Why I’ve switched to Linux

Hello Hypothetical readers!
In today’s world of personal computing, Windows 8 taking its share, the new OS X Maverick made free for all Apple users, next generation computers and mobile devices. I’ve decided to go with Linux, specifically the Debian OS.

My computing history

When I first thought of this article, my title was “Why I’ve switched out of OS X to Linux”, but then I thought, not only is my experience with OS X relevant, but all my computing experience since the dawn of time. Well, maybe not that far.
Lets begin when I last used Windows, that must have been around 2006, give or take a year. It was around the last golden years of Windows XP, Vista was around the corner but not so popular. I already thought of myself as geek, tweaking everything, cracking executables left and right. I was beginning to wonder what was Linux, I thought to my self true geeks only use Linux ( maybe true still).
Ubuntu was already established, as many others it was my first step to the Linux world. By that time it wasn’t so hard to learn and the internet was already pumping with forums and people to help with issues. I’ve kept a partition with Windows just for gaming, but as it turned out, I needed it less and less as time went by. Eventually I’ve decided to get rid of XP once and for all, and to try out Debian, after all Ubuntu is for newbies and Debian for the hardcore geeks.

With Debian I’ve continued as my power computer, even started out on Computer Engineer as a University course. Now its 2011 and my power computer is getting pretty old, I’ve decided to go stay with my brother in Japan, he was already living there to study, so I gave my old PC to my father, took my small netbook and a hard-disk drive with all my virtual belongings and left. That’s when I first started using OS X, what to say? As everyone knows, OS X and general Apple stuff, are pretty reliable and easy-to-use, added that it has a little bit more support for gaming. With the OS X Snow Leopard I’ve stayed, up to a year, after which I’ve finally decided to try out on Debian again, while still on the iMac.

So, why Linux?

Its free! Lets just get that out of the way anyway, this might not seem so important at first, but its a huge step towards making your PC truly yours.
Its safe and reliable. I think Windows users will never understand, how annoying and glitchy Windows really is, it literally gets in your way, always having to worry if the anti-virus is updated and running.
Now, more than a few occasions, my Linux system borked up, and its funny on how some obscure error might make it look like the whole system is crooked and you have dump it all. But on most times, the solution is ussually no farther than a face palm away, all you need to do is research the cause of the issue.

Well I’m not going to lie here, having those letters fill up my black screen just makes me feel like a damn hacker.

As mentioned above, OS X was pretty good on its own, reliable, safe, and super easy-to-use. Instead of a computer for geeks, I think its the computer for those who know nothing of computing, even my grandma could use it.
It works wonderfully and super compatible with devices, if you have Apple devices. This is another reason why I’ve switched to Linux, OS X kinda limits your choices. I felt I couldn’t do much without an iPhone, if I got too comfortable with the built-in apps I would have no choice but to get one.
Not only that, but OS X intentionally limits to great extent any customization you might attempt on your system.

Debian it is then!

Finally, we arrive at the point where I get the mighty power of open-source, linux-geek, Debian  with the powerful KDE 4 desktop environment.
Debian in itself is a powerhouse, good for those who prefer a stable long-term system, also good for those who seek the edge of open-source software.
KDE is my desktop environment of choice, super powerful and customizable, very eye candy, you literally have the ability to tweak every little thing. Where most desktop, seems to be just a collection of general software, KDE is the best at integrating every tool into a single experience.

Here are some screen-shots, so you can get a glimpse of how my current desktop looks like.
My old 2009 iMac is almost turning 5, about time for me to upgrade to a powerhouse computer once again, but surely, it will have “Linux inside”.
Well, thanks if you read all this, cheers, and leave a comment so I know what you think.