Ok I’m not a nerd. Grew up in the 90s and started on windows 95… switched to a Mac in 2007 as I went into design work. I always wanted to try Linux and I was gonna install it on an old windows based laptop during covid for fun but couldn’t find the charger for it.

What’s the big fuss about Linux? Is it just an alternative to the big two or is there something special about it that the other two can’t do?

[–] wholookshere@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Not the person you replied to, but I do use Linux (arch btw).

Linux is a free (as in freedom) and open source software that basically powers the internet.

A vast majority of servers on the internet are running Linux. It's powerfully but that's a double edge sword. It's easy to cut yourself too if your unfamiliar with the edges.

Because it's completely open source, there are endless customizations and optimizations you can make. The art is knowing what, how, and where. But that's true of windows and macos.

It's vertically less creepy with AI and logging garbage compared to apple and Microsoft.

It's popular with nerds because it's free and customizable. IMO that can come at a cost of user-friendly experiences. But it's all about learning the edges. The other two have plenty, most are just used to it.

[–] inv3r510n@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (2 children)

It's vertically less creepy with AI and logging garbage compared to apple and Microsoft

So it’s safer from tracking? I have Adblock and anti tracker stuff on all my browsers on my Mac but idk if it really works

[–] megopie@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 week ago

So, the big kicker on that front is that most distributions ( there is a whole family tree of different versions built with different goals) are open source, meaning that people can look at the code and see what is running on their machine. Most people aren’t inspecting every part of their system, but every part has been inspected by many people. When something sketchy goes on, it will be called out. Because the code is open for anyone to see, and most versions are distributed under certain licenses, people can take it and branch off their own version if they don’t like what’s being done.

There are some versions maintained by companies (Android for example) and some by volunteers, but they all run on the same open source Linux kernel, or some modified version of it, which is maintained by volunteers. Most Linux distributions are built by people who care about it and want it to work well.

So at the end of the day, it’s all super transparent and there is a lot of accountability through that. No one will be sneaking spy wear in or logging what you do unless you let them, and because there is so many versions, it’s easy to migrate to a different version if the people making one do something stupid.

A lot of power users love Linux for how much you can do with it, but there are lots of versions that are built to be easy to use and as low maintenance as possible. There is a huge variety of versions, even a bunch of gimmick or joke version.

[–] wholookshere@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 week ago

It is yes. There's no central server that logs are collected to or anything like that.

That's NOT the same as ad blocking.

Borswers will still be browsers just like any other OS and precautions should be made there.