The ONE REASON why I fell in LOVE with LINUX (and a lot of other reasons)

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Today, we're going to go to a very happy place: the time when I started using desktop Linux, and why I fell in love with it. So grab a cup of tea, or coffee if you're THAT sort of person, wrap yourself in a cozy blanket, and close your eyes, because it's story time!
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00:00 Intro
01:32 How I discovered Linux
04:14 I loved the look and feel
05:12 I loved the constant updates
06:19 I loved the customization
08:02 I loved learning
09:19 I stopped using Linux
10:18 Linux IS tech personified
The year was 2006. I was 18, I had just dropped out of my second year of med school to go learn economics in college, and I had just bought my first own laptop, a refurbished Medion piece of trash that cost me around 300 € and had a single core cpu, 1Gb of RAM, and something like 30Gb of hard drive.
It came with windows XP preinstalled, which is definitely my least favorite version of windows, especially in the looks department, and so I set off to turn that into a mac.
I found multiple customization packs that were supposed to replicate mac OS X's interface, but they all sabotaged my poor windows XP, and made the computer unusable.
Since I wasn't about to give up, I looked online, and found that something was a lot more customizable than Windows XP, and that thing was called Linux.
Still, I saw that ubuntu was a version of Linux that was talked about a lot, and they offered most importantly, to ship CDs to your house for free. So I ordered some, and waited.
Ubuntu blew me away. It took me a while to get it installed, because I had never installed an OS in my life, and I was unfamiliar with the concept of Live CD, but once I was in... Oh man!
It was ubuntu 6.06 Dapper Drake, probably the first really well polished version of Ubuntu. The color scheme had been the subject of a lot of mockery, but these orange highlights, brown wallpapers, they just were so new and so flashy compared to the playskool type interface of windows XP, that I couldn't look away.
Well, the first sign of my love affair is that I completely forgot all about my project to theme Linux to look like mac os X. I could have done so, with global menu bar and everything, but I didn't want to anymore.
So I'd say the look and feel and the user experience first drew me in.
But then, Ubuntu got updates. Every 6 months, like clockwork, you had new stuff coming in. That's not something you had on Windows at the time. The only new features or looks were in major versions, every 4 or 6 years. From XP to vista, there were 5 years. 5 years where you computer looked and felt the exact same.
All these changes, this constant evolution and improvement process really made me feel like the linux desktop was alive, and it made me want more of it.
Not only could you get updates, but you could also change the desktop at will. After I got tired of GNOME 2, and its look and feel, and limitations, I moved to KDE 3.5. And I found the Baghira project, which was this incredible toolkit to make your computer look and feel exactly like mac os.
This variety, this plethora of options is another thing that really drew me into Linux.
Linux taught me a lot about the BIOS, about the components of your computer, about how drivers work, about packages and dependencies, about the kernel, about graphical libraries.
It's probably what made me really interested in tech.
What reignited my passion for Linux, was the fact that I was bored. When I moved back to Brest, I decided to learn how to edit videos. For that, I needed a computer, but since I had just divorced, I had no money, so I bought one on the cheap, without an OS.
Instead of buying Windows 10, I downloaded an ISO of elementary OS, because it looked cool, and I installed that. And I've been using Linux ever since.
What really made me love Linux is the simple fact that Linux IS technology personified.
Linux, to me, is the perfect avatar of technology: it's amazing, and janky, it moves fast and too slowly at the same time, it's equally loved and hated, mastered or completely misunderstood.
This is why I fell in love with linux: I love technology, and there is no better representative of the utter chaos and beauty of tech than Linux.

[@KuruGDI]

In KDE the challenge is not to configure it to your liking, but to find the setting for it in the menu 😂

[@B5152g]

Yep, but it has been getting a lot better in that regard lately.. I have always thought it just needs a Basic/advanced toggle at the top of settings page with the basics only having the most common options like display, theme, wallpaper, mouse/keyboard, users/auto login, maybe a few other things, but really not much more than that.. Also the whole naming of default apps is getting a bit old, I don't know how many times that I have looked for an app and forgot it had a K in front of it then headed to Discover only to find out I already had it installed..

[@linux2420]

Its not that bad once you get used to just using the search bar for everything

[@IshayuG]

I find it’s mostly fixed. Most of the problems I had was when something that could be in one place was in two. For example to start the alt-tab was one hotkey and to continue pressing it was another in the configuration. Or Akonadi just being super broken. It’s fixed now.

[@marufbepary100]

I installed Zorin OS on my dad's aging computer and he seems to think it's a new version of Windows 😂

[@laletemanolete]

Hahaha nice one

[@PritamSingh-rl7xi]

Something like this happened when i installed Zorin OS on my friends computer. He's totally enjoying it and is one happy lad now.

[@jarod3371]

Zorin is a great curated experience but I outgrew it quickly once I figured out how they put it together. I prefer a base vanilla linux configured my way now. As a beginner or to breathe life into a older laptop or pc? ZorinOS is amazing!

[@phonemophoneko]

Zoris OS is good..

[@tazzskillss]

Lol 😭

[@angelantoniosantandermarti8995]

so basically "linux made me fall in love everyday but my ex wife didn't" 😂😭

[@luiselinvocador]

That was so rude as it was fun xD

[@SunIsLost]

lol

[@TheLinuxEXP]

It was also kinda true 😅

[@SimGunther]

And left him broke enough not to go to Mac OS. Hopefully he can afford the M1 laptops (unless he's scared of having all his files scanned for any "questionable content").

[@TheLinuxEXP]

I don’t want a Mac anymore :)

[@nikluz3807]

Your story of Linux discovery is actually really good. You even got Ubuntu on a cd. A true early adopter!

[@EyobFitwi]

Hehe, you think? I began ordering CDs before I could even afford a computer. Started ordering 8.04 and keeping them just in case and finally began installing it from 11.04 onwards. Not as early as Nick sure, but pretty determined if you ask me.

[@SunIsLost]

Yes

[@jscorpio1987]

@SnappyJon they still do

[@jscottupton]

@@EyobFitwi I still have 3 or 4 free CD's from South Africa.

[@noriandir]

@SnappyJon exactly! my first GNU/Linux experience was with a Mandrake 10 LiveCD that came with a magazine. Eventually ended up dual booting with windows and just have fun trying to make it work properly as installing the Nvidia drivers was bonkers at the time with having to manually disable Xorg in order to install the drivers from the command line and re-enable Xorg. Soon after Ubuntu 5.10 came out and ordered a CD as well. Fun times....

[@soham7510]

I installed it because I started loving terminal and there's literally no competition between unix shells vs powershell lol

[@Gornius]

My journey with Linux started with chocolatey for Windows.

[@Rocco-tb9ih]

I first installed it to use the GCC / G++ compilers, but stayed for literally everything else. Linux is amazing. I have to keep Windows on dual boot for a while though, since I bought an Oculus VR headset and there's no way to get it to work on Linux as of right now (as far as I know)

[@CoolingTool]

honestly i really liked powershell but its way too slow to start up and it was driving me insane

[@bodamat]

@@CoolingTool yes, powershell good, but it's not enough performance than in Linux. Also developers still don't support powershell, because program run with exe or cmd file extension what annoying :(

[@Speykious]

Powershell: there's no power, and there's no shell

[@draugr7693]

The thing that made me fall in love with Linux was that it has much better privacy and security than either Windows or Mac OS, it's much more lighweight than Windows and i also love just how customizable it is.

[@bodamat]

Security yes, Linux the best, but hakers can do virus for Linux also, but it's not worth than in Windows. It don't give enough money. If Linux will have more users, than more virus we will have

[@HafifSyukra]

@@bodamat at least the number of viruses/malware/trojan is still low compared to Windows.

[@bodamat]

@@HafifSyukra thats true

[@sys935]

@@bodamat android 99% market

[@geovanneteixeira100]

@@bodamat Yes and no, is true that if linux was more popular, linux sure would have more virus, but you can be sure that even if linux became popular like windows, linux still gonna have less virus than windows, the way linux operates prevent a lot of virus that are commom on windows.

[@oimateusaqui]

The reason why I like Linux is becouse of... Minecraft 😅😅 My old PC (don't work anymore 😔) can't run windows 10 too well and I don't like windows 7, so I learned how to install Minecraft on Ubuntu (both Java and Bedrock) 🤩

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Minecraft is amazing!

[@sonikasaini791]

Man how you ran bedrock on linux I know there's a launcher for bedrock on snap but it no longer supports apk

[@plumcakey]

@@sonikasaini791 it does support apk

[@plumcakey]

@@sonikasaini791 oh sorry, i havent used it in a month or two

[@Vinnie_PT]

Oh friend, it's a 2 click installation if you're running something Arch based (like Manjaro). No need to suffer through a manual installation and you get better performance and more up to date software and drivers

[@matthewsjardine]

Other tech companies: “This is a breakthrough discovery, it is incredible what we have been able to do! We are going to change the world… Alright, lock it down! Folks have got to know, progress is expensive.” Linux and open source community: * discovers or creates something amazing * Developer: “This is awesome, I have got to show the community. Wait until they see this. I cannot wait to see what we will be able to do with it.”

[@TheDeathmail]

To be fair, tech companies spend money and tons of time specifically on that. On the other hand, if I, along with many others help out for a Linux feature, we can often do it on our own time as a hobby with many other people doing the same.... And with enough people, we can do what a company does without having to spend money. Of course, there are Linux developers who rely on donations too... and other ways of making money...

[@Cryptic0013]

The downside of this lovely attitude being that the Tech Companies then just go "Hey, look, the FOSS community is full of volunteers who will write and patch all the code on our servers for free. Let's exploit them and contribute absolutely fuck-all to fund or help, since we don't have to and they can't make us." And then they find ways to lock it down and turn it into an ecosystem they control anyway, a la Android. Don't get me wrong, I think having freeware alternatives and open-source projects is great and necessary, but I do sometimes think the world would be better off if some of the coders who have effectively let themselves become unpaid Google interns knew their worth and didn't spend countless hours not getting paid to do work that someone else appropriates and monetizes anyway.

[@matthewsjardine]

@@Cryptic0013 This is true.

[@matthewsjardine]

@@TheDeathmail Big tech do spend money to progress and secure open source technologies, especially lately, however, they tend to have their own teams to submit changes, rather than helping to pay for the original developers time. I wish they would do more of the latter as well.

[@kushashwaraviShrimali]

I really like how you emphasize appearance and customizability. Of course, security - ease of development - privacy - learning - all are very important, but I'm really glad that the Linux Ecosystem has kept working on the appearance and customizability of Linux. Linux on Desktops is now more common, popular, and in high demand. +1 for the time-stamps BTW! It was awesome content as always. Thanks!

[@alexwatson6530]

Its nice to hear someone who originally switched for the ui. Makes me feel less alone and superficial. I of course love a ton of other aspects of linux, other then just being able to set it up to the ui I wanted, but ui was a major part of the switch for me. Being able to have the ui I loved on a system that is still secure and safe was major.

[@mr.anirbangoswami]

After having watched the entire video, I have only one thought. It's a beautiful essay. What you did there. The entire journey was very nice to hear. Thanks for sharing.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Thank you!

[@dafnelately]

I feel like my love for the colour brown almost definitely came from pre-Unity of Ubuntu 😍 This video also kind of gives me nostalgia for all the times I had to fix broken things.. and that this channel is apparently the result of Nick's midlife crisis. Awesome video as always!

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Hahah yeah basically that’s what it is!

[@ThylineTheGay]

brown is also a really easy colour on the eyes, unlike windows's's's's searing blue

[@cameronbosch1213]

The funny thing is the last two versions of Ubuntu with GNOME 2 (10.04 & 10.10) also had the same theme as Unity Ubuntu. Some pundits thought it looked like macOS and that ThE sImIlArItIeS wOuLd GeT Canonical sUeD. I think it looked really cool (apart from the window buttons being in the macOS style on the left instead of on the right like on previous versions of Ubuntu) without being too much like macOS. I can't stand the super flat interfaces developers seem to jamming down people's throats. I mean, iOS 7 was so bad, I almost wanted to stay with iOS 6 back at its release!

[@VibhorSen1993]

I fell in love with linux after realizing how customizable it was , not just the UI , but you think about any change that you want on your PC , you read a forum and with little tinkering you are good to go , the ability to write shell scripts and custom commands blew me that time :)

[@heartlesscaesar4427]

The main reason is because it's fun :)

[@TheLinuxEXP]

That too!

[@geovanneteixeira100]

The motive why i fell in love with linux was the better performance in daily tasks, like browsing, office tools and the fact that linux was lightweight compared to windows, even the "lite" version of windows are heavier than the heaviest distro on linux community.

[@IRWBRW964]

What made me fall in love with linux was the customisation possibilities. Anything was possible. And our old family computer got slow from windows bloatware and I got the old one for myself when we bought a new one. Installed elementary os 0.1 Jupyter right after it came out and it was as good as new again. I remember having a lot of fun with compiz effects.

[@lmachado788]

I am new to the Linux world and a little older. It took a bit for comfort to set in. This channel has helped my transition with workflow and production using all the open source software. The ability to customize what I need to use is awesome. The fact that at my age I can still learn is amazing. The way Nick explains and shares his knowledge helps me to feel like it can be done. Really appreciate the content.

[@ethanbroussard]

I think I “fell in love” because I was bored and learning linux was something to do, just using arch on my main laptop taught me so much that I didn't know whether I was trying to learn something or not

[@meowcula]

Thanks for sharing Nick. I fell in love with linux in two tries myself also. Once a decade ago making an old pc work as a media pc, and in the last year because I was bored with the state of computing (I was on macOS at the time). Linux reinvigorated my love of computing for computing's sake, and the freedom is real!

[@TheLinuxEXP]

You’re welcome :)

[@afborro]

Brings back memories Nick :) My first exposure was as soon as Linux was born. I was in Oxford at the time, the main Perl (inventor) developer was just down the road from me. In any case, the main draw was that Linux was effectively a *nix OS for free, since all of us were brought up on very expensive work stations SGI SUN IBMs etc. i.e 10 - 100 times the price of a Pentium, and Licence costs to match, no one could afford to have that at home on University salaries. Suddenly it was, "hey heck, I can now run a UNIX OS at home, for free", all I needed was a PC. With obsession on open source models and security these days, no one was particularly focused on the fact it was open source or more secure, more than that it was cheap. Well I used it ever since (1993-4) and lived through the entire evolution, I still have RedHat box sets in the loft somewhere. :) Like Nick, I had a few years here and there and only ran windows for various reasons. I still run windows also and always have done. Certain things Linux can't do, and probably never will.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

It was an amazing video to make, those memories….

[@norgeball3971]

Linux for me started out like „oh that looks interesting“ but evolved into some kind of hobby over time. Nowadays, I believe, everyone should try it really, at least once, just to see how much better it is than Windows. I enjoyed hearing about your journey!

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Thank you :)

[@MarloMitchell]

I loved how xp looked

[@philzeo]

Wow. This is so similar to my journey as a child, it's crazy. Right down to the version of Ubuntu and the CDs we started with... But I was in grade school and I had no money of my own, so the free disc was the only option. And I couldn't agree more. Running a live CD on my grandma's computer and seeing the beautiful desktop compared to XP was like a breath of fresh air. And learning how to partition changed the way I looked at computers entirely. Wow. Thanks for this!

[@dedicatedgamer3974]

Hello sir I am from India and I always fell in love with linux and your channel's content. Currently I am using zorin on my old computer and Manjaro linux on my laptop. Be safe Be Happy. Love from India

[@darkerm76]

My question is why the icon is a Penguin?

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Good question! I think Linus Torvalds just liked penguin

[@rursus8354]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tux_(mascot)

[@Keksgesicht]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYC7louXqrd0o5Im42s only the non duplicates xD

[@joshrojas5114]

Well done man. Thanks for making these videos. 🙌🙌

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Thanks for watching :)

[@mixbaal0]

I would not explain it in better words. I'm a techie and I also had a Linux journey like you did in many aspects. My problem is that with so many subjects to explore and finite time to do it you have to choose which ones to select! I think in Linux there are only two limits: Your time and your imagination. Cheers!

[@carlosflores4179]

I remember seeing the compiz window manager with the cube transition and wobbly windows and I was HOOKED!! Loved that you can create such unique effects. Then i found out about eos, and switched for ever. Here I am using odin and loving it.

[@TheBrimurray]

Sooo... infectious! Love this one,I too found Linux through an Ubuntu 7.04 cover cd on Linux Format magazine whilst browsing in a Tesco store way back in 2007.

[@niagr93]

This video just took me a decade back. My experiences were exactly the same - from wanting to change the look of windows to forgetting all about it after I saw that brown Ubuntu. Great video, and thanks for the nostalgia doze!

[@jomibaja]

Thank Nick for tell us your history!! and your amazing channel, greetings from Chile

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Thank you very much :)

[@ryanhines293]

Thank you for sharing your linux story. I was introduced to linux when working at a repair shop and a tech suggested booting up ubuntu off a live cd which I didn't even know was possible was amazed! I then started looking into different linux operating systems that were lightweight for an old laptop (trying out xbuntu, lubuntu, puppy linux.). Until I saw a unique looking gui desktop design which later found out it was just a window manager of openbox (crunchbang linux #! RIP revived with crunchbangplusplus). I remember loving the look of it so much and how fast it was but having to learn basic things like how to add programs to the menu ( which got me learning terminal commands). I learned so much about linux and fell more in love with it because of #!. I am not just getting into using fedora 36 and loving the latest software but still having stability and the polish of Gnome 42 with added extensions. Love catching your videos and your also admire your computer layout and desktop setup. Keep up the awesome work!

[@lievenm2661]

Wow!!! Thought about writing a book on Linux, tech, & their integration into social aspect of your life? Amazing, personal, and phantasmagoric!!! Now I know why I’ve always been in love with Linux and running on MacBook Pro as we speak ! Keep it up! It also makes those around think us as a super smarty geeky pants!

[@shreyasgavhalkar57]

What made me fall in love with Linux is that it does what I want it to do.. it's like an amateur assistant in my work, it does whatever I say, it might break sometimes but with very little work you can fix it up.. It just gives me more control over my machine and it just feels so great that there a lot of other people like me who love tech so much that they are contributing to this project, making things work.. the Linux community just makes me feel like home..

[@walking_on_earth]

computers are basically instruction-following machines, but Mac and Windows computers fight with you about what instructions to follow. Linux wants to work with you instead :)

[@developer_cha1nsaw]

I have been watching your content lot lately ,but the thing which pulled me back to linux(ubuntu) is bottles and your weekly updates on what's new with linux. Thank you nick.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

You're welcome :)

[@muhammadraihan5149]

Great timing. I was just watching your planner video. Just saw that this video just released 10 seconds ago. Btw nice video

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Yep, it’s brand new :)

[@muhammadraihan5149]

I also switched to linux for the same reason. After distro hopping for a year I settled with solus

[@DavidJSullivan8]

Nick, Thank you. I find your channel so inspiring. I'm where you were 10 years ago. I hope to be at least half as knowledgeable as you soon. Fingers crossed on a new job and you will be my first Patrion sub. Be well and safe brother.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@AdamDymitruk]

That was so good. I love how you captured it with "technology personified". Excellent story telling. I'll be sending people to watch this.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Thank you Adam! Glad you liked it!

[@realtimestatic]

Yeah way better for showing how amazing windows is than those “top 10 why Linux is better than windows”

[@Vinnie_PT]

"and probably was even way harder before i started using it" oh let me tell you about the joys of setting up Xfree86 on Red Hat 5.2 back in 1998... and by joys i mean pain... peko

[@MiningForPies]

Same time as me. Put me off Linux for 20 years

[@rickbhattacharya2334]

In my case , i was in my highschool and had an assignment in C but suddenly my HDD died so i needed something so that i can run my PC without HDD . I did some research and found Linux Live mode . I downloaded ubuntu and mint KDE . Asked my friend to burn it into a disk and then i ran it on my PC . Well i never had a single day without Linux from then on . I may not be an advanced Linux user but Linux in general is very close to my heart .

[@yaolet]

Nice video! way to go bro. My first time was 1999 with now deceased Mandrake distro with KDE. Used redhat and Solaris in uni. Now i have 3 laptops running ubuntu & manjaro + a rasp server @ home, but my daily drivers are macs. Wish one day linux desktop can reach such maturity stil long way to go.

[@raderator]

Glad Nick made a success of his channel. A quarter of a million is one of the biggest. Learning English so well is a big plus. Americans enjoy accents as long as we can understand you. I switched to Zorin after 30 years with Windows. First distro I tried that actually looked good. Everything is working perfectly.

[@shawnchalfant1595]

That's the good old days of Ubuntu. God I wish they had that same direction of the early years.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Yeah, me too!

[@ru-mu3065]

Linux is lightweight , smooth and flexible ... thats why i love linux

[@chorba]

I remember installing Ubuntu 10.10 in my family's PC and erasing Windows, and the next day nobody knew how to log in or even where they're files were. Now, ten years later I run Linux in three devices and it's amazing

[@arnone1862]

what got me onto Linux was the fear of police busting down my front door for using three pirated copies of Windows XP, around 2009. it's a fear that lead to a wonderful thing. I do still use Windows 10 as the music software I use have no Linux support, and for gaming. I completely agree that using Linux has taught me so much more about computing than Windows ever could.

[@NyneIX9]

I really enjoyed this video. It was more personable and inspiring. Thanks for this one!

[@User-wp8sh]

i am still learning about linux os, thanks for your videos 😁 keep it up..

[@LeafpoolTheMedCat]

My story is similar to yours. It was summer 2016 and I was 10 years old (yes, a kid can also use Linux, it's not that hard to use). I got my first own laptop and I was frustrated because Windows 10 looked so inconsistent and Microsoft said 10 will be the last version of Windows (took them 6 years to reconsider their words). I decided to switch to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and I was amazed. I no longer had to install any custom DLLs that might not work, themes are supported out of the box on Linux. New features are developed by the Linux community and I could choose what features I want and customize my distro to have them. Proton has made 100% of my game library compatible over the years. I'm excited for the Steam Deck because so many people who have never heard of Linux will get to use a Linux desktop for the first time. I hope they love it as much as I and you do.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Yeah, I can’t wait to get my steam deck as well!!

[@LeafpoolTheMedCat]

@@TheLinuxEXP I didn't actually preorder it. I'm sure it would've been cool but if I'm going somewhere I'll most likely end up taking my laptop with me anyway and that is powerful and has my Steam library. My mom just doesn't want me to feed the rarely used electronics shelf with another $500 so I passed on it. I can see the point as my hands are basically glued to keyboard and mouse controls.

[@theodoros_1234]

Loved the video!

[@MosesKFrost-qn2sm]

I just love your sense of humor man and so I do Linux and did at first sight rofl

[@soulstenance]

My first dive into the Linux realm was Ubuntu 8 and I remember feeling very similarly! It was so pretty compared to the Windows of the day and I was also entranced with how different it was! I actually still have that CD I got to this day collecting dust somewhere. Thanks for sharing!

[@KuruGDI]

Ahh yes, the memory lane: I was introduced to Linux by my brother as he was using Ubuntu. I never quite understood Linux, but kept an eye on it. Back in 2013 I bought my first laptop and I installed a dual boot configuration with Ubuntu on it. To be honest: I hardly ever used it because on Windows I was also able to watch videos as well, but I would not have to reboot the system just to play a game. A problem that did emerge was with my laptops setup that featured a dedicated GPU as well as an IGP. I tried to install driver for it, but only got a black screen that I had no idea how to fix (somehow I managed it...). After a Linux update, grub was somehow corrupted and I was no longer able to boot neither into Windows nor into Linux. All of these problems made me remove Linux from my system entirely. I recently got a new PC with Windows 10 (my old war machine really lasted 8 years). I had to do a lot of tweaking and I'm still not happy with what I got. Some tiny things can not be done with Windows alone (not even go knows why). What brought me back into Linux was actually your review about the KDE Slimbook. I started to test KDE neon on a USB stick and I quite like it. Since I already got the usual Linux problems I'm not sure weather I can really convince myself to go down that memory lane again. Even though I dislike Windows for a lot of things, I have to say that Windows never failed on me as bad as Linux did - but I'm somehow not really happy about that, because in my heart I want the penguin to succeed.

[@genericgamer1319]

wait when grub was corrupted did it drop you into the actual shell or grub rescue or did it break entirely if it did break entirely how the heck does that happen

[@KuruGDI]

@@genericgamer1319 I got a black screen with a white cursor that wouldn't let me do anything. As far as I remember it was completely broken and the only way I was able to fix it was to use the Windows install disk to fix the bootloader. (I think I would have been able to repair grub somehow as well, but at that point I was not so keen on keeping Ubuntu since I used it very little and it already did cause some major problems)

[@genericgamer1319]

@@KuruGDI weird but that's one of the reasons uefi exists to mitigate these kind of problems when you got a single primary bootloader that acts as the boot manager & can break leaving you stuck like what happend in your case nowadays on uefi the main bootloader is stored on the firmware chip itself & can load files off a partition formatted as fat the actual bootloaders like grub & windows bootloader so if one breaks or updates doesn't really affect the other

[@Logan5Greye]

I remember the first time I tried Linux. It had to be around 05'-06'. I took a computer information technology course at the community college. Part of the curriculum was the history of computing, which led to discussions about operating systems and how the hardware interacts with the software. When I searched Linux at home, I came across Ubuntu. I signed up to receive a free Live CD through the mail. Pretty sure I still have it too! That led me to try Kubuntu and even download Gentoo. I still have CDs and DVDs of some of these ISOs just laying around at my parents house. Only within the past year or two have I decided to use Linux on all my computers at home. Currently running Mint, PopOs and Feren OS.

[@Rafa-sh9rh]

I installed linux on a old pc just for fun, nowadays it's still working. I really enjoyed about learning and trying something different. It's really cool.

[@TheEvertw]

I love your story! Me, I fell in love with Unix in the early nineties, but never owned my own computer capable of running Unix until 2003. That was a dual-boot system because I loved playing Windows-only games, with SuSe Linux. I have been Linux-only (including my work laptop) since 2012.

[@Stan-rs1ne]

I always find it funny when I see a sponsor add for something like linode when I have my own virtualization server setup at home

[@ananon5771]

what made me fall in love was a broad reason,but one that alot of the greatness stems from. the control its really your system and you're the only one with all the control.

[@paquitojhs]

And the fact that is free as in freedom was the determining factor for me. Thanks for sharing your experience. We started using Linux at the same time lol

[@allen6310]

You described my journey extremely accurately. I actually tried PuppyLinux for my first distro, but Ubuntu 6.06 was my next and a distribution I always came back to when trying others out. I even went down the Mac theming using KDE like you. Always wanting a Mac but not owning one, it was the next best thing. Now I have multiple Mac computers, but I try out Linux on them. Linux Mint is my go to, but do like Elementary OS as an alternative.

[@cameronbosch1213]

Linux Mint was what I would have used during my second time using Linux after initially using Ubuntu from 10.04 - 11.04 before the HDD in my Dell Studio XPS 13 laptop failed, taking both Windows 7 (originally Vista with a free upgrade) & Ubuntu with it. I tried to get back into Linux in early 2019, however, GNOME 3 was terrible to use for me as a Windows user. So it took another year to try Linux after using Windows Subsystem for Linux since then as a computer science student. I started distro hopping; I started with Mint 18 (or one of its point releases), but then switched to Kubuntu because of Linux Mint removing their KDE edition in Linux Mint 19 (which I think was the beginning of the end of Mint's meteoric rise and the slow but eventual decline and turn on the community), but I was not happy with Snaps, then I went to Fedora, which I used until first the CentOS 8 fiasco in 2020, when I removed it from my main laptop and moved to the then new kid Garuda Linux, but then quickly jumped to another new kid EndeavourOS which was closer to the stock KDE Plasma experience I was used to (and not Garuda's macOS like experience by default), which I have used since, even through the GRUB 2 issue, which due to no information being out on the cause until it was too late, I had done structural damage to the OS, making backing up my personal data and reinstalling by far the easiest solution. I then removed Fedora from all of my remaining computers and switched them to EndeavourOS due to the AMD codec trolling issue. I was going to install Ubuntu Server on my old desktop (I say old, but it does have a Intel Core i9-9900K with 64 GB of RAM and a Nvidia RTX 308p (10 GB of vRAM), but I may have to change my plans as Ubuntu Server doesn't allow dual-boot partitioning and I need the Windows 10 install, which takes up less than 200 GB on the first few partitions, to remain intact even though it's a custom built). I probably won't go back to Ubuntu because of Snaps, Debian because of super old KDE Plasma versions and other packages, Fedora because I hate Red Hat with a burning passion for how they dealt with CentOS 8 users, and Linux Mint because they seem to be on the way to death.

[@antux5183]

Thank you for your story! Linux came to me also in 2017 ( but before I had no idea of it) when my old Win7 computer was about to die. I didn't like Win10 and needed as well something affordable. So I started with Linux Mint in a virtual box that run veeery sloooowly because of the age of my computer. I started to watch KZbin video- tutorials and soon I could install Linux on my old Acer One Netbook, that was not working with Win7 anymore. And I liked it a lot! When I bought my desktop computer with Linux Mint preinstslled I was again surprised how good it worked (and is still working) Now I could try a lot more distros in VirtualBox. It is still amazing and I also love the fact that you never stop learning Linux. But the best of all things regarding Linux is the community. That people who know make great software and you can take it, use it, change it and get help from the community if you need it. Community gives you ideas, makes you aware and shows you how to work with Linux and all the other great open source software. That is, for me, the most beautiful experience I have ever made with tech. Thank you a lot!

[@mukundmittal]

This is the exact same reason I fell in love with linux!! My old laptop runs smoothly on linux and Windows make me cry everytime I boot into it. The compulsion to use my old laptop also made me to learn linux and run windows games on it. I just log into windows when a game doesn't run on linux after too many tries. Now I love the aesthetics and community of linux so much that I will run Linux even if I get the ARM based Macbook(hope M1 hardware acceleration support makes its way into the Linux kernel soon)

[@johnmal5975]

I tried Ubuntu 14.04 because my neighbor a computer programmer was tired of fixing my xp so he installed it for me. I have not used windows as my main machine since. I don't use Linux the way most hardcore people do because my skills are lacking. However, all I know is it works doesn't break and doesn't spy on me and thats what I am looking for. Great video as always!

[@ar_prichan]

First time installed Linux (Ubuntu 14.04 LTS - dualboot Win10) was in 2015 due to college assignment's subject "Operating System". It was pretty cool! the desktop, wallpapers, and left taskbar looks glossy, my first love. But then on and off, bored, distrohopping for short time, until in 2019 I found Solus which I use right now, really love it!

[@user-or9gr5py4c]

The first time I used Linux was when I was 2nd year in the university, later in the 5th and final year I was working on graduation project when I by mistake updated the system and then I had to wait a full day for my computer to become usable, therefore I switched to Linux

[@scott6996]

I still haven't use Linux but I love it ❤

[@lughano5253]

waiting for that gentoo video haha, gr8 vid

[@techmodderaryan]

That was a great story, resembles my own experience :)

[@justins7796]

"I liked the idea of interacting with hardware from a software perspective." I think Linus Torvalds said this and it's been true for my love for Linux.

[@AnzanHoshinRoshi]

Thank you, Nick. I love Linux because FOSS makes knowledge tools available to anyone throughput the developed and undeveloped world who can manage to get even crappy hardware.

[@loreleipenn]

You reminded me when I started and went almost directly to Gentoo... I love all what I lived through Gentoo and everything I learned asking my journey.

Your history is almost the same as mine, except that i started in 2005 with Ubuntu 5.10 and return to it in 2019 thanks to "The linux Gaming Experiment". Thanks a lot for sharing this story Nick!

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Thanks a lot! Glad I could feel you back in!

[@siontheodorus1501]

What made me fell in love in linux is just how light it can be and how customizeable it is. Everything also works and the best thing is open source. I really wanted to use it as daily drive but I can't since i must shared the laptop that I'm using with my fsmily

[@ShadiusFU2]

Linux is so great, I can't even decide what distro I want to install in my pc... Many of them are looking so good, it's difficult to choose 😂

[@katech6020]

Just download them and try them live without installing. when you feel comfortable with one daily drive it

[@walking_on_earth]

@@katech6020 this, or just go with Mint haha. it's a good default choice. or Elementary if you like Mac OS over Windows.

[@Zephyrus0]

You need to understand what your needs are, spend some time thinking about them. :]

[@ShadiusFU2]

I'm between Zorin OS, Linux Mint and Pop!_OS. They are looking user friendly for me as a new Linux user. I switched to Linux for more privacy respect, but I'm not sure which one of those distros are more privacy oriented from the other ones :)

[@ShadiusFU2]

@@AJC1972 Thank you for your answer!

[@Rain-King]

As a fairly recent adopter of Linux via Ubuntu on my laptop, what immediately stood out to me, compared to my primary desktop running Windows, was the streamlined interface and user experience. While I do still believe that the integrated Windows taskbar and start menu are superior to a separate top bar and bottom dock, the overall interface of Ubuntu, and Gnome in general, is so much cleaner and nicer to use.

[@our_roadtrip]

The UI did it for me as well when I first used it seriously in 1998. The KDE virtual desktop was a true game changer. And later, when I started to use Gentoo, it really opened up my eyes about the power of free software.

[@hotrodjones74]

So eloquently put Nick!

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Thank you!

[@zebop917]

Hi Nick. My first experience of Linux was similar to yours - I wanted to keep an old Thinkpad T60 going when Win XP went end-of-life. I tried Ubuntu first but didn't really like the Unity desktop. I fairly quickly found Mint Cinnamon and that's largely where I've stayed. What impressed me at the time, after reading all sorts of stories about how this or that device wouldn't work correctly, was that none of that was true. Everything just worked first time, and the dual-boot installation I created was smooth as silk. Thanks to a CPU upgrade, it's now on Mint 20.2 - the very latest version of the O/S - whereas Microsoft won't let me anywhere near Win11 with anything older than the 8th gen Core i5 that I have in a 2018 Dell. The whole Linux installation and use experience was so easy, and like you say, educational that I did the same job on a 2009 Acer which I still like for its 18-inch screen - makes a great hobby PC for messing around on and its given me the confidence not to worry about breaking anything in the O/S. If the worst comes to the worst, a clean install is easy to do.

[@alivds]

YES! I've just migrated to Linux a few months ago... Windows was just driving me mad (a lot of blue screen issues and freezings I couldn't solve and also the BORING aesthetics haha), and now my notebook is just freaking happy with Pop-OS!.. I'm learning a lot!! really, best thing I've ever done :) (p.s.: I'm not even a "tech person", I'm just getting my major in Psychology... and still, loving to learn with Linux)

[@Deegan_Prashanth]

Great video!

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Thanks!

[@dandiaz19934]

Very cool story. I want to try Linux one day. Thanks for sharing

[@TheLinuxEXP]

You’re welcome :)

[@walking_on_earth]

my journey with computers started with reading and watching cyberpunk media. stuff like Ghost in the Shell, Snow Crash and Serial Experiments Lain inspired me to pursue the style and function of the computers in those fictional worlds. so I started using terminal apps on my MBP. through Homebrew, I could get a lot of the same terminal apps people use on Linux, on my mac. I also stripped away any mouse-based interface elements and went all-in on keyboard controls. after hanging out in cyberpunk and tech forums for a while, I decided to install Ubuntu on my MBP. it was fun but I had a lot of driver and hardware issues. sometime later, I built my first desktop PC with cheap, low-performance parts and installed Manjaro. I had a much better experience with that setup. my main concern was ricing and terminal-based everything, so I used a tiling window manager instead of a desktop environment. it took a lot of work but I got a setup that I really liked, although when I showed it to my friends they couldn't really make heads or tails of it. after moving and changing my life situation, I started using my macbook a lot more, with OSX instead of Ubuntu for convenience. I forgot the decryption password for my desktop and unfortunately never recovered my install on that drive. more life changes later, I got a Dell XPS and I was pretty happy with it, running Windows 10. I could play games on Steam, which was pretty great. I got peripherals, even an eGPU, to plug into my XPS to effectively make it into a desktop. it worked pretty well for productivity and gaming, but it was a pain to attach and detach all the peripherals because I frequently switched between docking it and taking it with me. some time later, my friend gifted me some 10-year-old components from his gaming PC. I still had my old desktop, so I put the new parts in there and was happy to have a proper desktop again. I was pretty content with Windows 10, but after a while I remembered how much fun I had with Manjaro on my old desktop, and I decided to have another go with Linux. I installed Arch using the Anarchy installer, which was easy enough, but setting it up was still a huge pain. I had to muck around in a lot of low-level systems to get it working properly. eventually though I found my happy place with KDE, which I riced to my liking. despite the pain of setting up Arch, I found myself loving Linux and thinking I would never use another OS again. unfortunately, I still had some performance issues running big 3D games through Proton, and Discord still doesn't support streaming games through Linux, which is a deal-breaker for me. so I dual-boot Arch and Win10 on my desktop, only booting into Windows for my gaming sessions. I enjoyed using Linux so much that I decided to install it on my XPS as well. I installed a larger SSD to accommodate a dual-boot. I went with Mint, mostly as an experiment to see if I could live with an Ubuntu-based system. it was fine, and I discovered how similar all distros are when you know how to change desktop environments. however, I did miss the AUR, pacman and timely updates of Arch-based systems. next time I install Linux on any of my computers, I'll probably go with Endeavor, since it's basically Arch but easier to install and set up. I hope to upgrade my CPU and GPU in my desktop to mitigate Proton-related gaming issues, and my fingers are crossed for Discord supporting streaming games on Linux with the advent of the Steam Deck. if all goes well, I should be able to ditch Windows entirely. my love of Linux springs in part from the usual reasons like customization, speed and ability to take command of your own system. but I really love it because, by using Linux, I'm participating in a global network of Free Open Source Software which flows through my PC like a clear river. it feels good, like I'm living in a cyberpunk future that is actually good for people. use FOSS, build and repair PCs, customize your cyberdeck, share your passion with others. thanks Nick, for sharing your passion with us.

[@jonck2go94]

Such a cool story... Bravo à Linux et à vous.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Merci :)

[@briankendall1978]

That is so funny, I became interested in linux, seeking to mimic the look and feel of mac osx. I also have settled on elementary OS for my desktop PC. Switching from window, I think elementary is more intuitive than mac os. I finally got a mac and I find mac os a bit frustrating to use from time to time although i do love how it integrates with my phone. I wish elementary could integrate with my phone better. Also, Thanks Nick for your great video content.

[@jimw7916]

I totally enjoyed this vid...even when you waved your arms about!.... Many thanks.

[@Anggara_Sakti]

... and there is no better representation of the other beauty and chaos of tech than linux. What a great word man, amazing.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Thanks :)

[@SifuLukasWingTsun]

Great Video

[@stephenhargreaves9011]

You want to thank your lucky stars your journey started when it did and on the hardware that it did. My journey started with Debian 2.2 on Amiga in around October 2002, and historic mailing list posts are enough to show the problems that I had. Back then you got a couple of floppy disks, had to configure dial up internet, and then leave it downloading packages over night, before you could even think about the desktop. Now, I use Arch, but can be installed from clean and ready to go in under 30 minutes. How times have changed.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Ouch, must have been rough

[@ethan-fel]

Great video ! Since Ryzen and the explosion of the number of cores with high IPC (thanks AMD) i feel like GNU/Linux has entered a golden age for its user. It's so easy to build a vfio pass through rig, making Windows and MacOS nothing more than softwares running in your Linux with nearly 1:1 performances. I've been using Linux for nearly 20 years now but praticaly never as my main OS mostly because of Gaming. Now, i don't see myself ever installing a bare metal Windows.

[@kenphused]

I've been Linux-only since since 2003 (pre-Fedora RedHat). I can relate to experimenting with xconf and updates breaking things. I've never wanted to use Apple or M$... to the horror of Mac fanboys, I installed Linux on Macs at two jobs... because it just worked. I enjoy the channel, keep 'em coming.

[@Sal-ec7ce]

I wanted out of windows. Been looking up Linux a long time. And now I just got it... Dream computer, builtfor me. Blue ray, light up keyboard step up on graphics... And Ubuntu Studio. Really like it.

[@AbhinavKulshreshtha]

I have been playing on-off with linux since school (ubuntu 8.04) but actually started using it permanently when I became web developer. Fedora 16 was first time I didn't dual boot because I didn't had time to play new games and my old favs were working properly on it.

[@gertjanvandenbroek1620]

I started writing an entire article about my journey to linux. But then I remembered I really just wanted to say that there is something about linux that windows just never really did for me. I was charmed by linux' terminal from day one (and I found it cool as hell). I didn't understand a single thing about it, but I liked this 'classic' terminal window. It took a very long time for me to actually swing across to linux permanently. I was always aching for something when I was in windows, and now I understand that it is the level of control you have on linux, and the fact that you are really interacting with your system. It's like watching an engine run. Some sort of logical machinery that you get to tinker with. (or not) I don't like the fact that it sometimes just breaks after some update. But those are opportunities to learn about the OS, and to learn about computers and boy do i feel good when I manage to 'repair' my system when something eventually breaks.

[@silentgameplays]

Great video!Mostly I use pure Debian and ArchLinux,for two reasons Debian is stable as a rock and the ArchLinux is bleeding edge and has all the shiny new stuff. Compared to 2010-2012-2015 Linux has evolved a lot and it keeps evolving. Any Linux distro(even Ubuntu) is much more lightweight and less bloated and more focused around security and privacy than Windows or MacOS and any Linux distro is highly customizable.

[@MartindeBoer2]

Hi Nick, That is such an awesome reason: Why I love Linux, is because it is tech personified. Amazing and flawed at the same time. But always changing, always moving. I can't agree more!

[@johnbamber7374]

Your journey mirrors mine, at a few points. For me it started wiþ seeing Ubuntu on my dad's PC in about 2018 or 2019 and getting þe feeling like Gnome 3 reminded me of Android wiþ some of þe layout and icons, shortly after diving into þe features of my Galaxy phone more and determining þat I quite like Samsung.

[@etiennebruines467]

"If you're that kind of person" 😂

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Hahah sorry, I just don’t like coffee 😅

[@Spl4tt]

@@TheLinuxEXP Tea is love, Tea is life

[@SocialMaster762]

Coffee has its merits, but there is nothing beating a nice cup of Turkish tea

[@SliceJosiah]

@@SocialMaster762 *Laughs in New Zealand kiwi kiwi bro kiwi bro skux choice Choysa tea*

[@ErikSantana]

I don’t trust people who don’t drink coffee 😏

[@JesusGarcia-dr6tg]

me too! I also used Ubuntu first, that was my first contact with linux, it was with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, it was amazing at that time, then I startet trying different distro until I found MX Linux with its xfce desktop. But linux is amazing!

[@sreeramkr2864]

Well most of the people certainly didn't choose a linux distro for it's appearance, most of them just wanted their ageing PC to work better and be stable which windows 7, at it's early stages, certainly wasn't.

[@softwarelivre2389]

Nowadays GNOME 40 and Solus Budgie look much better than both MacOS and Windows though

[@that_kaii]

@@softwarelivre2389 budgie is amazing

[@monabbereaman6399]

Love You Brother! From Bangladesh❤❤