Why I use Linux

December 01, 2014 [Linux, Lubuntu, Ubuntu]

I have used Linux at home for quite a few years, and a couple of years ago I changed my work machine from Windows to Ubuntu Linux. It's made life at work better for me.

Better for me

This move has made me much more productive, saving valuable time and money. Here is why:

Security updates happen automatically, without hitches, and rarely requiring reboots.

Since I changed, security updates are applied almost as soon as they are made available with no interaction from me. I have never seen a security upgrade that broke my system and prevented me working, whereas before I saw this several times.

My computer works faster.

My computer feels much faster to work with. In recent tests for our project, we found that the time spent waiting for a compile on my Linux machine was half that spent waiting on an identical system using Windows.

I work faster.

Because my system is more customisable than before, I can work the way that feels more comfortable to me. Support for keyboard shortcuts is more comprehensive in Linux, and I can work using the keyboard for most things, which helps prevent recurrence of RSI, from which I have suffered in the past.

I can automate repetitive tasks.

It's much easier to write small scripts on Linux for things that I do every day. This means I spend more time thinking about the work I have to do, instead of all the button-clicking required to do it.

I can have more programs open.

My computer now works comfortably simultaneously running 3 or 4 heavy corporate applications, at least 2 copies of Eclipse, Firefox with many tabs open, several Chrome windows, 3 text editor windows, a 1GB virtual machine and many other programs, without slowing down or crashing. When I used Windows I needed fewer programs open, but because Linux manages memory better and many of the programs are less memory-hungry, I can do more things at the same time.

I can use "virtual desktops".

It's hard to explain why until you've tried it, but virtual desktops are an incredibly addictive feature. I avoid neck strain by using a single monitor directly in front of me*, but I am able to have lots of separate work spaces and can switch very quickly between them. I use one desktop for email and instant messaging, another for the Internet, and several more for programming in different environments. Switching between them happens as fast as I can press the relevant keyboard shortcut. This is a killer feature of modern Linux desktops in my opinion.

[*Multiple-monitor setups are well-supported too, of course.]

Modern tools work better.

Modern software - especially programming software - is frequently developed on Linux, and has its "home" there, meaning it is easier to install and update than on other platforms. Examples include: Python, Node.js, Perl, Vim, Emacs, Bash and Ruby, all of which are much easier to use and install on Linux than on Windows.

Better for my company

Because I use Linux, my company saves time and money.