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Why I Use Linux

A short essay on why I am a linux fan and suggestions.

  • linux
  • open source
  • learning

Linux, something extraordinary, but if you stay in the tech community, I am sure that you have heard this.

Linux, originally developed by Linus Torvalds, it first started as a small hobby, but now is powering everybody’s life.

“Most good programmers do programming not because they expect to get paid or get adulation by the public, but because it is fun to program.”

By Linus Torvalds

Linus Torvalds

Linus is a genius in my perspective, he created Linux almost all by himself.

He also created Git, if you are developer, you will be so familiar with these, right?

git add .
git commit -m "example"
git push

Linux

Linux is essential for powering our lives, many things that you can think of are powered by Linux, unknowingly.

  • AI, powered by servers, and servers run on the Linux kernel.
  • Supercomputers and Internet Space Station are both powered by Linux.

Should you imagine a world without Linux, AI would be gone!

Windows VS Linux VS MacOS

From my own opinion, every OS is great and useful.

But personally Linux suits me the best:

  • You can control everything, yes anything.
  • It can be very lightweight and run on old PCs.
  • You can learn how a system actually works behind the download screen.

Yet, MacOS still has its advantages:

  • Best ecosystem, no other company even stands a ground beside MacOS.
  • Safety by default, unlike Windows and Linux, on MacOS, safety is a priority.
  • Best minimalist design by default.

Nonetheless, Windows is still good.

  • Most softwares, some games and software, are only on Windows.
  • Most used for desktops, from children to elders, who never used Windows.
  • Easiest to use, Windows has always been considered the easiest.

Trying Linux

Have you wanted to try an OS that let’s you customize everything?

Linux is going to be your cup of tea.

Linux can be very itimidating for a beginner, there are so many distributions(distro) of Linux.

But Linux is fun if you try in a healthy way:

You don’t have to pick a single ‘best’ distro that early.

  • My mistake was that I picked a best distro too early – Arch.
  • Beginners will often have the idea of ‘The grass is greener on the other side’.
  • You will only appreciate your distro, after distro-hopping for some time.
  • If you like to try out distros, go for it, and if you don’t, you will never appreciate what distro you already have.

You don’t have to pick a single ‘best’ desktop environment that early.

  • For me, I daily drive NixOS + GNOME, one of the best GNOME-supported distros.
  • You can try Hyprland and KDE before choosing you ‘best’ desktop environment.

Common Mistakes

  • You can distro-hop and desktop environment-hop, do not have a fix mindset.
  • When seeing some ‘cool ricing’ on Youtube or Reddit, you need to know that it takes quite some time.

Suggestions for Distros and Desktop Environments

  • Linus himself uses Fedora + GNOME as well.
  • My recommendation is to start with Ubuntu for 1-6 weeks, and then switch to Fedora.
  • You can try ‘super hard distros’ like Arch, Gentoo, even Linux From Scratch.
  • But you have to know what you want from a distro:
    • If you want maximum power and benefits, go with NixOS.
    • If you want best reliability, go with Debian.
    • If you want most and fastest updates(it might break your system), go with Arch.
    • If you want maximum customization, go with Gentoo.
    • If you want a balance between everything, go with Fedora.
    • If you use Linux for work, go with Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
    • If you want something that just works, go with Ubuntu.
    • If you like MacOS, go with ElementaryOS or ZorinOS core.
    • If you want security, go with Tails.
    • If you like Windows and traditional OS, go with Linux Mint.
    • If you want support for NVIDIA, go with Pop!_OS.
  • Here are also some desktop environments:
    • If you want most customization, go with Hyprland.
    • If you want keyboard-driven, go with Tiling Managers:
      • Sway
      • I3
      • Hyprland
    • If you want something that just works, go with KDE.
    • If you want lightweight, go with XCFE.
    • If you want something that is most modern go with these:
      • GNOME for its design
      • Deepin I no longer recommend Deepin, you can do research, but mainly because it might contain spyware
      • Budgie for its lightweight design
  • However, these are just some examples of distros and desktop environments, and people’s opinions differ.

Yea, try linux!