To start with a small rant on Apple and Microsoft being giant monopolies in the global market for operating systems.

• On one hand, Apple boasts a fluid user experience (and ecosystem lock-in) with its macOS
• And on the other hand we have Microsoft’s Windows which brags its vast support of applications and (pseudo) customizability.

Linux, however, speaks for itself.

Linux?

Linux is a free and open source operating system (technically speaking 🤓☝️, it’s a kernel, but for the scope of this post, let’s call it an OS).

Why do I use Linux over its commercial competitors?

A vast number of reasons.

• It’s lightweight.
  The kernel uses less resources which means there are more resources available for your applications and processes to utilize.
  Doing a simple ‘Linux revive’ search on Google lists multiple instances where people have installed Linux on their old, slowing systems, only to find out that they run perfectly when using Linux, because unlike other OS’s, Linux updates do not clog your software. *cough* Updates won’t turn my laptop into a slow piece of hardware, forcing me to buy a new one.

• Almost as if it’s immune to viruses.
  There are thousands of people looking at Linux code every day. Thousands of people contributing to the Linux code every day. Vulnerabilities are quickly spotted and patched. There’s also the added benefit of not using an operating system which is so popular that there are tons of viruses and malwares designed to target it.

• I can customize everything.
  Linux is customizable in ways I couldn’t imagine earlier. It comes with total control over your operating system and options to tweak anything. From automating tasks, customizing keyboard shortcuts to window decorations, titlebars, taskbars, docks, icons, fonts, and the list goes on. I can even change how the OS works under the hood, without having to download or install heavy third party applications. (Not that I would readily do that, I’m sure I would end up breaking something). A very cool favourite customization for wobbly windows -

  

• I can install applications with just one line of command.
  To install new applications on Windows, I would need to -

  1. Visit the software website
  2. Find the download link and download
  3. Run the installer and go through the tedious process of selecting ’next’ at every step.
  4. Restart your system to run the application properly.

  However, it just takes

  $ sudo apt install <app name>
  

  to install an application on Linux.

• Support for development
  Linux comes with massive support for development. I don’t have to spend time installing and configuring languages, their extensions and what-not since all it takes is one command to install them now.

• I have a lot of distro options to choose from.
  Linux comes in many different flavours. Users are free to choose a distro based on their set of needs. We have different distros for programmers, different distros for Hackers™
  

  

• It’s reliable.
  My Linux system does not get sluggish after days of usage. It’s as efficient as it was on day one, and it does not require me to reinstall my OS or consider getting a hardware upgrade to make it better. I now understand why Linux is used for servers across the world.

• It respects my privacy.
  There’s no sneaky telemetry going on in the background tracking me and collecting my data.

All in all, I find Linux an inarguably superior alternative to commercial operating systems. It’s open sourced, highly secure and reliable and gives me the option to tailor it to my needs without compromising on my system’s resources.