Linux

It comes down to user control and privacy for me. At least those are the two main reasons. Linux has cons as well but for me Linux's pros outweigh their cons. Obviously everyone has different standards though. Gaming, business, etc. can be a deal breaker.

Linux is an operating system. It handles your system resources and makes them available to your applications. It was built by devs who tried to make the system good.

Windows is a marketing tool. It is designed to get the user to subscribe to the cloud services that make Microsoft money.
It was built by devs who tried to make the system profitable.

Why are you guys downvoting this post?

Linux does what I tell it to.

Windows does what it wants. Either what it thinks I want it to do, or what Microsoft wants me to do.

Considering I paid for my computer, I like having control over it. It's that simple.

Everything everyone else said, but also it literally has more features. KDE Plasma and apps like Dolphin make Windows look like a toy.

Freedom, it's that simple. Any other reason is a derivative of said freedom.

Because of everything.

I can chose however I want it to be and behave. It won't nag me, it won't show me ads, my hardware will receive support for ages, it consumes less resources, it's more responsive, I don't need to update any drivers, it uses less disk space, installing apps is easier, changing settings is easier, backups are easier, zero maintenance , it's reliable, it's free and open source and it uses the same Kernel that the world runs and relies on.

I'm 42, since I was less than 8 years old until now I've used:

• DOS
• Windows 3.11, 95, Me, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10
• MacOS 8.1, 9, OSX 10 - 10.11

Linux:

• Mandrake
• Mandriva
• Ubuntu
• POP OS
• Elementary
• Manjaro
• Endeavour
• Debían
• Zorin
• Mint
• Fedora
• Aurora
• Bazzite
• Vanilla

That said the only thing I dislike is that my kids can't play EA's FC26 or Epic's Fortnite because those companies chose to actively not support Linux on purpose. Those games are predatory gambling casinos disguised as games, but still... I wish I could have the choice to play or not play them.

But that's a small price to pay for everything I get in return.

I've been running Bazzite for 2 years now. For me, it's honestly the best computing experience I've ever had. I'm very happy with it and I feel joy using it every single day, I'm in love.

It's free and using it means I don't have to support American tech companies.

I use NixOS because I love that every time I install an app or tweak a setting, I can document it with a commit in git. So if I fuck something up, I can revert the change. And if I get another computer, all my apps and settings are already there. And if I wanna help another NixOS user do something I've already done, I can just share the code.

Faster, lighter, stronger.

I still can use a 15yo laptop for daily tasks, still boot in less than 20s (with ssd).

No surprises, I remember having stuff unremovable, like google toolbar, and no forced reboot when you are still working (they fixed this issue).

Software management is way faster : you don't have to download a zip, unzip, hit the .exe, then accept a fuckload of agreements.

I only have to reboot when I want to, not when a corporation wants me to.

I prefer Linux audio manipulation over windows. I despised plugging in say.. a PS4 controller and having to redo my audio because microsoft thinks it knows better then me.

I shake the mouse,l on Linux when I lose it and the cursor gets big.

Linux doesn't try to think for me... it does what I tell it too.

I can just drag windows out if full screen.. windows I gotta double click then drag away.

there's so many small qol features from people that actually use PCs. microslop...I swear their employees have never used a computer before

microslop doesn't introduce features unless they can somehow make you get funneled into some space with ads.

no ads...screw all ads

it's not microslop

creators of Linux aren't working at every turn to make my experience worse in order to sell me some garbage cloud solution

Linux doesn't try to sell anything.

Linux just works...

i like not having to have a microsoft account to utilize it.

you know whats really awesome? being able to decide if i want updates. or a tightly-integrated piece of shit llm.

being able to modify literally every aspect of the shell.

windows 3.1 was more theme-able than win11.

linux works out of the box for all the old people i repurpose machines for and i dont have to think about cloud-connect bullshit. fuck, half of them dont notice its not windows until i mention it.

better question is why the fuck would you use windows without being paid to?

I like having a system I know the internals of and can control.

But honestly, nowadays the software quality of Windows is just... Bad.

Mac guy… I’ll say desktop environments. It’s an advantage over both macOS and Windows. The ability to choose your desktop environment. I prefer GNOME.

I work mostly in the terminal and find the linux experience to just be faster and more comfortable.

Because there is no bloatware it's fast as hell so it works really well for old machines

For gui based stuff I think mac beats windows neatly across the board. Hard to imagine why someone would go for windows on a personal machine. Games I guess

don't you feel kind of disgusting saving your family's photos on some kind of awful botnet OS?

I just happen to be in the complete opposite. I think it's better because I like it and it lets me to do what I want to do without getting in the way.

I've been using Linux for years and years. I get the subjective sense it is a system built by engineers for engineers. I can examine, poke, prod, and break every aspect of the system. I consider that a bonus and it's how I learn about computers.

I can fly through the system with my terminal

Etc

Edit: Centralized software package and dependency management is awesome