What made you think linux?

[Adamant1988]

I'm just curious what reasons people here had for switching to Linux rather than put up with a leaky, but overly popular, OS.

For me it came down to two things, Security and frustration.

Security) I didn't feel safe. I ran over a dozen virus scans and 3 spyware scans a night. Still didn't feel safe logging into websites, there's no way I would have entered my credit card info (I don't have one yet, but you get the point) on my Windows computer in any way.

Fustration) I used the restoration partition on my hard drive to restore and overly cluttered windows to it's basic form so I could just have the things I was actually using. The partition failed to resotre properaly and I got a broken version of windows that sometimes couldn't install software etc.


That's what drove me to say... ok I've had enough of this.


and you?

[bruce89]

Just curiosity really.

In March last year, I saw a CD of Mandrake 7.2 (anchient) that my brother left, so I installed it on a old computer. I thought it was nice, and seeked out another. After seeing Comparison of Linux distributions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Linux_distributions), I chose Ubuntu (4.10 at the time). I have used it ever since.

[fuscia]

1. the promise of more speed. i want absolutely everything to change as fast as i can click. (i've gotten better about this, though.)

2. 'new toy' mentality. with so much free software available, linux can give me the greatest number of 'new toy' shots of any OS, as far as i know.

2a. my experience with open source software, particularly firefox, in being able to change more things about the way something is setup, fits in with the 'new toy' mentality. (a new outfit for barbie, a new gun for G.I.JOE, etc.)

[BuffaloX]

The Idea behind Open Source.
Dislike of MS monopoly.
Ubuntu good enough (by far) to replace Windows.

[Skia_42]

like Bruce89 is was curiosity for me. I had a little experience with HTML, Javascript, websites, e.t.c. but I wanted an operating system that I could play around with. I looked up some linux distributions and Ubuntu caught my eye.

[G Morgan]

Sheer curiosity. I've never been afraid of playing with the computer and just decided to try something else one day. Best random decision I've ever made.

[blitzd]

I'm just curious what reasons people here had for switching to Linux rather than put up with a leaky, but overly popular, OS.

For me it came down to two things, Security and frustration.

Security) I didn't feel safe. I ran over a dozen virus scans and 3 spyware scans a night. Still didn't feel safe logging into websites, there's no way I would have entered my credit card info (I don't have one yet, but you get the point) on my Windows computer in any way.

Fustration) I used the restoration partition on my hard drive to restore and overly cluttered windows to it's basic form so I could just have the things I was actually using. The partition failed to resotre properaly and I got a broken version of windows that sometimes couldn't install software etc.


That's what drove me to say... ok I've had enough of this.


and you?

I had bad experiences with Vista beta 2 and decided I didn't like the direction MS was heading in... Not that I have ever really liked that direction, but there is a lot more effort being put into desktop Linux these days and it seemed like a more viable alternative to me. Lack of support for video games also always seemed to have me at least dual booting Windows - but I have a console now for video games, so Linux it is.. :)

[BuffaloX]

PLEASE...
blitzd why quote the entire post you are answering to?
It's even default to answer the original.

[bruce89]

PLEASE...
blitzd why quote the entire post you are answering to?
It's even default to answer the original.

Some people like quoting.

[wvelez]

The most compelling reason for my change was stability. I was tired of an unstable system riddled with spyware, malware, adware and viruses 3 months after a fresh re-install. Secondly is the availability of free software. I can do everything I was able to with Windows now and more without any cost. Thirdly would be support. The Ubuntu Forums are a great place for finding and helping others when in a bind. IRC is also an excellent tool.

Best regards,
-will

[rejser]

MS has a good os, none can say otherwise and know what they talk about, but for people who mends with the os a bit it gets real nasty real fast.
Linux I could make mine from start and it was still stable.
(oh the feeling of customizing the default x win handler on 640*480 resolution)

[hellmet]

The most compelling reason for my change was stability. I was tired of an unstable system riddled with spyware, malware, adware and viruses 3 months after a fresh re-install.

u seem to be a bit lucky..
I had to install Windows on my mom's computer
a few days ago..
and its already f***** up..
thats windows for you..

[blitzd]

PLEASE...
blitzd why quote the entire post you are answering to?
It's even default to answer the original.
I dunno... felt like it I guess?


MS has a good os, none can say otherwise and know what they talk about, but for people who mends with the os a bit it gets real nasty real fast.
Linux I could make mine from start and it was still stable.
(oh the feeling of customizing the default x win handler on 640*480 resolution)
There are good aspects of it and there are bad ones too. Working in various support roles it has kept me employed for more than 8 years... That's one good aspect from my point of view. :D

[k0nsl]

Many reasons but here are the main ones, similar to what has been posted by other members previously in this thread:

Security
Stability
Versatility
Curiosity

Those are probably the main ones that I can think of now. I know for an absolute certainty that I would never run, for instance, an Webserver, Mail Server, IRC Server or any other services on a MS Windows based system.
I would be having nightmares and probably a stroke.

-k0nsl

[mostwanted]

A mix of curiosity - I always wanted to get a Mac for that reason - and philosophy. Later it was a mix of philosophy and love for the platform. I don't want a Mac anymore (unless they come with Linux-friendly hardware), because I have seen the light that is free and open source software, both for its features and for the common good of the world. A pragmatic, political view, but I'm no evangelist.

[RAV TUX]

Our(my wife & I) pet bunny ate through our mouse cord(honest)...
and Windows wouldn't recognize my new USB mouse. With Ubuntu Hoary Hedgehog it just worked. Still did/does with Breezy Badger and Dapper Drake.

Oh yeah,...and other stuff too.

[B0rsuk]

GIMP.

I couldn't stand Photoshop's interface. I tried it and found it confusing.
My brother installed red hat in dual boot, and I would often boot to linux just to play with GIMP.

[Derek Djons]

I just kinda rolled in Linux distro's. I started with Microsoft Windows 98 and found it very sealed. Everything was closed-source (at the time I didn't knew people called it that way). I found it logic that if I could see every bit and byte I would be able to use the OS better.

The more time passed I started figuring out and understand how promising Linux distro's are and the whole Open Source aspect.

[Helix.]

I have known about Linux for 2 or 3 years, but only installed it a half-year ago...
I've had pretty good luck with Windows. Until last year around this time, I had tons of viruses, spam, and spyware. With no other options (antivirus did no good), I backed up most of my files and reinstalled Windows.
I have reinstalled Windows several (like 6) times, but mostly for Partition errors.
In some magazine, I read about Ubuntu. So, I installed it and told some family about it. Ubuntu is the only distro I have used, and I am very satisfied with it. I even got my bro to use it, and now, my mom wants it!

[Stew2]

For me it was economics and curiosity. I built my first computer 2 or 3 years ago and couldn't afford Windows after buying all the hardware pieces :) . I downloaded (on an old emachine) a copy of Mandrake 9.2 and installed that. It worked flawlessly and looked good. And of course I was just happy that my first computer worked :D ! But alas I wanted to play all the "hot new games" and ended up picking up an OEM copy of Windows XP home. As I knew nothing of dual boot I installed right over Mandrake. Never forgot about linux though and the fact that it was the first OS my homebuilt ran. Set up a dual boot with Breezy to check out this Ubuntu everyone was talking about and loved it. Eventually built 3 or 4 more machines and built this last one strictly for Ubuntu. I still have a more powerful gaming rig with XP on it for HL2 etc, but I like to use this one for general use. It feels more... comfortable :D .

Regards,
Stew2

[hizaguchi]

u seem to be a bit lucky..
I had to install Windows on my mom's computer
a few days ago..
and its already f***** up..
thats windows for you..
Heh, no offense, but that's not Windows. It has its issues, but if something has gone wrong within a few days there's a good chance it is user error.

Anyhow, I never had any real problems with Windows (3.1 through XP). I got a job in a Red Hat computer lab back during my freshman year of college and complained quite a bit about how badly Linux sucked. Then we got a new system admin and he reinstalled those same computers (Debian, but that doesn't really matter) and set them up incredibly well. That's when this Linux thing really clicked for me. Those computers are fast, stable, easy to use, and they do exactly what you tell them to do. I've never looked at Windows the same again.

[henriquemaia]

Ethical problems with using pirated software. Learning the good things about open source and free software.

[qyot27]

I've not had too many problems with Windows (my malware, virus, etc., issues evaporated once I figured out what I had to do security-wise...that was two or three years ago, which was the only time it ever really caused problems for me anyway - before that it was just terribly-made hardware issues), but a combination of seeing a large number of webservers running Linux and the general targetting of Windows systems by attackers made me curious to at least learn how to use Linux (since my mom's Mac annoys the heck out of me most times), so that when I get around to hosting my own site I can rest easier. My uncle had also mentioned Linux before in the past, but I didn't know too much about it.

Attempted to use Knoppix and Slax LiveCDs to not much avail (didn't like my video card, so I had to use them on my parents' and grandparents' computers - slightly inconvenient). I kept hearing about Ubuntu, so I decided to try it too - it finally recognized my hardware and I could use it. I liked the feel, so I committed to installing the next release (which was Breezy) when it came out a couple months later. Due to some setbacks I couldn't install it for two months after that, but I quickly came to love it after I did install it. Due to circumstances beyond my control I still use Windows more, but once I get it together enough to build a new system I'll be in a better position to use Ubuntu more equally or even most of the time (not to mention my adamantly anti-Vista stance - I've also gotten fed up with the bloat; the only way I'm getting Vista is if some essential software stops working on XP, and that's only if WINE doesn't work with them properly either).

[Rumor]

I have read and participated in alt.comp.freeware for a few years. Quite some time back there was a thread asking if anyone was running a computer using nothing but freeware apps (not counting commercial games). The idea intrigued me, so I did a fresh winXP install and loaded up only freeware programs for doing the things I normally did. It was a rather 'neat' feeling, but the fact that my OS was not freeware bugged me.

In November of last year, windows just up and died on me. I think I had upgraded my video drivers one too many times or something. I expressed the frustration to a friend, saying that I would have to do the reformat/reinstall shuffle again when he mentioned something called Ubuntu. I knew about Linux. I'd played woth a few distros on a spare computer at the office, so I thought why not? Why not see if a computer can run nothing but free applications including the OS?

I read Ubuntu's mission statement on the website and was hooked. I installed it that same week and have not looked back.

[Carrots171]

-Dislike of Microsoft's business practices and monopoly.
-Better protection against spyware and viruses.
-Performance. You don't have to defragment in Ubuntu, you don't need to wait for the desktop to finish loading when you log in.
-Themability.

[Rackerz]

General intrest really. I heard Linux was faster, it didn't crash constantly and that I could customize it how I wanted. But it was mostly general intrest, and I'm glad of my general intrest.