How many of you use a Linux distro as your primary desktop OS?

I'm in the process of switching to elementary OS.

I don't know if there are any major advantages besides of course everything being open source. Regarding that, if you don't know how to/don't want to hack the apps you use I don't see a lot of value besides from a philosophical point of view.

There are small things that I personally like better, but it also depends a lot on the distro.

Other OSes are much easier to use in practice, since most things one wants to use are build for the Win/Mac ecosystems, and things seem to just work without much work on your part, which isn't always true with Linux.

Windows, OSX and others can do little IMHO for Linux lovers, unless they release their software open source.

I use Ubuntu as my OS on all laptops that I own, but not on my desktop (which is Windows 8.1). The reasons for Ubuntu are many:

1. Smaller memory footprint (laptop memory is expensive)

2. Better package management than Windows & iOS

3. I use my laptop almost exclusively for development and I develop for *nix platforms

There is just one reason for Windows on the desktop:

1. Skyrim

I do! I'm a Linux Systems Engineer by trade who writes python/golang code which is deployed on Linux servers. Perhaps I'm an odd one in that traditionally, I was a systems administrator, but I'm comfortable with the Linux desktop and will likely never turn back. Currenty, I use Fedora, but the company is standardizing on RHEL7 for desktops, and it isn't all that bad at all really. I quite like it. My home laptop and 2 desktops are also Fedora 20/21.

Granted, I'm typing this comment from the beast[1] in this picture (4x dell 30" monitors) with the NVS510 video card under the hood, but really it works amazingly well. I don't honestly see any benefit to moving towards Windows or Mac OS X. OS X has homebrew where I can get some of the much nicer GNU utilities, but the stock BSD userspace I find lacking. I use several of the gnu-ish features like sed -i, grep -r, etc, etc. Perhaps it is because I've worked on Linux for > 10 years, I just find it totally second nature. That being said, I bought my wife a MPB as it is shiney and unix under the hood.

Just use what you're comfortable with. I won't even interview at a place that won't let me run a Linux desktop (seriously).

[1] http://www.digitalprognosis.com/pics/my-work-setup.jpg

i use Fedora 20. The advantage is that the knowledge i get from using it daily is also quite helpful when dealing with Linux based infrastructure generally.

It doesn't matter whether it's for digital signage, phones, servers, desktops, or neat projects with the raspberry pi.

They don't all use the same software, same package manager, or same init system, but i can still jump in and play around pretty quickly.

I don't really think there is much that Windows or Mac OS X could do to make me change to something else.

I don't see any serious advantages for using GNU/Linux over MacOSX because I live in userland and I can get all my gnu utils and open source programs through MacPorts.

Linux is a programmer's paradise and you can basically whatever you wanna do with the system. IMHO the most serious lack is a set of good looking office programs and some lack of interoperability when you needed. On the other hand you get to have much more flexibility than any other OS out there.

Windows to me seems like a mobile OS. It's so restricted and the possibilities are so limited that's scary (DOS vs Bash/Zsh/any-shell + gnutools... comparison doesn't stand, no way).

I've been using Fedora exclusively for 4 or 5 years... Linux in general since 1995 (slackware on a mountain of 3.5" floppies!!!)

I love it because it allows me to get the most out of my machine. I've been using xfce and like it everywhere. Most of my work is on Linux machines of one flavor or another (mostly RHEL and a few Ubuntu) so it makes sense.

If I absolutely must do something with Windows, I have a vm that I crank up; then I can edit MS Word, PowerPoint, do my taxes, or update my GPS (Win only updater). I'm trying to convince folks at work to move to Google Docs with some success.

I won't switch to anything else any time soon; Linux does everything I need!

I may switch from Fedora... the continual update process is starting to feel like a treadmill... sometimes the version updates break a lot of things. I may switch to Debian to have a stable platform that doesn't go crazy with updates like Fedora; I've been playing with it on a vm and it seems fine.

I have a Chromebook in the kitchen for web browsing, checking email, etc. and it's surprisingly useful. I couldn't live with it day to day, but I've started to carry it while on the road more often; it's very small, light, and the battery lasts forever.

a) archlinux

b) I get things done faster. Every bit of it was built according to my own personal habits and is therefore a really fluid experience as opposed to interacting with a machine on someone else's terms. Its probably pretty difficult for anyone else to use though.

c) Not really.

Linux Mint.

I'm able to get far more out of my small cheap netbook using Linux than I can with Windows or a more expensive Mac. I could do most of my work on a Mac but Linux affords me a deeper level of customization and different set of tools that I need/want to have and that I have found useful. Even when things break in Linux usually it is much more of a learning experience fixing it as compared to OS X and Windows IMHO.

Linux does have the disadvantage of not running popular software that I may like to use like games, image editing software and audio DAWs. But so far I've just been focusing my time on other things so I am not as affected by it as when I had Windows/Mac and Linux boxes.

Ironically if Microsoft and Apple opened up their development toolchain to other OSs, e.g. Linux. I would be more likely to use them more. The more I use Mono in Linux the more I find myself using Windows, if Visual Studio and .NET tools where more open and usable on Linux I can see myself using Windows alot more. The same goes for xcode and OSX/iOS.

Right now I'm on Arch Linux because it feels like a good balance of bleeding edge packages/flexibility/power-user elitism (meaning it caters to my desires as a software engineer), and large installed base causing there to be packages or some other support for most things (e.g. there's a PKGBUILD available that bends Valve's .deb distribution of Steam into a Pacman (Arch's package manager) package).

Rather than post a wall of text about the advantages I get, I'll link to a talk on the subject I recently did: http://lsh.io/plugtalk

The two big problems I find with non-Linux OSes are 1. lack of a good POSIX-style userspace or sufficient OS features to install one; and 2. welded-on, monolithic GUI layers - MacOS and Android are both nonstarters for me because they force me to use their very inflexible, very badly designed window managers (among other issues, but that's the one that's really unfixable due to the fundamental design on both OSes).

a) Linux Debian here.

b) Advantages I see using Linux on the desktop: I got fed up with the Windows UI when I switched to Linux couple of years ago, and I kept it because of the power of the command line and the possibility to change the Desktop Manager - I got to try Mac OS at work but couldn't stand it. Also it's really convenient to have on my desktop the same OS as my servers.

c) I would go back to Windows if I had to do something with Microsoft Excel - I find Open Office and LibreOffice to be quite limited compared to what Microsoft offers.

I have a dual boot Windows/Ubuntu computer. Now that Netflix supports the newest Chrome on Ubuntu, I only use the Windows computer for games. Google Docs solve most of my document related needs.

I use fedora as my primary OS.

I Love it, I maintain a few linux ( CentOS ) servers aswell as write alot of node/php/python/ember code that runs on those servers.

Advantages

a) flexibility and lightweight nature

b) very similar OS to the servers i maintain

c) memory usage ( laptop )

d) i prefer the package managers.

whilst i could perform the majority of my tasks on a mac... i dislike the

a) UI

b) package manager

c) defaults given ( keyboard shortcuts aswell as scrolling ones )

d) lack of flexibility

(note: i havn't really had a good play on a mac so all my listed disadvantageous would most likely be easy to resolve )

I use a Samsung Chromebook 2, with a chroot environment running xfce. This allows me to do all of my development tasks on a sub-$400 laptop, with over 8 hours of battery life.

I've worked at Apple, and I love Mac OSX, but the expense of owning a Macbook far exceeds any additional returns I would get by using one professionally.

I use Gentoo.

I like the level of customization it gives you, plus I ( this may be subjective) find it way more stable then Arch. I love the Portage package manager, and the low memory footprint (besides compiling).

a)Archlinux

b) Love the package manager and user repository(AUR). Also the configurability to make it exactly how I want it. No bloatware that comes with the initial install. Great community and wiki.

c) As others have said, I sometimes find limitation with Libre and Open Office when compared to MS Office.

1)I use Arch Linux.

I love it. It's flexible, it's powerful, it's configurable. I use it for programming in Linux (just a little) so having bleeding edge it's welcomed. I do not play much, but for the little games I play it's excellent if not wine is all I need.

Also I use Debian A lot. But not as my principal OS. I usually install it in PCs set some servers if needed and then ssh all the way.

Also I have some VMs, sometimes for experimenting (freebsd, some Linux distributions).

2)For the advantages of Linux: Probably the distribution software, but FREE SOFTWARE, that's the principal reason. If I could have installed all the libraries, have a posix system, system drivers, a good compiler and the usual desktop apps and Free Sotware then I'm done (Notice I don't have a problem with a NON FREE(LIBRE) OS if is affordable and comfortable enough)

Unfortunately I have issues in Freebsd with drivers, the distribution system in Mac Os X is meh (of course you have macports and homebrew) but again drivers. Windows has all the applications you want but it's unfriendly in the distribution software and no Posix. Then 8.1, I could install 7 but at this moment I don't have a reason.

3)So for the last part, no Linux it's the way to go.

I guess you could call it dual-primary - I'm quite evenly split between Fedora and Windows.

I like Fedora because my work runs RHEL on its VMs and it is easy to have the two set up similarly. I like the package manager and the overall configuration of packages. The workflow is good and I love the power of a proper CLI.

Windows: For games (there's just not enough for Linux yet despite Valve's push), Visual Studio, Office (Libre/OpenOffice just doesn't quite work as well IMHO) and the Adobe suite.

Xubuntu, because it stays the hell out of my way.

Things running in it: Firefox (personal browsing), Chromium (work browsing), a buttload of terminals, KeePassX.

I hope Xfce never pulls a GNOME/KDE and just keeps refining version 4 forever. When I hear the words "desktop" and "innovation", I reach for my revolver.

I've used Debian as my desktop for the past seven+ years. I like that I can script, I like that I can develop, and as a sysadmin I like that my local environment matches my remote one.

I had a brief stint using a MacBook and found it painful; the keyboard was wrong, installing packages was clunky, and it just didn't work for me well.

I've no interest in paying for an operating system, so it is unlikely I could be lured over to running Microsoft Windows, or Mac OS XX.

Debian

The advantage is freedom

Other OS's could become free as in freedom, but I still prefer Debian's interface.

I've used Unix/Linux as my primary desktop since 1991.

1991-1995 Bell and Netware Unix SVR4

1995-2001 Sun Solaris

2001-2014 Linux (various distros), currently Linux Mint 17

Ubuntu latest with Mint desktop Free one advantage not held hostage by Microsoft Updates and overpriced Apple hardware Its unlikely other OS will do anything but try to maintain and grow their monopolies. In linux there are tones of media, music, and video programs for free and Libre Office is very good. Microsoft office does have RTD and good web to spreadsheet linking but also has errors in a lot of functions they haven't fixed for about 33 years.

Debian Wheezy (stable) on most of my systems, and Debian Testing on my primary home laptop. I use backports for things like Emacs and Iceweasel/Firefox where I like to have recent versions.

I've been using Linux as my main desktop starting with Red hat 5.1, so that's got to be almost 15 years ago. Moved to Fedora, then Ubuntu, and then finally to Debian.

I've got an old MacBook and I may get a MacBook Air at some point because they're great travel laptops. Hate the keyboard on all Macs I've worked with though. The operating system is fine, I can get work done on OS X.

Occasionally I boot into Windows (7) to play a game but at least half the time Windows will update itself for what seems like an eternity and then reboot automatically straight back into Debian. By that time I've usually forgotten what I needed Windows for.

At work I have a Windows 7 VM for various corporate tools that only work in Windows. Usually use the Outlook web client in Debian for email and calendaring. That works most of the time.

Linux seems not to ever suffer from viruses. And you can crash Linux if you try real hard and it starts up again reliably. Linux is far more reliable than Microsoft and same reliable before Mac went to Intel. Don't know how it is now. But its annoying not to have Flash on Mac Hardware. Or not be able to Play Mac Media on Windows as they come out of the box. Though VLC does largely solve that problem as a replacement for the native media players.

Iphones are not intuitive unless you mean dummies can sort of use them without ever finding out what they are able to do...