Linux. Why?

Here's a fun fact you probably didn't know: Every computer I own runs on Linux.

For the most part, this has been a taste and practicality issue, but as the years go by, Linux is getting more and more accessible to everyone. In this article, I aim to highlight a few reasons why you, the reader, should use Linux.

To most people, the idea that there are multiple options for choosing an operating system seems foreign, and that's completely understandable. Some people (my parents included) don't even know what an operating system is. For that reason, I am going to try not to get too technical in this article. I'm also going to be comparing Linux to Windows pretty extensively, so, Windows users, feel free to shout at me.

Money

This might come as a surprise to most people, but Linux is completely free. I'm serious! So many times people have asked me to get them Windows for free since it costs about $200 (The exact price as I'm writing this is $199 for Windows 10 Professional). Now, there are probably some people staring at their screens, frustratedly shouting that RedHat Enterprise Linux costs money. Those people are entirely correct... And incorrect. You see, RedHat Enterprise Linux, RHEL for short, costs money, yes, but you are not paying for the software. In fact, you can download and use RedHat for free. When you buy RHEL, you are in actual fact, paying for the support that comes with it. So instead of sitting around twelve 'o clock at night, trying to fix your webserver using only your wits and the Bash command line, you can phone up the RedHat folks and have them fix your webserver instead.

This is in contrast to the money you fork over to Microsoft for buying Windows, where you are paying for the software itself. This is because Windows is proprietary software; the user does not get to see the underlying programming at all, much less modify it. 

This brings me to my next point:

Open-source software

Linux, the Linux kernel, and most of the software you can find on Linux package repositories are what's called open-source software. This means that you as an end-user can see and modify the code your system runs on. Code, here, is a generic term for the underlying programming of a piece of software before it gets compiled and turned into an executable format.

In practice, people don't often modify the source code their system is running. Instead, they make changes to the source code and then submit it to the original author to be incorporated into the software at the upstream repository. This way, any bugs you fix or features you add, get done for everyone using the software. This means that open-source products are usually collaborations between multiple people. In the case of the Linux kernel, thousands of developers make changes and create pull requests every year. In many cases, this also ensures that there are fewer bugs in the code overall since many people have looked at the code and had the opportunity to spot and fix problems.

SO MANY DISTROS!!!!

When it comes to selecting which version of Linux you want to install, you will find that there are hundreds (no, I'm not exaggerating) different versions of Linux (distributions, or "distros") to choose from. Every distribution has its pros and cons. In many cases, all that changes between different distributions is the selection of software that comes bundled with it, but sometimes there are much larger differences between them. 

One common difference between distributions is the choice of package manager. Ubuntu and other Debian-based distributions use Apt, for example, while Arch Linux uses Pacman. 

(BTW: I use Arch!)

For most people, the only real difference would be the user interface and overall interactive experience. Different distributions tend to use different desktop environments or, in some cases, use a modified version of an existing desktop environment. In laymen's terms, the look and feel of your computer could be slightly different.

This gives you the opportunity to pick and choose from a variety of different user interfaces and allows a freedom that other operating systems don't have: the freedom to use your computer exactly the way you want it.

Performance

Now, I'll be honest, this isn't as much of a thing as it used to be. Nowadays, the difference in performance between Linux and other operating systems is not as noticeable as it was. That said, there still is a measurable speed increase when switching to Linux. This is especially true if you are using a distribution such as Arch Linux, where you need only install the software that you require.

I would've liked to write a whole twelve-paragraph section on how the performance on a Linux PC is a hundred times better than on Windows, but in this day and age, computers are so fast that even a huge increase in performance is barely noticeable to the user. 

Nevertheless, I thought I'd mention it since, for some people (especially laptop users), this is something worth considering.

Final thoughts

I think there is a lot more to be said regarding why you should start using Linux, but this article is meant only to give an overview of some of the major reasons you might want to consider it.

That said, there are some people that simply cannot use Linux in their everyday lives. It might be the case that you need to use a particular piece of software that is incompatible with Linux. Unfortunately, the list of examples of such software is quite long. For many people, this has been the reason they could not use Linux. To those people, I would like to say that it's getting better. Every day new software is ported to Linux, or compatibility options increased to make it run on Linux.

In conclusion, the next time you buy a computer and need to select an operating system, have a look at Linux. Chances are, once you use it, you'll fall in love and never use another operating system again.