Ask HN: How many of you use GNU/Linux?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12299672

by ffggvv • 10 years ago

5 4 10 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Why? If not, why not?

I use GNU/Linux when I'm not using my Macbook. I love both platforms, but I also find myself wanting OpenBSD and FreeBSD to grow in popularity. All 4 OS's are great in their own right, but I personally feel that the GNU/Linux based operating systems are missing a thing or two that's holding them back from becoming popular. One of the biggest reasons is simply Developer Support. On my Mac, I can get everything I need to work, Photoshop, Dropbox, Google services. Everything just works.

Meanwhile, using Linux (I use Fedora Personally) I'm always having to search for Propiertary software, and sometimes the install process isn't so easy. Back when I used to use IDE's made by Jetbrains, the font rendering was bad, and the install process only half worked on Linux, but on my Mac it worked flawlessly.

OpenBSD and FreeBSD have much the same problem, however, the only reason I don't use them more often is because their repos tend to be more out of date than those on Fedora. Although their support for ZFS is a major selling point.

I think that, at the end of the day, if GNU/Linux focused more on gaining developer support, and stopped their incessant need to have everything be FOSS on their systems, I would rather use their OS's over MacOS.

craniumslows• 10 years ago

I use GNU/Linux and OS X soon to be rebranded MacOS. I started off using RedHat 3 dot something ages and ages ago then moved on to FreeBSD for about 6 or 7 years before I did lots of distro hopping in my 20s. I remember the fun and annoyance at having to recompile your kernel for sound driver support, or to add or remove a feature.

So the why? I think that it gives me the blend of power and convenience that I am personally looking for. In my early days the open source, free compilers were a godsend as I had to get a ride out of town to get to a book store that sold a book or manual with a distribution CD. As the internet access got better I started using the GUI and noticed that my use case was slowly evolving. Now-a-days I find that I am on whatever is handy Chromebook, iPad, MacBook, Desktop PC running Fedora.

Many computer users merely want something that works, and you can't blame them for that either.

This seems like it could be a fun question.

enkiv2• 10 years ago

I've been using Linux on most of my machines since around 1999, because of perceived stability issues in Windows. I continued using it because the development toolchain on other platforms seemed crippled in comparison.

I have an OSX machine for creating mac packages & a windows machine for playing video games, but those machines are limited to those particular uses; my general-purpose machines run linux.

azeirah• 10 years ago

I use it for development stuff, mainly because Linux is a better overall environment for developers compared to windows.

I use windows for games or if I'm not doing dev stuff

Ask HN: How many of you use GNU/Linux?

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