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5 reasons for Linux

Anja on October 12, 2020

Hi, today I want to share a few reasons for why you should check out Linux, especially if you are a programmer: Open Source 🐧 Linux is completely...
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Jesse Phillips
  1. Free an in royalty. You don't need to run an outdated version because you don't want to purchase an upgrade license. No need to use weird docker tricks, you can use VM without licensing.

  2. Minimal Resources. For the primary desktop this is not much of a concern 50 Gig to host the OS, who cares. But docker instances under 50 MB, VM un 1Gig, now we're talking.

  3. If it is broken you have to fix it. No magic restart.

  4. Window Manager. So many options, but there is focus follows mouse, workspaces, and middle mouse clipboard.

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Anja

Hi Jesse, thanks for sharing! Yes window managers are great, I like using the mouse less. And while fixing stuff you learn a lot. 😊👍

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Nicola Erario • Edited

I’m not a fanboy.
I use daily a laptop with Linux (Arch BTW) and one with Windows 10. Sporadically I use my sister’s MacBook.
I love the Apple screens and looks;
I love Linux, it rocks! It’s my preferred s.o. I love that I can customize everything to my liking (and I hate it same time); I love shell, and packets manager. And more more other things.
BUT, my work station runs windows (with WSL2 BTW)! Why? Because I need to power on it and be productive; I need to attach my third monitor and it works at right resolution out of the box; I need to swap my cabled headphones with Bluetooth ones, the new one arrived today, and they connect and works out of the box. Sometimes I don’t have time to tune pulseaudio, blaming the hardware that isn’t “Linux friendly”.
I think there’s no perfect S.O. and maybe it’s better this way.

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Anja

That's true for everyone a different OS suits better cause the needs are different. It's great that we have the choice. 😊

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Mirko Vukušić

Customizability, privacy, price, community. Bottom line, Linux is really the last OS that's really "yours". Installing Win or MacOS lately, after years in Linux, just clearly shows how little control you have on those OSs and it's ecosystems. You can't even get rid of Crash Candy easily, not to mantion Ads and privacy issues.

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Anja

Yes that's true, once you used Linux for a while and switch back to windows or MacOS you notice the lack of control a lot.

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Miller Correa
  1. You choose the desktop environment you want and change it whenever you want.
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Anja

Hi Miller, yes it's great that you can fit it to your needs! 😊

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Zen

My reason is only one: no virus

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Médéric Burlet

Not true

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Anja • Edited

That's a good reason 😊, at least linux is less targeted than windows

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Anja

Hi Kevin, you are welcome! 😊 🙌 I'm happy to hear that you are enjoying Linux! The more you get to know it the more you will love it. 😊🐧

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Jan Ehrhardt

Luckily Microsoft has put Linux into Windows with WSL 😉

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Anja

Didn't check it yet, is it better than a Vm?

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Dhruv Gera

WSL 2 is loads better in terms of performance as well as resource usage as compared to traditional VMs. Cold boots in 1-2sec and there is barely 50-60MB of RAM usage at idle!
Plus, you get all the benefits of linux and not make your main OS lag, it's heaven for people like me who have to use both OSes for various purposes.

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Anja

That is great, thanks for sharing!😊

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Jan Ehrhardt

I don't have a Windows PC, so I cannot check as well 😉

But at least Docker for Windows prefers WSL over running a VM.

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Prakhar Yadav

I have always admired Linux for being so customisable and at the same time making almost everything possible to do. Personally I started off with Ubuntu and have loved it since. It has been a pleasure to use Windows too since they now have WSL.
But recently I have shifted to Mac and its pleasant to work with because... well, it just works 😄
Each of them have something different to offer and everything boils down to our use cases 🙃

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Anja • Edited

Sure everyone can pick it's fave there is no one size fits all. 🐧🍎

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Pacharapol Withayasakpunt • Edited

Real reasons

  • Low resources. Very safe on older PC's. Never touch the half of 8-GB RAM.
  • Customizability. Feeling like a true PC owner.

But yes, I had to deal with a lot of things, like

  • Hardware not working, or not perfectly; including WiFi
  • Software support. Many well-done softwares aren't made for Linux. Maybe there aren't enough users using Linux.
  • Even if it supports Linux, it may support only some makes of Linux, like DaVinCi for CentOS, with a specific hardware.
  • Not every desktop environments (and window managers) are equal. They varies in UX.
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Anja

Yes, Linux can cause some extra effort depending on what you need it for.

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Matthew Chapdelaine

I've always had problems getting WINE to work on Linux. I want to run .exe files on Linux. I don't want those kinds of limitations.

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Anja • Edited

Hi Matthew, hm if you need windows you could try a Vm or a dual boot. :)

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Matthew Chapdelaine

I agree that VirtualBox is better than Wine. I have Windows 10 working as a VM in Linux Mint. Thank you, Anja.
Oddly enough, your name escapes my lips when I'm tired. I thought it was random nonsense. Anja is emotionally satisfying for me to say out loud.

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hts188

It's awesome.

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Ronaldo Nunez

I'm an embedded developer, so what I like in Linux is the possibility to run it not only on my workstation, but on my target devices too! :)

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Anja

Hi Ronaldo, that's an interesting reason I didn't know about yet, thanks for sharing!😊 👍

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WooHyung Jeon

K.I.S.S & choice.
Done.

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Anja

Yes it's nice to be able to have a simple clearly arranged OS! 😊

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luis chacha

Como me pongo en contacto con esa comunidad de Linuxeros? Tengo un error en Ubuntu y no sé si les haya pasado al usar Zoom.

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Anja

Hi Luis, sorry but I only understand English or German.

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luis chacha

Usaba ubuntu. Intenté con Debían pero me volví a Ubuntu. Si da trabajo aprender a utilizarlo.

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Andrew Baisden

What type of computer does a Linux developer work on though?

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Anja

There are linux distros for very old and the newest hardware. I don't know if there is a machine you can't run it on.

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Isaac Hatilima

Making wine has been a challenge for me. I need to have MS Office running but seems I can’t make it work so I gave up.

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Anja

Hi Isaac! If you want you could try Windows in a Vm or as a dual boot. Otherwise Libre office is a great office suite too. Or you could use Ms 365, which is MS Office online.

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villth

Hello Anja, Office online have base functionality. There is no VBA support which is must have for me ;). That's why i must still use Win10 platform with native office app. Other alternatives are good but they are far behind Ms Office.

Other then that Pop Os!/Fedora all the way :) i love how Linux are made for programming.

Peace.

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Levi Rizki Saputra

You could try WPS Office for Linux

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Debojyoti Chakraborty

Ubuntu fedora mankato triple boot rocks :)

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Anja

Sounds great 😊🐧🐧🐧