i've found that a lot of peoples answers on here seem to say that they like linux because it's free, and hate micrsoft...
but i'm thinking, surely that's not your only reason for liking Linux... is it? If micosoft was free would you prefer to use that?
it just somehow feels like some of you are saying this...
i need some reassurance here...

Microsoft could pay me and I still wouldn't return to Windows as a primary operating system, especially Vista. I didn't come over to Linux because it was free. I came to Linux because it works... plain and simple.

thanks! that's just what i wanted to hear!

I use Windows and Linux for different things (things each are better for). Linux = Programming and work like that and Windows = Gaming.

i guess thats understandable... gaming will be good on linux too though... someday

Doesn't this sort of thing belong in the Linux vs. Windows Megathread?

Why would you need reassurance? Use what works for you and don't worry about why anyone else uses the same thing or something else. 100 years from now nobody will care anyway.

yeah... ur probably right...

I use Linux for 3 reasons:

1. It is free. I am tired of paying hundreds of dollars for software when I can obtain better or alternative software for free.

2. It gives me control. I am dead sick and tired of MSFT software deciding on its own what I am trying to do and/or what is best for me. Classic example: open a text file containing strings with dates and/or leading zeroes in Excel. Excel refuses to display the data as is, and instead formats it according to what it thinks is correct. This is an unforgivable flaw -- simply viewing the data should not cause that application to attempt to modify that source data, but with Excel, that's the default behavior. Specific example: consider a data file containing employee data, where the company's employee ID is a 6 digit numeric value. If Joe Smith happens to be employee number "001273", and that is value present in the source file. Excel will "help" you by dropping the leading zeroes and changing that value to "1273". The only way to stop it from doing this is to manually tell it that it's a text field, but when you are working with dozens of source files every single day, go through this manual, unavoidable process again and again and again is a massive hassle.

3. Better security. In Windows, "regular user" accounts have full root privs by default. In Linux, only root has full root privs, and regular users only have limited access privs to anything outside their home directory. From a practical point of view, this means that while logged in as a regular user, any attempts to execute root-level commands in Windows will probably succeed, while in Linux, they will fail.

I'll take Linux over Windows, thank you very much

I really don't know why you need "reassurance".
If you are interested in Linux give it a try and see what you think.
People posting on the internet don't really form your opinion do they?

as if she had been assured before ... ^_^


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Linux has a Bash, which windows doesn't have.
Linux/Unix is the preferred OS for the computer science guys.
Using Linux, makes the people have to understand about what they doing. Do you prefer an OS that doesn't bring any add-on to your knowledge, or an OS that makes you learn?

When i compare Linux with Windows, i compare in the following way.
Who uses Linux, works over a computer. Computer = Knowledge.
Who uses Windows, works over GUI applications. The Gui applications diminished your knowledge, because they only present one way of doing something. Ie, going to a menu and select an option. Don't forget that Windows is great in usability, but not in learning.

To diminished the second point, Linux companies are doing great steps in bringing more usability to their OS.

In the Linux world, lot of companies works in different subject. For example, you have GNOME, KDE, XFCE, etc, for desktop environments. In the windows, the same company works for only one product.

Do you prefer have a product that, only one company builds a solution. Or, do you prefer have a product that is made by several companies (several minds and opinions)?

I prefer the second option.

i've been using linux since i can remember... what i meant by reasurance, was i wanted reassurance that people on this site don't just like/use linux for the sole reason that it's free... although now that i think about it... who cares

I got tired of having to reinstall windows every other month (literally) due to viruses. It also doesn't crash (for most people), gives the user more power, and the setup makes sense.

I use Linux because it is a much better and secure system.To me it costed money to learn it,but I have never regretted it!