I started using Linux in 1998 for its ability to be stable. Now I use it for compatibility, (you heard right) WINE does a better job of keeping Win16,32,64 bit compatibility then Microsoft ever could. Yes X,Y,Z function doesn't work yet... but the rest does, when I need to do X,Y,Z I will try to use a native alternative until WINE fixes the bugs, with native unix support and WINE layers with DOSBox, their is nothing I can't run, even binarys from 1969 can be ran for christ sake!

I started using Linux because it was something different, and that makes it cool. I was also an unemployed engineering student at the time, and putting "Linux experience" on my resume seemed like a good idea.

Since then I've grown to love the freedom, independence and stability. Curiously I've also got a job that I love working on embedded Linux systems, so maybe it was a good idea after all

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I started using Linux at first just because I was curious about it. But once I started the real reasons started pouring in... security, speed, cost, freedom, etc...

Linux was at first a curiosity to me.
Then for about 5 years I used nothing but linux. When my bank began actively detecting and rejecting linux connections, I was forced to get a cheap windows box (really liked the bank for other reasons, otherwise I would have gone elsewhere in under 2 seconds for that crime).

I also use linux exclusively at work - what a pleasure. When being interviewed, was told I would be doing all development in linux. Interviewer looked reluctant to tell me that for fear of scaring me off. I almost cheered.

Except for banking, I still use linux at home for everything. It does everything I need without tying me down or costing me money. So much win.

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WHY -- because I dislike Windows; because Solaris sold out; because it's iconoclastic

HOW -- Image manipulation, surf the net, post in forums, webinars

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I use linux because it's cool. An.d I like the power of the command line.

try running a WYSE terminal (in vt100 mode) as a tertiary display (cli and ncurses tui only mind you) to control VLC on a secondary display (TV) halfway across the room from the actual machine, or use the same display to control XMMS (xcplay) or control the volume (alsamixer) from windows

linux offers a much more customizable user experience than windows or mac ever did.

I use Linux because of freedom. I was pretty shocked to know that Windows operating systems tend to hide stuff from the user just for ease of use. Viruses are also a problem in Windows, and Linux is a lot more secure than Windows. Probably the main thing that drove me to using Linux was the power of the command line, as you have full control of your computer that way.

I use linux because :
- It's free (no cost)
- Stable
- Many free programs

java socket

I use many OS's for various reasons. Most are what the company bought.

At home I need windows for my family. I use virtual machines to test and use programs that I don't want to install on windows.

Because linux freakin' ROCKS...

+1 to that
i switched from mac OS 9 to YellowDog Linux back in '99, it offered Exactly what I wanted, a functional command line (mac OS prior to OSX didn't have a command line AT ALL and prior to mac os i had been used to msdos, gsos and prodos (all which had command lines), that and Linux did (and still does) things that are otherwise impossible in windows that I just couldn't do without.

Geek at birth. Linux by choice

PS: I like unix too.

Well it's free, gives me complete control (for better and for worse) and works just as well or better than Windows at everything I need it for. Which would just be just ssh, programming, and surfing the Internet for the most part. It's a bit more work to set up but it's worth it.

I liken it to driving manual vs. automatic. One way is easier, but slower and less (fuel) efficient, while the other has a steeper learning curve but enables you to go faster and get better gas mileage in the long run (although with recent advances in dual clutches and whatnot this gap isn't much of an issue anymore and therefore my analogy may be a bit dated). And just to be more "connected" to your car, if you find that important.

I guess I'm a techie by trade, although now I'm working on Mainframes, so I keep all three OSes running at home. Lin, OSX & Win...

Linux is my main OS.