Those of you who run Linux *exclusively*... What are you doing in the OS that makes it a big deal for you?

Personally, I spend the bulk of my time in *apps*---editor, IDE, browser, messaging, calendar, etc. OK, a little time in command line, but minutes a day, if I add it up. And I can get Bash anywhere.

Now, you could argue that, if I spend most of my time in apps, then I should have a minimalist OS. Fair comment. Is that all it is?

But, I feel OS is quite an unimportant part of my day. App launcher for much of it.

Professional context:
When working with different programming environments, I find it much easier to open the terminal and setup up everything from the command line. I am also working in many projects with docker and I find it much easier to use and update on Linux based system.

Privacy context:
Another aspect why I am using Linux is, that I want to have full control over my system. Everything should be configurable. Everything what my system does should be transparent. Therefore I also run my own Nextcloud and Btiwarden instance. In my opinion we should be aware, that when we are using a closed system for free, we are most like to sell for the free usage with our data.

📌

On Linux I have so many ways to configure everything to my needs and preferences and I can do much more with keyboard shortcuts and automate the little annoying things within minutes.

But most importantly it doesn't get in my way. It updates when I have time for updates, it doesn't ask me what to do every fucking time I connect a USB drive, and the system generally doesn't do anything without me telling it to do it.

Linux stays out of your job and doesn't nag you (like Windows). Nor does it require you to get accustomed to strange things only to make sure you can't go anywhere else (like Mac OS). In the end Linux is more customizable, more user friendly, and will always just work.

Maximum control and "educativeness" I guess.

It comes with the downside of needing maintenance sometimes.

If you don't need the former things and can't sacrifice the latter, be fine with not caring about linux.

Have used Linux exclusively for close to 15 years now. When I see Windows these days, the most frustrating thing is the lack of customisation on the desktop. I have a workflow and shortcuts and muscle memory built up around being able to configure Linux desktops the way I want. I theoretically "could" probably do all my personal stuff on Windows with a lot of effort but it would slow me down and annoy me greatly. My job is to work on Linux-specific stuff, like my employer's custom kernel, so there is no point me running anything but Linux professionally.

Sounds like you need MacOS.

For me it is unimportant, but still "right" and not restricted as MacOS.
I also like Ctrl+alt+t for a terminal... and with bash instead of batch and with UTF-8 encoding instead of codepage-1215, compared to Windows.

The main reason is I really really really like using KDE, and EXT4 is also really nice.

Having a packet manager is also really nice because, well first and foremost installing programs through one is just pure joy. Being able to go "apt install git postgresql mpv [etc]" (or after a m8 got me to move to arch doing the same with pacman -S") and then updating the very same applications through the packet manager. And of course the fact that when updating the system you don't have to reboot to have updates applied (unless it's kernel shit)

Windows does a really annoying thing as well where it goes "you can't do anything to this file because it's open somewhere else" which is the reason my password file is called passwords38.

Going through and changing the settings is actually intuitive (although this is more of a KDE thing) and also I don't have to deal with pic related

@sbiewald This is another thing in windows that's unintuitive as hell compared to linux (and probably mac). To create a hotkey you have to create shortcut, open that shortcuts properties, and then add a hotkey whereas in Linux it's under settings > shortcuts.

... to sum it up:

- Customisation to the n-th degree, with all the joys and horrors it can contain

- Easier to access the inner workings of the OS. See above

- Central control of applications via package manager (except if you build them yourself or installing rogue .deb files --> BAD PRACTICE)

- Security. WARNING: It's not that Linux is inherently secure - if the user is an idiot, it can be compromised just as easily. It's because when you have been using linux and (unavoidably) ran into a problem, you had to do research and probably tweak some thing or two (or more). That builds a mindset, and shows you that this thing is not magical. Besides, after being trolled to PC holocaust (sudo rm -rf / ) a user tends to be a tad more sceptical, wondering "how the heck does that work?!"

Hope I've been of help.

To add...

I just got my myself a nice new gaming laptop, windows took about 30 seconds to fully boot (this thing has an nvme SSD and an 8th Gen i7), Linux takes about half the time...

Linux is both faster and better looking (gnome and KDE). Linux is more customizable, it's more centrally controlled (you both install and update from the same, single package manager). Linux is more transparent, I could go on for hours about it....

Windows fucked me over for a each day in a week so I just have enough of it.

I tend to match the OS needed to the task at hand.

Linux for production and online deployment of anything.

Windows as a means to create content and to communicate and manipulate Linux.

iOS to type this post to you all.

Today, 100% command line and maybe SFTP with CloudLinux/CentOS/RHEL. In my wild days, back in 2010-2012, I was a diehard Debian Linux geek and became a listed Ubuntu open source developer. I made a go for about two years at 100% Ubuntu for everything, breaking “free” of the Windows/Microsoft monopoly.

When you go “cold turkey” like this with a 100% Linux for everything, which I recommend anyone do for posterity, you eventually find a neutral level of mutual respect for what Microsoft does provide. In the end, Microsoft won. Today, I communicate and manipulate all my Linux systems and deployments via Windows 10 and haven’t looked back.

Having ultimate control over the system, really. Although I'm not a C programmer or anything, if I want to I can learn it and rewrite the entire goddamn system if I want.

Apart from that, I have quite some shell scripts and aliases which make life a lot easier for me and since I nearly live inside terminals....

And of course, customization.