What brought you to Linux?

[berks]

I am a new user to Linux, so far I have been going through various distributions "testing" them each. My first encounter with Linux was in high school where I attempted to use the CLI. That left me with a bad image, recently I decided to give it another go after researching how to develop a Web Server. So far it has been a wonderful experience, I am even beginning to understand the CLI. :cool:

How about you, why did you start using Linux?

[scotty]

My computer broke. I needed some way to get my data. I discovered the Ubuntu Live CD. Since then I haven't looked back!

[jschuhr]

I wanted to do some Node.JS development and I find the coding environment on Windows is lacking.

[Sinister_Diagram]

I would have to say my main reason for coming to Linux would be between aggravation caused by Windows (haha) and the freedom that Linux can offer. When I first came across anything to do with Linux, I was having some major problems with an old desktop computer. It was pretty darn old at the time, but despite it's age, I knew it could be better. I began looking up alternatives to Windows along with how I could have a "faster computer". After being overwhelmed with sites that offer 'free' software to speed up my computer, I came across an article about Linux. I cannot remember the Linux distribution that was being discussed, but I was very interested. It was a little while after that, that I used by first "live cd" and I was so impressed. Well, let's just say that now, it has lead me to be Pro Linux for life, I am sure. I see Linux as offering just as much as a Windows system and more, in many aspects.

[grim76]

I was tired of dealing with the same old things with Windows. I needed a new challenge and Linux presented that challenge. I literally formatted everything in the house one weekend and forced myself to figure out how to get back online with Linux.

[jschuhr]

I was tired of dealing with the same old things with Windows. I needed a new challenge and Linux presented that challenge. I literally formatted everything in the house one weekend and forced myself to figure out how to get back online with Linux.

Sounds like it was a "final straw" scenario.

[grim76]

You would be correct.

[scotty]

You would be correct.

I am getting there myself. I am sure this will happen to me one day, I am like 50:50 with Linux / Windows right now, mostly always dual boot, but my windows just keeps on crapping out its driving me insane!

[berks]

I was tired of dealing with the same old things with Windows. I needed a new challenge and Linux presented that challenge. I literally formatted everything in the house one weekend and forced myself to figure out how to get back online with Linux.

The only real reason holding me back from this is the fact that my computers are all really old, HDDs are full and i have no way of backing them up. I plan to buy a larger HDD during the summer to backup my data and make the switch.

The hard decision now is to choose which distribution I am to use, currently I am thinking CentOS or Xubuntu but I plan to also try mint and fedora in the near future.

[Sinister_Diagram]

The hard decision now is to choose which distribution I am to use

I can easily say this is the hardest part of making the final decision to become a Linux user, especially full time. There are so many distributions out there and many of them offer more benefits than anything. I definitely say to continue testing and check out Distro Watch - it is a valuable site to find a plethora of distributions. Plus, it allows you to see just how up-to-date distributions. When I become interested in a distro that was not familiar to me, I try to check it out on Distro Watch to see if it is still updating in any way, which is very important. The decision can be hard to make and you might even become a distro hopper - I can admit that I have been guilty of it at times, haha. Good luck!;)

[psufootball]

I got a new computer and was having issues with my old one (a relatively new computer as well). It was running Windows Vista and randomly freezing and crap. I decided, hell, let's try Linux. And I've switched around with different versions of it and stuff, but it has been Linux ever since.

[Rob]

In 96ish I got a tech support job for a local isp (remember dialup?!) :)

I was drawn into the shell accounts we sold and the admin would let me borrow his Linux books.

I then loaded up red hat 3.0.3 (like a dozen floppies) on a newish packard bell pc w/ a 540mb hard drive.. it was awesome.

With it ever since!

[scotty]

In 96ish I got a tech support job for a local isp (remember dialup?!) :)

I was drawn into the shell accounts we sold and the admin would let me borrow his Linux books.

I then loaded up red hat 3.0.3 (like a dozen floppies) on a newish packard bell pc w/ a 540mb hard drive.. it was awesome.

With it ever since!


Old school! I used to enjoy the little song dial up would play as I would come online. I was online so much, the phone would ring, and I would always scream to my mum DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE! I am glad that has changed!

[berks]

I can easily say this is the hardest part of making the final decision to become a Linux user, especially full time. There are so many distributions out there and many of them offer more benefits than anything. I definitely say to continue testing and check out Distro Watch - it is a valuable site to find a plethora of distributions. Plus, it allows you to see just how up-to-date distributions. When I become interested in a distro that was not familiar to me, I try to check it out on Distro Watch to see if it is still updating in any way, which is very important. The decision can be hard to make and you might even become a distro hopper - I can admit that I have been guilty of it at times, haha. Good luck!;)

Thanks a lot for that website, never heard of it before. I have been looking at it and so far I am impressed, there are so many distros that I have never heard of and they all sound interesting.

[Sinister_Diagram]

Thanks a lot for that website, never heard of it before. I have been looking at it and so far I am impressed, there are so many distros that I have never heard of and they all sound interesting.

I am glad that website could be of help to you! It is a great resource to have available at all times while exploring Linux. You are able to keep up-to-date with the newest releases in the Linux world on the main page, even down to beta releases, which is something that I check frequently. Once you begin to see just how many distributions are available, it can seem quite overwhelming to most people and scares them away from Linux in general. I think it is great to take your time, unless you are in a rush to get a computer up and running again, and simply explore. Try as many live cds of distros that you found the most interesting and go from there. I can happily say I keep a stack of burnable dvd/cds simply to test out a distro I have never used or to try out the newest version of a distro that I am a fan of!

[DaReaper]

There are three things that brought me into linux intentionally and i wasn't planning to try out Linux without them.

1) My Friend who introduced me to Linux and gave me Ubuntu's free CD kit which made me want to give it a try.
2) My Mobile tablet which i purchased in 2010, came built in with Maemo(Now MeeGo) - Nokia N900, supported lots of tweaks, Very highly modifiable, Supported dual,triple,quad boot with Nitdroid- custom rom(Android Gingerbread). I've tried the following OS's on the device - Maemo, Debian(LXDE), Android Froyo,Gingerbreak, [Windows 3.11,Windows 95, Windows 98 NT 4.0, with DosBox], Mer/OpenMoko, MeeGo- developers edition, Kubuntu, SHR. The phone also runs Mac OS 10.3 which i've not tried.

3) My Virtual Private server with CentOS and i've learnt a lot from it.

[Victor Leigh]

I migrated to Linux when my Windows died. Now I use Linux for everything. Except games. To play WoW, I use Windows 7. Test-driving Windows 8 atm.

[fox1562]

ive just got myself a satellite dreambox, and would like to know more about linux, as i would like to write some software for these units, im hoping linux is simaller to "dos " if anyone can put me in the right direction please let me know. many thanks

[linbgs]

i still use windows mostly honestly

HOWEVER

I use linux a lot because what i can do in linux just isnt possible in windows without some serious hacking at it... lol not to mention, the productivity inside a linux CLI verses the productivity of doing something through a GUI in windows is off the charts

being that i have a major interest in security as well i do have a lot of cracking tools in windows that i can use very well but some of them just dont compare to the linux versions, even from the same devs... the level of hardware access and sophistication of drivers is just too different between the two operating systems

linux IS a better os, the way it handles everything is just better... the only issue is lack of support

[Darwin]

I think I am more or less a convert, if I didn't have to use the Windows OS for certain things I use for work then certainly all my units would be fored up with Linux. Linux just presents a few challenges and is much safer. I await the Linux web with anticipation, somewhere the snoops, hacks and corporations can't squeeze us dry.

[DaReaper]

I can easily say this is the hardest part of making the final decision to become a Linux user, especially full time. There are so many distributions out there and many of them offer more benefits than anything. I definitely say to continue testing and check out Distro Watch - it is a valuable site to find a plethora of distributions. Plus, it allows you to see just how up-to-date distributions. When I become interested in a distro that was not familiar to me, I try to check it out on Distro Watch to see if it is still updating in any way, which is very important. The decision can be hard to make and you might even become a distro hopper - I can admit that I have been guilty of it at times, haha. Good luck!;)

Yeah, that's the hardest part. The decision can be made on interest and what kind of packages and applications would you been needing to run. I choose Ubuntu at first just cause i was introduced to it first, but now i have plans to make my move to Linux Mint. I prefered the old Desktop Environment, i'll probably wait till Unity stars to look simpler, or maybe it might not.

[RAZRblade]

Hey everyone. Just started using Linux this week.
Android is what brought me to Linux. I've got into rooting and all that followed, got addicted to flashing roms,tweaks, then I came across an Ubuntu installer and decided to put 10.xx with lxde and gnome on the phone and wow, easy, smooth. Ran smooth off the phone. Looked into it for Winders and just started messing with distro hopping and learning how to diagnose windows probs.
Tried puppy and Ubuntu so far, going to try mint lxde today, and maybe android, and... all of them?

"Why can't my computer be as customizable as my DROID? Oh it can! Bye, windows xp. :)

[Stefano Messicano]

Hello,i switched to Linux for some several reasons.The first thing is that many distributions are completely free, downloadable from the internet with thousands of packages.For each application there are several choices that I use in Linux that gives you the complete control of the PC.

[CityGirlLuv]

I've heard about Linux for years, but honestly Android got me on to Linux too. I hadn't rooted my phone yet as I'm scared I may brick it but I am getting the necessary knowledge from various articles and sites into rooting my phone. Also, from what I heard, you can do a lot more on Linux than with Windows though most programs are more compatible on Windows.

[dogma68]

Heard about linux a long time ago. just recently, about 3 months I was able to use it when a friend let me use his Del laptop. I am still getting the hang of it though since i have been a windows user ever since.

[Victor Leigh]

Heard about linux a long time ago. just recently, about 3 months I was able to use it when a friend let me use his Del laptop. I am still getting the hang of it though since i have been a windows user ever since.

Which distro are you using? For Windows refugees, I would recommend Ubuntu because it has an interface similar to Windows. That could make your transition to Linux less traumatic.

[dogma68]

Which distro are you using? For Windows refugees, I would recommend Ubuntu because it has an interface similar to Windows. That could make your transition to Linux less traumatic.

Really? but the features are different right or there are certain functions similar to windows? sorry if its kind of a noob question =/

[DaReaper]

Which distro are you using? For Windows refugees, I would recommend Ubuntu because it has an interface similar to Windows. That could make your transition to Linux less traumatic.

I would like to know - What other than the interface is similar to that of Windows functions? I've known that there are applications that can substitute Windows applications on Ubuntu, and also that Linux was mostly Command Line and the trend changed later, but users still prefer the old geekish Command line for doing a lot of stuff.

[dale]

dogma68, just to clarify, what do you mean by features and functions?

[pane-free]

I began late with DOS and moved to 2.1, then 95, 98, 98SE and ME. Then, after five years with NT4 and W2K tweaking registries to get all the performance possible for GIS apps, reloading the OS too many times to count and troubleshooting others' workstations, I burnt out. Took a sabbatical away from the techie scene for a few and when I came back swore I would wean myself away from the BSOD and registry and all else associated with the dominant OS ASAP. Now, I am Pane-Free! And I'm glad for it. So, "Don't look back, you can never look back!" Reach ahead for the prize!

BTW -- LinuxFest Northwest was great!

[Rob]

Awesome story - and we were gonna send a guy (elliot!) to linuxfest nw but found out about it too late!

Now we know the meaning of your name - spread the linuxforum word!

[pane-free]

Had lots of fun, met many, learned much; and I was especially impressed with the new openSUSE and its capabilities as given in demos while at LFNW, this year.

Will do (and you do, too, next year), Rob!