My desktop PC ran Windows 10 and didn’t have the magic Windows 11 chip. I tried to do some easy things to get it to recognise my PC as having that chip anyway, but it didn’t work, and I was a bit afraid it’d run like shit with 11 anyway.

So I just decided to try something different and install Linux. First on an old little laptop I had lying around. I tried Mint first, then OpenSUSE - the first because it was supposed to be easy to newcomers, the latter because it’s German (and I liked the way it felt when I tried it on my laptop).

After trying it for a bit, I just decided I’d install it on my desktop as I didn’t want to use Windows 10 without security updates anyway. I’ve now been using OpenSUSE Leap for about half a year, and I’m quite happy.

Homework.

College used linux because I did computer science.
Topic: concurrency. College then gave us a programming assignment that required adding a code library, which I had never done before or even heard of, and thus did not understand.
Since this was a library that was platform-specific, they had made one library for linux and one for windows.
Way too late I got the gist of it but still couldn’t install the library.
Since the question contained the linux directory structure I was convinced that the windows library was broken and every other college student finished this task in Linux.
Thus I installed Linux.
Ten years later I understood and finished the assignment.

Came from windows laptop that I got about a year ago, before then I was running unironically chrome os. I liked chrome os for it’s Linux features. So when I did go from my Chromebook to a windows, it wasn’t as fun. I also didn’t like all the spyware on windows, and this was the time when I was removing myself from the internet as if I didn’t exist, So it was inevitable I would switch.

The only reason why I haven’t switched earlier is because I am a university student (currently in electrical engineering) and I was concerned that I would be given an exotic application that my laptop cannot support on Linux. Then I learned the majority of students have macbooks, so if it doesn’t work for me it doesn’t work for them too. That’s when I made the conscious decision to switch from windows to Linux.

Currently trying out fedora workstation, it is like the Mac os of Linux operating systems (and that’s a compliment).

During early high school years I heard about this thing called linux and there’s something that’s ubuntu, and said, why not? downloaded the ISO, installed on my USB with rufus, had panic attacks installing the dual boot myself for the first time, and done. After 2 months I switched to Arch (best thing I did) and ever since I’m deep diving in this Programming-Linux-Cybersecurity rabbit hole that I’m quite enjoying.

Fast forward to now, I’m using LFS and compiling my own kernel. My main desktop is a T440p with 4 OSes installed (maybe adding Plan9 to the mix if it supports my system)

I’m planing to mess more with “my own” distro thing maybe installing a Linux system without GNU: Linux + sinit + sbase + ubase + musl

Had a 6-year old Macbook Pro that was increasingly difficult to use due to the small SSD-drive (I think only 128GB?). Coudn’t really update the OS without uninstalling most stuff due to this. In addition, I had started to get the urge to tinker with stuff again, but ran into roadblocks often (often following a guide to do something in the terminal only to get stuck at inatalling something from apt). Same time I got more and more fed up with Big Tech, so when I was buying a new laptop to replace it, the choice to avoid Apple and Microsoft was obvious. Having used a terminal on macOS, doing work on HPC-clusters (which obviously ran Linux) and moving an increasing amount of my workflow to Got Bash on Windows on my work machine (all three of which reinforced my level of comfortability with the terminal and desire to use it), the prospects of the terminal was more enticing than frightening.

Now I have been a full-time Linux user for three years, my partner, brother and mother have since switched, I manage some bare metal Linux servers for work and IT has finally agreed to allow me to ditch Windows for Linux (although they are taking their sweet time setting it up, so I am still waiting to actually get it).

I got sick of my devices spying on me

About 20 years ago, I wanted to add recording studio capabilities to my gaming PC but I was a broke high schooler, so I installed Ubuntu Studio as a dual boot option alongside Windows XP.

Anyway, I installed Arch on my laptop about 3 years later in college using the Arch Book, which was essentially the same as the wiki’s install guide at the time.

I had a dual boot system with Windows and Mac (it was a hackintosh) as my home recording studio Pro Tools/gaming PC for about a decade, then my Windows install had to be wiped due to an issue I had, so I decided to just wipe the whole thing and go single boot with Linux Mint, so now I use Reaper for recording and Steam + Heroic + emulators are meeting all my gaming needs. I use the Xanmod kernel and the kisak-mesa PPA, and since making the switch I’ve upgraded essentially all of the parts in my PC, which is good because I first built it in 2013

Because I’m a fucking nerd and in '99 using Linux and LaTeX was the nerdiest thing to do. Stayed because it’s fucking awesome.

This feels like a fireplace for all Linux users to meet :D

Built a new computer and Microsoft was pushing thoes full screen win 11 ads. That was the end for me.

I like learning and the thrill of tinkering, my computer’s HD had died, remembered a system a teacher had commented about and also a friend suggested to recover some needed files, tested and was positively surprised.

Switched to Linux in 2002 because I hated using windows & was searching for a better computing experience. Instantly fell in love & have been daily driving Linux ever since…

Windows 95/98 sucked shit. I liked the games, but the kernels were terrible.

I dual booted or ran two machines Linux (RedHat 5.2 to 6.2, wtf was up with 7?), then whatever worked (usually Debian based) for a while. Mostly used Linux alone for years, but used Win7 for a bit. That one was okay, but Microsoft can’t build dev tools on their own OS to save their lives.

It’s been Linux Mint for a long time now on desktops and Debian/Armbian on servers.

Basically, I’ve been mainlining Linux since about '97 and it’s doing me just fine. Works great for my kids and wife. We’re a mostly Linux household. It saves me a ton of headaches. Easy to install, patch, and almost no other maintenance.

I woke up one day, and copilot had been installed on my PC overnight. I didn’t like that lack of control. This was, coincidentally, a weekend that my wife, kid, and dog were all gone. Since I knew Win10 only had a year left, and I had the time, I figured it was as good a time as any.

I downloaded Fedora and Kubuntu. Spent a bit of time with each, and went with Kubuntu. For a few days. It had issues waking from sleep, and I had to do some kind of tweaking with every one of my games to get them to work.

I don’t mind tinkering with stuff, but i just don’t have the time to make my computer my hobby. So, I switched to Mint. Everything just works. So, I put it on everything else. I guess the one time I really had to dig into terminal stuff was getting a wifi driver for my living room PC off git. Other than that, super easy.

Now, I’m coming up on a year of Mint. Couldn’t be happier.

Because Windows XP was a hot pile of garbage.

One day, my network driver broke. None of the discs worked. None of those incoherent “wizards” Windows loves to use worked. Reinstalling Windows broke more things. I couldn’t get online for about 2 months.

One day I was at the bookstore and saw a Fedora Core book with an OS disc. I thought it was cool so I convinced mom to get it. Went home, blundered my way through the install and everything just worked.

I cannot for the life of me understand how XP is routinely loved by everyone. It looked like a muddy fisher-price toybox.