We asked the devoted Linux users, the dual-Windows-and-Linux-booters, and the newer converts to the open-source operating system last week why they made the switch to Linux, and received over 330 responses as of this posting. The answers were sometimes level-headed, often passionate in their embrace of open-source culture, and occasionally induced a laugh (or a cringe) with tales of the last straw before switching. Read on for a look at why a good number of Lifehacker readers took the time to learn, customise, and adopt to Linux. Photo by Sphinx the Geek.

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Dear Lifehacker,
I want to run Windows on my new Intel Mac, and I know I can either dual boot Windows with Boot Camp, or run Windows on my desktop with virtualization software like VMware Fusion or Parallels Desktop. Which is the best method?
Signed,
Can't Let Go of Windows

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The following post was originally published in Chapter 11 of our new book, Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better.
You can have both a Mac and a PC on a single computer, using Apple's new Boot Camp software. Boot Camp lets you install Windows on your Mac in addition to Mac OS X. With Boot Camp set up, when you start your Mac, you can choose whether to use OS X or Windows. Boot Camp is a great way to consolidate the computers in your life and to run essential Windows programs that aren't available on the Mac. Here's how to set up Boot Camp to get a Mac and PC all rolled into one.

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If you've flirted with the idea of switching your desktop operating system to Linux but never took the leap, the time is now. This week's release of Hardy Heron, an Ubuntu release that will be supported until 2011, offers a freer, more productive space for work and play than ever before. It's not easy jumping blind into a new way of thinking or working, and Ubuntu, the so-called "Linux for Humans" operating system, is no different. For all the online buzz that surrounds the increasingly popular distribution, millions of sane, regular people wonder why they'd ever give up their familiar Mac or PC to venture into something still relatively new. Today we're shining the spotlight on a few great tools and tweaks that make Heron a worthy switch. Photo by BotheredByBees.

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You love working inside your Linux desktop, but at the most inconvenient times you've got to reboot into Windows—whether to open a tricky Office file, try out a Windows application, or even just play a quick game. However, with some free tools and a Windows installation disk, you can have Windows apps running right on your Linux desktop and sharing the same desktop files. It's relatively painless, it takes only a little bit longer than a Windows XP install, and it works just like virtualizing Windows on a Mac with Parallels Coherence—except it's free. Here's how to set up Windows inside VirtualBox, and then get Windows apps running seamlessly inside your desktop.

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Dual booting Windows and Linux doesn't mean you have to maintain two separate sets of applications, preferences, and documents. With cross-platform, open-source applications like Firefox, Thunderbird and Pidgin, you can use the same apps with the same configuration automatically no matter what OS you've booted. Always access the most recent state of your Firefox browsing history, IM buddy list, Thunderbird address book, and more from Windows or Linux using a single-point-of-contact data partition. Let's tear down at least part of the wall between Windows and Linux and start sharing files between the two dual-boot desktops. Photo by hsivonen.

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Linux only: The GRUB boot-selector tool has made dual-booting Linux and other systems easy, but changing how your boot menu looks requires digging through text files and praying you don't make a single typo. QGRUBEditor, a free visual GRUB editor, takes the guesswork and some of the hassle out of tweaking your boot settings. You can change menu orders, colors, splash images, and defaults, and preview the effects your changes have without having to reboot. The program has a few non-dire quirks, but it's still easier than guessing and paging through the menu file by hand. QGRUBEditor is a free download for Linux systems only, and requires three QT (KDE) libraries to run.

Windows only: Dual-booters have long been able to get at their Windows-formatted files, but Windows certainly doesn't make it easy to go the other way 'round. Enter Linux Reader, a free Windows application that emulates the look and feel of the Windows XP Explorer and allows read-only access to ext2 and ext3-formatted drives, the most common formats for Linux installations. Linux Reader can also search through Linux images and mount images for browsing, and runs as a stand-alone application—for a driver-based reading tool, check out Ext2 Installable File System. Linux Reader is a free download for Windows 98 and later.