I've almost got a carbon copy of XavierP's experience. Didn't really have too many problems with Win2k, jsut curious. Started with Mandrake 9.2, then found I like it better and finially setteled on Gentoo. Still boot into Windows for the occasional game or Publisher task, but that's it!

Nah! I got rid of my windoze long ago (Running Mandriva 2005). HAd trouble compiling drivers for my ATI Radeon 9250 but works now, so I can play Doom3 and Descent3 games on Linux just fine.


As for publishing:

Latex, flpsed, nvu, ooffice etc all work out okay for me (though maybe not enough for the ultra professional, I dunno)

I know this is drifting slightly off topic, but applications like Nvu, while OK for casual use, are not the equivalent of professional applications like Dreamweaver. I understand you can run Dreamweaver in Linux using Crossover Office, though. Still, if you have a dual-boot machine, why pay for Crossover Office when you can just boot into Windows? The same would be true for games using Cedega.

Many webdevelopers simply use vi, and design the best webpages I've seen.

Crossover Office is basically a jazzed up version of wine. If you don't want to pay money, you can set up wine. It'll take longer and you'll have to read more docs, but that's the price for free.

As for Cedega, it's crap. Not one of my old windoze games works on cedega 5.0 (the latest and supposedly the best). Always some wierd indecipherable error during installation. Native Linux games are better, and their numbers are growing. Doom3 has a Linux build, for instance. For now, more games run on windoze, this is true.


However, if ur a serious gamer, it's a bad idea to use windoze even. Far better to get a dedicated gamebox like a PS2/3 or XBox and hook it to your keyboard/monitor using a KVM switch. If you're a casual gamer doom3, decent3, sof etc in Linux shuld do nicely.

We put out a newsletter about every quarter, and have done it in Publisher for years. Other than that I use Scribus for my other desktop publishing needs. I guess I could reformat the Publisher newsletter in Scribu but I guess I'm just lazy because I haven't done it yet!

I'd say curiousity is a part of the fact that many people switch. I switched from windows as well although I still like windows, I mean it is easy to use, updating is very easy. Programs run when you want and how you want. The nice thing about linux is that it teaches you how a computer really works. That is the main reason why I switched. I got my own brewed version based a bit on knoppix and parts of lfs.
That is what I find interesting because it is what you make of it.

A coworker introduced me to Linux several years ago. He explained Open Source and gave me some Red Hat CDs. However, the real motivation to leave Windows came from Microsoft business practices.

As time has gone by, my distaste for Microsoft has increased somewhat. (However, I support LinuxQuestions discouraging wanton Microsoft-bashing.)

I don't want to endorse Microsoft's business practices by contributing financially. I don't want to copy their products in violation of their license.

Open Source offers much, but the thing that stands out is integrity. Leaders demonstrate it. Participation does not compromise my own.

Still, Linux might be only a temporary answer for a lightweight like me - "temporary" because I may someday tire of the study and research that is required to use it. When Open Source has an OS for Joe Sixpack, I'll be there.

I actually got tired of pirating windows software and windows OS's. I built my first computer and decided it needed something that was free. I found Linux in my quest (I was probably looking for some form of a Mac I'd guess, I didn't know a quarter of what I know today about computers/OS's/etc) and tried it out with Mandrake 7.something IIRC

So, my reason was because I didn't want to pay for something I thought sucked. I actually paid for the full boxed version (after buying/trying a cheap CD from linuxcentral.com of a Mandrak iso) of Mandrake back then, and have paid for a few different distros since then. So, it probably wasn't 'because it's free' not in the sense of 'free as in beer' anyway.

Cool

I haven't really "switched" per se, I just like versatility and I use many different platforms. (I never stick to just one video game system, so why should I stick to one type of computer hardware?) Anyway, I was raised on Apple computers (when I was in school, they had Macintoshes for things other than video editing!) and the UNIX-based MacOS X I'd say is what first really got me interested in the Linux scene. So, I rescued a bunch of old PC hardware from some nearby schools and places that were gonna toss 'em, downloaded and burned some Linux .iso's (with much insistence from my Linux-user friends) and now I have finally found Mandrake, my distro of choice and I'm enjoying a decent workstation that so far, has cost me about 9 dollars (my mouse broke, see.)

Still love my Macs, though.

i started using linux because i couldn't afford the price for windows, pure and simple $$$. it really is ridiculously priced, and people just keep paying it without asking if there is a cheaper alternative. doesn't make sense.

I started using Linux because I found it to be more stable then Windows. What I found to be the real kicker, games which were designed for Windows play MUCH better for me on Linux using Cedega! The final straw with Windows was trying to play Command & Conquer: Generals. It kept crashing! I tried it on Linux...PERFECT! While I do keep a installation of Windows on another partition, I only use it for programs/games that will not run on Linux. Which is a small few. Upon the day all my games run on Linux, I will be quite happy to type a command in which I feared so much long ago...format c:

I switched because I soon realised that win98 was badly flawed and I had been amazed at what a sparc 20 running sunos could do (host an sybase server and enterprise app for testing for 4 users, all remote). Also, Unix agrees with something in me. It's simple (I mean it), auditable, automateable, and stable. I just couldn't understand why openwin was so backward.

Hearing that a unix like OS was available, I had to try. Gnome blew me away (and it made me curse SUN for not even trying to beat Windows 3.11) and the thing just kept running. Didn't do much back then (rh 6.2) but I knew I'd stick with it. Progress has been very slow (very quick compared to windows) but it's now come of age.

It's an ideal system base for pure, unadventurous web users (90% of people around me). Everything is already there for them in Suse, Mandriva, Ubuntu, Xandros, Linspire and there is no hidden tax like anti Windows insecurity toolkits.

I first switched because I was tired of how slow and unstable windows was on my fairly competent PC (1.67ghz Athlon XP and 256mb of DDR (since upgraded to 512)). Actually, at that point I really didn't switch, I ran a dual boot set-up for a year and a half with Mandrake 9.2 (if memory serves correctly) and XP Home. But then something messed up. I don't rightfully remember what the problem was, but it required me to start fresh. The problem being that my HP recovery disks didn't want to work (yes, I know, I should have built my own) so I ordered a whole bunch of Ubuntu disks. After waiting and waiting (2+ months) they finally arrived and I installed the OS. Almost immediately I was disappointed. Gnome just plain sucks (imho) and ubuntu seemed to be slower than Mandrake was. Somewhere along the way the OEM CD burner crapped out (and, it wasn't some generic piece of junk, either, It was a lite-on) so I was stuck with ubuntu. Finally, we got a new family computer which has a DVD/CD burner. So I tried to find the latest version of Mandrake, discovered the name had changed to Mandriva, downloaded the disc set, and installed the OS and have been very happy with it so far.

So, I suppose my reason for currently running linux is that I am cheap (a new recovery disc set would cost $15 plus shipping), however, my reason for originally dual-booting was overall dissatisfaction with windows and my future reason for staying a linux user is my very strong dislike for MS and everything MS (my next computer will hopefully be a $2000+ Asus Laptop, so an extra $150 or so for windows wouldn't be a big deal).

I decided to use Linux because I have two computers and I stopped using the other one. I have three monitors on my desk, and so I thought why not use my old computer again? I know all about the advantages of Linux etc, having studied it at uni, so I thought why not give it a go, might keep me busy!

It has, and I now have it working (just need to get this Samba thing grr).

I still use Windows XP on my main desktop, because all I really do is browse the web, chat on irc, and play games. I do programming, but I'll use Linux for that, Slackware installed a lot of compilers etc for the languages I have learnt and will learn.

Plus KDE has so many nice screensavers...

A large part of my continuing interest in Linux is because it is a Unix clone, and because I am an IS auditor who wants to be able to work with an OS other than Windows. Unix is way common in the corporate environment, and Linux is becoming more so.