this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
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Linux
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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I decided I preferred dealing with issues caused by the limited resources of a well-meaning community (And often largely corporate contributions, I know) rather than issues caused by some giant company's malice and greed. Goes without saying I don't use Chrome either or any Chromium-based web browser. It's not just Linux. There's no surprise "Now you gotta pay a subscription to get the next updates!" catch when I get up in the morning and I never have to figure out how to disable anti-features.
Basically every non-game program on my home computer I don't strictly need for work is open-source, often worked on by volunteers or crowd-funded and that just kinda feels good, y'know? I decided to completely switch to Linux around 12-14 years ago and I sometimes laugh when I hear of the deliberate nonsense Windows users have to deal with at every major update. Or when installing basic software.
To install any program I want, it's just a matter of opening a terminal, or GUI package manager like Pamac and typing its name or often a related keyword. It gets installed along with anything it requires. No need to cautiously find the proper website (Anyone remember when SourceForge messed with Gimp's installer to put ads in it?), download an installer and launch that. All my programs get updated for me through that very same GUI, along with my desktop environment, drivers and the kernel. Don't gotta think about it or wait for some popup in each and every program to tell me "Click here to update! 😌". And my computer doesn't randomly reboot or slow down on me.
And Edit:
Last thing, but the Windows basic desktop utilities, like the file browser, text editor and such are all so much worse than the most common Linux alternatives that it's kind of sad. I don't know how people function without tabs and split-view when moving files. And I haven't even touched on how ridiculously customizable Linux desktops are. Nothing compares out there.