Biker|Geek

This is a post from the Ubuntu Forums from a guy who wrote about why he left Linux. I felt a need to respond both there and here, just for my piece of mind.
Below is the thread he started, it’s currently 28 pages and I really only wanted to respond to his initial post so here’s what he wrote and my follow up after his.

Why I Left Linux
I’m writing this thread to show how someone like you moved from being exclusively Linux for years to being exclusively Microsoft. This isn’t because I love Microsoft, or hate Linux, but because I assessed my option and chose which one suited me most.

A quick bit of history: I started using Linux with Red Hat 9 and was exclusively Linux not long after. Since then I have tried every major distribution and some of the smaller ones. Where I remained for the last couple years was on Ubuntu due to its large user base, professional releases and support.

Recently I realised I was being too fundamentalist about many things in my life. I was very much set in my ways and was not open to different options. I discovered that I was doing this and made a lot of changes. Then I realised that I hadn’t given Windows a chance in many years. Linux was great and had been a lot of fun, but I wanted to spend more time using my computer than tinkering with it.

So I took the plunge, wiped Linux and installed my old copy of Windows XP for a trial. Were there issues? Absolutely, but as a Linux user they were no problem to solve. Not only that, but learning the quirks wouldn’t benefit me for one 6 month release cycle, but for several years and on countless computers. I had become clueless about the vast majority of computer systems out there and needed to relearn a lot of it.

So after years I played around on the seven year old Windows XP. I installed Windows versions of Firefox, Skype, Flash and Opera. They all worked better. Firefox supported more plugins, Skype was a generation ahead, Flash didn’t have Z-Index issues and Opera didn’t have a mismatched menu bar. I then installed software (trials) that I hadn’t used in years: Office 2007, Photoshop CS3 and some games. Their capabilities were phenomenal. Of course they’re not free and cost a fortune to produce, but that’s the point. They are a better product for a higher price.

I soon took the plunge and bought Vista. It sure isn’t perfect, but it is still fantastic due to what it enables me to do. I can still support free software, but when it is advantageous for me to do it. I use Firefox because it is better, not because it is open source. That is also why I use Office 2007 over OpenOffice.org.

I love computers and marvelling at the new things that software can do. I used to think that the best way to pursue this hobby was with Linux but now I’m not so sure. Just playing around with the free, integrated voice recognition in Vista demonstrates that.

Linux is a massive testament to collaboration and what it can achieve. All I’m saying is keep your options open. Sure it costs more money, but considering how much time some of us spend on our computers it may be worth the investment.

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My Response:

Well, I have been using Linux for almost 12 years. Exclusively for over 3. I don’t miss Windows one bit. Sadly, there are a couple of pieces of hardware the force me to pull out the spare hard drive for my laptop that has XP on it to only update my Garmin and TomTom GPS’. Other than that I have no other need or desire to use Windows. I find that Linux, Ubuntu, Mint, eLive, and Debian all do what I need with aplomb. I love the fact they are community supported and that I get security fixes as they are discovered and coded not months later because the board decided it wasn’t a big enough issue to release a patch for and in the meantime, my system is wide open to exploit for anyone with the know how on how to do so.

Sure Linux and all it’s derivative distros aren’t perfect but the chances of it being more perfect are far greater with the model they use to make, distribute, and support it. Unlike any other OS available out there – IMHO of course.

Similarly, the fact that I have 3 kids, a dog, turtle, cat, and two birds, along with a wife, an ex-wife truck and a motorcycle oh yeah and and a healthy mortgage payment, all contribute substantially to my need and desire for Linux. However, after using it as long as I have I find I love the challenge of trying to find an open source alternative to all of the pay software you find for Windows. To me this isn’t as much about Windows vs. Linux but about what works for me as an individual consumer. It’s also about the principle of the whole hacker mentality which spawned the computer age as we know it. I don’t refer to hacker in the “exploit you bank records” type but to the hacker that believes all information should be free and that we should be able to hack anything we own for learning and informational purposes.

I’ll keep using Linux until they pry it from my cold dead hands.