10 Reasons Why You SHOULD Install Linux

3:14 PM

This is a follow up article to the article I wrote entitled, "10 Reasons Why Not to Install Linux". Now that we know some reasons why one wouldn't want to install Linux, we're going to go over some of the reasons why one would want to install Linux. 

  1. Security - This is and hopefully will always be one of my foremost reasons for using Linux. Gone are the worries about spyware, adware, trojans, worms, and viruses. Not only is the operating system more secure than Windows; it also has less malware available for it. To date Linux only has 863 instances of malware available for it. Compare that to Windows, which was estimated in 2000 to have 50,000 instances of malware available for it.

  2. Stability - This also is one of my foremost reasons for using Linux. It just doesn't crash as much as Windows does when faced with a heavy work load. That's not to say individual programs don't crash, but it's been very rare that I've seen a Linux system completely go down. For example, I have a failing hard drive on my laptop. Windows kept on freezing up so bad I would have to reboot. However, I have Ubuntu installed until I can afford to ship my laptop back to the manufacturer. While programs crash here and there Ubuntu itself has remained strong, and I have not once had to reboot it due to freezing/crashing.

  3. Speed - Linux can be as fast or as slow as you want it to be. Even the most resource heavy distributions can be stripped down. There's not much you can do with Windows if it proves to be too heavy for your computer, but I have taken Linux distributions meant for up to date hardware and stripped them down so they could run on much older hardware.

  4. The "wow" factor - Let's face it. Windows is not the most attractive operating system. Linux is your only choice besides making a move to Mac, and what a good choice it is! There are tons of beautiful desktop environments to choose from, and you can even run more than one if you want (or even none at all if you're feeling brave). Plus there are programs with functions in Linux I have never seen before in Windows (for example, some of the visual stunts Compiz can pull off).

  5. Community, not companies - With Linux the opinion of the community is the most important opinion, not the opinion of some company. The users control every aspect of the operating system, right down to the programs. While this is not true of ALL Linux software it is the truth for the vast majority of it.

  6. It's free - While this also is not true of all Linux operating systems it is true for the vast majority of them. You pay nothing out of pocket to use or modify the operating system. Additionally most of the programs available for it are also free.

  7. Freedom - Linux is not just free as in beer, it is also free as in freedom. You can do anything with your Linux operating system you want to do; there are no limitations. This is made even easier by the fact that most of the time settings are stored in a simple text file. This also holds true for most Linux programs.

  8. Choice - Linux is all about choices. You get to choose what your desktop looks like, how it functions, and what programs it uses.

  9. Personal files stay safe - Another one of my favorite things about Linux is you can trash the operating system and even upgrade it without ever having to restore your personal files (although it is advisable you back them up anyways, chances are you won't have to use those backups). This is a huge time saver and it spares many headaches.

  10. Portability - Linux can run on a hard drive, a USB drive, or CD/DVD. This means even if your installed operating system fails you can still use Linux to recover your files. Additionally when you're on the go you can take Linux with you even if you don't have a computer.

If you're new to the world of Linux, hopefully this article gave you some ideas on what you can do with it. The possibilities on Linux are practically endless... that's the #1 reason why it's my favorite operating system. :)

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  1. Nice article! Pretty much everything that you say is spot on, the only thing I could add, that may be seen as a negative, is that there are still far too many areas that the average Joe is going to struggle with! I love Linux and use ARCH 64 bit on my main PC and Ubuntu 12.04 64 Bit version on my old AMD Athlon 3500+ and both run like a dream! Changed to Linux about 4 years ago and could never see myself ever going back to windows, ever!

    Thanks again for the article.

  2. Nice list, Jonquil.
    And welcome back to the club!