Why do I use Linux?

[Victor Odhner]

Ric Whitney wrote:

>I just can't figure out why I turned
>to Linux like I have.  Can anyone enlighten me? ;-)
>  
>
I run Linux because somebody has to.  No, really.  Linux
needs a user base, so I'm volunteering to use it so that it
gets a workout and, eventually, can become the "normal"
platform for everyday users.  I understand that the world
needs to outgrow proprietary lock-in for the reasons that
Joseph explained so well, and because I once got a
Windows system so corrupted that I had to re-install to a
fresh hard disk to get back on the Net.  In general
Windows has been adequate for me, and XP is better than
the older ones, but there are some things that can never
work well under the "ownership of ideas" fallacy.
And the prices, egad, the prices!

I think Microsoft one day will have to adapt to a FOSS
world, and will still produce some good stuff.  But I also
run Linux because I'm cheap and the FOSS world offers
some free tools that help me get where I'm going.

I also run Linux because I can do any of the data processing
that I may want to do, without being bogged down in the
"favors" that Windows does for me.  I  happen to be very
good at shell-level operations, and generally get the results
I need from the command line, where this is a taffy pull
when using Windows.

I'm a Unix programmer and can figure out a lot of things
on my own, and a lot more with Google, and still more with
the PLUG list behind me.

I am not yet happy with the KDE desktop, and GNOME does
not work for me (any challenges in a separate chain, please!).
I gave up on Samba, and am waiting to see if I can use a
Linux app for an urgent music composition project that I have
coming up (I've already been given some links to check into).
I keep Windows XP Pro handy for the apps that only run
there, but I feel, well, sort of oppressed when I need to work
in that environment.

I just got a brand new Windows XP machine for my wife,
because she fits the profile of a non-technical professional
Windows user.  Windows is a niche application that is fine
for those who have picked other battles.  She even likes
(echhh!) auto-play!  When Microsoft caves in and publishes
MS Money for Linux, when the Sims 2 game is portable,
and when Open Document becomes the Coin of the Realm,
maybe she'll be ready to switch over.  Until then, there is
no incentive.

XP automates a lot of things that we still have to work for
under Linux:  I just discovered that I can right-click on a
file and queue it for backup to a CD.  That's nice.  To
capture the general public's interest, we still have some
catching up to do on the Linux side.

But me, I'm happy to have hacked my way totally free of
the registry and its overlords, for all of my daily operations
at home.

Vic