer Linux apps that will never see a Windows port.

Ubuntu, because of the fact that it manages to

1) Stick to the ideals of Free Software like Debian does
2) Be cutting edge, push development forward
3) Be reasonably stable, fast and usable
4) Gather around it a great FOSS community

[Zotova]

I chose Linux basically because I wanted a change from Windows and liked the idea of an OS which doesn't have any viruses, spyware and all the other things you have to defend from in Windows daily.

I choose Ubuntu, well I didn't choose it really, I worked my way through the distros. As a Windows user I had heard about suse and was aware that they were one of the big players when it came to Linux. Tried suse... mouse and wireless didn't work. That really didn't impress me as the mouse to me seemed a very basic item and if that didn't work then I didn't want to know what else wouldn't! Tried mandriva, screwed up graphics and I got fed up the whole idea you were an outsider and had to open your wallet to get inside some club.

I then went off the idea of Linux for a while as these were the main distros I knew of and I'd had problems with each one. Ubuntu at the time seemed a bit tacky and young - however a month or so later I did try it due to it being only one disc (downloading three is really annoying). Everything worked except wireless, however I eventually figured out how to compile ndiswrapper and eventually got a Linux compatible card.

About two months later I formatted the XP partition and installed Ubuntu as my main OS.

[Rackerz]

Why Linux? Windows is over-rated :p. But seriously, XP after a month will become slow after you install applications. You have to do so much to keep viruses and spyware out and when they do get in they wont get out! Linux is not like this, it wont slow down and it wont be affected by spyware or viruses. Linux is also open source and driven by the community.

Ubuntu? Im not really sure it needs an explanation. It's fast stable and does what you want it to do. Ubuntu has one of the best community's I've seen in a very long while. I can do what i want! No restrictions and no re-installing. Ubuntu means to me as well it's original meaning, but also as 'Something that, just works'.

[Colonel Panik]

New on the forum (just been lurking for a year)

Your answers are perfect!
I am an old Hippie, to old for Linux and not a geek, not even close to geekhood.
Linux is people driven, community centric and OPEN. Good enough for me.
Ubuntu is everything you have said, I have Breezy on the desktop and Dapper on the L'top.
Windows free for over a year (not bad for and 0ldg3yser, eh?)

Thanks for all the help, maybe someday I can answer a question!

[gabhla]

Why Linux? Heck, I don't know. I guess I was curious, at least that's how it started.

Why Ubuntu? Initially it was because of very favorable reviews, so I tested the waters. But I stayed because it simply worked, and the Ubuntu community is great. And, I've never looked back. It still simply works. No slow downs, no virus, I can customize till the cows come home - it's just been great. And this is coming from a non-geek who really didn't know all that much about Windows, much less Linux.

[nrune]

it all started with my hard disk crash on my laptop and losing my winxp cd's. Hunted for days...still have not found the darn cd. Any way after contacting Toshiba and them saying buy a new copy of XP, I ran and tried fedora 3 and 4. It was okay, not great, not fantastic but okay. heard lots of folks talking abiut ubuntu and decided to give it a go. GREAT distro, magically easy set up compaired to Fedora. Man oh man was it ever easy! Found automatrix and Java install was never easier! Over all very much stable simple and enjoyable system. Thanks for the great distro and getting me away from Bill permantly.

Mike

[ember]

Well - I like the ideals of free and open software, it basically was the reason that kept me pursuing my computer science studies.
Yet, I do also use Linux respectively especially Ubuntu, because it is the most efficient system for me to develop applications and websites.

And ... it's fun tweaking around ;)

[tameritoke]

Because with Linux I have more freedom as on commercial operating systems! THIS IS FACT!

1) On Linux or Freebsd you easily can get (with some efforet) everythings to run too, for what you have to pay for Windows money!

The programming platform Linux, is wonderfull itself!
Specially in webdevelopment. I can emitate a real webserver with all it's capabilities on Linux much more easier as on Windows. For example running apache with Openssl. Specially because I am programming the last time with PHP a lot, I can expand it's functionality with further extensions what I am not able on Windows that easily (or very difficult)

The only thing I hate that I can't get my DVB card run that easily as on Windows. But, it is only a matter of time then i got it out!

2) Linux will be always free and stays free. No commerce, and no licence changes in future. The community for support and help is quiet huge.

The sad thing is that for Linux not many commercial applications do exist (like dreamweaver and co.)

Why I choosed ubuntu (better sayd kubuntu)... I wanted to try a Linux distribution which I want to set up for my syster. That she comes in flavour too.

I am coming from the gentoo world. Gentoo Linux and ubuntu are beautifull. If you are a leightweight linux user who loves to get everything to run quickly without lot's of effort take kubuntu

If you are from the hardcore level and love to have fun up to the end, take gentoo (my advise). The other thing at gentoo is, that it doesn't keep strict with the FHS (Linux File hirarchie Standards) like novell suse, redhat fedora and debian where I failed get an oracle 10g database managment system to run. (But perhaps I am not that very smart, I tried it many times).

(My opinion)

Tamer

[sarastro_us]

I started using Linux when my old Win98 install died back in 2001 and I refused to buy a new machine just to run XP. I started with Red Hat, then moved to SuSE, and finally settled on Debian, but I couldnt get it working with my new laptop. Ubuntu detected my wireless card nicely, though.

[aysiu]

2) Linux will be always free and stays free. No commerce, and no licence changes in future. The community for support and help is quiet huge. Ubuntu will always be free and stay free. Plenty of Linux distributions are commerce-oriented--RHEL, Linspire, Xandros, etc.

[poofyhairguy]

I do it for the fun of it.

Fun you say? But Ubuntu is boring!

Not when you play with all the fun worthless programs like Skippy-xd its not!

[Iandefor]

I use Linux because I have a strong dislike of Microsoft's products and business model, dislike Apple's OS X (and can't pay their premiums for their hardware anyway), find that F/OSS is more closely aligned with my beliefs, and, above all, Linux is immensely fun! I like the ideas behind Ubuntu and the I really love the community here. But none of those reasons are the reasons I actually switched over; I had an old computer lying about that needed an OS and I didn't have a copy of Windows handy, and didn't want to pay for an OS; so I gave Ubuntu a shot. I know, so noble of me :).

[Knomefan]

Linux: This is what happens to you if you have geek friends. :D
I just started to play around with it to try it out and before I knew it, I was really enjoying myself and felt at home. As distrowatch puts it, it really put the fun back in my computing.

Ubuntu: I was kind of tired of the distribution I ran and then caught an article on OSnews announcing that there was going to be a new distribution based on Debian, with a 6 month release cycle that would have the latest version of Gnome (I was and still am also using KDE, but wanted to try the latest Gnome and I never really had played around with Debian before, so this seemed perfect and there was talk that KDE would be available and that great things will come about KDE in the future)

Now, after using it some time, it's just a perfect mix for me. It's easy to use and set up, yet under the hood very powerful (after all, it's really a debian under the hood) and let's me easily tinker to my heart's content if I want to.

[briancurtin]

i choose to run linux because of the power and the ability to just work. i am a CS student and consider myself a pretty knowledgeable windows person, and was just fed up with it. i ran into a bunch of problems on my laptop that basically led to a complete loss of data, but magically 4 days later it worked and i managed to back everything up. i decided that it was time to get out of XP. i had been wanting to try some form of linux for a while and now that i got those backups created, the computer actually died. i thought the hard drive died, but it didnt, it just didnt function at all in XP. it was the weirdest problem, and it had me thinking id have to replace the HDD but i didnt have to. since i had no experience downloading an ISO and making a bootable CD, i went out and bought SuSE 9.3 from MicroCenter. Popped the DVD in and let it rip, and about an hour later i was up and running in KDE. i was amazed, and i loved it. i was very happy that it just worked. i didnt have to set anything up, it all just worked.

then i ran into some trouble after a while with my laptop overheating due to some ACPI troubles in SuSE that were not going to be patched in 9.3, so i had to make the switch to 10.0 because they were supposedly fixed. they were not, and my laptop continued to want to fry itself while running just gaim and firefox. i decided it was time to try another one, and i had the Fedora Core 4 discs around so i gave it a shot, but it ran pretty crappy on my laptop although i know its a quality distro.

which brings me to ubuntu. i had a liveCD i downloaded right when breezy came out and i tried it out for a day and liked it, but didnt see the need to switch from SuSE at the time since i liked it a lot and wasnt sure about this whole GNOME deal at the time. those overheating problems got to be too much and Fedora didnt work, so it was time to get ubuntu a shot. it installed perfectly, and the sound worked right away. i never got sound to work in Fedora after about 3-4 days of tinkering (right before final exams, so i didnt put much time into it), and it just immediately worked in ubuntu. ive had a good experience so far in my ~2 weeks of experience and hopefully everything goes well from here on out. im looking to give CentOS a shot in addition to ubuntu, just because ive wanted to try it, but we will see how that goes.

[Xlylith]

>Why Linux?
Because Linux is free as in free speech

>Why Ubuntu?
Because Ubuntu is free as in free beer :p

I've tried Linux since Red Hat 5 but never been able to use it for my everyday need and didn't bother to RTFM.
When I dual-booted my Win2K with Warty a year ago, I suddenly found a linux distribution working the way I wanted it to. No hassle, just works (TM) :D
I started learning it further and when Breezy released, I reformatted my HD and never install windows into my PCs anymore. I've tried several distros after ubuntu, but never really like it, so I kept Ubuntu in my primary workstation, and Xubuntu/Puppy/DSL in my laptop. I just wish that I could have lighter ubuntu-derived distro to power my one and only ancient-laptop :(
(~533 MHz cpu and 128MB RAM)

[tofudrifter]

Linux because i got sick of windows, realized that i don't really play games on the computer and i wanted to learn how to use a REAL opperating system.

Ubuntu cause i tried a few other distros and ubuntu is much nicer that the others (that i've tried) although i do have gentoo installed on my other pc, i find it much more hands on, and thats cool cause i wanna learn. Also ubuntu forums kick ****.

[HeartBT]

Anything to get away from windows, I was even considering (acK!) mac during my last fed up with windows stage. I was tired of paying for something that did'nt work, so they would send me a patch that did'nt work, that would be patched with a patch that did'nt work, untill all the patches slowed the thing down so much you did'nt want it to work. I actualy had hopes that xp would be their coming of age, so I tried it, oh, my. I only keep a copy now for those demented professors that have to hand you some program for a class that is so cheap, and unstable that I have to use xp for it.

Why ubuntu... I was aiming for debian and tripped? Actually I've been using SuSE for the last 3-4 years, and have been happy with it. Until 10.0. It's a great os, and better, than 9.3 (though not by alot), but the tragedy is, when it shifted to OpenSuSE, the community died, or something. I could'nt get anyone to answer constructively three minor problems. I ended up fixing two myself, but the third had me shopping. Dl'd ubuntu, burned it, booted it, and was staring at a gnome desktop in about an hour. AND EVERYTHING WORKED!! Sold. I've not had a hibernate in a year, and ubuntu did it stock install. I've used gedit once in the last 3weeks, to update the sources list. And that is fine with me.

[cblanquer]

GNU/Linux follows one of the new world trends of non-corporative collaboration and general benefit.
Linux structure reminds me Minix (that I studied with) & Unix ( tha tI worked with) and the modular approach is such a different philosophy than the Redmond blackbox.
Also our computers expand through the packaging load-unload to be a part of a wider concept ; we dialogue within forums and get alternative solutions to problems; the OS is evolutive and does no tdepend on pure commercial issues.

(K)ubuntu seems to integrate well in those principles and the balance between freedom to customize & usability seems pretty well balanced.
Othe redistributions seem to rely on commerical interest (Mandriva membership is simply too expensive to be competitive) or tehnical skills of final users (even passionate we need nights to sleep afte rthe daily work, one cannot spend hours and hours to re-configure everything).

[sunshine02]

I had to replace my mobo and in the process of learning how to do that I found a lot of people there who use Linux. When I had to call Microsoft and ask permission to install XP after I'd already dished out $200 for it, I went back - very determined - to learn more about Linux. It was about the only other OS on that site.

I use Ubuntu after processing through several other distros: one wouldn't recognize my printer, the next wouldn't see my wireless mouse, things like that. When I loaded Ubuntu, everything worked with very little effort, so I installed a dual boot and am working with that.

[kenweill]

I see.

(K)Ubuntu supports most hardwares. And it works. One thing I like most in Ubuntu is that its free. Everything is free(Linux). Even updates.

And the community is great. Lots of responsive users. Unlike what I have observed in other forums, its something like its dead. Takes a while to have response from other users. Or no response at all. Here in Ubuntu forum, I got a lot of replies.

Thanx to (K)Ubuntu users.

All of us have valid reasons why we love Linux and Ubuntu(in particular).

[BSDFreak]

FreeBSD since version 1.0 in 93, OpenBSD since 97 and Linux since Slackware 1.0 in 94.

Before that i didn't really have a home computer to fiddle with but at work i was running SCO's flavors of Unix, among them the now infamous Microsoft Xenix.

[Wolki]

Why linux? Because I thought (and still do) that it's where the really rocking software is. After replacing close to my last closed software on windows (for mplayer, which sucked on windows as it was cli only, and the dos shell is horrible), I thought "If Free software is that great on windows, how good must it be in its natural habitat?" and put Linux on. :)

Why ubuntu? I installed Warty on a relative's first computer, as I heard it was rather easy to maintain and because I thought that Gnome with it's clean simplicity would be perfect for getting rid of computer anxiety. Installed it on my own box, to give some remote support, and enjoyed it so much it replaced my other distros. The timely gnome releases might have something to do with it, too. :)

[prizrak]

Why Linux?
Cuz it's a toy to play with :)

Why Ubuntu?
Cuz the distro chooser quiz told me it fit me, and when I installed it the toy became an OS. Within a month of dual booting Ubuntu (Warty :) ) I noticed that I never boot into Windows anymore, so I got rid of it :)

[TeeAhr1]

Anything to get away from windows, I was even considering (acK!) mac during my last fed up with windows stage.
Thank god we got you before it was too late! ;)

[Sheinar]

Why Linux? Because I love the control it gives me and it's a great learning tool.

Why Ubuntu? Because it's always good to have one OS on my machine that doesn't constantly need problem solving and basically just works with minimum effort.

[fuscia]

why linux? i want to be cool. you know, like the cool kids. i am soooooo over windows.

[emerick7]

why linux?? I finally said "that's it" with Windows after it didn't let me access my hard drive and everything crashed after that. There may have been a solution, but nobody helps you with complicated Windows errors. With another Windows failure, I looked at the other possibilites - linux and mac. Definitely not mac, so I took the linux route.

why ubuntu?? not really sure... it just looked cool, and now that I have it I realize that it is actually cool. How about that? Usually these days something that seems like it will be good never turns out that way. I love the support at the forums, and I love everything about the system.

[scole]

I use linux because you can still keep windows (not that i love windows). But because windows still has some functionality. I use ubuntu and puppy because they are free and have great support. Both have forums puppy has an irc chat as well. help is always there for those who need it. Ubuntu offers a great platform for web design superior to windows in many ways. It offers what i need to do what i do. That simple it is preference and it works for me.

[dcast]

I tried it, liked it and never went back :)

[kenweill]

Linux is great.
Ubuntu is great.
I also wanted to download Kubuntu for me to try.
But now, theres no need to download Kubuntu. I have installed kubuntu-desktop from Ubuntu and here I am, I can use Ubuntu or Kubuntu whenever I want it. I don't have to download the whole Kubuntu ISO.
With my current internet connection, it takes 3 and a half hour downloading and installing Kubuntu under Ubuntu. But it really works.

Its really great. I never thought it could be possible. But I just did it.

[CompiledMonkey]

Linux. I first got into it because I was curious as to what it was and I liked to dabble around with the "different" stuff. I still like to dabble but I'm using it now for programming related tasks I feel are better suited to Linux rather than Windows.

Ubuntu. I installed Ubuntu the first time because it was something different. I installed it again, this last time, because it's a quick and easy install that can give me a Linux environment in 20 minutes.

[John.Michael.Kane]

Linux there is no substitute...
Linux engineered like no other Os...

[eriqk]

I started messing around with Linux after I got sick of all the warez of my computer and I started to look around for alternatives.
A bit later on I learned about the idea behind Free software and liked it very much. It's close to some of my ideals: "All for all" (as some guy put it well over a century ago). Also, as an artist, I like to be in control of my tools.
The third reason for me to check it out was the fact that some of my favourite tools would actually do much more on Linux than on Windows or MacOS.

Ubuntu is nice because It Just Works -a computer should not get in the way of the work you do with it- and still allows you to tinker to your heart's content.
The forums are really, really great. The community actually makes it "all for all, by all".
It's a great learning experience so far, and Ubuntu allows me to learn at leisure.

Groet, Erik

[Dr. Nick]

Why Linux?
I was bored with windows, I knew how to configure it inside and out and once I got it set up how I liked it I could watch it die slowly over time until I reformatted and started the process over again. How entertaining :)
In linux you can tweak alot more stuff making it impossible to know how to do it all, Also like that it is more actively developed than Windows (You atleast see the developments sooner instead of waiting years between releases.) Best of all its free

Why Ubuntu?
When I started linux back at mandrake 8 I was a kde user and mandrake was my first try and I just stuck with it using it occasionally but kept seeing myself reboot to windows. I forgot how I found warty but I tried it out and liked it and found myself spending more time in linux than windows. I had also used debian, fedora, redhat, suse. I liked debian for apt-get and new programs using sid (unstable) it was just harder to configure. I looked at a debian based distro but it cost money, I forgot the name. Suse was nice but like all non apt-get distros it was haeder to update online and usually required reburning cd's which seemed a bit wasteful. Then saw ubuntu and have been almost windows free for a year or so. Only need it for games and my dv cam.

Someone mentioned IRC for other distros, Just letting everyone know Ubuntu has Irc aswell, Its sticked somewhere on these forums

[briancurtin]

Suse was nice but like all non apt-get distros it was haeder to update online and usually required reburning cd's which seemed a bit wasteful.
i didnt find updates in SuSE to be hard at all. when the little SuSE guy in the taskbar turned red, i clicked on him, saw what updates were available, then told him to install them for me. when he was happy, then he turned back to green.

that little lizzard did a good job with the updates on my computer, but i still like ubuntu better

[Dr. Nick]

i didnt find updates in SuSE to be hard at all. when the little SuSE guy in the taskbar turned red, i clicked on him, saw what updates were available, then told him to install them for me. when he was happy, then he turned back to green.

that little lizzard did a good job with the updates on my computer, but i still like ubuntu better

Oops, I meant upgrading the entire OS to the new version, I had suse 9.3 and wanted to upgrade to 10 which didnt seem possible, In apt get you just edit your sources file than dist-upgrade which is a breeze. In mandrake and others you had to add the network install image to grub then reboot and hit the upgrade option

[Bandit]

Q. Why Linux?
A. Cuz I am not a idiot.

Q. Why Ubunut?
A. Its one of the best distros out and my personal favorite.

Cheers,
Bandit

[quincunx]

Q: Why use Linux?
A: Because I'm not an idiot.

Q: Why use Ubuntu?
A: Because it's idiot proof ;)

Just kidding!

The real answers are:

My Windows98 install would only recognize 7G of my 20G drive. I had a 40G sitting in the anti-static bag until I could get that taken care of. I was going to install XP knowing that it would see the large drives, but then I thought of a way to make my machine really fast without buying any hardware... installing Linux!

I had used Slackware in '93-'96, and didn't want to go through that again. But enough die-hard Linux friends convinced me that the newer distros didn't require every (pulp) manual for every piece of hardware in my case to install the OS. I have them, but I don't want to dig each one out when I know the OS software can get most the the info on it's own.

Since I didn't want to be the type of linux geek that compiles their kernel every hour and just be able to use my computer without being forced to open the hood, I chose Ubuntu. So far, it's pretty darn close to that. My geek friends cringe when I mention Ubuntu, but I say it with pride ;)

[drfalkor]

Linux - Dunno, I wanted to try something else than windows. And I have been using linux for 2-3 years now(and there is more to come)

Ubuntu - I'm using kubuntu. The reasons is because its easy to use, fast and stable.

I still boot up windows sometimes(sorry folx) - but, I'm photoshop addicted. I know I can run PS via wine, but it's not the same.

:p

[eMuNiX]

I use both Windows and Linux. I rarely use Windows for anything other than 3D CAD and CorelDraw otherwise its Linux all the way. I have used most distros out there and settled on Kubuntu as there is a plethora of software available through the repo's which makes life easier as I don't have to wait to recompile everything leaving me time to use the machine rather than watch it compiling. I must admit to liking deb over rpm these days but still run Yoper linux on some of the lower powered machines in the house as it is so fast in comparison, but stability wise Ubuntu is hard to beat. Also it is the only distro that I have used so far that doesn't mind 3D on my ATi card and will keep the 3D even after a kernel upgrade, something that always failed on others. Also found that wireless with my ZyDas based card is a breeze with Ubuntu which is also a plus point. The only piece of hardware giving me grief is the Dell 720 printer (I bought some cheap £9.99 as throw away printers)

[jonathanm]

Linux - Spontaneous n00b

Ubuntu - Nice n free, (better lookin than windows an' all)

[truthfatal]

Linux: Because I can.
Ubuntu: Because I'm kinda lazy like that.


(Slackware: because I want to learn.)

[bugaman]

I use Linux (Puppy at the moment, Ubuntu will be installed this weekend) because it is free--in both senses of the word. Puppy I use because I have an aging computer with dialup and it's a small download and runs well on older machines.

Ubuntu? Free shipping helps (I live on a limited income), and I guess we'll just have to see how it runs. The Live CD was slow but it didn't lock up, so...

I've had bad luck with other Linuxes (Linuces?) and am wondering if switching from Gnome to something like JWM (Puppy's window manager) might be the answer. Then I could apt-get instead of ./configure-make-make install-error and have some fun!

Billgatesless in '06 and forever after...

[Norberg]

I started to use Ubuntu since everything that I used in Windows (PHP, MySQL, Apache, OpenOffice, Firefox and Thunderbird) existed for Linux, and didn't had worry about spyware, virus and Sonys famous root-kit and Linux had some good thing that windows didn't eg. apt-get, Virtual desktop, Bash, Umbrello and stability.

[jsgotangco]

Because it works for me and the family! (Not just Ubuntu, but Linux in general)

[jsgotangco]

i didnt find updates in SuSE to be hard at all. when the little SuSE guy in the taskbar turned red, i clicked on him, saw what updates were available, then told him to install them for me. when he was happy, then he turned back to green.

that little lizzard did a good job with the updates on my computer, but i still like ubuntu better


SuSE is pretty good actually, the integration of the applications is very tight. Ubuntu can learn a thing or two on it (SuSE can learn a lot from Ubuntu as well). I have one of my laptops running SuSE 10.0 and my wife digs it more than my Ubuntu laptop. It's probably because the default colors of SuSE is refreshing to the eys (Blue + Green is quite nice).

[Mr_J_]

I started by using Mandrake 7.1, current Mandriva 10 or something.
I wen't on and off into linux because I thought it was hackerish and cool.
Never really cared about much else, and never really learned anything about the hacker side of linux.

Time wen't on and I just kept remembering my linux instalations not having crashes or viruses or any real problems after the massive ones in the begining.

Just got tired over time of the constant crappy problems I got in windows.

One day I heard about Ubuntu and some comments struck me as a successor to Mandrake.
Didn't really care at the time. Still using windows.

I later on got to the point where my windows was screwed up everyday and i was miraculously without an antiviral program for months and still no viruses.

I decided to try out some linux distro, and started by the ones i had heard a lot over the years. First mandrake, which neither recognized my wifi card nor the SATA disk i wanted to install. Tried Suse, Ubuntu, and all had some problem with my stuff.
Later on i got a hold of Ubuntu Breezy Release Candidate and i just hapened to have found the wiki and the howto for my wifi card at the same time.

Had to smack my head for a couple of hours, but i installed it under a day.

After that satifying struggle i became an Ubuntu fan.

Started trolling the forums, while helping some i could.
Ubuntu sort of grew on me i guess.

No matter how many problems i get in Ubuntu it always seems like i have help if i can reach the forums.

At first it looked stupid and corny, but now it feels like a blanket around you.
Warm and fuzzy.

I now it's corny, but thats how it sounds to me.:KS

[Bandit]

SuSE is pretty good actually, the integration of the applications is very tight. Ubuntu can learn a thing or two on it (SuSE can learn a lot from Ubuntu as well). I have one of my laptops running SuSE 10.0 and my wife digs it more than my Ubuntu laptop. It's probably because the default colors of SuSE is refreshing to the eys (Blue + Green is quite nice).
SuSE is good. I use it almost as much as Ubuntu. I just dont like the way YaST manages its packages. But YaST as a setup/config tool is unmached.
I would like to see Ubuntu use YaST as the primary setup/config tool and still use Synaptic as the package manager. To me that would make Ubuntu the best out.
Also if you use SuSE, I recommend the retail version. The Open Source version lacks a few things like the excelent driver support SuSE is known for.
Cheers,
Bandit

[somuchfortheafter]

ive tried suse on my laptop numerous times, granted i have never been able to use an rpm type distro as well as a deb one however i have always found suse to be utter ****.. has anyone else ever had this problem like with video drivers and such?

[simohell]

I like the looks of Gnome better than XP, not to mention 2000. (Ok. in the end I managed to install Clearlooks theme for XP also but...)

I have access to the same main programs in both. In Windows Inkscape and Gimp gave me gray hairs by crashing while I was working, but otherwise there isn't much difference. (other progz are OpenOffice, Mozilla Firefox & Thunderbird, Audacity and general ssh, scp, music and video stuff)

Linux is much easier to backup. In windows you can use rsync with cygwin, but its not that easy.

I mostly play "abandonware" dos-games and all but one of the games I purchased run on dos -- thus I need dosbox either way.

In the end there were 3 deciding factors in favor of linux:
1. apt-get install foo
2. easy to maintain
3. general coolness and street credibility

Why Ubuntu? Because it's basically Debian with new versions from the software.

ps.

I've had 6 laptops or PDAs with keyboard before this one:

1. Atari Portfolio, DIP-DOS 2.11 in the ROM (eq. MS-DOS 3.03)
2. Compaq 386/25, DR-DOS 6.02
3. Compaq smtg. Pentium 75, Windows NT
4. IMB Thinkpad 760EL, first Windows NT, then Debian 3.1 unstable
5. Dell CPi 266, first Windows 2000 dual boot to Debian 3.1 unstable, then Debian 3.1 r0
6. HP Compaq nx9005, Ubuntu 5.04/5.10 dualboot to Windows XP

And now only Ubuntu 5.10 and happy :)

btw. the number 1. has the best batterylife: 100 working hours with 3 AA batteries -- try to get that with modern equipment. I could even xterm2 it to Helsinki university mainframe in the end of 90's...

[jsmidt]

I use linux because I believe in the open source philosophies.

[galvatron1983]

I originally bought a Mac for pretty much the same reasons as everyone here switched to Linux. I got tired of the ridiculous amounts of maintenance required to keep Windows running, having to use three different Anti-Virus/Spyware packages just to keep my PC from being infected and discovering that even this wasnt secure enough. Not to mention having the to defrag the hard drive each month in safe mode, and then reinstalling the entire OS six times in a year. Windows is a bloated, overated OS thats only popular because its the only OS that the average Joe is aware of, and when they buy their cheap DELL PC is axactly what theyre presented with.

Mac OS X was different, and its still my OS of choice, but then there was my perfectly capable PC sitting there and doing nothing. Id already heard of Linux but I decided to investigate futher to breathe a little life into the PC. DistroWatch.com pointed me in the direction of Ubuntu, and I was amazed by the level of support provided in the forums and its ease of use, you rarely need to touch the command line. When it comes to PCs Linux is the only option.

It was little the blue screen of death had been transformed into the brown screen of life! :)

[opensourcerocks]

I use linux for everything that Windows is used for.
The only execption is Gaming(which is something I do very little)

[kenweill]

I really love Linux now. Its free.

I love Ubuntu. Especially now that I have succesfully installed it in the server using Gilat Satellite Modem 360.

I was having trouble installing this before due to some accelerator/driver which is windows based only. Found a solution. Installed VMware Player, installed WinXP inside Linux, installed 2 virtual adapter. It really works great.

Got into trouble with VMware after updating my system with synaptic. After about 2 hours, got it solved.

What I like most here is updates are free. If you have problems, there are alot of people in the forum who can help. Ubuntu forums is really great. This makes Ubuntu a step further compared to other distribution. I don't know. Its just my opinion. Its what I have observed.

Its the reason why I use Linux(in general) and Ubuntu(in particular).

[thefamousnomo]

linux

- got to the stage that when i got my windoze box up and running, current drivers, software i *needed* i was scared to actually use or push the machine. spyware, viruses, etc. ruining my newly formatted and installed os, no way! risk installing a program to test it, uninstalling it then left with a dozen invalid reg keys occasionally causing conflicts. no way!

ubuntu

- top of the tree when i finally made the decision that windoze wasnt going to be the be and end all of my usable enviroment. have tried a few others and may try others (testing only!), but ubuntu is the first os ive been excited about in a while!

[Stormy Eyes]

I wanted an OS that wasn't designed by people who expected the average user to be a mental defective. Unix expects you to know what you're doing; it rarely second-guesses you. Windows will second-guess you all the time, which is my wife's privilege.

[colsinc]

I switched to Linux about 8 months ago, because I liked the open source philosophy, and because Microsoft seem more interested in making everyone use their products, rather than in the betterment of technology. I tried a few distros, and settled on SimplyMEPIS, which had some really great things about it (automatic install of graphics card drivers on install), the MEPIS OS centre, for the most part, it worked really smoothly, and had everything I needed, but, i couldn't get it to run my tv card, and it seemed kind of bloated, so I tried Ubuntu, after seeing a friends computer with it on. I still miss some of the things about MEPIS, but I'm sticking with Ubuntu. the many forum-goers and the extensive wiki are a great plus. and I prefer GNOME to KDE.:-D

[nisit]

I don't like windows Virus hacker secyrity Expensive
but easy to setup and lern

i take kinux because i dev php on windows
that error on Linux server

now i install linux but it very hard to know it

i wish next generation of Linux
Comand lesss! or beter Manual

[commodore]

Linux- because Microsoft is inhumane and GNU is the complete opposite.

Ubuntu- everyone was talking about and it seemed easy so I tried it as my first distro and now it's stuck.

OT: nisit you develop php and you can't use command line?

[horsey1901]

I had been in IT since 1992 and was to be honest sick and tired of the work in looking after windows based machines. The constant updates viruses etc etc etc. I had tried in about 1998 to install a linux machine but gave up after several clashes etc with hardware.

It all came to a head earlier this year I am running a Sony Vaio laptop and I was having wireless connection issues with windows. Tried ubuntu live disk, but could not work things out on it so tried another Distro. Learnt heaps from it about my hardware and support options and some basic linux commands. Came back to Ubuntu after a argument between hardware software and me in the other distro.

Luv Ubuntu its been awsome on this machine everything works (except the memory stick reader) and with the new still in beta automatix it was a half a race track ahead. Linux and Ubuntu have moved me away permenantly from Bill gates and his poorly developed software

The Horse

[LMP900]

Why Linux?

I like to learn new things. Had XP, bought an Apple strictly for Mac OS X, and now Linux... probably the most exciting one of them all. Heck, when Vista finally rolls out, I'm gonna give that one a go as well. I like to change things up a lot.

Why Ubuntu?

As it has probably been said numerous times before... the community! If you have a problem or are confused about something, theres always an answer. The numerous How-To's, the quick responses, everything is there. It's definitely one of Ubuntu's strongest points.

[Derek Djons]

There are several reasons why I use GNU/Linux distro's:

1. They let me be productive (integrated packetmanager, simple desktop i.e. Gnome).
2. I've been quite a nerd some till some years back. I still love working with something exclusive, using CLI commands half the time and educate myself.
3. It's certainly more secure, especially if you rig up a firewall and anti-virus (for just in case).
4. It's way much more customizable than Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. When installing drivers goes wrong i.e. I can login and use my CLI skills to repair what needs to be repaired.

Except some handy-in-use features I also believe in Open Source Software. In my opinion OSS can change the world in a postive way. Sharing information and combining skills to make something beautiful in stead of money is a noble goal.

[zubrug]

Windows used to use me! Linux (ubuntu) allows me to participate and learn on so many levels that I think I am addicted.
I am a complete noob by most of your standards but yet I always feel like an important part of the community.
Plus, security, stabilty and the community, did I mention the Community.

(except when I make a stupid comment in the forums) but then the communty will help you with that as well.

[frogstar]

I chose Ubuntu on the recommendation of a friend, and I will stick with it because of the helpfulness of this community. I am a complete Linux newbie and have been fiddling with Ubuntu for a few weeks now. I haven't had to ask a single question because all the ones I've had have been covered in the forums already! :D

[zugvogel]

Linux in general:
I used Linux to start with because they had it where I was working at the time. Initially I didn't really like it, but after 8 months of using it at work, I finally had got used to it enough, to want to install it on my laptop. Another 8 months later and I erased the windows partition to make more space for linux.

Ubuntu:
Because I wanted to upgrade my Suse linux but couldn't really afford to buy it at the time. Then I found Ubuntu. Everything just works. I don't have the time (or interest) to do all this manual configuration needed in a lot of the other distros.

[jeller]

I have like many others tried different versions of linux,I actualy bought a retail version of mandrake that was suppose to be for beginners(what a joke)Ubuntu just works,its easy to install,easy to get programmes running,no viruses,spyware,so its much safer and its not windows,I just wish I could find a printer that works with linux that does not cost the earth everytime you want to replace the ink,I know there are printers out there that work with linux but the ink cost twice as much as the printer to replace,that and I need some sort of software for printing labels and sleeves for my dvd's,these are the only two things that are stopping me from getting rid of windows all togeather

[Xilon]

Well firstly for the obvious reasons; it's free, more stable, faster, more customisable etc. But what really made me switch to Linux now (before I was only using linux about 10% of the time) was the amazing effects of XGL and proper 64bit support.

Why did I choose Ubuntu? Well it just struck me as a really easy distro to use. I am still a newb to Linux even though I've used two different distros before. The fact that it is debian based and has a great package system (as opposed to crappy rpms) is just amazing and makes life so much easier. I love the fact that I can just type one command, wait till everything downloads and bam! I've got a new program installed, usually with no problems. It's almost ready to compete with Windows, the more tech savy people are definitely already ready to use Ubuntu since you rarely ever need to use the console anymore. We just need a few programs to get ported and we are good to go.

Thanks Ubuntu :P

[nickle]

Linux--- It is open source and it works for what I want it to do. Plus it is really dynamic in the sense it is getting better all the time. Quite frankley, I don't need anything else. The whole OS thing just shows what kind of positive constructive things that can be done when people put their minds to it...
Kubuntu--- It works and the forum is very supportive and friendly.

[Mime]

I started using linux for programming projects I had to do for school. Coding is something that windows just wasn't built for. Now I use windows for gaming still, but not much else.

I got tired of waiting for things to compile every time I wanted to install something(my previous distro of choice was Gentoo after switching from Slackware before that, and Fedora before that), so I looked around for a different distro and decided to check out Ubuntu. I gotta say that it's pretty nifty. :p

[kenweill]

How about for the new comers?
Users started in Dapper Drake. What can you say about this?

[vinodis]

I completely switched to windows because of the UbuntuPlus (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=183933&page=4) than Automatix.
Becuase Automatix requires an active Internet connection and the Automatix Offline CD for Dapper is never updated.

[fireshell]

Started using Ubuntu quite some time ago but found it unstable so I let it be. I kept returning and found Kubuntu and it's worked perfectly.

I use it for the freedom it offers and also, I'm heading towards development. An open environment like linux is perfect to do that on, espically web desig

That, and its different. I hate playing follow the leader, linux gives u that individual edge back into computing, and Kubuntu makes it fun.

My 5 cents, gbye :D

[kenweill]

Yeah. Kubuntu is a great distro. In fact, im using Kubuntu now. I just install kubuntu-desktop from Ubuntu and update to KDE 3.5.3.

I found it easier to use and customize KDE than GNOME.

[Which_one's_Pink]

Hi,

I am just getting into Linux and the reason I m trying out Linux is that I want to get away from the slow coach XP. Though my system hasnt crashed it takes ages to load and everything seems to run slow with time.

I tried out slackware first(couldnt get into GUI), moved to Xandross(found out did not have wireless support), went to Suse(decent but again no wireless and feel wasnt right too) , and finally Ubuntu. I had burned all of the above (kinda randomly) and so decided to give Ubuntu a try. I m very very impressed with it. The installtion went on smooth, it has a sleek design and I had wireless connectivity right from the very go ! I can play music and movies without any problem though Im still to explore much of the system but Im loving it already.

Which ones Pink

[ComplexNumber]

i use linux because i like it better than any other OS. i like the philosophy. i like the appearance. i like the applications, and i like linux overall.
as for the near alternatives,...............i don't like windows for many reasons, and mac OS X is not convenient for me.

[nixios]

hottest nix around.

[missmoondog]

well, i first tried suse 8.2, then left linux for windows for awhile, then tried suse 9.2. never have really caught onto it, so I tried running knopix and a couple o ther live distros for a bit. then, i just did a search for linux reviews one day and it seems like every link led to ubuntu/kubuntu!! i initially started with 5.04 from shipit.com. that arrived like a few days before breezy came out. i immediately burned my own cd of that and installed it. ran it all the way through to dapper. did a clean install of that. very awesome os. i liked it so much, all 7 of the computers in the house had it on them. have to keep a couple dual booters around for my scanners which aren't supported in linux. :(

have recently moved onto zenwalk 3.0 and find it much faster and just as stable as kubuntu. a few of the machines in the house are rather old and needed a very light os. i didn't care for xfce desktop in ubuntu, even when i tried the server install and then apt-get the xfce desktop. i do believe zenwalk is noticeably faster on my better machines also.

it's all a matter of choice, and as you see, i'm still hanging around here, so who knows? edgy isn't to far off................................

[param85047]

I Wanted something other than windows and using windows since ten years, tried various distros like Mandriva 2007 DVD, Debian 3.1 R2, Knoppix Installed, faced some or other problem with every Distro but with Ubuntu I faced very less problem. Started using Linux Last week (a very Newbie). Ubuntu is really nice. Still in line Fedora Core 6 and Open Suse 10

[spinflick]

Why Linux......I wanted to get away from the Evil Microsoft
Why Ubuntu.....It was recommended to me by a friend :mrgreen:

[Dragonbite]

Why Linux?

I got into Linux out of curiosity and, honestly, $0.00 cost.

Since then I've gotten hooked between the breadth of software and their updates ($free), that everthing works on my older system (XP on a P3 500 Mega-HURTS?! ouch!), the Open Source philosophy and the whole community.

Just about every week I see Microsoft doing something more limiting (DRM), more sleazy (WGA), costing so much (Vista?), and otherwise spitting on their client base!

I can understand a company needs to be profitable and to make money but at least the IRS says "please" and "thank you" when they take your money.

Not to mention, you never know when your next job is going to be running on Linux, and it's best to be prepared!

Why Ubuntu?

I lost access to be able to download any more Linux ISOs (a friend calls me a distro-junkie) so when I saw ShipIt would send it for free I tried it out. I was surprised how each time I get my CDs in less than the 4-6 weeks they state online.

Also, when I was trying to install on a computer I got sans-hard drive (thus with no OS) Ubuntu did a better job detecting everything and getting up-and-running quickly. My SuSE 9.1 was the runner-up.

At that time I was looking for an OS that was simple to set up and simple to maintain, secure and keep up-to-date. I just came off of Gentoo and didn't want to spend a lot of time tweaking or trying to maintain, plus I wanted to use as little CLI as I could. Happily I have not HAD to go to the command line except to install the restricted format codecs (before finding out I should not have.. I have since removed them while I conduct further research).

I've also delved into CentOS (built from RedHat's Enterpirse Linux code, like Oracle's Unbreakable Linux except CentOS has been successful for a while) which is OK for the server where you want stability more than cutting-edge but for desktop use I am excited about what I've seen with Kubuntu so far!

[ChadMMc]

I use linux because it is easier to code than windoze and also I never liked windoze because of their extend, embrace, extinguish policies that they use. (and I believe they are using them now with Novell and through them the Linux world as a whole).

I use Ubuntu because I had Turbo-Linux on my system but it was hard to get around in that for me. (I suffer from large memory losses from an accident a while back) and I came across the Ubuntu Breezy distro tried it out, got rid of the Turbo, and have been happy since. I am now using Edgy and it has been having very few problems with my machine (antique practically) and what few problems I have had, I have been able to find solutions through the forums, IRC, etc.. in very little time.

Ubuntu Rocks! :D

[your]

Me?

I use Linux beacuse it's free and i use linux because itìs beautifull (sorry i'm italian my english ](*,) :D ).

Ubuntu it's a distro mad up of beautifull community and beautifull support.

Sorry for english :cry:

[JAPrufrock]

I switched to Linux because Microsoft is the most disgusting, shameless, avaricious, monopolistic, and just plain ugly business in the world today. Some people may switch to Linux because it's free, but others switch because Windows OS' are royal rip-offs, and because Microsoft's business practices are blatantly unethical.

I chose Ubuntu because it is a Debian based distro, which is where GnuCash was developed, and because when I did a Google search, Ubuntu got very good reviews. Haven't been disappointed- it's definitely lean and mean.

[sktfeelsdapper]

REVIVE-A-THON:

Why Linux?
Well, to be honest I'm still flirting with both Windows and Linux, mostly because of games and because I can't seem to get certain things available on both to work in Ubuntu. (Last.fm, etc) And don't even start with Wine.

Actually the full story is, I got a new computer in July (new: see, craigslist) and noticed when I started it up that the sound was foobarred. Fooled around a bit with that, finally bought a new soundcard and no dice, ended up really screwing up my windows install.

A few weeks prior to this someone had mentioned Ubuntu to me in a forum and I looked it up but didn't act cause I'd never thought about Linux until then. My image of linux was a black screen and a blinking cursor and you had to build everything yourself.

So when my XP died, I quickly downloaded Ubuntu Dapper and tried it. First off sound worked out of the box. I can't say we've had an easy go together (had to reinstall more times then I can count) but so far so good.

But I'm still flirting with disaster (windows) and in fact am dual booting to ease off the "addiction" and who knows? Maybe i'll end up deleting that partition for good and just stick with Ubuntu.

[phersotty]

Linux = Free Fun
Ubuntu = Responsive Community

[scrooge_74]

I know my way around computers and have been using them since I had an Atari 2600. Been using MS products since they came out.

About 6 years ago I tried a Red Hat version, I did not stick since I found it to hard to what I was use to. Could not find enough information so I droped the case.

This year I decided to give it another try, took an old Pc which was at the end of it life cycle and installed Debian Sarge and converted it into a print server and firewall also now it is doing some backup service for other machines.

Had another PC using Debian which got fried, so I decided to get an old Toshiba Laptop to try Ubuntu. It has been fairly easy to use with just minor problems. I am even writting this on the Toshiba.

I have decided to abandon using MS for good. I only touch MS when helping friends and family get rid of some spyware.

[Gargamella]

firstly to try alternative system for free...now it's pure love

[warlorddagaz]

My hdd went a while ago, and I couldn't be bothered to get an XP reinstallation CD, so I installed Ubuntu, as I had already ordered some CDs, and they were free

My main reason for using it though is my hatred of Microsoft - it enjoy rebeling against their near monopolistic status, which Firefox, openOffice and Ubuntu do well - I'm a great open source fan, and plan to try and get my school to install at least one piece of open source software!

[johnb820]

I chose Linux because I was sick of windows xp growing slower and slower every day. Windows created so many problems on its own and trying to reformat I eventually had to call up windows to give me a new registration key. $200 for a garbage operating system made me switch.

Ubuntu was the first linux operating system I had heard of and I also heard it was the most popular linux distro at the time so I went ahead and downloaded breezy badger.

[chaosgeisterchen]

Mere interest. I was never really against Microsoft but wanted to try out the alternatives. My attitude changed and I am now quite anti-Microsoft but I do not thrive hatred for them.

Freedom of choice.

[Toontwnca]

Why Linux.
-Because Microsoft would not let me re-install Windows
without a new key; when no changes to hardware were
made.
Why Ubuntu?
-No bloat; only distro where sound and 3d worked right off.
Easy to add on software; -ie Automatix.

[theicyj]

Why Linux...
- I love the freedom and possibilities that are available only with linux.
- The opportunity to get involved in developing your OS.
- The community.
- Fast, light, free, and solid.
- Don't have to reinstall every three months (like windows).
- Many great, solid, and free apps.
- Running a legal computer setup, rather than pirated software.

Why Ubuntu...
- Well organized.
- Clean interface and design.
- Great community.
- Free and fast.
- Good included apps.

[HW_Hack]

After years of designing PCs for Intel - I left and moved on - one of the first things I did was go to the "dark side" and buy a new Mac --- after a short while I was blown away with the sheer stability - no viruses - or any of the XP hassles. OS X is just a version of UNIX ............

So the next obvious step was Linux .... all the benefits of OS X but its free and runs on just about any platform

My goal for years end is to be 90% windows free - why 90% ... I still need some XP / Vista "chops" for my role in computer support

Of course I still love my Mac .............

[SunnyRabbiera]

I choose linux because it is a great alternative OS, out of all the operating systems it and Free BSD show a lot of potential.
My experiences with linux are much better then the ones I had with Windows, in windows you have to worry about keeping it up to speed...
Antispyware, anti addware, anti virus, you have to install a lot to get over the flaws that Microsoft has.
MS windows is a security nightmare for sure, plus I hate it that you have to enter some stupid registry code just to make sure its "authentic" then have that code work a certain amount of times before you have to put the money down for a new copy of XP.
Also there is the matter of Mac OSX, honestly I like it but Macs are so pricy. Even with the Mini its pretty steep just to get something the size of a booklet that is not ready for much expansion.
Plus with Macs you have to make sure you hook up with Mac specialists, not as common as a PC specialist. With me I can take my PC anywhere if ot ever breaks and Linux would not hinder me as I know of its backup capibilities, especially with the live CD's they are a miracle for recovering a OS even XP.
Linux is much easier then people make it out to be, though I admit some distros work better then others and that brings me to why I use Ubuntu.

Why I use Ubuntu:
I have tried many distros before I went to Ubuntu, my first was Yoper and it really sucked.
My second was Suse Linux, a much better experience in my mind but I hated all the depandancy issues with it.
Then came Mepis linux and it vworked great, it was my main distro for a long time till my other computer died.
I then got a new compy and went up to Mepis 3.4... Not as good as 3.3 in my opinion and then came Mepis 6.0 and its beta's.
The beta versions of Mepis were a lot better then the Mepis 6.0 final, Mepis 6.0 now is almost like Kubuntu and Kubuntu never did it for me... Though Mepis 6.0 works much better then kubuntu.
Now during the testing phases of Mepis 6.0 and the final I decided to give Dapper a spin and was impressed with it (as my other Ubuntu experiences were pretty bad, I hated Warty as it didnt do anything I wanted it to.)
Mepis came off and Dapper went on and I think I will keep it till I think Edgy is more stable...
But other then that Ubuntu Dapper is a wonderful distro.