What pushed you over the edge?

[CoriolisSTORM]

Hmm, mine was when my Windows Update quit working, and I could not get any updates. I tried everything tech support gave me, and pcpitstop too. In the end, Windows is still on here, but I am actively migrating to Linux except for games once I get my winmodem working.

[qalimas]

I'm only 16 so I don't have all this Unix an Linux backgroudn like most members here do XD

But, about three years ago my dad's friend brought over Mandrake (Mandriva) 8. I tried it, didn't really like it much, but I feel in love with some of it's tools. Didn't install it on anthing but a test computer. He soon brought Mandrake 9.1. It was nice, I feel in love with Quanta Plus, I knew no matter what, I needed that one application. But, I didn't care that much for Mandrake 9.1. When I was introduced to SuSE, I was pulled off of Windows for good. I still brag to Windows fanatics that I don't need all those spyware apps installed in my computer

[-Rick-]

A bit weird perhaps:

I always was a bit interested in linux because
* I read some articles how insecure windows was
* I wanted linux bins for my project
* Curiousity

One day when I saw a linux mag(Linux Format) somewhere in a small shop in Sweden, I thought it might be interesting and so I bought it. After reading for a while I saw an article about CoLinux.
So when I was back at home I installed CoLinux...I couldn't get the network running with both debian and gentoo and got a bit fed up with it. So I thought "why not just download a distro and try to install it on my hd"(I never knew there where free linuxes(as in gratis) ). First I got on the debian site ... but I didn't knew what to download After that I visited the gentoo site, it was more clear for me back then and the size of the iso wasn't very big(had a data limit). After the download was ready I tryed to install it but couldn't get the net to work(again!), but after a bit mucking around it finally worked and so the days of compiling started

When I had a nice and shiney KDE desktop set up and the right apps installed I came to the conclusion that I liked linux way more than windows and so I switched for 99% to it.

[carlc]

Well, it was windows... I can't remember the details but I was having problems with my hd (or so it seemed) and windows would install but would not boot. Linux installed and booted fine. I also got annoyed when I would create a fat32 partition prior to installing windows and windows would not let me install on fat32 and would convert it to ntfs.

[benplaut]

mainly curiosity... and tanting from my friend that i wasn't 1337 enough (he was a gamer. i was a geek with a horrible gpu, but afraid to admit it).

i installed linux, and then, when he was away from his computer for a few minutes, LiveCD'ed him

he hated it

--

i finally became 1337, in his eyes, when i beat him at Nexuiz (i had been practicing, and he just came across it)

i really didn't care about the 1337ness, but it was another incentive, and now i'm hooked

[skirkpatrick]

I've had a Redhat server here at home for about 4 or 5 years now. Been using embedded Linux at work for almost that long. What finally convinced me to switch my desktop PC over was some information from a friend about registering XP. She owns a small computer shop and swaps out hardware quite a bit. Of course, whenever XP decides that you've made a significant change, it requires you to re-register. When she went to register and Windows told her she had reached her limit, she called tech support. When they told her that her EULA was for the machine and not the user (most software licenses are per user based) and that they considered that she now had a new machine and would have to buy a new copy of Linux, she decided to try SuSe. I had heard of Ubuntu from a friend and thought that if I was going to get the other people in my house converted and supported in the future, I wanted a distro that was easy to use yet powerful.

[polo_step]

So what pushed you over the edge?

1: Crippling malware accumulating in XP faster than I could get rid of it.

2: XP bug causing problems with my video cards.

[allforcarrie]

curiosity, i'm still not a full time linux user.

[cajunaggie]

When I built my computer I spent between $400 to $500 on parts. I didn't have the cash to pay another couple hundred for Microsoft and nobody I knew had any Windows install CD's. So I went to my buddy and he gave me Mandrake 1.something. And then I found Ubuntu. Ah, happy day...

[bk452]

What was it in particular that pushed (or pulled) you to change to Linux?

In my case, I was pushed into the deep end of the pool with straight Unix at work about 7 years ago, but it wasn't really until the chaos caused to Windows by viruses like Blaster and Sasser a couple years back that my burn-the-ships "leaving & never coming back" moment happened.

Was just curious what other people's defining moments were. So what pushed you over the edge?

What was it in particular that pushed (or pulled) you to change to Linux?***

For a year, I'd come home from work and the kids would say the pc didn't work. I got a newer pc for the kids, told them not to hook it up to the net until I got home from work because I didn't have time to put the firewall, etc.

Well they got the neighborhood geek to hook it up and when I came home the pc was an utter disaster. I told them, "Guess what kids? We're learning Linux". My kids love it.