Hi all,
I am curious, how many of you run Linux on the desktop for your day to day needs?
- Yes
- No
- No, but run it on another computer for fun
Comments as to why you do, don’t, and what you run are welcome!
I run Ubuntu (with Unity ;)) since version 8.04 I think (maybe 08.10). I run it because I like it, I like open source, I like the principles, I like the security, I like the performance, I like hacking, I like to run something different than most other people, I like not running Windows and Apple is evil.
I use Ubuntu 12.04 with the classic desktop as my main PC (laptop). I also have Debian running on my server. Have been using Linux since 2004.
I have a few other machines I use for testing and development.
At home I’m 100% Linux. At work I am in a Windows environment.
I used Linux (mostly Ubuntu) on most machines and all my servers for several years. A few months ago I switched my main machine from Win7 to Ubuntu 14.04 (with Unity, which I consider the best ui I’ve used so far). So I’m now 100% linux everywhere. 
Games were the biggest problem for a long time, but now with over 150 titles on my steam account there’s no reason to use Windows any longer. And my two all-time-classics - Civ 5 and X3: Albion Prelude - are both native and work perfectly.
Linux is the superior os for most use cases. For most people - they just don’t know it (yet).
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I voted yes as I am currently running Fedora 20 on my desktop, but I did install Windows last night before bed and this morning (after several hours) had it fully updated… Then for some reason it would continue to request reboots after being up for 5 minutes to finish configuring “updates” even when there had been no updates downloaded and/or installed >.<
So I jumped back into the mess of awesome distro’s/desktop environments to again use something that is almost there but has something or other bugging the crap out of me 
I typically run Fedora on an HP Z620 workstation for development work day-to-day. I also always have an Ubunty derivative on my Lenovo X220 which I use a few times a week.
I have cut down on the things I use Linux for since getting a Mac though, I no longer use Linux for mail, IRC, messaging, etc… Although I would have no issue switching back.
Edit: since writing this I’ve spent 2 weeks with Antergos on both my Linux machines and absolutely love it. I’ve even started moving things away from my Mac and onto the Linux machines.
I’m primarily a Windoze developer (trying to escape that), but lately I’ve been doing Java services with a JavaScript client.
I mostly use a MacBook with OS X on it. If I do Windows work, I RDP to my work laptop from the MacBook. For the other work I’ve been doing lately, I don’t have to use Windows at all (yay).
My personal VPS is running Ubuntu. My Raspberry PI is running Debian and functions as a NAS and an SSH entry point to the home network. I have an older low-spec Dell laptop that has Elementary on it. It is mostly used for running Minecraft so my kids and I can play on the same server together.
Well, I dual boot linux/win7… and it depends on what I’m doing. 
I guess it’s about 67/33 in favour of linux for the last few weeks…
So the answer is yes, but not all my needs can be met just with Linux.
At home I have a win7 desktop that does not work, an old laptop that I triple boot xp, vista and Ubuntu. I mainly use Ubuntu on it. All win xp and 8 at work. Would probably convince the boss on Linux if it would run cad/cam natively.
12.04 at work (hoping to finish testing all the software on 14.04 so prod can be upgraded so I can upgrade my desktop…) 14.04 at home on laptop and netbook, android cyanogen mod on my phone, android on my Ouya console (:p), 14.04 on my firewall box and my tv’s nettop, and Gentoo and 14.04 on my VPS servers
I suppose by “Desktop” you mean “Computer” (can be desktop or laptop)?
I’ve been using Linux since 2004. Fedora for a little, then Ubuntu.
Between 2011 and 2013, I had the foolish idea to buy a Macbook pro, thinking I could try Mac OSX for real, and switch to Ubuntu when I would be tired of it. I’ve already explained my nightmare on this forum before Since then I just switched to a good ol’ desktop with Ubuntu on it, because I can tinker it much more than Mac OSX.
I use Linux in all my computers, Laptop or Desktop. At school (PhD), we use Linux, Fedora, because our simulation code was developed for Linux. We run it on servers with Red Hat, so Fedora was the obvious choice for desktop. Somewhat easier to maintain compatibility.
There are difficulties. The use of commercial software is necessary. In most cases, there are Linux versions available, but the interface are normally Qt, while I use GNOME, and sometimes it looks terrible. Some software, the Qt interface doesn’t have all the options that the Windows counterpart. In some cases, we have to use VM to run Win software. However, I still prefer all of this than run Windows full time.
After I’m done, hopefully soon, I will probably end up in a job with a Windows machine in front of me. I promise I will try my best to change that. I haven’t tried Ubuntu in awhile. My Fedora use GNOME and I still don’t like the Shell. A simplicity thing. At home, I use LXDE and thinking about putting awesomeWM in my laptop, to save resources.
Ubuntu Server for my home server, Xubuntu 14.04 on my desktop. Crunchbang Wheezy on my netbook, and another Xubuntu installation on a 32GB USB stick for using elsewhere.
Only PCs in the house not running Linux are the PC under the TV int he lounge, so I can still play my old windows games and watch Amazon Prime Video, and my wife’s laptop, which she wants to keep windows on.
I’m solely on *BSD and Linux (Arch and Gentoo at home, sadly Ubuntu at work). 
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I switch between openSUSE 13.1 and OS X for my daily needs. I use Linux as exclusively as possible at work on the server room. I want to nuke the Windows servers from orbit …
That would be a tragedy. Windows machines orbiting the Earth. A risk of infection for all our satellites and the ISS. But it could also create a protection belt against aliens, much more effective than Jeff Goldblum’s MacBook in Independence Day
Nicely done.
i have to use linux as my everyday os, because i lost the windows 7 code that came with my laptop and i never got the disc and i cant trust most torrent sites for operating systems. thats what made me start using linux and i wish i started earlier, i dont even want to go back. i keep hopping between different distros and at the moment im on opensuse
I use Lubuntu for my day to day needs. I find package management so much more useful than sowtware on Windows and so much easier to upgrade everything. Also I don’t like vendor lock in.