Cool! I started with the Trash 80 level 2 basic. Another old f**t!

same goes for M$, no force feeding there users spyware

if virus and spyware scanners worked properly xp would now be called a virus and spyware

I got sick of the viruses. I also got tired of having to pay for the latest OS from microshaft. With GNU,(the proper name of Linux) I can update or upgrade anytime, for no or little money.
Just my

Got fed up of paying to Microsoft and how their "security" works. I also love how Linux looks on KDE.

Suse Linux rocks. Gedit > Notepad despite the fact that Gedit kept thinking that my .sql homework was a Japanese file whereas a KDE text editor knew that it wasn't. I have no idea what on earth was going on with Gedit--it only did that to that one file. I've had way more problems with notepad, such as file corruption and cursor misplacement after pushing Ctrl+S. I can't stand when MS forgets to maintain and update their software like MS Paint and Notepad. Those are very archaic and could use slight touch ups. On the other hand, KolourPaint and Gedit are way ahead of the corresponding MS software.

I am so impressed by the progress that Linux distros have made towards user friendly-ness that I will quit buying PC games that are Windows exclusive. If GTA4 comes out on PC, they better release a native installer for Linux or else I will not buy it. I do not like to depend on Windows but sometimes I have to. If developers do not support me and the OS that I prefer, I will not support them. GTA is one of my favorite series but the developers should realize that Linux on the desktop is growing. But my PC probably will be too outdated by then anyway.

I switched from Windows XP PRO to Linux(Slackware 9.1) a few years back because I was fed up with all the problems Windows XP PRO still has, I have had trouble with drivers and the endless IRQ_LESS_THEN_EQUAL error message that is for every error XP can think of, so I installed Slackware 9.1 and was surprized, no errors, no magical lockups and nothing bugging me to restart my computer every 5 seconds.

Now I have Slackware -current and I have learnt a lot about how Linux works, I am certainly impressed by the progress of the way the desktop as evolved, and even happy that my games that used to work in Windows XP now work via WINE. (Metal Gear Soled will not work in 3D mode it says there is no hardware that supports it, yet under WINE it works like a charm). I couldn't be happyer, well maybe after I figure out why timidity locks up my laptop, but bugs are expected, I love Linux and i don't think I could ever go back to windows, my cousin has Vista RC1 and I hate it, I went to check if someone was on my MSN and I just hate it. by the way this my first post

Here's why I used Linux for the first time:

I had an old computer. It had about 9.54GB hard drive space. It was the second computer I'd ever had. I got it for free. I couldn't afford to get another computer, but having a computer became neccessary for organization purposes and for typing schoolwork. I also kept messing up the computer at that time and needed a computer of my own so if I messed it up, it would only be me affected. Also, I needed to learn how not to mess it up and how to type better. So I was stuck with this computer.

The only operating system I had was Windows 95. I didn't have access to Windows 98, but would have paid money for it if I did. Windows XP was out. I'd only used Machintoshes, Apple *Cs, and computers running Windows operating systems at that point.

I'd just learned how to program. I could program in C++. I also could program in Java, but hadn't found as much uses for it.

I needed to run newer programs, but even if I'd gotten Windows XP, it wouldn't have run (not very well anyway). I'd just got $100.

I was interested in learning how to create operating systems of my own. I knew NOTHING about how to do so. I'd tryed crazy things that would've never worked to make an OS, thinking it would work. One typical example was:

#include <iostream.h>

int main(int argc, char ** argv)
{
cout << "Hello World!\n";


return 0;
}

and:

#include <stdio.h>


int main(int argc, char ** argv)
{
printf("Hello World!\n");


return 0;
}

I'd first tryed putting the executable on a floppy disk and rebooting the computer. It didn't work. Then I'd found programs to write this to the first sector of a floppy disk. I did so. It beeped, if I remember correctly. But it didn't work.

I'd heard Linux was one OS that could easily create operating systems. I heard that the tools come with them for free instead of using $500+ programs on Windows XP.

I'd run into Linux scripts before. This was while trying to organize things on my computer by deleting files (which at that time, I'd deleted neccessary files before unknowingly).

I was taking a class on software at school, but didn't have access to any cool software at home, making it harder to learn and retain, except for basic purposes.

I was also becomming an expert at Windows quicker than I wanted to, and therefore it was time to learn some other OS.

I looked in stores. I asked people. I looked on the Internet, even though it was hard to get access at that time. I askes salesmen. I read books. Linux seemed like the best choice.

From there, I just shopped around and read boxes. I picked out SuSe Linux 9.0. It looked like it would be the best because it would build off of my Windows skills with more to learn.

By that time, I'd known you could also get it for free, but I wanted to pay this time to get the best Linux for the first time, and because I didn't have access to download such huge files. I could only download things on a floppy disk - if I was lucky.

Once I picked SuSe Linux 9.0 at Best Buy, I didn't even know if it was going to work. I prayed. Eventually I just decided to take a chance of losing $100 which I might not ever get again - at least for years, so I could get SuSe Linux 9.0 and hope it would work.

Guess what? It worked! I loved it once I got it working. I'm still not an expert at Linux, but I am maybe a power user (beginner if so). I can now use multiple kinds of Linuxes for basic day to day use, and even true unixes (*BSDs).

I still use Windows, but now I use Linux and Windows (and on my main computer [I have one new one now, and one new old one] DOS, and just about every OS I can get my hands on).

Linux is good for creating operating systems, because it works just out of the package. Any distribution you get that's cheap or free, contains so many programs, you have to search for them. They only take about 10GB space for a really cool install. It makes a great server (although it's really hard to set up). If you know where to look, you can find a program for every Windows program you want to use that costs too much (except for exact clones, or games). It has DOS style games that are fun to play. It comes with GRUB which is the coolest bootloader around that I know of (hopefully I'll create one that's just as good someday). It has ELF format programs, so you can run more programs if you had an OS that ran Windows programs and Linux programs (I'm hoping to create one someday).

What I don't understand, is why Linux isn't normally taught in schools. There is no reason that it shouldn't be taught along with Windows. It would just educate people more.

Now that I'm finally happy and settled on linux, i was browsing the forums and saw this, thought it was quite an interesting question, and having spend quite some time browsing through the previous answers decided i wanted to answer it myself.

The reasons i have switched. I've spent the best part of ten years on windows, I know it inside and out, I'm competent in all aspects of it, I can fix 9 out of 10 problems without having to research the answer. I'm bored.

Linux is a new challenge, I don't understand it, I haven't got a clue how to do anything in it, how can i possibly call myself a computer expert if i only specialize in one category.

I'm very much a software man, hardware used to confuse me completely, I could stick a pci card in, that was about the extent of my knowledge, earlier this year i built my own pc.

Lets face it, thanks to the internet its very easy to become an expert of computers once you learn that little word "google".

I got interested in linux, thanks to firefox, I think it opened my eyes to a world without microsoft, Linux is a challenge but only because it is unfamiliar, it won't take me long to get a grasp of it.

In summary I quite simply switched because I wanted a new challenge

I prefer Linux, although I can't help using windows sometimes. These are the reasons I prefer Linux:
1 - A totally FREE challanging world of operating system. You can chang it every day and there is still another distro for you to try.
2 - I like it since it does not assume you to be an idiot and by idiot I mean what exactly MicroSoft thinks you are, Since windows is world wide and less than 1% of people even have an idea about what an OS is (that makes windows clean of that).
3 - It really boots faster. I have a Windoes XPP SP 2 installed on my 1.6 Centrino notebook. The first day I got it, it would boot in less than 20 seconds (I think thats a record for windows). Now it takes about two minutes to boot (thanks to everyday damn updates of Microsoft).
4 - Windows is always getting updated each time I connect to the NET but I dont't know why everything gets worst.
5 - There are times that I have not scheduled anything, not Anti-virus is scanning and I must do something with the computer but windows is playing around with my H.D.D reducing the speed of my computer to that of a simple calculator.
6 - Linux forums are more innovative thanks to the Opensource system.
7 - I copy a file of size 100 MB in less than 11 minutes in Linux and in more than 20s in windows.
8 - If you reinstall windows it gets more fresh but it changes to the dull OS it used to be after a few connections to microsoft sever and downloading plug-ins such as MicroSoft Bulshit Security for Microsoft Bulshit blablabla.
9 - When you are installing linux and it lists the packages it is going to install (you see something like: adfr-fmgu-re-aa2.bz2.tar and it says: A package for writing text files and counting the words in your text. {just kidding}) you are in a big doubt whether or not it is going to work correctly (the OS). After the installation you are in a big surprise how did they all came to work this clean. During installing windows there is always a powerful start which says : Sit back and relax. You get surprised. That realy bothers you when you encounter an unknown bug in the installaion after relaxing. (but honestly win XP is much better than its ancestors).
So as far as I want to learn something I choose Linux.
BUT:
1 - Windows is really a clean OS for doing multimedia applications. On the contrary, I say farewell to audio and video things as soon as I boot in linux.
2 - It is easier to forget about your hardware problems than installing them in Linux.
3 - The applications written in Linux are kind of non-neat. I mean you don't find two different applications have something in common about the GUI design.
4 - Definitely, softwares written in windows are better according to anything you mind of a good software.
and so on...
But as I said, generally no one would approach linux until he has to do sth in it. (I needed to use Network Simulator 2.29 which eas originaly written for Unix based systems). After that I became a fan of linux.

many windows users are scared of change, learning something new for what ever reason, my reason was smack in the face boredom, bored of reformatting and running clean installs, cleaning, constant maintenance, bsod's, rebooting, updates that dont do what they say they do, there strict anti trust tactics and monopoly, apps arent included with the package, mainly when windows is installed, its empty like a ghost town with blowing tumble weed, resource hogging, system restore uses over 8gigs in disk space on my drives, limited user accounts are useless when you have to be logged as admin in an admin account to fix the machine or install anything, must unplug or disable ethernet or risk attack, must load every single driver manually, the error reporting tool is a joke, all its good for is for giving false hopes!

no other time to do anything productive on that operating system no matter how tweaked out it gets, i dont know how something so bogus can cost an arm and a leg, i made my life easy with change, i dont have anymore headaches, im not on pins and needles worried what will happen when i hit the power button, im relaxing now laid back with my feet up and my system is functioning the way it should of from the start.

thanks for reading

-inobe-

Excellent post inobe. Welcome.

8. Applications and tools are available at install time
9. No virus/adware/malware to deal with
10. Superb customization, system administration and maintenance. Cheap too. No need to purchase additional softwares (great disaster recovery, remote management, central maintenance, etc. all included with distributions)
11. Security
12. Flexible and interoperable with internet, windows, mac, legacy systems, etc.
13. Made for networking, distributed processing
14. More like a powerful tool than an appliance
15. Robust and sturdy
16. I'm in control, not the other way around
17. Peace of mind against random events (BSOD and such)
18. Most hardware drivers are available and detected at install time (except wireless and video, which the manufacturers are to be blamed for) and they just work
19. Feels like I own it, rather than leasing (licensed?) and paying rents (updates?)
20. No piracy or illegal copies to deal with
21. Very easy software installation (rpm install compared to double-click, click, click, enter path, click, click, move, rename, etc.)
22. Foreign language system very well integrated
23. Multiple desktops out of the box
24. Very productive

For me, just a combination of things...

1. I don't have a whole lot of use for a system that slows down everytime M$ issues a patch...it's really getting ridiculous. In FC6, I apply the update and it's done...

2. I'm not interested in having my system infected with DRM.

3. I enjoy tinkering with computers...nerd at heart, I guess...

Isn't it amazing that with all the problems associated with Micro$oft Windoze, most of the world is still using it?

That clearly illustrates the fact that people are inherently lazy beings. I happen to be an admin in charge of about 15 computers. Hardly a week goes by without getting a call to fix something, usually centered around spyware, viruses, etc. I've given up on trying to convince the boss to allow a full switch to Linux. He simply doesn't want to learn how to do the same things a different way.

I'm primarily a fedora guy. I run web services on them. Lately, I've been getting into multimedia stuff, and that took me to Dynebolic. I've installed Ubuntu, but haven't really used it.

I've used Linux for live Internet radio, live video streaming, a chat server similar to yahoo messenger, etc. All at no cost.

Will Windoze ever go away, no matter how superior Linux becomes to it? That'll probably take a few generations.

I beg to differ on the subject of Windows loading faster than KDE.; I timed my box. windows takes 8 minutes, My Kantotix hd installation takes 6. I am extatic because my wife now likes the KDE environment for surfing, shopping, and general use more than windows now BECAUSE it is faster (faster means spend more of my money in less time-lol) It saves ne time running those dredded virus scans and spyware scans so if you include thhat into the time, Gnu-Linux is way faster.