+1 for curiosity

rhoderickj

I just love to tinker so after having used early mac's (II GS and the like) and windows machines linux was the next logical step for me

AnthoMacP

I got interested in Linux when I first heard that you could boot a live CD without having to install it. After playing with Knoppix, I then installed DSL on a USB drive for fun, and later Puppy Linux. Then I discovered the Ubuntu family of distros and ended up installing Xubuntu on an old desktop. Basically, Linux breathed new life into my old machine, and it actually wasn't that hard to do. I won't abandon Windows any time soon because of the games, but I really like the flexibility of the more user-friendly versions of Linux.

forpeterssake

I switched before XP during the trail end of 98. 98 killed me, just a horrible, horrible OS.

nettoyeur

I started my career on VMS and SunOS. And in '97, when starting graduate school I was stuck in a situation where I needed X11 to do my homework. I installed slack and wound up using Linux for everything I did except play games. Now I even play my games (What's Up Wesnoth) on Linux.

microe

Happy Ubuntu user here.

I started using 'Nix because...I work in IT, and I'm just a natural born tinkerer.

I was already familiar with Mac, and Windows (of course), so it only made sense to round out my skill set with Linux.

I agree with the first poster though, the learning curve is fairly steep, but one thing (among many) that makes the Linux community so cool, is there is always a forum you can jump on to ask all the questions you need to.

sanks

It was sometime around 2000 or 2001. I was always comfortable with a command line, and I hated that doing a lot of things (media transcoding, burning discs, etc) in Windoze meant either using a crippled Microsoft application, or googling for a 3rd party application, which would then likely need to be cracked unless I wanted to pay to use the full version.

In short, it was lack of control. In Linux, I saw a thriving community of users, united in their curiosity and their desire to control their computing experience in a way that Windoze could never match.

I started out with Mandrake Linux, moved to Slackware (which went a LONG way towards teaching me the inner-workings of the OS), then moved to Debian Woody because apt saved me a lot of time building software and resolving dependencies. Been using Ubuntu since '06.

MercuryShadow

I have a friend that's a big promoter of Ubuntu. He was actually the president of the local Linux group for a while. He had been trying to get me to switch for quite a while, and I had an old laptop that just wasn't doing very well. I was ready to get rid of it, but thought I'd give Linux a try. I installed Ubuntu and suddenly all the hardware worked, the OS ran smooth, and the laptop was actually quite useful again.

Just recently I was given a laptop that was way underpowered for running Vista. Since it's also underpowered for running games, XP wouldn't really be necessary. And since Ubuntu is free, that's what I went with.

I do still use XP on my desktop computer, since I'm starting into game design. But it's very useful to have both.

micjwelch

Curiosity and the convenience of Wubi. But it didn't last due to the inconvenience of unsupported hardware.

I no longer dual boot, but I do run Ubuntu in a virtual machine for experience sake. But Windows XP supports my hardware and doesn't require the purchase of different hardware just to be fully functional.

dagwud

"Switch" implies completely abandoning one for the other. I'm not a dual-booter, but I don't dispose of my old hardware either. It started as tinkering, but when I realized that I could get additional life out of machines incapable of running Windows, it became a viable alternative for a thin-client machine.

tinyhands

Windows Genuine Advantage made me switch. I rightfully owned my copy of XP and they came up with that garbage to ensure my copy was "genuine" (and it was). Microsoft's guilty-until-proven-innocent attitude turned me off from Windows.

NICU

Got tired of trying to keep up with the MS Genuine Advantage stuff in XP so switched to Ubuntu. I don't think that was MS's plan!

I use Windows and Mac OS X at work, but Linux seems much faster and more productive.

Only think I can't do in Linux yet is some online banking (my bank uses an ActiveX component).

dave1010

What else can run so smoothly on old hardware? I did a HDD install of Damn Small Linux on a 233mhz, 96mb, 3gb hdd, severely antiquated Thinkpad 560x. I have turned it into a quick web-surfing, emailing, m3-playing machine. Resurrected from the dead!

aj.hidell

@monkeyboy, I use and recommend SimplyMepis 7.0

Joseph

This is a timely post as I've been tossing around the idea of installing Ubuntu on one of my spare Windows boxes. I'm happy with my OSX, but as a web developer, I need to see how sites are displayed on various OS's and browsers. So, I guess that's my motivation.

drwedge

curiosity

syko21

I'm going to have to go with the Mt. Everest comment. I started running linux because it was a fun an interesting project. I mean, I remember when it took me four hours to install Gaim, hunting down all of the dependencies, fixing broken libraries, etc. Needless to say, now I run Gentoo. ^^

kiyote

Vista = BAD
Linux = Good

Why I switched. Why I also adopted Leopard, I hate using Vista, and now XP, it infuriates and I cannot get XP which is the lesser of two evils on a decent laptop anymore!

Piezochem

(continued from above)
user/superuser hierarchical file privileges, semaphores, pipes, mutex file locks, and so on and so forth....

Joseph

My computer had just crashed (again) and Vista was looming so I decided it was time to switch. Plus the geekiness of it was appealing. I won't go back now.

bryng

After graduating from college in 2000, I began experimenting with linux, to see if I could get it running on an old salvaged PC. Why? I had used Unix in the past and knew it to be a professional quality operating, that is to say, a multi-user, multi-processing operating system with explicit file permissions on read, on write, and on execute privileges, built-in security, built-in networking, So I started with a dual boot with Windows XP and Red Hat linux.

I was as amazed as I had been when I first tried a Mac at university. The Mac just worked instantly and flawlessly with my Windows files.

GNU/Linux also worked with my Windows files, albeit with a bit more monkeying around.

Since then, I have stuck exclusively with GNU/Linux since losing my Windows OS by picking up malware off the internet. I don't have to worry about that crap anymore.

Joseph

I had just bought a laptop in 2005, had it for about three or four months when WinXP took a sh!t on me for the last time. I am a pretty normal computer user, I surf the internet, play a couple of games, write documents ... Well, after only a few months, it wouldn't boot to XP! Who knows what happened? My friend happened to be new in the Ubuntu community himself and highly recommended it. I was already in love with open source philosophy and ideas, so I jumped without hesitation and quit Windows cold turkey. No more viruses, spyware, or BSODs!

The only problem I continue to have is inability to run Rome:Total War

thekingofcheap

got tired of having to always tinker and maintain windows to keep it working. When it gets to where you have to spend most of your evenings keeping you av, antispyware, etc up to date then your working for your computer not your computer working for you. Since I've switched I am so much more productive, have so much more time for doing real work.

enine

I had built my own computer and later did a bunch of upgrading to it. I decided to reinstall XP. When I did, it said that I had used my license key too many times. This was before I knew you could call up Microsoft and ask for another, so I decided I would just try this Kubuntu thing I kept hearing about. I later learned that I could renew my license for free if I called in, but never wanted to. I had learned to do so much with my (K)Ubuntu installation that I could never do with my XP install.

I don't hate XP. I use it for work, but I just like Ubuntu better.

Before I get flamed for using Ubuntu, I have since tried multiple distributions for at least a week, including Debian, PCOSLinux, Mandrivia, Sabayon, and a few more, but I like the balance that Ubuntu has.

rubbsdecvik

I was lured in by the flashy desktop effects of beryl (now compiz fusion). I've been a dual-booter ever since, but still can't drop windows because there is just too much windows only software.

gg101

Indeed the switch from windows to linux is not easy.
I had to learn where things were and what each one did.
Linux has its advantages and disadvantages but when linux is free, I had to try it. So I am Dual booting Ubuntu and XP.

I had tried other Linux distros like gOS, openSuse, PCLinux and many others I cant remember.

You can check this link out.
Distrowatch.com

fredygamer

I got tired of maintaining my stolen copy of XP

gardenlevel

I was curious. I don't think I'll ever make the break from Windows totally, it's more convenient. Having said that, I do find myself booting into Linux more and more...

Mabboo

I was bored.

Yeah, I was bored.

Ender15

I had a lot of time to kill.
I felt like getting frustrated on a daily basis.
I didn't actually want to use most of the hardward that was inside of my computer.

natenovs

Because it was easier for me to use it on my first server (a 133mhz piece of scrap) than Windows. Ran Slackware 9 like a dream.

Jalada

I switched because it's free! I had a Windows 2000 computer and no money to spend for another Micro$oft Windows. So there you have it! :)

m1sael

I got interested in parallel computing, and realized that its much easier to build a cluster in Linux than in Windows. I started out in Gentoo because my older brother recommended it and the documentation is excellent, but recently switched to Ubuntu because recompiling on my laptop was embarrassing.

severnclay

I wanted to try something new. What happened to the satisfaction of achieving something on a computer? Yes Linux is hard at times. But the rewards are tenfold.
You discover the beauty after you find out how Linux can easily be an Apache, FTP, SVC or RDP server.

Also, it's so much prettier than Vista or OS X. I mean how awesome is the desktop Cube or Cylinder!

carignan.boy

Had to break out of my abusive relationship with Microsoft.

Flirting many platforms since then - you know, playing the field. Then I thought I found true love in Ubuntu... It was a glorious six months.

Then I found Mac OSX. Joyous me!

Bodybybuddha

Just got tired of the same old same old with windows & a new mac was too expensive at the time. Downloaded Ubuntu and now use Puppy. Only use windows for gaming......

rawbzilla

I got an old computer free from work when they were cleaning out the storage. I'd been wanting to mess with Linux, but not enough to put it on my MacBook or my old XP box. So I downloaded a copy of Xubuntu, burned to CD and went from there.

Right now it's still a work in progress, but it's nicely set up for my kids (4 and 6), so they can draw and play edutainment games but not mess up something important on the other 2 machines. I also use it, mostly to learn the terminal better and for a little programming.

bhp

So what distro of Linux is everyone running? I tried Ubuntu multiple times, never did like it.

monkeyboy

1) Cost
2) Fed Up with Windows
3) Less Restrictive
4) Let Microsoft Know It Wasn't Their PC to mess with

the_boffin

I was broke, Windows sucked, I had a bunch of supposedly dead computer equipment lying around.

I had to choose between spending money that I didn't have on new hardware and a newer version of Windows -- or Linux.

Of course, it helps that I had been using Unix at work for ten years at this point!

shadowfirebird

Curiousity.

TendoMentis

I had tinkered with it for several years as a dual boot OS but I never really used it until I had a job that required a linux OS to run a copy of the game I was coding for. After I left that job, I started dual booting with windows as a secondary OS for games, and kept Linux as my primary system. I eventually got a new machine that came with Vista, so I thought I would give that a try, and I used it until it crashed. Wouldn't boot in safe mood, wouldn't do anything but endlessly reboot. I said screw it, and went back to linux.. until I got my mac. That linux machine now sits in the basement acting as a web and file server. Oh, and it does backups.

So, in conclusion, I switched first out of need for work, then I switched because it was more stable. I still find myself using the terminal.app in mac for a lot of things.

shockwaver

I was originally enamored with the idea of using a USB drive to hold an entire OS so I gave it a go with Ubuntu. After about a week, I started dual-booting and within another week, I realized that I wasn't using Windows at all and made the switch completely. It was relatively seamless and I had few snags along the way. To tell you the truth, I never hated Microsoft or Windows at all. I was just curious about using Linux and the prospect of a free OS was enticing. Windows had been running fine for me (with the help of a full re-installation every six to eight months, but I do that with new releases of Ubuntu anyway) but sometimes fine isn't going to cut it.
For the most part, the alternative programs work very well, but every so often I'll find a replacement that just doesn't cut it. I've thought often of going back to dual-booting and I may very well do that, but I would never leave Linux altogether.

urmston

Q: Why do people climb Mt. Everest?
A: Because it's there.

In my case, approx. 4 years ago, it was simply curiosity that motivated me to install ubuntu as a 2nd OS (after WinXP) on my hard drive.

I am a long term Windows user. Thinking back to my original decision to install linux, the logic went something like this:

COST = Low (20 cents to burn a blank CD)
LEARNING CURVE = high (initially, I was totally unfamiliar with linux, and invested a lot of hours in forums struggling to learn.)

XPditer

@ Buddyx6 - You should see this then
[digg.com]

arvinddeshpande

I'm going to be totally honest and say that I initially became interested in Linux for the attention I got when I'd bring it up in conversation or when people would see my computer. I must admit that I've battled with some elitism. But I'm also an idealist and find the thought of proprietary software to be repugnant.

I started with Knoppix, then to openSUSE, then to Linux Mint, and now I'm settled with Ubuntu.

pnoque

I think my main reason was freedom. Freedom to choose whatever distro I wanted, freedom to make it look and act how I wanted...etc.
I use Kubuntu 8.04 KDE4 on my main system and I love it.
I just loaded DreamLinux 3 for my daughters to use on their pc, and have OpenGEU on a back-up 'dual-boot' pc. I have also played around with Knoppix, Linux Mint, TinyMe, Mandriva, Ubuntu and Edubuntu. I am even diving into more actual Unix, and I am going to run BSD on my back-up pc.
I just find it fun.

cvpunk

Well! I bought my first own computer in 1996 ( Micron ) and decided to install Linux on it as at that time it was the only FREE Unix like OS. At the start it did not run pretty well on it ( actually just the X Windows ) but I was all right with it giving me a command prompt and all. I work in IT too and majorly/mainly on *Nix OSes.
Within few months there was a driver released for my Video Card ( I believe it was ATI Radeon or something ) and since then I am on Linux.
Now a days we own 3/4 computers including 3 laptops and a desktop and 3 of those can be dual booted....when I used them they come alive with Linux when wife does ( she has to use Word extensively ) she boots it with Windows.
Although my own laptop is running Linux for almost last 7 years now. A Happy Fedora user, after RedHat 9, Red Hat made their Linux OS commercial.
I don't think I will ever go back to Windows again. Except at work they make me use it. Although I have got KDE/Cygwin combination and use only Outlook etc.

arvinddeshpande

When MS began tracking installations, I decided to look for an alternative to my 5 illegal installations of Windows. I setup a dual boot of XP\Ubuntu to experiment and found I enjoyed Ubuntu much more than XP. In a few weeks I reformatted and installed Ubuntu alone.

Now I have 2 illegal XP installs, and 2 rocking legal Ubuntu installs. I'd go totally Ubuntu except the ol' lady still refuses to have anything to do with Linux :-(

Buddyx6

Worked at a startup that had previously purchased all computer equipment off-the-shelf. Started ghosting machines then ran into all sorts of licensing issues. Contacted Microsoft and they kindly explained that we'd need to re-buy licenses for each machine. Decided that was stupid and started learning Ubuntu. Bass-ackwards that we used it on the desktops before the servers, I know, but that's my story.

godzilla8nj

i'm dual booting until i figure out fully how to get everything i need in ubuntu. i'm addicted to learning linux. if i could get wireless and something equal to windows media center i would probably switch over completely. also the size and security is another reason to switch. i've added a second hard drive, 160gig, and so far i've only used 9 gigs for ubuntu.

MuglyTheWorm

@screaminscott: It was for me. YMMV, depending on how well-supported your hardware is. OTOH, the only reason Windows is that easy is because it came with your computer. If you've ever done a clean install from a retail Windows disc... well, let's just say that Ubuntu was the easiest, least-painful OS install experience I've ever had.

And some people like to fiddle under the hoods of their cars too. To each his own.

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

i have an ancient ibook that refused to run osX (this is a last generation clamshell. ppc, of course) and i felt bad letting it languish in obscurity. this wasn't my main computer, btw. i had also gone to the trouble of upgrading the hard drive (what a scary challenge!).

it now happily chugs along with xubuntu. it's old enough now that i can't get the newest release running on it, but i'm able to surf most of the net (no flash support for me) and watch movies and drag it everywhere.

the side benefit is the geek-girl cred i get from the IT guys at work when i tell them what i did.

littleoracle

I installed it to save files from a Windows install that went bad, and I discovered that (for me) it "just worked." Its speed, simplicity, stability, and flexibility kept me from going back to Windows. There just wasn't a need, as there weren't any Windows programs I couldn't find a good alternative to.

BrandonJ

Here is what I had hoped to achieve with the switch to Linux:

1) Stablity
2) Improved performance
3) Ease of Use
4) Threat of viruses and malware diminished

My machine is now more stable than it has been. I can leave it on for hours at a time and return to it without fear that it will need a restart because some system process or application (Firefox!) ate up the available memory.

I have much better CPU/Memory usage versus my Windows install. The machine screams with 2GB of RAM versus my take with Windows XP. (Windows seemed to run slower after the upgrade, an indication it may not have liked the RAM or another problem a reinstall of Windows *might* have fixed) My video card was picked up on and the performance is oustanding. Compiz really makes the machine shine.

As far as ease of use - everything just works as it should. Granted, there is a learning curve. However, people cannot just tell me they went to a Windows machine and it worked for them. You have to learn how to do everything first! It's more clear in Windows what you are doing and when versus a Linux distro, but check the forums for Ubuntu and even that comparison starts to erode. My wife doesn't mind Windows or Ubuntu so long as the machine works as she expects it to.

Viruses and malware - I should note that it is still possible to carry a virus for Windows users on your machine and pass it on, but the effects would be nill on your Linux machine. I enjoy not having to go out source an antivirus or a (software) firewall solution because of the threats to my OS. Virtually non-existent.

sw4383

Two years ago I was upgrading my PC and I switched to Ubuntu For 3 reasons:

1) Privacy, security, and Freedom: DRM is terrible. I heard of HDCP and Trusted Computing coming to Vista and I didn't want any piece of it. I don't trust Microsoft to look out for my interests. I'd rather have a community of eyes that can examine the code. Macs were similarly restrictive and in bed with peopel other then their customers. I don't really need to say anything about virii and spyware.

2) Piracy: It was getting harder and harder to bootleg windows. Frankly, I got tired of the game and said I might as well use the free alternative. I'm a full convert now. I don't pirate a thing anymore. Learn the free alternative or pay for the program. Usually the free alternative works just fine. I've been pleasantly surprised.

3) Ubuntu makes a better OS: Plain and simple. It really is. I'll take a command line and config files over window's registry and dll hell anyday! More proof: windows update vs. ubuntu update manager. My wife's xp machine will reboot on her while she is working if she doesn't click the restart later button every 5 minutes. She has 10 programs constantly bugging her about updates avaialble from her system tray. Instead in linux, update manager handles it all in one place, only needing a reboot on kernel updates (about every 2 months.)

sensibile

Linux is open-source, microsoft is evil

cowgarden

I'd been interested in *nix since my poor, penniless school days, so Linux was my chance to play with a "real" OS.

With so many different flavors available, you are bound to find a version that runs on just about any hardware you've got.

You can install as many copies as you want onto as many machines as you want - as long as their owners don't mind - without licensing concerns.

All that, plus I just don't care for the direction Windows is going. "My Computer" has always left a bad taste in My Mouth. Windows forces it's users to accept many "features" which really should be options. With each new release it becomes more of a slick, consumer appliance. The fat turtle Vista with it's built-in DRM support clinched it for me. Micro$oft can keep it.

I've been dual-booting for a while - I've got some software that is unavailable for other OSes. But since much of it will not run under Vista anyway, I've got no reason to stick with Windows after XP.

taodude

I will add I'm a tinkerer, but if something takes 2000 times the effory, why bother? Computers are supposed to be tools.

For example I remember when IRQs on addon cards had to be manually set, ditto HDD parameters. It wasn't "that bad" but that doesn't mean I wish new hardware wasn't PnP.

johnsmith1234

I use a dual boot XP/Ubuntu laptop and would go to Linux altogether were it not for the business side of things - even our exchange server cannot communicate with Linux. Part of the reason for Linux was that I do a lot of scientific computation and it is a hell of lot easier to run FORTRAN code in Linux than in Windows and this allows me to be productive when I am off-network. Another reason for Linux is that I simply feel more confident in the OS itself; that it won't fall over at random times for no reason. I have control over what I do; almost a feeling of having control over my own destiny (now that is profound...).

new282

I got interested in Linux due to curiosity. I've been working in IT since late 2003, and the linux terms had been thrown around a lot by my co-workers, so I decided to take the plunge.
I dual-booted on my Desktop for a while, but due to hardware limitations (see open-source drivers) I had a lot of headaches to deal with. When my parents decided that they weren't going to use their old laptop anymore I decided to pick it up and try it out. After much googling, forum posting, and tinkering I got everything to work as I wanted it to, but the lack of a solid engine in which to run games deterred me from installing it on my desktop system, not to mention the terrible Open-Source Drivers that ATI provides us. Never have been anti-windows, but I definitely want more control over my computer usage, and open-source software can provide many people without the fiscal resources, the practical resources they need to succeed, so why not support the open-source community.
Desktop - Vista xP
Laptop - Ubuntu Hardy Heron

Illuminado

I switched to linux because Windows crashed constantly and was garbage for doing multimedia work. At the time I wasn't interested in moving to Mac full time so I used OS 9.x for photoshop/illustrator and a linux box for everything else.

My first distro was Red Hat 5.2. And as much as a hassle as it was to get it up and running back then, once it was up the only problems I ever had were when I did something really stupid like format the wrong partition and wipe out my system volume.

I now work in an IT shop where Windows is mandatory and it's still a piece of crap. At home I use OS X on desktops and linux on servers and the amount of time I spend keeping the computers running smoothly is less than 2 hours a month on a total of 6 computers. Compared to the amount of time I spend on my one work computer which requires at least 4-5 hours to keep it running at a usable level.

revmatty

I've "tried" different distros of linux on and off for a number of years. Why? Familiarity of what's on the market.

So then if people ask me for recommendations I have a basis to work from. Or if someone wants help "fixing" a Linux based PC I know what I'm doing. Or if I deal with a *nix box at work I know what I'm doing.

Also knowing what's out there can mean I know and can use the right tool for the job. Eg: if I were setting up a server it would probably be Linux, custom router: linux, embedded OS: Linux.

Knoppix / Gparted can be good repair tools to complement UBCD4WIN.

Although I'm not greatly dissatisfied with Windows as others are, I would like to run Linux as my primary desktop however I keep running into the same issues:

-Some of the "equivalent" software is half-assed at best. Flash is broken (and in fact CRASHED my Ubuntu box)
-Software installation of software not in the Distro's / release's repositories is a PITA
-Ubuntu is effectively obsolete in 6 months meaning software released or updated after Ubuntu N+1 is released means it's frequently not backported to Ubuntu N. Upgrading Distros isn't always as smooth as I'd like so I'm hesitant to just for a newer program version.
-Most general desktop Distros aren't any less bloated than Windows *cough* KDE *cough* GNOME. as such the "Repurpose old hardware" argument falls through because you can't use a mainstream distro, decreasing software support exponentially, meanwhile WinXP can be installed and run on the same hardware with new software no problem.
-Inconsistencies. KDE/GNOME, the 4000000000000 different incompatible sound API's, 50000 half assed "replacement" software instead of one good one. Every distro is completely different.
-Excessive effort required in configuring and setting up certain things. I'm not shy of the command line (use it extensively in Windows), but sometimes things that take 5 seconds in Windows / Mac takes 10 minutes of web searching followed by 2 minutes of entering a list of commands.

Linux Hater's blog though sometimes over the top and full of foul language accurately captures the problems I have with Linux.

johnsmith1234

I was a long term Win user - my better half is the Apple guru. I loved (and continue to have great affection) for WinXP. But, my hardware won't last forever and the thought of paying anything for Vista is just not an option.

I tried a live-cd Ubuntu for about 48 hours and was sold. I setup a dual-boot that weekend. Unfortunately, the techno-nerds in my company won't support a linux VPN client so I'm stuck with Win something for a while.

I've recently erased the Win partition and am now using VirtualBox as a WinXP box (reusing the license from the erased partition.) It's stable and suppports the VPN appliance that keeps the propeller heads happy.

I'd abandoned Word and Photoshop for OpenOffice and GIMP years ago so the transition was smooth.

Jim (The Canuck One)

As a "hungry college student", I fixed computers and other electronics to get some spare cash. Customers starting asking for me to fix-up old (read:1995) systems for their kids. For a kid who is only going to use the net, chat with friends, and play their MP3's, Linux was the obvious choice to install, especially on some pretty old systems. As the children got older, they needed software to do some school work, so I turned them to Open Office... But that's for another day.

RenRen

I don't understand how people could happily hate on Microsoft without hating on Apple, so Linux and Apple are both Unix based, that doesn't matter. Macs are horrible computers, the easiest to crack, and I would feel much more secure with a vista computer than an Apple.

As for me, I dual booted at first, got very frustrated with Ubuntu, stopped using it for a while, went back, got frustrated again, downloaded Gentoo, frustrated more, then finally, use it for all my main computer functions. I only use vista for games now.

Ingenium

I didn't switch - I added. I needed a central place to store files scattered among several computers and I needed something that was free, secure, and could run without constant reboot. Enter Linux, Xandros to be exact. Well, Xandros is not what it used to be and I think I'm moving to Slackware soon. I still use a number of Windows OS because I need them and I'm looking forward to adding a Mac Mini soon. With a good KVM and some networking skills, you can use them all.

Mark

Freedom and versatility... I first started using Redhat 4.2 when it came out, and now I'm using a variant of Ubuntu called gOS. I work in IT and have implemented it in various spots throughout the company I work for. It saves money and time from dealing with spyware/viruses. If you have problems there are countless amounts of forums that are FREE, and people are usually more than willing to help people out with their problems. There is no set amount of time in which you will get an answer, but at least you aren't sitting on the phone with Microsoft or Apple support listening to awful elevator music for twenty minutes. Then to only have them tell you to do the support steps you have all ready done... make go through the steps while you are on the phone with them (as if they can see if you are actually doing it right then or not).

synapze

Three words: Windows Genuine Advantage. I had a legit copy of XP running on an older machine, but nothing I did would kill the annoying reminders that my copy of Windows might be pirated. WGA also stopped me from installing security updates, so it wasn't long before I was ready to get rid of Windows forever. I was a starving student and didn't have the money to go Mac like a lot of my friends had, so I gave Ubuntu a try on my existing hardware and I loved it right away. I finally got a brand new laptop recently and one of the first things I did was get rid of Vista and install Ubuntu 8.04. Each release seems to be getting more intuitive and easier to use. I love that I have so much control over how my computer works and that I can customize the environment to no end. I'll never, ever go back.

maryrules

curiosity and a love for tinkering made me try out redhat 6.0. after using it for awhile i started to love the customizability of every part of linux (kernel, desktop, software, etc.) and the free as in beer & freedom aspects.

m0rpheus

@screaminscott, touche.

lzell

Been so long I am not even sure if I can honestly remember the exact time or reason I made the switch. I do remember that MySQL was my gateway app into Open Source and Open Source Desktops. At the time I don't think it ran (or at least didn't run well) on my NT4 box. I installed a Slackware distro to get MySQL up and running and the next thing I knew I was installing different distros and looking more at the desktop features. Now a days, even though most Open Source applications are available on other platforms, Linux just gives me the most power and largest tool set. Once you've gotten a real taste of the freedom it becomes a no brainer.

Shocm

@screaminscott: I can't think of an OS that meets your requirements. OSX probably comes the closest. In terms of usability, I'd rank them OSX, Ubuntu and related distros, Windows, most other distros of Linux.

t3knomanser

Basically, after having tried Vista and being spectacularly unimpressed, and knowing XP's end-of-life is ever-creeping-up, I decided to take the plunge. I had tinkered with Linux before, but never really became a full-fledged user; despite how fed up I've been with Windows for a long time now, I just didn't want to re-learn everything. This time, though, I forced myself to learn by going exclusively Linux (Ubuntu) for 2 months. And, really, once you immerse yourself, the learning curve isn't so bad (especially with a helpful community behind you). I've picked up Linux much faster than I picked up Windows; the only reason I'm more proficient in Windows is because I had about a 12-year head start.

I'm still doing a dual-boot for gaming (I went back and set it up after my "immersion period); I really wish more developers would develop for Linux (or at least WINE) so I could drop Windows altogether, but I know that's pretty far down on their list of priorities.

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

Was curious, so I threw a copy of Ubuntu on my comp. Now I triple boot Vista, XP, and Ubuntu.

Spend most of my time in Vista (one of the few who actually likes it), a little bit in Ubuntu for any kind of multimedia editing with the open source programs, and a little bit in XP just because.

shoverbj

Read about Ubuntu, thought it sounded interesting, was kind of sick of all of the bloat on my XP. Loved the Live CD concept - try before you "buy" - to see if it made any sense to try to install it before I went ahead and did the install. Dual-booted for a while, but once I got the printer driver figured out & learned how to use Wine for the 1 program I needed/wanted for work that is Windows-only, I never looked back. I keep using it because it works so well for all the basic stuff I use a computer for, and there's so much room to play w/ new apps that I never get bored! Still have Windows sitting in its lonely partition, but never use it. (Too chicken to get rid of it entirely, *just in case*)

Free helped, of course, but I also just kind of like the mystique of using an OS most of my family & friends have never heard of except from me!

Tekagirl

When I was running Windows, I found myself using the GIMP and Firefox a lot. Then I installed Cygwin so that I could get a decent command line (I already knew my way around *nix- I had done some kernel hacking in college and written my own shell). More and more of my computer became dedicated to *nix based software. At one point I had replaced the Windows desktop with KDE running in Cygwin (which was a beast to get working). A short time later, I found myself installing Debian as a device driver.

I sat up, and said: Jesus, what am I doing? This is madness!

So, I moved all my files to a separate drive, wiped the windows partition and went to Mandrake. It didn't stay stock for long, of course- by the time I was done with it, you wouldn't have recognized it as Mandrake aside from the bootup splash screen. In fact, it looked a hell of a lot more like OSX.

Yep, I replicated pretty much every UI feature of OSX on Linux. Just like how I replicated every major facet of Linux on Windows. And I had the same response: What am I doing? So I went out and got an iBook.

t3knomanser

To me, a PC is a tool, not a toy to fiddle with. How easy is it, really, to install and run Linux?

For example, to use my car, I just get in and turn it on. I don't have to fiddle under the hood.

Is Linux that easy? 'Cause if it's not, I ain't using it!

screaminscott

Dual boot Linux and Xp just for fun, since I feel like I should know linux. Played around with it for a couple of weeks and basically switched back to XP for the same reason I switched from Vista.

Very little software and device support. Software is free but so is most of the software I use on XP. Bought XP like 8 years ago so I'm still using the same tired license. Gets cheaper every year.

It's a fine OS, but I think XP is superior (when considering the polish and software/driver availability).

Shai

Used Win XP, thought 'hey, why don't I give linux a try?'. Ended up dual booting Ubuntu for a few years (until they got wireless working with my card), and now my home PC runs nothing but Ubuntu. Work laptop is still on XP, but I don't hate it in the least.

Still trying new distros, and I also have Fedora on a USB stick that I carry with me.

tmetzcc325

Why only occasionally hating Apple? Their hardware seriously blows. Yes using mac software is like night and day when compared to windows (with the exception of itunes, which sucks on both OSes), but seriously, as I write this comment the screen on my Macbook that I purchased less than a year ago is flickering. And the damn apple store is an hour away. As far as Linux, I have been using Ubuntu on a desktop box for a couple years now, all around solid, although I do remember quite the learning curve when I jumped in. Anyway, off to the Apple store.... again.

lzell

Why did I dump Windoze for Linux? One too many fatal disk crashes due to corrupted file tables; endless hang-ups and reboots as patches are thrown on to an already leaky hull; impossibility of doing any in-depth fixing without investing money in books or tuition or paying someone else to do it for you.

My machine died for the third time in two years back in Spring, so I just lost my rag and wiped out the entire Windoze install with Ubuntu. The first few weeks were a learning curve, but since then I've never looked back; the system is more stable, faster and easier to fix, plus I've learned a great deal about the command line and how computers actually work in the process (which has been invaluable as a web developer). The only piece of software I miss, ironically enough, is Windows Live Writer; everything else has a cost-free equivalent that almost always does the same job perfectly well. Sure, things go wrong - but when they do, it's usually my fault, and I can find out how to avoid it happening again.

The difference in a sentence? Now I feel like I actually own my box, rather than renting it from someone else.

PaulRaven

It's called compiz fusion, and it's more than just pretty.

Unfortunately I have the worst possible hardware for it, so until I get some new bits, I'm a pure-bred windows.

Phoshi

@SamburgerHandwich: Are you sure this isn't just because you happen to know where to look in the commercial OS, but don't know how to fix in Linux? Yes, when learning, it takes more time to do things that you already know how to do in other environments, but after you learn them, it becomes second nature. It took me a while to know how to do things in Linux that I could do in a few seconds in Windows, but that is because I have used Windows for many more moons than Linux. Now that I use Linux regularly, I am just as speedy there as I am in Windows (for the most part, I am still learning, of course).

tmetzcc325

Well at the time that i switched, i changed because it was open source and interesting, but if i had changed recently, it would be because of the 2 hours it took to turn on my brand new laptop with vista pre-installed.

christophski

@SamburgerHandwich: I can honestly say I've rarely had to troll Ubuntu's forums to figure out how to do a common task. And the few times I have, it's something that could have been solved with a couple of clicks; I just didn't know where to click.

I really don't get why people feel Linux is inferior just because you need to learn how to use it. You also needed to learn how to use Windows, and/or how to use OSX; you weren't born with that knowledge.

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

I picked up a copy of Suse 9.0 a few years ago at the local BB. I used it for a while. I switched to Slackware and have been switching ever since.(distro-whore) I use vmware fusion to toy with new releases of my favorite distros on my new iMac.
I am running OSX 10.5 with XP and Ubuntu and I couldn't be happier.

DeadPenguin

Started with Slackware, sometime in the last millennium, after a while I used Linux more and more and decided to kill off my NT4.0 and just use a PSX to play games on. In the meantime I tried quite a few distros, RedHat, Suse, Debian, Gentoo (for a long time, but compiling sucks), then Fedora and now, finally Ubuntu.

Yes, people consider it a n00b distro, but frankly, at a certain age you are happpy with things that just work and then leave the tinkering for Solaris/Linux at work.

These days I dual boot between Ubuntu and XP (for games only), because a PC is just more fun to play on.

Monsterdog

I have the pragmatic view that linux should only be used on servers, for the most part.

I run ubuntu server (CLI only) on a celeron 633MHZ with 128mb of ram, and it works great. For the rest, give me winXP.

unruled

I wanted to learn, and I had grown frustrated with some things with windows. I still use windows most of the time, but happily dual-boot linux.

jcoffman

Stable, reliable, free, fast, vastly more secure than MS Windows, and it even runs World of Warcraft. What more could you want?

Deadhacker

Got a job using solaris and got interested in linux at home so I could get used to the command line (1996). Been using linux off and on since then.

I would dump my old laptop with ubuntu for a macbook in a second using virtualbox/parallels for MSproject, MSoutlook and any other MS-centric application.

AndyW

I finally decided to try out Linux after reading an article about Ubuntu (the philosophy behind the word "Ubuntu" is what really got my interest piqued). I downloaded a LiveCD with the idea that I'd put it on my girlfriend's laptop, since she was having trouble with XP Pro and my computer was tuned up and running fine with XP. But she uses AutoCAD daily (which doesn't run on anything but Windows), so I decided to dual boot Ubuntu on my PC instead.

That was a Sunday evening, and the whole next week I didn't boot into Windows at all (and this is my work machine). By the next weekend I was so completely hooked on Linux that I couldn't believe that I hadn't started using it years ago. All that time wasted downloading and cracking software, when there's such an abundance of excellent free and open source software just a click away!

I still have my old XP installation on a separate drive, but I practically never boot into it. I've now installed Ubuntu on many other systems, and everyone has been as impressed by it as I was. It's far more secure, runs better on older systems, and is based on a philosophy of cooperating to provide tools for people rather than making money off of their need for those tools, which is no small difference.

zoomZAP

I enjoy spending 2+ hours on the ubuntu forums to complete an everyday task that would require a few clicks on a commercial OS.

SamburgerHandwich

@MuglyTheWorm: On the wireless situation: Look for a wireless card that uses an Intel chipset. They're currently the best supported under Linux.

As for media centers, MythTV is extremely robust. There's also Elisa, but I haven't tried that myself. Both are in the Ubuntu repositories.

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

Circa 1995, I had been using an XTerminal device and had to share central server resouces (Solaris and SGI Unix).

The lure of linux was being able to run X11 and unix tools (shell,perl,etc) on my own desktop. Early MultiHead displays kept me there, even though they took some work to get going. Interoperability was a struggle, attempting to get StarOffice long before it became OpenOffice. Wine worked for lotus notes, but not for MSProject. VMware was in beta and worked very well.

Fast forward 2 jobs and several years later, and now I use XP with plug-n-play multihead displays, unix tools via cygwin, and several utilities to make the windows environment more livable. So now I've actually moved back to windows (or, more correctly, didn't bother reconfiguring my desktop to use linux.... though Knoppix+Ubuntu makes it easier than ever).

The hardware and software had come far along enough that it's a perfectly suitable environment and I get to download and play with windows only applications (like google earth). The pendulum can certainly swing back now, with the advent of VirtualBox and install CDs for any OS you choose.

It seems that the User Interface is mainly what matters most to me
(oh and cost of course...).

ericslaw

At first because 1 my machine's specs were too low to run a modern, Windows OS and 2 to support the FOSS philosophy. I switched OFF of Linux after discovering the beauty of OS X which outweighed my philosophical preference.

Ephilei

Lots of comments here already, so I'll keep mine short.

The reason I first made the switch was because I had a dinosaur of a laptop on its last legs that would just churn and churn trying to run all the processes of XP. To keep my brick of a laptop working I needed something lightweight and free, since I wasn't going to spend any money trying to upgrade a piece of hardware that old. Linux fit the mold perfectly, and because I have been so comfortable with the move on my old laptop, I have moved my much newer desktop over to Linux as well.

I do not regret the move 1 bit, and will most likely be running Linux on any machine I own from here on out.

Kyle Wegner

I found I had way too much free time on my hands, and was looking for an OS that'd let me do pretty much the same things I was doing in XP, only with more time and effort.

Kidding, my EEE shipped with it's own version of Linux, so I learned to customize and use it.

jrobie

I switched to Linux because it was a viable, free alternative to a proprietary UNIX. I ended up dual-booting Windows, just to run Quicken. This was in 1998.

I switched to Mac OS X from Linux, because it was a *nix-like OS that took care of my primary needs: Quicken, Photoshop, and standard web/e-mail stuff and it would seamlessly run on a notebook computer with virtually no system administration. This was in 2002.

Today, there is no compelling reason for me to switch back to Linux. In addition to my continued use of Photoshop and Quicken on my Mac, I am now dabbling with HD video editing and the Mac tools (iMovie and Final Cut) are excellent.

My four-year stint with Linux (1998-2002) was pretty interesting, although I don't miss the heavy system administration load.

Deprong Mori

I had been curious about linux for a while. I'd used it in computer labs in college, and some on servers at work, but never on my own PC. I enjoy tinkering, but never had the time.

The tipping point was during the Christmas holiday last year. My work PC's disk failed and I was able to get it up and running faster with an Ubuntu install (restored my data from an online backup). I kept Windoze installed in a dual boot mode once I got a new disk, but use it less than once a month now, if at all.

Why switch?

1) Almost anything I want to do with Windows, I can do with Linux.
2) It runs better on older hardware. Think green, use your computer longer.
3) It's free. Sure, I have to put more time into it, but it costs less out of pocket.
4) Tons of free software.
5) More functionality built in - you pay for backup software with Windows. With rsync you can backup to anywhere!
6) More stable.
7) Easier to maintain - even when its not your machines. I'm afraid that my kids computers don't get their windows updates.

I guess number 8 is that it appeals to my inner geek. Linux really unlocks the power of your computer and these much more user friendly distros let you just use Linux or really dig into it and USE linux.

beau.raines

I sailed into the seas of Linux on an eee. The shipped Xandros Linux didn't please me too much, so I started installing various distros until I settled on an eee-tweaked version of Ubuntu.

I'm no programmer, and I like my GUIs simple and comfortable as a leather recliner, so certain aspects of Linux have frustrated me. The more I know, though, the better the experience becomes. We've had years of becoming acclimatized to Windows and its journey to complete shittiness (what was wrong with Windows 3.1?). I'm so used to repurposing Windows to suit my needs that most of my frustration with Linux comes more from unfamiliarity than any inherent difficulty (I think).

palinode

Someone gave me a suse linux 9.2 DVD, I installed it on my laptop, and it worked a dream, apart from wireless driver, so I left it alone.
Having played with Knoppix, DSL, Puppy, Suse, Fedora and xubuntu am now happy with plain Ubuntu, tweaked to my hearts content.

However, I am platform agnostic, running XP and OSX as well on various machines. Different tools for different tasks.

musab

Reasons for getting
1. curiosity
2. free & easily available

Reasons for staying
1. highly customizable
2. good looking (I'm running Linux Mint)
3. nerd factor

chancy

My switch (an subsequent conversion) was the result of taking over my fiancee's unused laptop after my PDA start its tuberculosis coughs (it still lives, in zombie form in my computer bag) -- an old IBM T23 (PIII, 1G CPU, 256 RAM). It originally had Winblows 2K on it but I wanted to do more with less.

I put Xubuntu (Hardy) on it and it's kicking ass. I use the computer for work, audio stuff (recording, mastering, spectral analysis), as well as the typical Open Office/web browsing. Heck, I just added a X-ray spectral analysis program on it for work. I use the damn thing all the time and all I want now it more RAM. This little laptop effectively "competes" with my dual-core XP machine at work.

As for complaints about Ubuntu being outdated in 6 months -- winblows is outdated when it's sold. Also, each Ubuntu release is supported for a number of years. I intend to use Hardy Heron for a number of years. So, yes, Ubuntu (rather, Xubuntu) is effective in re-purposing older hardware. I strongly recommend Xubuntu.

I am now a true-believer in FOSS and the principles behind it. My step-son has a OLPC machine and I've got the XO LiveCD so we can play along (and so I can figure out that kid-friendly OS).

Oh yeah, the cost is awesome.

baron_army

I always wanted to try my hand at Linux, as I'd always hated Windows, but never felt I had the time to spend learning all the apparent idiosyncracies. When Ubuntu and other distros kept getting friendlier, and gaining brainshare with some online personalities I respected, it seemed like my time was coming.

Then I got a MacBook Pro at work, and through that got more comfortable with the *nix way of thinking.

The final straw came when I had to replace my aging personal laptop, and bought a new one with Windows Vista pre-installed. When Vista crashed before the laptop could get through the first boot, I gave it another chance. When it crashed two minutes after it finally successfully booted, I decided I'd had enough.

I promptly wiped the hard drive, installed Ubuntu, and haven't looked back since.

I do use Wine to run Quicken and yWriter, and have a Windows virtual machine for my unsupported scanner. But I've even moved my desktop machine at work over to Ubuntu, with windows virtual machines for web development testing in various IE's.

coffeemonk

I came in for Beryl but stayed for bash.

rabiddachshund

Hmmm, good question. I'll do my best to answer without rambling. Linux is free. Less likely to get a virus or spyware. It just works.

Being a natural born tinkerer who just can't leave well enough alone I was naturally gravitated towards Linux. Being someone who does IT for a profession, well... that just added to the desire to go that route.

Currently I am running Ubuntu Hardy. I've messed with Red Hat back in the version 5 and 6 days. Corel Linux (who remembers that?), etc... Ultimately deciding to finally give Ubuntu the try it deserves. Especially since everyone gives it so much love.

Primarily my job requires me to be pretty versed in Micro$oft and Active Directory. However some of my job responsibilities require me to assist with certain tasks on our Unix (Solaris) systems. Going to Linux I hope to increase my command line ability for systems management and break hold of the noose Microsoft had on my personal computing experience.

Hate for Windows? Nope. It works. Works fairly well. I've had limited Windows specifically related issues. It has always supported my hardware almost instantly (Linux with that damn Broadcom wireless chipset is another story). Again - it just works. Linux, works, but you have to work at it. Like anything you don't know - you need to work at it. Sooner than later it will all be second nature, which is the ultimate goal. I'd really like to become very well versed in Linux so I can use those skills to incorporate more Linux into our environment (work - that 4 letter word).

thrashnbash1

Stability.

chareverie

Because its free. Not just the price but the fundamental belief system behind it. The "peoples" creativity and methods of its application should never be tied down to rubbish like DRM and copyrights that exist only to protect the income and the lifestyles of executive personals. Open source is the underdogs way of voting, of choosing, of showing, that each one of our opinions matter. Open source is the Darwinian law of software development, much like how mother nature intended our non-digital lives to be. Open source is the life way of life...Just kidding.

I don't know enough about the subject to tout the philosophy behind it, but the fact that everything is free and modifiable, really is elusive and precious in such an overly Capitalistic society that we live in today. I can torrent a whole operating system or an application without feeling like an unpatriotic scum of a criminal!? I can change the skin of my windows without having to pay for it!? Holy jesus, I almost feel like I'm doing something illegal by default.

That and Compiz helped too. I mean c'mon...No matter how unproductive it is, we're bordering a decade after the second millennium. 3D rendered GUI's, burning windows with a snowing atmosphere and cube desktops that can turn into a fish-tank should really be a default by now.

Alicemagic

@HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak: thanks, i might me switching over sooner than i thought...

MuglyTheWorm

I installed it because I was a freshman in college and I felt like experimenting.

I dual booted for a while, but became enamored with linux when I found out about ssh. I loved that I could access my machine from anywhere.

I tried quite a few distros over the past 7 years, mandrake, redhat, debian, source mage, debian, centos, debian, and finally ubuntu. I always preferred apt to the other package managers. As far as I'm concerned RPM isn't worth the effort. Ubuntu to me was debian that worked better out of the box because it focused on the user instead of on free software politics.

valadil

@vondur: Meh, everything has its zealots. I've come to really hate the Apple fanboys, but I can find little fault with OSX itself (Safari, on the other hand...). And, as I've discovered, Microsoft has more than its share of annoying fanboys too; they're just less noticeable because of the vast amount of people using Windows that aren't insane.

Linux, like OSX, is currently a niche product. And every niche product breeds zealotry. Don't ask me why; I studied computer science, not psychology.

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

Vista managed to piss me off. The operating was inefficient and made my brand new laptop feel slow. So, I decided that I was either going to downgrade to windows XP or switch to linux. I decided that first I would try out linux (Ubuntu actually) and if I didn't like it then I would format and install XP.

Ubuntu is my main installation (dual booting with XP for some software that doesn't have a linux alternative) to this day. I love the customization and the power the terminal gives you. It's CPU throttling is better than Vista's or XP's and gives me a battery life that is at a minimum 50% better (and I'm running Compiz Fusion!).

Vasto

I was a computer science student at the time, and many of my classes were easy to gain the tools for in Linux, rather than Windows where I'd have to jump through hoops.

So I put Ubuntu on my laptop.
Then, someone showed me MythTV, so I bought an Ubuntu tower from Dell and slapped some tuner cards in there.

I still have an XP machine, but in all reality, I only use it for the few old, proprietary programs that I use on rare occasions and a few games (but nothing bleeding edge).

I committed to the switch because Linux offered me:

Customization on a new scale.
Powerful shortcuts because I am a programmer.
Free.
Lots of software to choose from.
Powerful development stacks that, really, are mostly portable to Windows.
No DRM.
Runs VERY WELL on VERY LITTLE hardware: My laptop has 1 GB of RAM and an Intel graphics card and looks better with CompizFusion than Vista with Aero.

tandonmiir

As a follow up to Mark Pilgrim, he is not completely away from Apple. See here.
I myself tire of the zealotry of some of these linux people.

vondur

I just made the switch this week. I had an old PC lying around and I didn't want to screw with it anymore. Turned it into a Ubuntu media server with an attached external hard drive so that I can access my music from any room in the house.

brianjgeraghty

I'm on a computer most of the time at work and at home. In work it's XP and Vista. I wanted to look at something different when I got home from work every day. Plus, I couldn't afford a mac. They're too expensive.

Muckley

Curiosity. I started using one of the early version of RedHat back in 2000. My servers were running FreeBSD in the datacenter and I had a 200Mhz Dual processor Pentium laying around.

It made my computing hobby FUN again. Not the same ole "you can't talk to the hardware, you have to talk to the OS" as winders.

I switched to SuSE a few years later and now have several boxes running Ubuntu.

FastBytes

I was tired of crappy-software/shareware/bugs etc.. etc...

Once I made the switch (to Linux) and was reunited with the keyboard, I couldn't go back. I eventually went the Mac route, once I found out it was based on BSD. All the power of *nix plus commercial software like Photoshop, Illustrator, etc...

What else can a web designer/developer ask for?

sn33kyp3t3

Principles. I liked the open source concept.

When I think back to Mandrake whatever-it-was, Ubuntu just looks so nice.

kimberlybelcher

1) Curiosity
2) Fed up with Windows crashing, restrictions
3) Possibility to configure the system any way I wanted
4) Tired of buying software

UnleasheD1

I started with Redhat back in 2000 so I could learn a bit about Linux. Now, the reasons are more family oriented than personal... MythTV (for entertainment)running on Ubuntu Edgy with Fluxbox, Zoneminder on a Fluxbuntu system (PII, 400mHz) and now the kids have started to mess around with the different computers, I expect to have a thin client system running in the house with all the educational/fun software for them. Now, it is the ease of configuration and personalization that continues to draw me away from Windows.

jflanag

Windows was infuriating, too poor for an Apple, and wanted to learn something new. I put up with Windows for a long time, but when they started that Genuine program, grr. There was no way I was spending that much money for an Operating System whose functionality irritated me so bad! Gentoo was my first linux, because that's what my friends used. Then, I used Slackware, Ubuntu, and now my absolute favorite is Arch Linux! Since I've been with Linux, I don't have to figure out what my OS is doing without my knowledge/permission and I don't worry about viruses, malware, and trojans like my coworkers. The only negative is that the control has spoiled me. I have issues following corporate IT policies, for example.

rolypoly

Honestly, I was "forced"... Only due to the fact that I bought a 701 eeePC with Xandros. Got it and loved it. Regretting my move to WinFLC out of my speed curiosity. Thinking I need to dig up my eeeCD to get my thumbdrive restore disk and get back to the reason why I bought it... Linux!

Dalum

Curiosity mostly. My work machine is still Windows XP, but I also now have a second machine running Linux as an email/im/web browsing/vmware machine. There was a steep learning curve in the beginning, and I would still consider myself a Linux novice, but I enjoy the process learning a new system. I would switch completely, but most of my work is done in the MS development world... for now.

JayDeEm

i just wanted to try it out. i would do a full switch but i need photoshop and my pos broadcom wifi card

dubedition209

Answer: Curiosity.

I tried switching over from XP to Ubuntu last year and I just have to say, I'm not cut out to use such an OS as Ubuntu (or Linux in general). With Linux, it's so much trying to figure out where things are (because that's relatively easy) but more like spending endless hours tweaking, searching help forums, writing your OWN CODE to make your computer work the way it should.

Quick example (this was using Feisty Fawn): If you have a mouse with more than the standard 2 buttons + 1 scrollwheel/button, then those extra buttons won't work when you first install Ubuntu. In XP if it doesn't work, you pop in the driver CD, install driver, configure using included GUI. Boom. It works. In Ubuntu, you look around the menus to see if there's a configuration thingy, you don't find it, you search help forums, they tell you to install some software, tell you to WRITE YOUR OWN CODE to configure what the buttons do, you try doing that, it doesn't work, you search some more, you find another method, you find that it doesn't work still, and you die a little inside. Now I don't know if that's still the case for the newer releases but my first impression of Ubuntu is: Looks Amazing, nice software installtion method, and HELL to make it work properly. Might give it another go after I graduate, XP works fine for now. I don't see how XP crashes so much for people. I have used this one for about 1.5 years (since I last re-installed) and it hasn't crashed a single time. Maybe I just know what I'm doing.

iamxyj

I didn't. Transcend the operating system. Use them all.

leoeris

I just plain like to feel smarter than people who can't use a command line interface.

Although I must say that I have gotten jealous of Powershell's object oriented command prompt. That thing freaking rules.

Dom

I was tired of virus and malaware, format all the time, and things alike. I feel very restricted in that OS, so I made a dual boot.

Sometime after that I started to use both systems, gradually I decanted for Ubuntu and when I noticed that I wasn't using Windows for more than a month, I erased it.

More than one year and a half that I only use GNU/Linux, principally Ubuntu, Arch, Gentoo (a little) and now I pretend to migrate to Debian.

PaBLoX

Wow, quite a huge thread developing here. From quickly scanning the responses it seems to me that the decision to go with Linux is primarily based on (1) cost; (2) frustration with windows; or (3) having the freedom to work outside the constraints of a proprietary OS.

Personally I would love to try out a flavour of linux on my trusty old (and mothballed) Dell Dimension 8200, but I simply can't find or justify the time with the learning curve. Cash rich, time poor etc... Think I'll stick with my Mac's. Easy.

Vestan_Pance

The principals of open source, and the knowledge that otherwise, Vista was what my future looked like. Also, I stared used Linux for my job, so the barrier to entry fell considerably. So now I dual-boot XP and Ubuntu.

Dalhamir