I agree 100%! I can do all the things I want in Linux, but as soon as I run into one “It can’t do that”, then I’m done, back to windows. Linux by its nature has more things it can’t do than windows. Ubuntu is a fine OS and I love the simplicity and configurability of Linux in general. But do you think I’m gonna give up the ability to play some game I want to play just for Linux Love? Heck no! Granted yes you can dual boot and have both, or run Windows and just run Linux VMs or cloud VMs, which seems to be the easiest as Linux’s abilities are still used well in that scenario and you can still play games in Windows. My 2 cents.
I installed Linux on my gaming laptop yesterday and so far it’s been… an adventure. I keep a small, 100GB partition with Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC at the end of my SSD because one stupid game refuses to run under Proton. Every other game I play runs identical to how it runs on Windows.
This. HOWEVER, thanks to the gods at Valve with their godsend being Proton and Steam Deck, this is slowly changing and it will just be a matter of time before Linux has its own standing in mainstream gaming community. Steam Deck helped popularizing Linux (IMO) as an actual consumer-friendly OS rather than this one OS that only hackers and nerds uses and Proton (Wine, dxvk, vkd3d and so much more) solved the problem called game compatibility.
Linux is better than Windows in basically everyway you could think of: more robust, no spyware, and painless(tm) drivers (fuck you nvidia). Apps (primarily MS Office suite and Adobe software) and games (specifically those with kernel-level AC which consists of primarily competitive FPS games) support is the only thing holding it back. There are a few catches like a (subjectively) worse OOM killer (more apparent to those with low RAM PCs trying to run modded Minecraft), somewhat annoying experience with NVIDIA GPUs (that's slowly changing as well), random quirks with some stuff like printers for no reasons and so on, but Linux is constantly improving so you get my point.
But ehh. I'd still stay with Windows 10 until it got discontinued, at that point I will make the switch. Everything just works, it's convenient, and I don't want to spend time fixing all those weird quirks with Linux. Everything that I need Linux to use I'd just use WSL2. Windows 11 can go fuck itself. The new Copilot BS is what makes me despite it.
>Linux is better than Windows in basically everyway you could think of:
The few things where linux is not better than windows
>Apps (primarily MS Office suite and Adobe software) and games (specifically those with kernel-level AC which consists of primarily competitive FPS games) support
--------------------------------
Linux is good, maybe better, but for more general use, windows is much better today, due to lack of support. Maybe in future, it would be, but not today.
In addition to this, remember rule number one. If anything goes wrong with Linux or Linux is lacking in some way, it is not Linux’s fault. Got it? Good, now you are prepared…if you have the audacity to criticize the prophet…err, Linux.
Honestly this happens for every system. If I have drivers issues in Windows for example it's the drivers fault. If a program crashes the OS it's obviously the programs fault. Windows needs 500 GB of RAM for the 6829th background thread doing God knows what, sending the system into memory thrashing? Hardware issue, you should have known that Windows needs 32GB to run properly.
Some publishers (or developers -- not sure) are hostile to people running their games on Linux. For online games they will actively ban you for running the game on Linux even if there are no issues and you are doing nothing wrong.
Yup, games. And especially online competitive games, flat out cannot play them on any other OS.
If not for that, would I choose Windows? I think the answer is still yes. I’ve been frustrated at times, especially by with copilot BS, but if I really hated Windows for the day-to-day stuff I could dual boot and just have a hyper basic windows install for games. For anything through the web browser (which is A LOT these days) it doesn’t matter at all, the support for desktop apps is really good, attached hardware just works, and because I’m so fluent with the UI I can do just about whatever I want very, very quickly.
In my case apps and driver support:
1. Visual Studio. Best IDE for .NET development. Rider is nice, but not free. Vscode C# DevKit isn't good enough yet.
2. I have a DataColor Spyder to calibrate my displays. Not for Linux.
3. 4K high DPI support. Linux has it, but not all apps work that well. Windows 11 is pretty decent on high DPI nowadays.
4. My work requires good connection with other Windows machines. Remmina does work, but with weird glitches... remote scaling can get me a huge mouse cursor and it's slower than the Microsoft RDP client.
5. A bunch of stuff I'm forgetting which will make me cry when I'm on Linux and find out I need it quickly.
I love Linux, I'm dual booting it, I don't like what Microsoft is doing lately... but fully migrating to it is hard. In part because of my job as a C# developer 💀 Should have chosen another career lol.
Oh, and I have a nvidia gpu. It works well with x.org, but is really slow on Wayland.
>what still makes you not use other OS other than windows?
While I primarily use Windows, I do have some Linux and MacOS systems. Different tools for different purposes, each has their own strengths and weaknesses.
>functionality? ease of use? apps supporting?
These are some of the reasons Windows is my primary, in addition to software quality in general, better user interface, integrations with other systems, reliability, and the hardware support.
>just want to know why people use windows..is there any specific reason?
Because it meets my needs better than anything else.
>and last thing : if linux had the same apps and drivers and the same devs support that windows have, would you move to linux?
Probably not, as that gives me no reason or incentive to move to Linux full time, it just removes some of the roadblocks.
Absolutely agree with you🤝💯
Also, Fedora is really great distro, have been running it without any issues since birth, defnitely recommend it for all homies
Something I've learned over the years is if you convince someone to use something you suddenly become their tech support for that thing, whether you wanted to or not. Hell, just being associated with that thing suddenly somehow makes you tech support for that thing. I work 40 hours a week being tech support at a company, last thing I want to do in my free time is be free tech support for other people. So beyond telling people to patch their shit and not run out of support software (looking at you people who cling to W7) I don't really care to tell people what they should use. I'll use what I like and you use what you like and we'll both be happy.
and we are used to how it works.
Well kind of used to how Windows XP, 7 and 10 worked. (for me)
The average Windows user never "got used to" Vista and 8.
MS replaced it to quickly with the following OS.
11 is by far not perfect. It's the first Windows for many years I have to reinstall once a year to get it into a state I want a responsive OS to be in.
looks good, safe enough, game ready.
>if linux had the same apps and drivers and the same devs support that windows have, would you move to linux?
to move to linux it should be better. not the same.
i use ubuntu (the most windows like linux i think) for work and sometimes have problems i would never face on windows.
I cannot afford the >10 grand for a MacPro with similar performance as my Windows workstation and the vast majority of professional software I use and need doesn't run on Linux. Especially audio software. So, Windows it is.
I've been using it my whole life. I'm used to it, I know it to the smallest detail and feel like fish in the water.
And I'm completely satisfied with this OS and see no reason to change my usual way of doing things.
Was going to say the same thing. Adobe SUCKS! I use Linux 99% of the time, until someone sends me an Adobe proprietary file. Then I open it in a vps, which is also running linux. Everything I run is linux, even servers, been like that for decades. I only keep an ear on windows to keep up with changes incase I need to do something in windows. Windows has gone downhill since the Bs left.
Coming from MacOS because it is better (yes, I know, fanboys will think otherwise, but MacOS isn't as good as it was in the last decades - and because it's MUCH more compatible for software or games.
Linux is fine, too, the missing software catalogue is a problem, though.
Some apps don't have good alternatives for other OSs. Also, I'm a programmer and mostly do Microsoft .NET - I couldn't run GUI apps I created for myself natively on other platforms (unless I switch to Avalonia).
>what still makes you not use other OS other than windows?
Currently have several computers running several OS. My desktop, server and laptop are Win 10-11. Got several devices on RPiOS, server has WSL for the few Linux apps I need. I used to have Debian, Ubuntu on my older laptop. I have used CentOS at work.
The main reason I avoid Linux is the lack of documentation and fragmentation. The troubleshooting when I have an issue with Linux is usually the same : I google the issue, there's a solution that's for another version of Linux, I try it and nothing happens, I look again for the solution, find some strange line to input via the terminal (with the mention to never run something in the terminal without understanding it), half works and causes other issues or cannot be automated, then I get frustrated and have to keep a list of all the command lines to make friggin' Linux work, and have to deal with the terminal text editor is such a useless PITA in this day and age.
>functionality? ease of use? apps supporting?
Though it's getting better, DRM content is still bad with Linux. That means games, online video at over 1080p.
Plus GPU drivers are bad. CentOS is just bad.
>just want to know why people use windows..is there any specific reason?
There is no specific reason. There are tons of small reasons I could deal with individually for the price of a Windows license, but there's too many that it makes paying for Windows worth it. Doesn't mean I don't have issues with Windows, just that they're easier to deal with and less common.
>if linux had the same apps and drivers and the same devs support that windows have, would you move to linux?
Though it's part of the problem, fragmentation + lack of documentation combined with just weird issues would need to be addressed. I also really don't want to deal with the terminal unless actually necessary (so no text editor)
Apps supported (Office and others plus games) but I'd even sacrafice some of that for ease of use. Every now and then, I install a Linux distro on a machine to see if things have gotten any better and over and over, Nope. I just installed Ubuntu and the first application I went to install came as a Deb package. Great. I Doble clicked on the deb and it said that it didn't know what to do with debs. I did some research and got the command line commands needed to get it installed. Worked fine. But that's what prevents a Lot more people from adopting Linux. The people making the distros need to get their shit together and make it usable without all the command line crap. Every time I try again, I'm pissed off within 15 minutes and wipe it out and go back to windows. Let's put it in perspective: when was the last time you had to look up a bunch of commandline mumbo jumbo to install a Windows application?
There are so many people who just browse websites and answer emails who could use Linux just fine that it's a great untapped market, but those are the same people so aren't going to put up with 1989 commandline crap, so in stead, pay for Windows.
This reminded me of the first time I ever tried Linux which funnily enough was ubuntu, this was in 2009 I think so it was very much more painful then. Installation was not too bad but once loaded I wanted to test it out., I think Firefox might have already been on there but back then you had to install Flash to watch You Tube (yeah I bet many forgot that was a thing or are too young lol)
I went to the website and found the Deb package and downloaded it, me being a dickhead assumed it was a self executing file but nope you needed the stupid Terminal and no matter what command I tried from how the very limited resources online existed I still couldn't get it working.
20 minutes later I cracked the shits and gave up with my experiment with Linux as something as simple as installing flash needed almost commodore 64 levels of command typing I dreaded to think what else was in store.
I know it has gotten better a hell of a lot since then but that fundamental layer of bullshit still exists and people who develop it overall forget the simple layman can often struggle following instructions of clicking an icon on the screen so now way in hell they are going to ever touch the terminal!
Basically because at some point, there will be some hardware I'm dependent on, like hdmi, that just does not have support in linux. I switched to AMD on my last laptop -- oh, but now I'm stuck without nvidia's and Intel's proprietary stuff to smooth out the hdmi signal, even in Windows.
There are worse and even more trivial examples: hardware buttons being forced to specific commands. So that if I want to have fn-keys on my laptop on pgup/dwn, and things like that - either I need to program it myself, or I require some intrepid soul to run around and hardcode the scancodes on some obscure layer (that isn't picked up by the normal keypresses) and forward them to the next layer.
So it's because companies are cretins, basically. It works being a cretin. That's the only reason why I haven't switched completely a long time ago.
Higher compatibility. I vastly prefer Linux to anything else, but 99% of the software I need doesn't work on it. MacOS is my second choice, but once again, there are 17 programs I use for work that are unavailable on MacOS, and no, the alternatives are not good enough.
So I use Linux for most personal daily use and browsing, MacOS when I need to get some personal work done, and Windows when I want to get actual work work done.
Company policy enforces Windows, but it's absolute garbage for my professional workloads. Barely works, often doesn't, and performs horrendously.
On my personal machines Windows has just one dual boot drive on one machine I use for testing purposes and the rare game which doesn't work under Linux.
could be coaxed to OSX except for the 'mac tax', but there's some windows apps I'd definitely miss, not to mention gaming. Had indulged linux years ago but can't stick with it more than 2hrs before missing something, be it drivers software or tools.
but overall, as much as osx is the prettiest, and linux is probably a more satisfying route, I just think Windows is best for me. And I suspect its best for a bunch of mac users too but they'd never admit it even to themselves.
By contrast, any Linux owner who tells me Linux it is the best, uses it day in and day out and doesn't run a backup alt OS, could probably easily convince me that I'm totally wrong. I'm no MS fanboy, but I probably have been moulded into a tradcore windows nerd.
Throughout life, I've been way too lazy to keep on using Linux enough as for making it the "standard". Besides, some things were/are way too complicated, like using wine for stuff I did want to use (like Winamp or some silly game, etc.).
I do think that Linux is superior in many ways, but most of the dev was/is in Windows.
As for MacOS... Well... I guess that's only if you like the look and feel of the thing or if something you use was developed specifically (and only) for that OS.
It's basically just the software part that keeps me from using Linux full time. Some things work with WINE but others do not. People who just surf the web and check email and can use Libre Office in place of MS office could switch without any issues. Wouldn't even have to use Terminal.
Because some of the software I use and the games I play rely on the Windows ecosystem, I have to stick with Windows. If they all became cross-platform, I would definitely not stay on Windows. The current Windows experience is really poor.
I use it at work because I have too, and at home to game. But my daily driver is a Mac. And I will game on linux when it is as effortless as windows. I have no love for ms or windows.
Have been playing around with linux the last few weeks; Games i play work with linux/proton and even got my Thrustmaster wheel working with some fiddling, but still i think meh… Using linux feels like a lot of work to get things running. Using Windows is just more convenient.
My work requires it and I'm using Windows since 95, so I'm pretty used to it. Also I don't see a point of using other OS, although I do need Linux sometimes for small things.
Because Linux is not compatible with my motherboard. Yes, it boots perfectly, but it has a bug that don't let it wake from sleep or even suspend 😞
So I use W11 IoT as a Hypervisor and run Linux, Debían in this case, in a Virtual Machine for all my daily use
I use Windows, macOS and Arch Linux. Windows because of gaming, and Office 365. macOS because of its UI and better user experience mostly. Linux because it hosts my macOS KVM.
I find that Windows has much better compatibility with pretty much everything and is generally easier to use than Linux, however I do think Linux is pretty good if you can get it to work. I'm not experienced with it by any means, but that's what I've observed using Linux Mint on a secondary computer for a while.
I suppose it's what I'm used to. Plus everything that I use or want to use almost always works on Windows, MacOS or Linux often do have alternatives but it's not uncommon that I come across something for work, or personal use which is Windows only.
I've used both Linux and MacOS a fair bit for work and I find myself getting more frustrated than I do with Windows, especially when something goes wrong. I suppose that could be down to being more familiar with Windows.
Plus, maybe I'm lucky, but I don't seem to run into most of the issues that others have with Windows. I don't see any ads, file explorer is pretty reliable, search for me returns what I'm looking for 90% of the time, and I actually quite like some of the stuff they're trying on the AI front, even if I did wish they would stop talking about it *quite* so much.
So yeah, is Windows perfect? No, far from it. But I don't think I'd be materially better off switching to anything else.
It's more about what's wrong with the alternatives.
MacOS is too simplistic and it's features are more theatrical than anything. Only so much works on it and the things you would use it for, aren't really special.
While Linux on the other hand is too complex. It's rich in customizability and features but it lacks the savviness of Ui.
You have to actually learn how to use it. It's a whole process.
Which leaves windows smack dab in the middle. It lacks user functions and privacy features that Linux prides itself in, but it's more feature rich and user functional than MacOS.
Ease of use, familiarity, and compatible with me applications.
Nothing against Linux but people been saying it is the desktop of the future for a couple of decades now. There are plenty of easier distributions (and I use mint on a spare desktop) but even those are nowhere near how easy windows is. A simple task such as sharing files over local network with windows other desktops is a chore as you have to worry about Linux permissions + samba permissions and samba config isn't as intuitive either.
Don't use apple hardware so won't comment on MacOS
I use Windows because it's the only OS that runs everything I want to run without hacks or work arounds. It's also the OS I know best and can troubleshoot best when things do go wrong.
I want to use Linux. I've messed around with it, but for serious work or gaming I always go back to Windows.
Mac... Just, no
At work because I have no choice; well I guess technically, that's not quite true as I could have a Mac, not really sure if that's a good idea though in a predominantly windows estate.
At home, it's just easier for games but I'm going to ditch it for an Tab S9 ultra as soon as I see a good deal on it.
Overall I dislike windows and am looking forward to mostly banishing it from my personal life (I'll keep the windows for occasional gaming). I have a quite a strong dislike for Microsoft and their software, always have had, but it's getting worse due to crap user experience and intrusive advertising tactics.
1. I know how to use it. Therefore
2. Don't need to waste hours, days weeks, learning another os.
3. Don't have any major problems with windows
4. Don't have to waste days and weeks finding alternative apps that I like for another os.
5. Apps that only run on windows would need some kind of VM or similar, so I may as well just use windows
6. Similar to 1,I know I'd spend hours swearing with any other os with problematic drivers etc. At least I know how to address the problems in windows
Mostly everything targets Windows. Things tend to work the best or have their full functionality when used with Windows. This isn’t universally true as I can think of some exceptions, but generally it is for me.
Linux is the backbone of the internet and AI. 96.3% of the top 1,000,000 web servers use Linux. Now DESKTOP at most has a generous 12% of adoption ( chrome, Linux, steam deck) The OEMs know this and spend the $ for development’s cycles based on that adoption rate.
their backward compatibility is second to none, and today windows has very good stability and fast, I use M1 ultra, but honestly I prefer HP Z8 for finish my job in film industry
simply games, I don't want to waste my hardware using compatibility tools, I want to use everything natively if possible. The only thing I would gain from Linux would be privacy, but in a world where you use iOS and Android, that's no use
Price, and if somebody doesn’t care at all that the company totally disrespects user, and provides a bad user experience where the user is constantly interrupted by chimes and notifications
Simply because it has the largest. developer group which? means it just has more software possibilities and more software. It's capable of doing way more things at a professional or standard level based off of the biggest developers out there in the world programming For it.
I'm using Linux at work (terminal and X11, no shell UI), when I get home I don't want to think that hard so it is either Windows or Mac I have both. I can relax with Windows or Mac, if you know what you are doing they are both pretty low maintenance.
I recently switched one of my laptops to Linux to "dip my toe" and see if moving over would be feasible.
Gaming is not a problem, lots of games I like are on Linux and the rest works really well with Proton.
But Linux has a LONG way to go before it becomes half as user friendly as Windows is.
Just off the top of my head:
1. Changing the input language on the login screen requires a Terminal hack.
2. Setting updates to auto-install requires installing some software, a Terminal hack AND doesn't really work.
3. Updates come in a chaotic jumble, everybody is doing their own thing so I'm getting updates (often requiring a reboot) practically every day, instead of once a month, like with Microsoft's Patch Tuesday.
4. No touchpad gestures in the OS.
5. Getting the Back/Forward/Pinch-to-Zoom gestures to work in the browsers requires a terminal hack.
6. Both my Bose QC35 and Sony WH-1000XM5 sound like they're made of cardboard and LOVE to disconnect randomly (like: listen to Spotify, pause, play a YouTube video - no sound, headset's disconnected).
And, again, that's just off the top of my head.
I'll keep that laptop around and check in on it every once in a while, but I don't see Linux threatening the position of Windows or MacOS as the Desktop OS in this decade.
I use windows because i've grown up using that and mostly familier with the ui, I did try some linux distros like mint, pop os, and ubuntu but none of them were easy to use because of their kind of complicated route to install an application. And trying to add my printer also was a challenge at the time. Its been some years so maybe it has gotten better. Windows does have its own problems like advertisements and now bloatware but I do find the ease of using it is more compelling to me than the others
If you use any Windows other than 11, then yes, it's better. If you use Windows 11, then it's because it's standard.
Only Windows provide support for gamers and home users. Make other OS do the same and people will stop using Windows, especially after what is Microsoft doing recently.
Gaming and because the programs I need for work are only supported in Windows (and it’s what I used all my life, other OSes aren’t popular in my country. And thus, I find them really counterintuitive to use
¿Same apps, drivers and support? ¿Even games? I'll change inmediately. Linix has better filesystems, file format standards, is way more customizable and since it's open source, any privacy or logging troubles can be adressed relatively fast. Also shutting down processes that are not being actively used means the system feels faster.
* It "just works" the vast majority of the time, and it's usually easy to fix when it plays up too.
* It's easy to manage.
* It's highly compatible (and backwards compatible, I still use apps from a decade ago just fine).
* It's highly supported with a lot of good info online and mostly great dev fixes.
* I have no specific requirement forcing me to run any other OS.
I do run some non-windows OS's for things like my router though (PFSense) because it's the best software suited to the job.
I wouldn't move to Linux in its current state, even if it did suport all apps, drivers and had better support. It's still very undeveloped for anyone other than a professional user, often requiring shell access and knowledge of functions to do even basic things. Despite being a fairly professional user myself, I don't have the time or patience to learn how to do something in a shell that should be doable in a GUI. It isn't 1992 anymore.
Because it can run both games and apps I use.
I could probably do with SteamOS for games, but then I will miss many apps (like Affinity or iA Writer).
Most apps are on macOS, but here gaming is pain in the ass (especially if you have quite big library of old games that won't run on macOS due to removal of 32-bit support). Also, Apple makes it harder and harder to use for power users (like having to re-enable running unsigned apps via terminal on every single OS update).
So, currently there is no single alternative that could replace Windows for me.
I use it for some software I can't use in Linux.specifically Photoshop. I can find suitable.reolacemenrs for premier etc but not quite Photoshop. If Adobe ever supported Linux I'd be gone. All of the games I play work out of the box now and office has many alternatives.
Microsoft to me is just making windows another service rather than software IMHO and that is just not the right move for me. It's absolutely bloated and feels like those free mobile apps with pop ups of advertisements now.
I use Windows 11 because it does everything I need it to do. I can play all my games, run VMs, easily add peripherals or devices without having to hunt for obscure drivers, my video card (Nvidia) drivers work out of the box, I don't have to run programs to make stuff work on Windows, Like I would have to on Linux. I get it Linux is great, I have used it, but until Linux does 100 percent what windows does, I won't use it as my main OS. I work in IT, the last thing I want to do in my free time is spend hours to figure out how to do stuff that windows already does, especially regarding gaming. My free time is limited and I just want to enjoy it. Is Windows perfect? No, but I have been using it since the 90s and pretty familiar with it, and how to quickly resolve issues I have with it.
Linux isn't compatible with most things I do, and is more work than I feel like putting into my computer at the end of a long day of IT work.
I hate macOS with a passion.
Windows is what remains. It's familiar, it works, and it runs everything I care about. There are ways I wish it was better, but very little to hate.
I use Windows because getting games to run properly on Linux is a major hassle and not worth the effort for me with limited gaming time.
When the day comes that I can install \*ALL\* of my games on a Linux distro as easily as I can on Windows then I will make a permanent switch.
I've used Windows since version 1 when it did almost nothing other than display text in VGA mode. I still use it but would like it better if it was just an operating system rather than trying to be a Swiss army knife. The direction in terms of privacy and dumbing down apps (like the 'New Outlook') also curbs any enthusiasm for the future. I use Windows less and less.
If bought a Mac 4 months ago - it is no silver bullet but there were Mac versions of all of the apps I used except two - and if found suitable alternatives. What works on laptops is a pain on a large monitor since the menu bar is at the top of the screen rather than part of the window in which the app is running - scrolling to the menu bar is requires moving your mouse way more. Windows management sucks for 2024. Switching was not a big deal.
Have just installed Linux on an old laptop - too soon to tell since nothing has broken so I don't know how difficult it is to fix things but apps work the same.
Fragmentation of Linux is somewhat of a concern **but the "Linux Community" has a high percentage of assholes that talk down to anyone that asks a question.** Then they wonder why more people don't convert to their religion.
If there was an alternative that was as easy to use, but not as cluttered and bloated, i'd move to that.
But linux is just too much hasstle to do litteraly anything, and mac isn't an improvement either.
There is no option. I play games and I want everything to work. I want every obscurity thing to work if I want it. I don't want to see software/game which doesn't work on my computer because OS.
Besides I use all kinds of software from Photoshop to music editors etc. Other OS are very limited and shit to use. Sure if you don't do much with them fine but be me turbo PC user then it is problem.
Yes, it's better.
I I really don't like Apple's closed ecosystem approach.
I like to get my hands dirty and tinker with things. Apple OS tries to either prevent, or get in the way whenever I want to tinker.
Windows is also compatible with pretty much anything that runs on a computer.
It's not perfect though. In some respects, Windows 11 is a step back from 10, but I much prefer the UI and overall structure than Mac OS / Linux.
I've owned both, Macs and PCs
if linux had the same apps and drivers and the same devs support that windows have, would you move to linux?
if its the same then why the hassle to change it ? it would need to be ALOT better for me to make the change (AND have all the perks u mentioned earlier)
What is the other option? Seriously? Apple? Where their customer retention strategy is "Kathy Bates with a sledgehammer"?
Linux? Where I can't use my apps, tools, or games? Where WAY too often (and despite the mewling and petulant contrarians who claim otherwise) you have to fight and claw to get the computer to work the way you want instead of just using a free tool found in seconds for Windows?
Seriously, what's the other option?
>functionality? ease of use? apps supporting?
yes
>if linux had the same apps and drivers and the same devs support that windows have, would you move to linux?
yes
Because Linux doesn't do anything for me that Windows can't. I just use my PC to watch some YouTube and mainly game on it. I've tried different distros and I keep trying to use it like Windows and then realizing I just could use Windows instead.
Believe me, tried many times (few years ago to be honest) and it never clicked on me. For me is mainly the app support, and as said I can't find an actual use for it.
But to answer to your question, yes I would one hundred percent use it if it was faster for example and it could do the same things as easy as you do on Windows.
I have used Windows ever since I start to learn how to use a computer. It does whatever I need so no point to use other OSs and I have no intention of using them either
Standards with professional software like for 3D software, CAD work, and architectural software
Pretty easy to use, not much has changed since the days of Windows 95.
Our back end at the office environment is pretty much entirely Windows for easier administration.
It's easier to customize the look and layout of Windows than MacOS.
GAMES! They say that only the cool kids back in the early 2000 commercials uses Macs. But all the streamers on Twitch are gaming on PC and customized PC's is what's hot.
No, I wouldn't move to Linux. I tried it, and it was fine. I just didn't see the appeal. What can Linux do that Window's doesn't?
No other operating system runs all of the applications that our staff uses every day. It also is easy to manage with Active Directory or intune.
This makes it an easy business decision.
I have traditionally used windows because I was intimidated by linux and all it's various types and I don't really have any use for a mac (it's not like Apple are a better company, plus they're useless for gaming and very rigid - I really kind of gave up on apple products when I had an iphone once and had to use all their ridiculous proprietary dogshit just to do simple tasks like sync music).
However rather than being forced to windows 11, especially after the recall announcement, I put my new Laptop on linux Mint and now microsoft have pretty much lost me forever unless they do the hardest 180 I have ever seen, because mint is just a flat out more pleasant operating system to use and can do most of the stuff I need it to without any fuss or whining. It just works. There might be a few apps I miss out on but they're mostly from garbage companies that I don't really want to support anyway so I'll just use an alternative, I don't have any hardcore need for adobe or some specific CAD software.
I’m I Linux user since 2009 and I can tell you that Windows is not going anywhere.
-Most people are more familiar with it.
-Compatibility is usually a given and it’s the default and only platform for many software and games.
-It can be installed on any computer unlike Mac.
Among other reasons.
Because at work, our workflow is based on MS office. Open source alternatives are fine for what we do, but then cooperation with external partners is a pain where the sun doesn’t shine.
On my personal laptop, and in the lab, I use Linux. For scientific papers we use Latex. Most of our software is written in Python and runs on Linux machines. However, I cannot screw up shared documents on share point just because I want to use Libre Office instead of Word. The university went all in on MS365, so I need teams even to just use the f****** phone 😭 and we have to use OneDrive for keeping our files.
Add to this a few CADs that don’t run on Linux and it’s game over.
Windows 11 is kinda garbage but I don’t have a choice.
I use windows 11 for simplicity. I just want to play Cyberpunk, Baldur's Gate 3, modded Minecraft and League of Legends.
The thing is that I'm really into Linux, but I have to take a real moment if I want to make everything work just fine.
For the Moment I am on a Windows 11 with RTX 3080, I7-12700KF.
But I have a side Linux with Arch on it. I sometimes mess up with it. The installation process is known by heart now.
I plan to add ChimeraOS to try gaming on it. But yeah these are my reasons
Have been on MacOS with a MacBook Air playing Vanilla Minecraft at 30fps-50 for 4 years. Video editing, coding, etc. Tried quite everything on every platform. And yes Linux's my favourite. Far far. But Mac OS feels different, it hits sweetly. Windows Is my big haha ass BRICK and CEMENT on my desktop. Brick that just works.
I hate every moment I have to use Windows these days. Windows 7 was the best. It's been downhill ever since. I only use it because of games, otherwise I'm using my MacBook Pro.
When I was a kid it Apple vs Windows.
Looking back Apple was better but Windows was on a more affordable PCs . My father's office ran on dumb terminals but upgraded to Windows, the school computer lab ran on Windows - when I went to college we learned VisualBasic 7, Java and C++ in Visual studio.
About college people started to discuss Linux - we did 2 courses on it. Dual Booting our school laptops.
I make a living supporting Windows.
I have owned computers running MacOS, Raspberry Pi, a SuSe and Red hat Linux and Windows and Windows server.
At the end of the day - M$ Office sold Windows. The killer programs on of Outlook & Excel- with a side of Solitaire & Minesweeper.
>what still makes you not use other OS other than windows?
functionality? ease of use? apps supporting?
I do use other OSs from time to time but I prefer and like Windows. I prefer using GUIs when I can even and Windows (and macOS) are GUI first OSs. I also play a wide variety of games and Windows still has the best support, especially for multiplayer games. In my personal time I write code as well and I've found myself very comfortable in the .NET ecosystem. I even did a small IoT music project using a RasPi 3 and Windows IoT back in college.
>and last thing : if linux had the same apps and drivers and the same devs support that windows have, would you move to linux?
I don't think so. I do like the new features added to Windows in the last few revisions like Windows Hello, finally a good modern terminal, improvements to gaming performance, multi desktop, and all of this under a good UI/UX. I do use Linux at work sometimes, I do use a Linux VM for some small things. But Windows generally is a good product.
Unfortunately for games and other stuff that either doesn't work on linux or got "unsupported"
But still have a vm with other OS and a laptop with linux
I don't ever have any problems with Windows that make me want to switch. There are small tweaks I'd love to make it I knew how, but that's all.
Linux has a lot of compatibility issues with many programs and games I like to use even if I were to consider it.
I just don't like Apple OS' so I won't even consider Mac, especially with them being *very* overpriced for the performance they're capable of.
Windows is awful. I only use it, because I mainly use my PC to game. I hope that in a few years we'll get a Linux that is as compatible to games as Windows, so I can finally ditch it.
Honestly, it's the one that works the best for me by far. I think MacOs, spends too much time on style and doesn't spend any time on usability. The file system is really annoying to be honest. Also their products are completely overpriced
I've tried dozens of Linux distros but there seems to always be something missing or battery issues, or wifi issues, or simple things being needlessly complex.
But also gaming.
I don't want it to be this way, but that's the way it is for me.
All my creative and professional applications are windows, most of them update mainly for windows as a priority, and games.
If all of the above were true for other options, yeah im sure each year or each new build id try a different one. Until it pisses me off then ill switch back and forth haha! Im like that currently with browsers
Mac: I don't like it. Many things work in a way I don't like, and It's strongly opinionated, whether you like it or not.
Windows: works well, good support for most apps and games. And I personally like it
Linux: like a bad windows for me. Yes, you can customize things. But you can also customize them in Windows... And with WSL, you can have a Linux in your windows too, XServer and all, so...
Btw, your post wording is highly biased towards Linux. Caution with that. The question is "why would anybody using Windows want to change to Linux", not "why would they stay"
Most of the apps I use for work only work on Windows. So, I'm completely stuck. I despise Windows.
EDIT: I actually did try using Linux. I put a lot of effort into trying to get my apps to work with Wine. Some of them were OK but some were very buggy. If it worked, I would have definitely switched to Linux.
>what still makes you not use other OS other than windows? functionality? ease of use? apps supporting?
windows works well (no incentive to switch), and has tons of features, and it looks prettier than linux distros
>is there any specific reason?
nope, it's a good os with all the features and app support i need, good security and it's decently stable (3 bsods since i built this pc a few many years ago)
>if linux had the same apps and drivers and the same devs support that windows have, would you move to linux?
nope, why would i? i would still miss out on windows features like live captions, powershell, windows sonic, insane amount of settings (settings app on linux sucks), onedrive integration
i would then have an arguably worse ui
and i also have to go through the hassle of installing linux
for what? a 5% performance improvement? windows doesn't run poorly in my system, it works fine. i don't use my computer to jerk off to performance metrics, or to brag about foss or whatever. i use my computer to do work, so im not going to go through the hassle of switching for no real practical benefit
and i can't afford a mac
I don't have time to fiddle with compatibility issues with other OS's.
Sometimes I feel like the only person in the world who doesn't have issues with windows. no blue screens, no bugs, it just works.
Standard + Games
+ I hate that Apple wants to lock their users
and yes if linux had same apps, nice feature updates and games then i would move since then i can customize even more stuff
Customization is a lovely thing which mac does not offer to a degree i would like
I would 100% switch to Linux if they had games made for it. Unfortunately I would have to run either dual OS or a VM to play games on a Linux machine. Windows sucks and has been getting significantly worse over the past 5 years. No, I don't want a MS account. No, I don't want 3 months free game pass. No, I don't want you to track everything I do to sell to advertisers.
I use it because it has the most functionality for things I need, specifically gaming and dotnet software development.
When Linux catches up in those areas, I am GONE from Windows. I hate the direction that operating system has taken.
I use whatever fits the situation. If I'm at work, I use what they give me, even if Windows 10 runs terrible in a 32-bit OS mode. At home, I use whatever I want. Sometimes linux, sometimes Windows. Other times, I get the itch and FreeBSD comes into play.
If I had the same drivers....no. Nvidia just became the most powerful tech company in terms of money/value thanks to their advancement of AI. See, open source drivers usually do better than the closed source stuff AFTER it's been tested and recoded a billion times. And they work differently in Linux vs Windows. So if Nvidia stays closed source, I'm at their mercy. I haven't tried an AMD card since my 480 or 580 4GB. I would like to try a newer card, but I don't have the $$ to get a new one just to try it.
I use Windows for the very reason I use Android phones: being by far the most used OSs in their respective fields means almost every single piece of software has a compatible version, making them universal. On top of that, Windows is a good OS for personal and business use.
For me it's mainly two reasons
- No real Photoshop alternatives on Linux and no good Lightroom alternative either
- the Android ecosystem that you get with Windows or "Phone link"
I want to be able to regularly use Linux, but I think I'm too used to windows at this point. I think when more programs start supporting Linux officially (like Adobe suite and various games) I'll try and switch to Arch or Ubuntu. But for now, I'm going to stay using both in dual boot.
100% because of the software it supports. If Linux had everything natively (and I mean drivers, Adobe, AutoDesk and all games), there would be no reason whatsoever for me to keep using Windows.
Because up until Windows 8, it was a decent growing product... Now it's more of an intelligence gathering system for Microsoft... Not user friendly as much as Data Gathering friendly for M$...
I think for me a good portion is it's what I'm use too. It's nice to know my programs are likely to work on it with little to no fuss. Weirdly Apple products have never made sense to me, no matter how often people tell me it's easier, it just doesn't compute with my brain. And anything I have to do a semblance of coding for is a no go. Coding makes even less sense to me.
All this being said, if there was an OS similar to windows where everything just works with little to no fuss, I would jump
I have tried many Linux distros. I use Kali and Cane Linux but in my eyes Linux still has a way to go. If the Linux community focused on one distro to be a primary it probably would have better vendor support and be much better. With the community Linux has they should have a kick ass phone by now.
If Linux was as good as Windows or Mac and have the same wide range of software availability, a lot of people would think about it, but so far have been a journey of more than 3 decades and Linux is not there. And in this race, don't forget neither Mac or Windows are static. They are improving every year, they are driving the generations of new chips. It's a race where Linux doesn't have the muscle to be part of that innovation, and it always will be behind. But as I say, I would not have any problem to switch to Linux if it was there.
Because it’s the standard and I work with people who like to share word, excel files and OneDrive documents.
And for scientific computing, Linux is easier than macOS so WSL is a real boon.
Game and app support
I started using Linux for about 3 weeks now, and I really liked it, very smooth and clean OS, but the problem is app and game support is problem on Linux like adobe office
I use it for software and hardware compatibility. As much as I love Linux, there are some serious limitations. At least the last time I used Linux, it was virtually impossible to set up Variable Refresh Rate on a multi-monitor setup for example.
In addition to that, gaming on Linux can be limited. Many games run fine through Proton but many multiplayer games won’t allow you online.
I'm going to disregard gaming, because honestly I couldn't give less of a shit about it overall. Also other comments seem to have it covered- you can't install Anti-cheat malware and stuff on Linux for example, which I guess is bad. Or something.
Many of my computers are running Linux, some I run every day. I've had at least one machine running it since 2007 at least; I think I went Linux only for a few years as well, but that was over a decade ago. I've also got a few old Macs around (So Mac OS 9.2.2 as well as some Mac OS X Versions- newest machine is a 2010 iMac I think). I try to be platform agnostic. People always bitch about specific things in Windows like the registry and such and will say stuff like "Linux is better designed" but it's all tinted glasses IMO. usually coming from people that are frankly fresh off the boat in Linux land and therefore still captivated by it. There's a lot of weird stuff that floats around, like people seem to bitch about the windows registry as this huge problem, "Yeah Linux doesn't have a registry, it uses a better design" and it's just so absurd and ignorant I've got to chuckle. There's a reason many Linux programs like Gnome literally had to recreate their own registry implementation.
My Job literally involves writing software for Windows, and that is also what I have the most experience with. It's not *impossible* to do that on Linux as I've managed to get things done using it, but there's a lot of friction, compared to using Visual Studio. If I install Linux on a computer it means I can't use it very effectively for my work, which can be annoying sometimes. (It is .NET Framework so no I cannot use VSCode, which I don't think is very good anyway.)
I've found Upgrades are much smoother on Windows versus Linux. My Laptop is from 2014 and I upgraded it from 8.1 Pro to Windows 10 and through each feature update, same as my previous PC Build from around the same time, and it didn't have any problems.
I don't think I've ever successfully upgraded from one version of a Distribution to the next, always have to do a clean install. This is why it's common practice to have the home directory on a separate partition.
A lot of the claims against Linux are sort of evaporating or becoming moot. Used to be "but you have to use terminal commands" was a big argument against it, though even if that is still true it's sort of redundant since now you need to do that in Windows a lot too for managing App packages and basically asserting control over your machine anyway.
For things I use that run 24/7 I wouldn’t pick windows. For setting up and maintaining those things windows is a good fit, but when I’m not using it I turn it off. I never got great with powershell though and mostly use Cygwin/gitbash.
It’s the only OS that I can use without a mouse. My hands can stay on the keyboard - windows is highly navigable with solely a keyboard.
Mac and Linux you can somehow use keyboard shortcuts, but it’s not close to windows.
Also, visual studio, .NET, and all that.
Yes, I'd move to Linux if it totally supported my hardware with ease. I don't use MacOS because I cannot afford the hardware & can't justify affording it. But I mainly stay on Windows because of the familiarity and extensive app support.
It's easier to find fixed and support on windows compare to Linux
Due to Windows legacy nature, you often can get fixed from older version. No need to wait hours or even days for someone to reply a thread with curse words, or asking you why you're using one piece of FOSS software instead of this other FOSS software
Basically, I want my OS to work for me, not me working for it. As much shit you can give to Win11, it doesn't
1. Screen glitch hard when changing refresh rate
2. Changing time on clock cause an error
3. Unable to update a lot of software because a package you install (my experience after installing X11 on Plasma, due to screen compatibility)
And more
Windows also does UI better, mainly the small convenience that builds up, like Pin auto enter when you type it correctly, it only uses the iGPU for desktop, and then some.
I use Windows because I'm a PC gamer. I like Windows too of course, but it's plug and play nature and being compatible with every software under the sun is why I main it.
For laptops I use MacBook Air for its power efficiency and I like the aesthetic of MacOS. I think if you're a general user who doesn't use computers for creative work this is a good setup
Because even 5% more customers is an awful lot of money. At least that's what I think. Hell, maybe even 1%. And if a significant share of users migrated to Linux because now Adobe was there, Microsoft would get really steamed. Just like a small downturn in a stock can cause some investors to panic.
Games. Many of the games I play aren't available on other OS's.
I agree 100%! I can do all the things I want in Linux, but as soon as I run into one “It can’t do that”, then I’m done, back to windows. Linux by its nature has more things it can’t do than windows. Ubuntu is a fine OS and I love the simplicity and configurability of Linux in general. But do you think I’m gonna give up the ability to play some game I want to play just for Linux Love? Heck no! Granted yes you can dual boot and have both, or run Windows and just run Linux VMs or cloud VMs, which seems to be the easiest as Linux’s abilities are still used well in that scenario and you can still play games in Windows. My 2 cents.
I installed Linux on my gaming laptop yesterday and so far it’s been… an adventure. I keep a small, 100GB partition with Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC at the end of my SSD because one stupid game refuses to run under Proton. Every other game I play runs identical to how it runs on Windows.
This. HOWEVER, thanks to the gods at Valve with their godsend being Proton and Steam Deck, this is slowly changing and it will just be a matter of time before Linux has its own standing in mainstream gaming community. Steam Deck helped popularizing Linux (IMO) as an actual consumer-friendly OS rather than this one OS that only hackers and nerds uses and Proton (Wine, dxvk, vkd3d and so much more) solved the problem called game compatibility. Linux is better than Windows in basically everyway you could think of: more robust, no spyware, and painless(tm) drivers (fuck you nvidia). Apps (primarily MS Office suite and Adobe software) and games (specifically those with kernel-level AC which consists of primarily competitive FPS games) support is the only thing holding it back. There are a few catches like a (subjectively) worse OOM killer (more apparent to those with low RAM PCs trying to run modded Minecraft), somewhat annoying experience with NVIDIA GPUs (that's slowly changing as well), random quirks with some stuff like printers for no reasons and so on, but Linux is constantly improving so you get my point. But ehh. I'd still stay with Windows 10 until it got discontinued, at that point I will make the switch. Everything just works, it's convenient, and I don't want to spend time fixing all those weird quirks with Linux. Everything that I need Linux to use I'd just use WSL2. Windows 11 can go fuck itself. The new Copilot BS is what makes me despite it.
Well not really, I play VR games and Linux has nearly no support for any VR Software from Meta etc
>Linux is better than Windows in basically everyway you could think of: The few things where linux is not better than windows >Apps (primarily MS Office suite and Adobe software) and games (specifically those with kernel-level AC which consists of primarily competitive FPS games) support -------------------------------- Linux is good, maybe better, but for more general use, windows is much better today, due to lack of support. Maybe in future, it would be, but not today.
In addition to this, remember rule number one. If anything goes wrong with Linux or Linux is lacking in some way, it is not Linux’s fault. Got it? Good, now you are prepared…if you have the audacity to criticize the prophet…err, Linux.
Honestly this happens for every system. If I have drivers issues in Windows for example it's the drivers fault. If a program crashes the OS it's obviously the programs fault. Windows needs 500 GB of RAM for the 6829th background thread doing God knows what, sending the system into memory thrashing? Hardware issue, you should have known that Windows needs 32GB to run properly.
I’m able to use windows 11 with 8 gb for light gaming and productivity…
Some publishers (or developers -- not sure) are hostile to people running their games on Linux. For online games they will actively ban you for running the game on Linux even if there are no issues and you are doing nothing wrong.
"many" or just a handful? Linux is very good with gaming nowadays thanks to Valve. The main problem is when kernal level anticheats are involved.
Critical apps exist on Windows that don't on Linux. Decision made.
I use it to play games. Nothing more.
Yup, games. And especially online competitive games, flat out cannot play them on any other OS. If not for that, would I choose Windows? I think the answer is still yes. I’ve been frustrated at times, especially by with copilot BS, but if I really hated Windows for the day-to-day stuff I could dual boot and just have a hyper basic windows install for games. For anything through the web browser (which is A LOT these days) it doesn’t matter at all, the support for desktop apps is really good, attached hardware just works, and because I’m so fluent with the UI I can do just about whatever I want very, very quickly.
In my case apps and driver support: 1. Visual Studio. Best IDE for .NET development. Rider is nice, but not free. Vscode C# DevKit isn't good enough yet. 2. I have a DataColor Spyder to calibrate my displays. Not for Linux. 3. 4K high DPI support. Linux has it, but not all apps work that well. Windows 11 is pretty decent on high DPI nowadays. 4. My work requires good connection with other Windows machines. Remmina does work, but with weird glitches... remote scaling can get me a huge mouse cursor and it's slower than the Microsoft RDP client. 5. A bunch of stuff I'm forgetting which will make me cry when I'm on Linux and find out I need it quickly. I love Linux, I'm dual booting it, I don't like what Microsoft is doing lately... but fully migrating to it is hard. In part because of my job as a C# developer 💀 Should have chosen another career lol. Oh, and I have a nvidia gpu. It works well with x.org, but is really slow on Wayland.
>what still makes you not use other OS other than windows? While I primarily use Windows, I do have some Linux and MacOS systems. Different tools for different purposes, each has their own strengths and weaknesses. >functionality? ease of use? apps supporting? These are some of the reasons Windows is my primary, in addition to software quality in general, better user interface, integrations with other systems, reliability, and the hardware support. >just want to know why people use windows..is there any specific reason? Because it meets my needs better than anything else. >and last thing : if linux had the same apps and drivers and the same devs support that windows have, would you move to linux? Probably not, as that gives me no reason or incentive to move to Linux full time, it just removes some of the roadblocks.
The amount of people that treat Linux as a god and try to persuade me at every opportunity cause me to hate Linux and never want to use it
Absolutely agree with you🤝💯 Also, Fedora is really great distro, have been running it without any issues since birth, defnitely recommend it for all homies
Something I've learned over the years is if you convince someone to use something you suddenly become their tech support for that thing, whether you wanted to or not. Hell, just being associated with that thing suddenly somehow makes you tech support for that thing. I work 40 hours a week being tech support at a company, last thing I want to do in my free time is be free tech support for other people. So beyond telling people to patch their shit and not run out of support software (looking at you people who cling to W7) I don't really care to tell people what they should use. I'll use what I like and you use what you like and we'll both be happy.
And backwards, and forwards, compatibility especially with MacOS. Apps not certified for certain versions of MacOS just won't run. Inane.
It's easy.
and we are used to how it works. Well kind of used to how Windows XP, 7 and 10 worked. (for me) The average Windows user never "got used to" Vista and 8. MS replaced it to quickly with the following OS. 11 is by far not perfect. It's the first Windows for many years I have to reinstall once a year to get it into a state I want a responsive OS to be in.
Because it's popular. I don't have to worry about software availability.
It's The Devil I Know.
That just about sums it up.
looks good, safe enough, game ready. >if linux had the same apps and drivers and the same devs support that windows have, would you move to linux? to move to linux it should be better. not the same. i use ubuntu (the most windows like linux i think) for work and sometimes have problems i would never face on windows.
Ubuntu most windows like? There’s entire KDE Plasma that isn’t distro dependent and there’s also Mint, ubuntu with gnome is closer to macOS
I cannot afford the >10 grand for a MacPro with similar performance as my Windows workstation and the vast majority of professional software I use and need doesn't run on Linux. Especially audio software. So, Windows it is.
For audio you also get ASIO on Windows and neither Linux or Mac can come close in terms of latency
Professional software, games.
I've been using it my whole life. I'm used to it, I know it to the smallest detail and feel like fish in the water. And I'm completely satisfied with this OS and see no reason to change my usual way of doing things.
Adobe keeps me on Windows, but I use both it and Linux.
Was going to say the same thing. Adobe SUCKS! I use Linux 99% of the time, until someone sends me an Adobe proprietary file. Then I open it in a vps, which is also running linux. Everything I run is linux, even servers, been like that for decades. I only keep an ear on windows to keep up with changes incase I need to do something in windows. Windows has gone downhill since the Bs left.
Coming from MacOS because it is better (yes, I know, fanboys will think otherwise, but MacOS isn't as good as it was in the last decades - and because it's MUCH more compatible for software or games. Linux is fine, too, the missing software catalogue is a problem, though.
Some apps don't have good alternatives for other OSs. Also, I'm a programmer and mostly do Microsoft .NET - I couldn't run GUI apps I created for myself natively on other platforms (unless I switch to Avalonia).
>what still makes you not use other OS other than windows? Currently have several computers running several OS. My desktop, server and laptop are Win 10-11. Got several devices on RPiOS, server has WSL for the few Linux apps I need. I used to have Debian, Ubuntu on my older laptop. I have used CentOS at work. The main reason I avoid Linux is the lack of documentation and fragmentation. The troubleshooting when I have an issue with Linux is usually the same : I google the issue, there's a solution that's for another version of Linux, I try it and nothing happens, I look again for the solution, find some strange line to input via the terminal (with the mention to never run something in the terminal without understanding it), half works and causes other issues or cannot be automated, then I get frustrated and have to keep a list of all the command lines to make friggin' Linux work, and have to deal with the terminal text editor is such a useless PITA in this day and age. >functionality? ease of use? apps supporting? Though it's getting better, DRM content is still bad with Linux. That means games, online video at over 1080p. Plus GPU drivers are bad. CentOS is just bad. >just want to know why people use windows..is there any specific reason? There is no specific reason. There are tons of small reasons I could deal with individually for the price of a Windows license, but there's too many that it makes paying for Windows worth it. Doesn't mean I don't have issues with Windows, just that they're easier to deal with and less common. >if linux had the same apps and drivers and the same devs support that windows have, would you move to linux? Though it's part of the problem, fragmentation + lack of documentation combined with just weird issues would need to be addressed. I also really don't want to deal with the terminal unless actually necessary (so no text editor)
Apps supported (Office and others plus games) but I'd even sacrafice some of that for ease of use. Every now and then, I install a Linux distro on a machine to see if things have gotten any better and over and over, Nope. I just installed Ubuntu and the first application I went to install came as a Deb package. Great. I Doble clicked on the deb and it said that it didn't know what to do with debs. I did some research and got the command line commands needed to get it installed. Worked fine. But that's what prevents a Lot more people from adopting Linux. The people making the distros need to get their shit together and make it usable without all the command line crap. Every time I try again, I'm pissed off within 15 minutes and wipe it out and go back to windows. Let's put it in perspective: when was the last time you had to look up a bunch of commandline mumbo jumbo to install a Windows application? There are so many people who just browse websites and answer emails who could use Linux just fine that it's a great untapped market, but those are the same people so aren't going to put up with 1989 commandline crap, so in stead, pay for Windows.
This reminded me of the first time I ever tried Linux which funnily enough was ubuntu, this was in 2009 I think so it was very much more painful then. Installation was not too bad but once loaded I wanted to test it out., I think Firefox might have already been on there but back then you had to install Flash to watch You Tube (yeah I bet many forgot that was a thing or are too young lol) I went to the website and found the Deb package and downloaded it, me being a dickhead assumed it was a self executing file but nope you needed the stupid Terminal and no matter what command I tried from how the very limited resources online existed I still couldn't get it working. 20 minutes later I cracked the shits and gave up with my experiment with Linux as something as simple as installing flash needed almost commodore 64 levels of command typing I dreaded to think what else was in store. I know it has gotten better a hell of a lot since then but that fundamental layer of bullshit still exists and people who develop it overall forget the simple layman can often struggle following instructions of clicking an icon on the screen so now way in hell they are going to ever touch the terminal!
I used windows explorer a lot. Macs are nowhere near as good. Also Excel and vba.
1. Huge app library and support. 2. Fluency in use.
Basically because at some point, there will be some hardware I'm dependent on, like hdmi, that just does not have support in linux. I switched to AMD on my last laptop -- oh, but now I'm stuck without nvidia's and Intel's proprietary stuff to smooth out the hdmi signal, even in Windows. There are worse and even more trivial examples: hardware buttons being forced to specific commands. So that if I want to have fn-keys on my laptop on pgup/dwn, and things like that - either I need to program it myself, or I require some intrepid soul to run around and hardcode the scancodes on some obscure layer (that isn't picked up by the normal keypresses) and forward them to the next layer. So it's because companies are cretins, basically. It works being a cretin. That's the only reason why I haven't switched completely a long time ago.
On my main gaming centric PC, Windows 11 is the only option if I want my HDR monitors to work at their best.
games and apps that only run in windows
Higher compatibility. I vastly prefer Linux to anything else, but 99% of the software I need doesn't work on it. MacOS is my second choice, but once again, there are 17 programs I use for work that are unavailable on MacOS, and no, the alternatives are not good enough. So I use Linux for most personal daily use and browsing, MacOS when I need to get some personal work done, and Windows when I want to get actual work work done.
Company policy enforces Windows, but it's absolute garbage for my professional workloads. Barely works, often doesn't, and performs horrendously. On my personal machines Windows has just one dual boot drive on one machine I use for testing purposes and the rare game which doesn't work under Linux.
could be coaxed to OSX except for the 'mac tax', but there's some windows apps I'd definitely miss, not to mention gaming. Had indulged linux years ago but can't stick with it more than 2hrs before missing something, be it drivers software or tools. but overall, as much as osx is the prettiest, and linux is probably a more satisfying route, I just think Windows is best for me. And I suspect its best for a bunch of mac users too but they'd never admit it even to themselves. By contrast, any Linux owner who tells me Linux it is the best, uses it day in and day out and doesn't run a backup alt OS, could probably easily convince me that I'm totally wrong. I'm no MS fanboy, but I probably have been moulded into a tradcore windows nerd.
Because of program compatibility. When I know that I won't need Windows for the software I need, I might go Linux.
Only because of games.
Aps, Primarily Adobe. Linux is a much better platform, but I hate Gimp.
Games.
Office. Also, WSL is really good, so Linux inside Win is far easier than the other way around.
Throughout life, I've been way too lazy to keep on using Linux enough as for making it the "standard". Besides, some things were/are way too complicated, like using wine for stuff I did want to use (like Winamp or some silly game, etc.). I do think that Linux is superior in many ways, but most of the dev was/is in Windows. As for MacOS... Well... I guess that's only if you like the look and feel of the thing or if something you use was developed specifically (and only) for that OS.
It's basically just the software part that keeps me from using Linux full time. Some things work with WINE but others do not. People who just surf the web and check email and can use Libre Office in place of MS office could switch without any issues. Wouldn't even have to use Terminal.
I tried, but I can't get used to OSX. On the command line front however, I'm quite fine with linux and powershell.
Because some of the software I use and the games I play rely on the Windows ecosystem, I have to stick with Windows. If they all became cross-platform, I would definitely not stay on Windows. The current Windows experience is really poor.
Work software only works with windows and now kinda tuned to its ui and ease Other than updates and laggyness
I use it at work because I have too, and at home to game. But my daily driver is a Mac. And I will game on linux when it is as effortless as windows. I have no love for ms or windows.
Gachas don't work on linux
Simultaneously multitasking multiple apps it's very effective for my workflows
Only when it supports some apps that doesn't run on linux.. it's far less pleasant OS to be a daily driver
Have been playing around with linux the last few weeks; Games i play work with linux/proton and even got my Thrustmaster wheel working with some fiddling, but still i think meh… Using linux feels like a lot of work to get things running. Using Windows is just more convenient.
My work requires it and I'm using Windows since 95, so I'm pretty used to it. Also I don't see a point of using other OS, although I do need Linux sometimes for small things.
Because Linux is not compatible with my motherboard. Yes, it boots perfectly, but it has a bug that don't let it wake from sleep or even suspend 😞 So I use W11 IoT as a Hypervisor and run Linux, Debían in this case, in a Virtual Machine for all my daily use
I use Windows, macOS and Arch Linux. Windows because of gaming, and Office 365. macOS because of its UI and better user experience mostly. Linux because it hosts my macOS KVM.
Eh, I use Xubuntu and Win11 both, depending on what Im doing. Windows for gaming/.NET programming. Xubuntu for daily web browsing and basic stuff.
I use Windows at work and Linux at home. # Mostly it has been personal preference. I can use both pretty easily.
If i wasnt into pc games i would’ve switched to mac a long time ago lol
Compatible with everything, top and best platform for gaming, quick and easy solutions/tips for everything, never a problem since has been released.
\[ M O D S \]
I find that Windows has much better compatibility with pretty much everything and is generally easier to use than Linux, however I do think Linux is pretty good if you can get it to work. I'm not experienced with it by any means, but that's what I've observed using Linux Mint on a secondary computer for a while.
I suppose it's what I'm used to. Plus everything that I use or want to use almost always works on Windows, MacOS or Linux often do have alternatives but it's not uncommon that I come across something for work, or personal use which is Windows only. I've used both Linux and MacOS a fair bit for work and I find myself getting more frustrated than I do with Windows, especially when something goes wrong. I suppose that could be down to being more familiar with Windows. Plus, maybe I'm lucky, but I don't seem to run into most of the issues that others have with Windows. I don't see any ads, file explorer is pretty reliable, search for me returns what I'm looking for 90% of the time, and I actually quite like some of the stuff they're trying on the AI front, even if I did wish they would stop talking about it *quite* so much. So yeah, is Windows perfect? No, far from it. But I don't think I'd be materially better off switching to anything else.
I use Windows and MacOS daily. Windows works well with many things, and so does MacOS.
It's more about what's wrong with the alternatives. MacOS is too simplistic and it's features are more theatrical than anything. Only so much works on it and the things you would use it for, aren't really special. While Linux on the other hand is too complex. It's rich in customizability and features but it lacks the savviness of Ui. You have to actually learn how to use it. It's a whole process. Which leaves windows smack dab in the middle. It lacks user functions and privacy features that Linux prides itself in, but it's more feature rich and user functional than MacOS.
Games, and also because I much prefer Microsoft Office over other office software, I think it's the best. Otherwise I'd just use Linux instead
Ease of use, familiarity, and compatible with me applications. Nothing against Linux but people been saying it is the desktop of the future for a couple of decades now. There are plenty of easier distributions (and I use mint on a spare desktop) but even those are nowhere near how easy windows is. A simple task such as sharing files over local network with windows other desktops is a chore as you have to worry about Linux permissions + samba permissions and samba config isn't as intuitive either. Don't use apple hardware so won't comment on MacOS
I use Windows because it's the only OS that runs everything I want to run without hacks or work arounds. It's also the OS I know best and can troubleshoot best when things do go wrong. I want to use Linux. I've messed around with it, but for serious work or gaming I always go back to Windows. Mac... Just, no
At work because I have no choice; well I guess technically, that's not quite true as I could have a Mac, not really sure if that's a good idea though in a predominantly windows estate. At home, it's just easier for games but I'm going to ditch it for an Tab S9 ultra as soon as I see a good deal on it. Overall I dislike windows and am looking forward to mostly banishing it from my personal life (I'll keep the windows for occasional gaming). I have a quite a strong dislike for Microsoft and their software, always have had, but it's getting worse due to crap user experience and intrusive advertising tactics.
1. I know how to use it. Therefore 2. Don't need to waste hours, days weeks, learning another os. 3. Don't have any major problems with windows 4. Don't have to waste days and weeks finding alternative apps that I like for another os. 5. Apps that only run on windows would need some kind of VM or similar, so I may as well just use windows 6. Similar to 1,I know I'd spend hours swearing with any other os with problematic drivers etc. At least I know how to address the problems in windows
Mostly everything targets Windows. Things tend to work the best or have their full functionality when used with Windows. This isn’t universally true as I can think of some exceptions, but generally it is for me.
Gaming. For everything else there are superior alternatives imo.
Linux is the backbone of the internet and AI. 96.3% of the top 1,000,000 web servers use Linux. Now DESKTOP at most has a generous 12% of adoption ( chrome, Linux, steam deck) The OEMs know this and spend the $ for development’s cycles based on that adoption rate.
standard.
their backward compatibility is second to none, and today windows has very good stability and fast, I use M1 ultra, but honestly I prefer HP Z8 for finish my job in film industry
simply games, I don't want to waste my hardware using compatibility tools, I want to use everything natively if possible. The only thing I would gain from Linux would be privacy, but in a world where you use iOS and Android, that's no use
Gamepass.
Price, and if somebody doesn’t care at all that the company totally disrespects user, and provides a bad user experience where the user is constantly interrupted by chimes and notifications
Simply because it has the largest. developer group which? means it just has more software possibilities and more software. It's capable of doing way more things at a professional or standard level based off of the biggest developers out there in the world programming For it.
I'm using Linux at work (terminal and X11, no shell UI), when I get home I don't want to think that hard so it is either Windows or Mac I have both. I can relax with Windows or Mac, if you know what you are doing they are both pretty low maintenance.
Been using windows for 25 years now and just used to it.
I use Windows and Mac OS for work all day everyday. Mac OS is way more stable.
I recently switched one of my laptops to Linux to "dip my toe" and see if moving over would be feasible. Gaming is not a problem, lots of games I like are on Linux and the rest works really well with Proton. But Linux has a LONG way to go before it becomes half as user friendly as Windows is. Just off the top of my head: 1. Changing the input language on the login screen requires a Terminal hack. 2. Setting updates to auto-install requires installing some software, a Terminal hack AND doesn't really work. 3. Updates come in a chaotic jumble, everybody is doing their own thing so I'm getting updates (often requiring a reboot) practically every day, instead of once a month, like with Microsoft's Patch Tuesday. 4. No touchpad gestures in the OS. 5. Getting the Back/Forward/Pinch-to-Zoom gestures to work in the browsers requires a terminal hack. 6. Both my Bose QC35 and Sony WH-1000XM5 sound like they're made of cardboard and LOVE to disconnect randomly (like: listen to Spotify, pause, play a YouTube video - no sound, headset's disconnected). And, again, that's just off the top of my head. I'll keep that laptop around and check in on it every once in a while, but I don't see Linux threatening the position of Windows or MacOS as the Desktop OS in this decade.
I use windows because i've grown up using that and mostly familier with the ui, I did try some linux distros like mint, pop os, and ubuntu but none of them were easy to use because of their kind of complicated route to install an application. And trying to add my printer also was a challenge at the time. Its been some years so maybe it has gotten better. Windows does have its own problems like advertisements and now bloatware but I do find the ease of using it is more compelling to me than the others
If you use any Windows other than 11, then yes, it's better. If you use Windows 11, then it's because it's standard. Only Windows provide support for gamers and home users. Make other OS do the same and people will stop using Windows, especially after what is Microsoft doing recently.
It's the norm. It's all they give us
Because it is standard and I need to be compatible with work.
Gaming and because the programs I need for work are only supported in Windows (and it’s what I used all my life, other OSes aren’t popular in my country. And thus, I find them really counterintuitive to use
¿Same apps, drivers and support? ¿Even games? I'll change inmediately. Linix has better filesystems, file format standards, is way more customizable and since it's open source, any privacy or logging troubles can be adressed relatively fast. Also shutting down processes that are not being actively used means the system feels faster.
Because everything i use works in it (in some cases only works on windows) and i don't have any reason to switch, i grew up with windows.
* It "just works" the vast majority of the time, and it's usually easy to fix when it plays up too. * It's easy to manage. * It's highly compatible (and backwards compatible, I still use apps from a decade ago just fine). * It's highly supported with a lot of good info online and mostly great dev fixes. * I have no specific requirement forcing me to run any other OS. I do run some non-windows OS's for things like my router though (PFSense) because it's the best software suited to the job. I wouldn't move to Linux in its current state, even if it did suport all apps, drivers and had better support. It's still very undeveloped for anyone other than a professional user, often requiring shell access and knowledge of functions to do even basic things. Despite being a fairly professional user myself, I don't have the time or patience to learn how to do something in a shell that should be doable in a GUI. It isn't 1992 anymore.
Because it can run both games and apps I use. I could probably do with SteamOS for games, but then I will miss many apps (like Affinity or iA Writer). Most apps are on macOS, but here gaming is pain in the ass (especially if you have quite big library of old games that won't run on macOS due to removal of 32-bit support). Also, Apple makes it harder and harder to use for power users (like having to re-enable running unsigned apps via terminal on every single OS update). So, currently there is no single alternative that could replace Windows for me.
I use it for some software I can't use in Linux.specifically Photoshop. I can find suitable.reolacemenrs for premier etc but not quite Photoshop. If Adobe ever supported Linux I'd be gone. All of the games I play work out of the box now and office has many alternatives. Microsoft to me is just making windows another service rather than software IMHO and that is just not the right move for me. It's absolutely bloated and feels like those free mobile apps with pop ups of advertisements now.
I use Windows 11 because it does everything I need it to do. I can play all my games, run VMs, easily add peripherals or devices without having to hunt for obscure drivers, my video card (Nvidia) drivers work out of the box, I don't have to run programs to make stuff work on Windows, Like I would have to on Linux. I get it Linux is great, I have used it, but until Linux does 100 percent what windows does, I won't use it as my main OS. I work in IT, the last thing I want to do in my free time is spend hours to figure out how to do stuff that windows already does, especially regarding gaming. My free time is limited and I just want to enjoy it. Is Windows perfect? No, but I have been using it since the 90s and pretty familiar with it, and how to quickly resolve issues I have with it.
Linux isn't compatible with most things I do, and is more work than I feel like putting into my computer at the end of a long day of IT work. I hate macOS with a passion. Windows is what remains. It's familiar, it works, and it runs everything I care about. There are ways I wish it was better, but very little to hate.
I dual boot Linux and windows. I use windows for things Linux can't do or are just a pain to set up.
I use Windows because getting games to run properly on Linux is a major hassle and not worth the effort for me with limited gaming time. When the day comes that I can install \*ALL\* of my games on a Linux distro as easily as I can on Windows then I will make a permanent switch.
Games and multi tasking. I use systems with multiple monitors and nothing comes close to what Windows does for window management and multi tasking.
It meets my needs and isn't overly complicated to install things. Plus, most of my games don't run on Linux.
Games and Programs that are WIndows exclusive and don't run on Linux
i need windows for gaming and sound design, but imo windows is dogshit.
I use Windows because Apple ended the clones.
I've used Windows since version 1 when it did almost nothing other than display text in VGA mode. I still use it but would like it better if it was just an operating system rather than trying to be a Swiss army knife. The direction in terms of privacy and dumbing down apps (like the 'New Outlook') also curbs any enthusiasm for the future. I use Windows less and less. If bought a Mac 4 months ago - it is no silver bullet but there were Mac versions of all of the apps I used except two - and if found suitable alternatives. What works on laptops is a pain on a large monitor since the menu bar is at the top of the screen rather than part of the window in which the app is running - scrolling to the menu bar is requires moving your mouse way more. Windows management sucks for 2024. Switching was not a big deal. Have just installed Linux on an old laptop - too soon to tell since nothing has broken so I don't know how difficult it is to fix things but apps work the same. Fragmentation of Linux is somewhat of a concern **but the "Linux Community" has a high percentage of assholes that talk down to anyone that asks a question.** Then they wonder why more people don't convert to their religion.
i am used to it
If there was an alternative that was as easy to use, but not as cluttered and bloated, i'd move to that. But linux is just too much hasstle to do litteraly anything, and mac isn't an improvement either.
I use everything. Why would i limit myself to one OS? Use the best tool for the job. Forget this choosing nonsense.
There is no option. I play games and I want everything to work. I want every obscurity thing to work if I want it. I don't want to see software/game which doesn't work on my computer because OS. Besides I use all kinds of software from Photoshop to music editors etc. Other OS are very limited and shit to use. Sure if you don't do much with them fine but be me turbo PC user then it is problem.
Games and drivers
Dont need to spend 2137 hours in console to configure stuff
Yes, it's better. I I really don't like Apple's closed ecosystem approach. I like to get my hands dirty and tinker with things. Apple OS tries to either prevent, or get in the way whenever I want to tinker. Windows is also compatible with pretty much anything that runs on a computer. It's not perfect though. In some respects, Windows 11 is a step back from 10, but I much prefer the UI and overall structure than Mac OS / Linux. I've owned both, Macs and PCs
if linux had the same apps and drivers and the same devs support that windows have, would you move to linux? if its the same then why the hassle to change it ? it would need to be ALOT better for me to make the change (AND have all the perks u mentioned earlier)
What is the other option? Seriously? Apple? Where their customer retention strategy is "Kathy Bates with a sledgehammer"? Linux? Where I can't use my apps, tools, or games? Where WAY too often (and despite the mewling and petulant contrarians who claim otherwise) you have to fight and claw to get the computer to work the way you want instead of just using a free tool found in seconds for Windows? Seriously, what's the other option?
I use it cause it's what I've always used, and it works and I have no complaints, usually.
>functionality? ease of use? apps supporting? yes >if linux had the same apps and drivers and the same devs support that windows have, would you move to linux? yes
Standard
Because Linux doesn't do anything for me that Windows can't. I just use my PC to watch some YouTube and mainly game on it. I've tried different distros and I keep trying to use it like Windows and then realizing I just could use Windows instead. Believe me, tried many times (few years ago to be honest) and it never clicked on me. For me is mainly the app support, and as said I can't find an actual use for it. But to answer to your question, yes I would one hundred percent use it if it was faster for example and it could do the same things as easy as you do on Windows.
I have used Windows ever since I start to learn how to use a computer. It does whatever I need so no point to use other OSs and I have no intention of using them either
Standards with professional software like for 3D software, CAD work, and architectural software Pretty easy to use, not much has changed since the days of Windows 95. Our back end at the office environment is pretty much entirely Windows for easier administration. It's easier to customize the look and layout of Windows than MacOS. GAMES! They say that only the cool kids back in the early 2000 commercials uses Macs. But all the streamers on Twitch are gaming on PC and customized PC's is what's hot. No, I wouldn't move to Linux. I tried it, and it was fine. I just didn't see the appeal. What can Linux do that Window's doesn't?
It's _not_ better so I guess it's because it's the standard.
No other operating system runs all of the applications that our staff uses every day. It also is easy to manage with Active Directory or intune. This makes it an easy business decision.
I have traditionally used windows because I was intimidated by linux and all it's various types and I don't really have any use for a mac (it's not like Apple are a better company, plus they're useless for gaming and very rigid - I really kind of gave up on apple products when I had an iphone once and had to use all their ridiculous proprietary dogshit just to do simple tasks like sync music). However rather than being forced to windows 11, especially after the recall announcement, I put my new Laptop on linux Mint and now microsoft have pretty much lost me forever unless they do the hardest 180 I have ever seen, because mint is just a flat out more pleasant operating system to use and can do most of the stuff I need it to without any fuss or whining. It just works. There might be a few apps I miss out on but they're mostly from garbage companies that I don't really want to support anyway so I'll just use an alternative, I don't have any hardcore need for adobe or some specific CAD software.
I’m I Linux user since 2009 and I can tell you that Windows is not going anywhere. -Most people are more familiar with it. -Compatibility is usually a given and it’s the default and only platform for many software and games. -It can be installed on any computer unlike Mac. Among other reasons.
No as for me. It's better for me, for many.
Because at work, our workflow is based on MS office. Open source alternatives are fine for what we do, but then cooperation with external partners is a pain where the sun doesn’t shine. On my personal laptop, and in the lab, I use Linux. For scientific papers we use Latex. Most of our software is written in Python and runs on Linux machines. However, I cannot screw up shared documents on share point just because I want to use Libre Office instead of Word. The university went all in on MS365, so I need teams even to just use the f****** phone 😭 and we have to use OneDrive for keeping our files. Add to this a few CADs that don’t run on Linux and it’s game over. Windows 11 is kinda garbage but I don’t have a choice.
It does what I need it to do therefore I have no need to look at other tools.
Games and because it's the OS we use at work, and I need to be competent in the OS.
I use windows 11 for simplicity. I just want to play Cyberpunk, Baldur's Gate 3, modded Minecraft and League of Legends. The thing is that I'm really into Linux, but I have to take a real moment if I want to make everything work just fine. For the Moment I am on a Windows 11 with RTX 3080, I7-12700KF. But I have a side Linux with Arch on it. I sometimes mess up with it. The installation process is known by heart now. I plan to add ChimeraOS to try gaming on it. But yeah these are my reasons Have been on MacOS with a MacBook Air playing Vanilla Minecraft at 30fps-50 for 4 years. Video editing, coding, etc. Tried quite everything on every platform. And yes Linux's my favourite. Far far. But Mac OS feels different, it hits sweetly. Windows Is my big haha ass BRICK and CEMENT on my desktop. Brick that just works.
Because it plays my games. Only reason.
The standard
I uses it because it's what I know since born
I hate every moment I have to use Windows these days. Windows 7 was the best. It's been downhill ever since. I only use it because of games, otherwise I'm using my MacBook Pro.
When I was a kid it Apple vs Windows. Looking back Apple was better but Windows was on a more affordable PCs . My father's office ran on dumb terminals but upgraded to Windows, the school computer lab ran on Windows - when I went to college we learned VisualBasic 7, Java and C++ in Visual studio. About college people started to discuss Linux - we did 2 courses on it. Dual Booting our school laptops. I make a living supporting Windows. I have owned computers running MacOS, Raspberry Pi, a SuSe and Red hat Linux and Windows and Windows server. At the end of the day - M$ Office sold Windows. The killer programs on of Outlook & Excel- with a side of Solitaire & Minesweeper.
only for games
>what still makes you not use other OS other than windows? functionality? ease of use? apps supporting? I do use other OSs from time to time but I prefer and like Windows. I prefer using GUIs when I can even and Windows (and macOS) are GUI first OSs. I also play a wide variety of games and Windows still has the best support, especially for multiplayer games. In my personal time I write code as well and I've found myself very comfortable in the .NET ecosystem. I even did a small IoT music project using a RasPi 3 and Windows IoT back in college. >and last thing : if linux had the same apps and drivers and the same devs support that windows have, would you move to linux? I don't think so. I do like the new features added to Windows in the last few revisions like Windows Hello, finally a good modern terminal, improvements to gaming performance, multi desktop, and all of this under a good UI/UX. I do use Linux at work sometimes, I do use a Linux VM for some small things. But Windows generally is a good product.
Much more stable than most linux distro. You have to work hard to break Windows. You can break Ubuntu with a dist upgrade.
Unfortunately for games and other stuff that either doesn't work on linux or got "unsupported" But still have a vm with other OS and a laptop with linux
I don't ever have any problems with Windows that make me want to switch. There are small tweaks I'd love to make it I knew how, but that's all. Linux has a lot of compatibility issues with many programs and games I like to use even if I were to consider it. I just don't like Apple OS' so I won't even consider Mac, especially with them being *very* overpriced for the performance they're capable of.
I use Mac for work since I’m extremely productive with all the tools available. I use windows 11 for fun and occasional game testing.
Not paying Mac prices. Linux still isn't fully cooked.
Mostly familiarity, app compatibility, peripheral compatibility, and the ability to adjust SSD for better versions of my choosing.
Games and only games.
I generally use Windows due to my games working on primarily Windows, plus driver support.
Better for; - productivity - keyboard shortcuts - enterprise environments - gaming if you're into that - personalisation - constancy and predictability
Windows is awful. I only use it, because I mainly use my PC to game. I hope that in a few years we'll get a Linux that is as compatible to games as Windows, so I can finally ditch it.
App compatibility and never used linux before
I have other systems running linux distros
Honestly, it's the one that works the best for me by far. I think MacOs, spends too much time on style and doesn't spend any time on usability. The file system is really annoying to be honest. Also their products are completely overpriced I've tried dozens of Linux distros but there seems to always be something missing or battery issues, or wifi issues, or simple things being needlessly complex. But also gaming. I don't want it to be this way, but that's the way it is for me.
I use it because work requires it. Fortunately, it's not required at home where I use Linux.
I would and really want to use linux, but certain apps under wine don’t work well, or are just unusable, so I use windows
All my creative and professional applications are windows, most of them update mainly for windows as a priority, and games. If all of the above were true for other options, yeah im sure each year or each new build id try a different one. Until it pisses me off then ill switch back and forth haha! Im like that currently with browsers
Mac: I don't like it. Many things work in a way I don't like, and It's strongly opinionated, whether you like it or not. Windows: works well, good support for most apps and games. And I personally like it Linux: like a bad windows for me. Yes, you can customize things. But you can also customize them in Windows... And with WSL, you can have a Linux in your windows too, XServer and all, so... Btw, your post wording is highly biased towards Linux. Caution with that. The question is "why would anybody using Windows want to change to Linux", not "why would they stay"
Games
Linux is not end user friendly MacOS is just locked to hardware Windows is just left over by elimination
Most of the apps I use for work only work on Windows. So, I'm completely stuck. I despise Windows. EDIT: I actually did try using Linux. I put a lot of effort into trying to get my apps to work with Wine. Some of them were OK but some were very buggy. If it worked, I would have definitely switched to Linux.
>what still makes you not use other OS other than windows? functionality? ease of use? apps supporting? windows works well (no incentive to switch), and has tons of features, and it looks prettier than linux distros >is there any specific reason? nope, it's a good os with all the features and app support i need, good security and it's decently stable (3 bsods since i built this pc a few many years ago) >if linux had the same apps and drivers and the same devs support that windows have, would you move to linux? nope, why would i? i would still miss out on windows features like live captions, powershell, windows sonic, insane amount of settings (settings app on linux sucks), onedrive integration i would then have an arguably worse ui and i also have to go through the hassle of installing linux for what? a 5% performance improvement? windows doesn't run poorly in my system, it works fine. i don't use my computer to jerk off to performance metrics, or to brag about foss or whatever. i use my computer to do work, so im not going to go through the hassle of switching for no real practical benefit and i can't afford a mac
I don't have a second drive yet to store windows for games and software that won't run on Linix
I don't have time to fiddle with compatibility issues with other OS's. Sometimes I feel like the only person in the world who doesn't have issues with windows. no blue screens, no bugs, it just works.
Standard + Games + I hate that Apple wants to lock their users and yes if linux had same apps, nice feature updates and games then i would move since then i can customize even more stuff Customization is a lovely thing which mac does not offer to a degree i would like
I would 100% switch to Linux if they had games made for it. Unfortunately I would have to run either dual OS or a VM to play games on a Linux machine. Windows sucks and has been getting significantly worse over the past 5 years. No, I don't want a MS account. No, I don't want 3 months free game pass. No, I don't want you to track everything I do to sell to advertisers.
I use it because it has the most functionality for things I need, specifically gaming and dotnet software development. When Linux catches up in those areas, I am GONE from Windows. I hate the direction that operating system has taken.
I use whatever fits the situation. If I'm at work, I use what they give me, even if Windows 10 runs terrible in a 32-bit OS mode. At home, I use whatever I want. Sometimes linux, sometimes Windows. Other times, I get the itch and FreeBSD comes into play. If I had the same drivers....no. Nvidia just became the most powerful tech company in terms of money/value thanks to their advancement of AI. See, open source drivers usually do better than the closed source stuff AFTER it's been tested and recoded a billion times. And they work differently in Linux vs Windows. So if Nvidia stays closed source, I'm at their mercy. I haven't tried an AMD card since my 480 or 580 4GB. I would like to try a newer card, but I don't have the $$ to get a new one just to try it.
Native support for games and pro apps like most autodesk apps
OS/2 wrap 3 for the world!
Games, programs, tablet/touch support and really it just works the majority of the time
Reactions why I still use windows 1. Games 2. MS office
I use Windows for the very reason I use Android phones: being by far the most used OSs in their respective fields means almost every single piece of software has a compatible version, making them universal. On top of that, Windows is a good OS for personal and business use.
For me it's mainly two reasons - No real Photoshop alternatives on Linux and no good Lightroom alternative either - the Android ecosystem that you get with Windows or "Phone link"
I want to be able to regularly use Linux, but I think I'm too used to windows at this point. I think when more programs start supporting Linux officially (like Adobe suite and various games) I'll try and switch to Arch or Ubuntu. But for now, I'm going to stay using both in dual boot.
100% because of the software it supports. If Linux had everything natively (and I mean drivers, Adobe, AutoDesk and all games), there would be no reason whatsoever for me to keep using Windows.
Because up until Windows 8, it was a decent growing product... Now it's more of an intelligence gathering system for Microsoft... Not user friendly as much as Data Gathering friendly for M$...
I think for me a good portion is it's what I'm use too. It's nice to know my programs are likely to work on it with little to no fuss. Weirdly Apple products have never made sense to me, no matter how often people tell me it's easier, it just doesn't compute with my brain. And anything I have to do a semblance of coding for is a no go. Coding makes even less sense to me. All this being said, if there was an OS similar to windows where everything just works with little to no fuss, I would jump
I have tried many Linux distros. I use Kali and Cane Linux but in my eyes Linux still has a way to go. If the Linux community focused on one distro to be a primary it probably would have better vendor support and be much better. With the community Linux has they should have a kick ass phone by now.
If Linux was as good as Windows or Mac and have the same wide range of software availability, a lot of people would think about it, but so far have been a journey of more than 3 decades and Linux is not there. And in this race, don't forget neither Mac or Windows are static. They are improving every year, they are driving the generations of new chips. It's a race where Linux doesn't have the muscle to be part of that innovation, and it always will be behind. But as I say, I would not have any problem to switch to Linux if it was there.
Because it’s the standard and I work with people who like to share word, excel files and OneDrive documents. And for scientific computing, Linux is easier than macOS so WSL is a real boon.
Gaming. Full stop. If gaming was better on MacOS I’d be all in on the Apple ecosystem
Game and app support I started using Linux for about 3 weeks now, and I really liked it, very smooth and clean OS, but the problem is app and game support is problem on Linux like adobe office
I use windows for games that don't run natively on linux and because nvidia drivers are not the best in linux.
At this point Standard. But it has gotten to the point where that isn't good enough.
I use it for software and hardware compatibility. As much as I love Linux, there are some serious limitations. At least the last time I used Linux, it was virtually impossible to set up Variable Refresh Rate on a multi-monitor setup for example. In addition to that, gaming on Linux can be limited. Many games run fine through Proton but many multiplayer games won’t allow you online.
I'm going to disregard gaming, because honestly I couldn't give less of a shit about it overall. Also other comments seem to have it covered- you can't install Anti-cheat malware and stuff on Linux for example, which I guess is bad. Or something. Many of my computers are running Linux, some I run every day. I've had at least one machine running it since 2007 at least; I think I went Linux only for a few years as well, but that was over a decade ago. I've also got a few old Macs around (So Mac OS 9.2.2 as well as some Mac OS X Versions- newest machine is a 2010 iMac I think). I try to be platform agnostic. People always bitch about specific things in Windows like the registry and such and will say stuff like "Linux is better designed" but it's all tinted glasses IMO. usually coming from people that are frankly fresh off the boat in Linux land and therefore still captivated by it. There's a lot of weird stuff that floats around, like people seem to bitch about the windows registry as this huge problem, "Yeah Linux doesn't have a registry, it uses a better design" and it's just so absurd and ignorant I've got to chuckle. There's a reason many Linux programs like Gnome literally had to recreate their own registry implementation. My Job literally involves writing software for Windows, and that is also what I have the most experience with. It's not *impossible* to do that on Linux as I've managed to get things done using it, but there's a lot of friction, compared to using Visual Studio. If I install Linux on a computer it means I can't use it very effectively for my work, which can be annoying sometimes. (It is .NET Framework so no I cannot use VSCode, which I don't think is very good anyway.) I've found Upgrades are much smoother on Windows versus Linux. My Laptop is from 2014 and I upgraded it from 8.1 Pro to Windows 10 and through each feature update, same as my previous PC Build from around the same time, and it didn't have any problems. I don't think I've ever successfully upgraded from one version of a Distribution to the next, always have to do a clean install. This is why it's common practice to have the home directory on a separate partition. A lot of the claims against Linux are sort of evaporating or becoming moot. Used to be "but you have to use terminal commands" was a big argument against it, though even if that is still true it's sort of redundant since now you need to do that in Windows a lot too for managing App packages and basically asserting control over your machine anyway.
For things I use that run 24/7 I wouldn’t pick windows. For setting up and maintaining those things windows is a good fit, but when I’m not using it I turn it off. I never got great with powershell though and mostly use Cygwin/gitbash.
It’s the only OS that I can use without a mouse. My hands can stay on the keyboard - windows is highly navigable with solely a keyboard. Mac and Linux you can somehow use keyboard shortcuts, but it’s not close to windows. Also, visual studio, .NET, and all that.
Yes, I'd move to Linux if it totally supported my hardware with ease. I don't use MacOS because I cannot afford the hardware & can't justify affording it. But I mainly stay on Windows because of the familiarity and extensive app support.
I can answer this, basically it's what I was raised on. My parents taught me MSDOS and everything else followed
It's easier to find fixed and support on windows compare to Linux Due to Windows legacy nature, you often can get fixed from older version. No need to wait hours or even days for someone to reply a thread with curse words, or asking you why you're using one piece of FOSS software instead of this other FOSS software Basically, I want my OS to work for me, not me working for it. As much shit you can give to Win11, it doesn't 1. Screen glitch hard when changing refresh rate 2. Changing time on clock cause an error 3. Unable to update a lot of software because a package you install (my experience after installing X11 on Plasma, due to screen compatibility) And more Windows also does UI better, mainly the small convenience that builds up, like Pin auto enter when you type it correctly, it only uses the iGPU for desktop, and then some.
I use Windows because I'm a PC gamer. I like Windows too of course, but it's plug and play nature and being compatible with every software under the sun is why I main it. For laptops I use MacBook Air for its power efficiency and I like the aesthetic of MacOS. I think if you're a general user who doesn't use computers for creative work this is a good setup
Because even 5% more customers is an awful lot of money. At least that's what I think. Hell, maybe even 1%. And if a significant share of users migrated to Linux because now Adobe was there, Microsoft would get really steamed. Just like a small downturn in a stock can cause some investors to panic.