Access to the code for starters, adherence to industry standards as another, broader base of support for critical systems and reasonable licensing.

Mostly because the promise of standardized creative software ports never materialized.

I know there are alternatives for almost everything, but the standards (required for work) and MANY specialty apps were never ported. It's a shame really.

Linux worked well as a server until I calculated my extra power usage. It just wasn't worth it running two machines.

back in 2008 was the straw that broke the camel's back for me.

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/patch_tuesday_update_breaks_zonealarm_windows_xp_updated

It prevented me from even getting on the Internet to even search for a solution for my problem. I didn't realize that it had crippled all ZoneAlarm users and that was day that I realized how little testing MS does before releasing updates.

You can fire up an old 486 and get Linux up on it fairly easily. M$ keeps increasing the minimum specs just to keep selling new versions. That's not an Open Source problem. I have used Star Office for many years (Open Office now) and it is compatible in ways I never expected. I have more luck opening an old M$ Word file in Open Office than I do with the current M$ Word application. I use OO on Windows, Mac, and Linux and move files around between them seamlessly.

If you've got a box you are thinking of retiring, just download Ubuntu or something and give it a try. You'll love it. I've got an HP mini that came pre-loaded with Ubuntu and I never have to reboot the thing. It also has a solid state drive so the battery life is fucking forever. I run FireFox, and OO on it (main applications I use). It hardly weighs anything so it is a perfect bedside machine. Open it up and it is on and available - no wait like with a Windows box. Mac is only marginally faster at waking up and if you don't have an SD card for the Windows sync (mobsync), it takes a REALLY long time to restore a session.

so Linux kind of came naturally for me. Started out with and early version of Slackware, then moved through a couple of Red Hat distros (5 & 6). Worked with some FreeBSD and OpenBSD boxes, too. Currently using Open SuSE 11.4.

I've found that Linux can extend the life of an old PC - heck, it can even resurrect one. Case in point - my current Linux box was originally a Windows XP machine (one of several that was purchased at the same time). The darn thing constantly "blue screened". Tech support at the manufacturer was good, and assisted in every way possible to try to fix the problem. We replaced hardware and software (drivers) - nothing worked - it would "blue screen" at least once a week. They ended up sending us a new machine (free of charge). It (the old machine) sat in the scrap heap waiting for disposal for over 6 months. Just for giggles I put Open SuSE 11.0 on it and it worked like a champ - hasn't had a problem to this day.

Exactly.

I bought a model "A" the first week they were released in August 1998. When the Mac operating system switched to a Unix base with OSX, I started learning the command line and was soon able to run a Linux Desktop on my iMac. I started installing Linux distros on old PCs that I inherited from my sister as she upgraded her computers. It took a while before I was able to maintain a stable Linux installation, but by the time my iMac died in 2006 I felt confident enough to use Linux system as my main computer.

I've mainly been using Fedora since 4 or 5 but I have also tried running Suse and Ubuntu. I love the transparency of Linux systems. Things still go wrong sometimes, but I don't panic as much now and know I can find a solution pretty quickly in the many Linux forums online. Linux file systems just make more sense than Windows.

I gave up on windows a long time ago. I did however purchase a 3-seat version of windows 7 for use on netflix. A couple of years ago I felt that it would be worth it and there was no way it would run in linux without microsoft's silverlight monstrosity. But that says more about netflix (at the time) than it does for windows.

My distro of choice is Gentoo. I still like to compile everything and there is no longer a dependency hell like it was for a few years. I really dont know why - I've tried them all and end up deleting tons of stuff I never use so I always go back to Gentoo. I started with a floppy-drive install of slackware around 1997 or so then went to red hat then gentoo.

This is the first post on du I have made since the day Obama won the White House. Thanks for listening and the topic. I lurk everyday - and I do mean everyday - but I never post. Dont know why.
Thanks for listening!

Back in y2k is when I started using it. Mandrake was my first. Debian on all my "real" workhorses, *buntu on netbooks,tablet,etc.

Debian social contract - http://www.debian.org/social_contract

This contract is in alignment with some of my political views.

Build or refurbish a machine, install Debian, done. I can do it as many times as I want to on as many machines as I have. All the drivers and big apps are included, free, from a single repository.

Building legal (or even illegal...) machines using Windows is no fun.

Dealing with "Product activation keys," "registrations," and all that crap is miserable work. I won't do it unless someone pays me.

I should have to put up with this:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Activating-Windows-frequently-asked-questions

Seriously???

1) no more anti-virus
2) I own older hardware which is still perfectly usable.
3) Free

I've been a Ubuntu user for a few years now. I can dual boot into XP if needed or run wine.

O aye and this

My computer crashed two days before I had a big paper due. I was only half way done.

I was able to hook up my old hard drive to my friend's computer via USB or whatever and get it out, but I still had no OS. I installed Ubuntu, which came with OpenOffice at the time, and in a little less than 30 minutes, I was typing away. I've been loving it ever since. I only use Windows if there's a program that doesn't work well with Wine, or when I'm at work.