Why I love linux

📅 13 Oct 2021

As of the time of writing this, I have been using linux for over 9 months. While most of that time has been spent just using it on occasion (although I have recently shifted to using a linux machine as my daily driver), I feel I can now say with confidence, “I love linux”.

Growing up, I solely used Windows. The computers and laptops my family had all ran Windows. I didn’t even know what linux was. In addition, I incessantly made fun of classmates who used apple products.

In college, I switched to almost solely using apple products. This wasn’t really by choice: we were issued macbook pros as part of our education package at my university. Yes, we paid for them, and it hurt.

Then, until 9 months ago, things didn’t change. Finding myself at a crossroads in life, and as part of an intentional push into all things tech, I finally downloaded my first distro and dual-booted it on my windows machine. The rest, as they say, is history.

Since that time, I have come to love linux.

First and foremost, I love the tinkering it takes. Even though I downloaded a relatively stable and well-used distro, I immediately had issues. While frustrating at the time, figuring out simple things like how to get the right drivers installed for wifi were incredibly rewarding. I fixed a problem (with a little help from my friends online).

I also love the customization. Nearly every aspect of a linux distro can be tailored to your liking. While I haven’t delved to much into the customizations, just knowing I can is what’s important. Plus, I am someone with simple tastes. Once I find something I like, I tend not to endlessly change it. Case in point: I order a reuben at nearly every restaurant. Unless it’s terrible, every time I go back to a restaurant I’ll order a reuben over and over and over again. That’s just the way I am.

I also love the sheer number of linux distributions. This not only aids the customization aspect, but it means you can learn one family of distributions and be comfortable with a large number of them. To date, I’ve only tried a few distributions (MX Linux, Tails, Mint, Kali… MX Linux I couldn’t get to work lol). Just to know there are countless others I can try is exciting.

Finally, I love the community. While you can find plenty of guides for windows and mac, most of these are very cookie cutter and business-like. In the linux community, I have found a genuine interest in people, ideas, and often even find dry humor inserted - my kind of humor.

Even though I really don’t like giving recommendations (I find asking questions and helping someone seek their own answers is way more beneficial), I can’t give a stronger recommendation to give the linux world a go.

💬 Looking for comments?