3w ago

What Operating System do you prefer to use the most and why?

For desktop computers, either Windows or Linux. Windows on my main computer since I rely on so much Windows-only software (MS Office, Many Games) despite the BS that Microsoft does to windows in new versions, but Linux has gotten way better lately, especially as it picks up new users as Windows declines. MacOS to me the worst of both worlds when it comes to lack of software support and corporate BS

For Mobile, definitely Android. Android is what I wish Linux was for Desktop computers; Loads of software you can get from many places, open source, and not locked down. It's mainly the way it is because for Mobile OS's, Microsoft was spending too much resources shooting itself in the foot with the Zune than to make the necessary improvements to make Windows Mobile to be competitive, and by the time they realized their mistake it was too late. iOS is such a pain in the ass for me to use due to how locked down it is, and while it has more software support than MacOS, its locked down nature and being mostly restricted to getting software from Apple means that several apps that I rely on (including a few apps not on the Google Play store) will never be available for iOS. I also like to see where every single file on my phone actually is

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I have a windows pc. And unlike a lot of users, I haven't gotten recall, ads, etc. Perhaps it's because I actually paid for my license? Maybe it's that I'm in Europe?
Whichever it is, it plays my games and lets me do my hobbies.
I also have a laptop that runs linux, as a file share and such.
- It’s the European version yeah. I pirated a copy of eu windows and don’t have any of that trash either.
  
  Wait! I didn't know this. If I use a VPN can I simply download the Euro version? I don't mind paying for it.
  Edit: I'm i dumbass. You simply select the location on install. How stupid is that? Why does nobody tell me these things?
  
  Hah, nicely done!

I generally use the OS which fits what I am trying to do. For my desktop PC, I run Arch Linux as it lets me game, run VMs and have a high level of control over what the system is doing. The VMs are mostly Windows for testing stuff and one running Ubuntu as a host for PolarProxy. My server runs Ubuntu, though really just as a platform to host docker containers. That was a decision I made years ago when I knew a lot less about Linux and was looking for something which was more turnkey. My work laptop is Windows, because my work is mostly a Microsoft shop. But, I have WSL running both Ubuntu (for the SANS Sift framework) and Kali.
An Operating System is a tool. Don't get wedded to any one OS.

Like many respondents on this decorporatized FOSS wang-dang-doodle, my answer is some variation on "Linux for desktop/laptop unless I'm forced to use the W-word" and "Whichever mobile OS makes the browser happen while I'm away from Linux, but I'm sad that it's not Linux".
- Ha, shame my response wasn't nearly as succinct as yours, you hit the nail on the head

On desktop: Linux since late 1996. It is the only operating system that I can perfectly tune to adhere to my - often weird - ideas, and can run all the software I need. I'm a developer, mostly working on free and open source software, so Linux is right there to assist me with that. When I play games, I play them through Wine/Proton, have been since I started gaming on Linux some two decades ago. If a game does not work under Wine/Proton, that's simply not a game I will be playing.
For portable gaming, I have a Steam Deck. Surprisingly, that also runs Linux.
My phone is running stock Android, and I hate it, because the way I function, and how Android imagines I would are not compatible, and the system does not let me bend it to my will, there isn't enough flexibility built in. Like... I can't uninstall a bunch of applications I'm never going to use, because my phone came preinstalled with it, and they're not removable, unless I jailbreak it. Unfortunately, I can't jailbreak it, because then my bank's application would stop working. Which would be fine, since I don't do banking on the phone. Except the application is required for mandatory 2FA. FML.
Thankfully, I can go days without touching my phone, so I can live with it being a piece of crap.
(The rest of my family is also on Linux: both parents, wife, and eventually the kids too.)
- If you hate stock Android, definitely try Graphene. It doesn't come with preinstalled bullshit and let's you run your banking and other shitty apps in a different user profile. Google Play Store and Services are completely optional. You get nearly full control without the negatives associated with rooting.
  
  My bank app does not function under Graphene, because my bank is doing anything in its power to force using a stock Android. I have friends, who use the same bank, and while the bank app works under Graphene from time to time, it is broken often enough to render it unusable.
  But it doesn't matter, because Graphene does not support my phone anyway. As I wrote: most alternative operating systems for phones support only a very limited set of phones. Mine's not one of them.
- Probably is not going to make your phone experience much better but I followed this to disabled (not uninstalling) some stock apps on stock Android phones, works great and if you made a mistake it's easy to rollback.
  
  I did that, it did not make my phone experience any better.

Windows 11

Trisquel GNU/Linux
https://trisquel.info/en
Because it is a fully free distro, which is important to me.
I use Trisquel because it is the most user friendly I've found in the free distros.
Some hardware drivers are unavailable, but that's fine, just transferred away from non-free hardware.
For compatibility, usually export to PDF.
--//--
Also GrapheneOS on phones and tablet. Has less nags and bloat. Privacy centric mobile OS.
- It's nice to see such a willpower to use fully free distro. I am often prevented from using a fully free distribution only by the non-free firmware for AMD GPU.

Freebsd for servers
Linux for everything else a user interacts with, including gaming

Desktops: Linux (Mint)
Laptops: Linux (Mint)
Phones: Linux (Android)
Servers: Linux (Debian)
SBC: Linux (Armbian / Raspberry Pi OS)
ESP32/ESP8266: Arduino (I've never really taken to MicroPython)
ATMega 328P/etc : Arduino

Debian GNU/Linux
I like the LTS style, I love the organised way they have for documentation and configuration, is well supported and I like the adaptations they make for a lot of software such as Apache HTTP Server (their custom layout).

My setup is:
Arch (BTW) & KDE on my laptop, that's the tinkering machine that only I use.
Dual boot Pop!_OS & Windows on the desktop, that's the one that other people use too so I'm not allowed to break it.
I also have a bunch of other OS's in VMs that I mess around with like little specimen jars lol

Overall, ignoring the kind of device, it's my preferred linux distro, followed by android, followed by other distros, followed by windows 7.
I wish Linux mobile was ready for what I need, but there just isn't app parity currently.
The learning curve switching from win7 to whichever version Mint Linux was on at the time was acceptable. No harder or easier than picking up android for the first time once installation was finished. Easier than when I've had to dick around on iOS. I can't say what the switch would be like now since only my laptop is running dual boot with 10 right now, and I never open it at all. I kept the windows partition for some of the crap with self publishing that isn't as easy on Linux, but I find there's no motivation to boot to Windows lol.
I really like excels android overall, and I used to run custom roms on everything, and had a ton of fun playing around like that. But Google has made android suckier, if not sucky enough to switch to iOS or put up with the flaws of mobile Linux (though it has been a while since I tested anything in that regard). So, as long as android is essentially controlled by a for profit company, I don't know that it could be my favorite os.
Linux wise, Mint is the tits. Yeah, there's distros that do some things better. But damn, I've thrown mint on all kinds of boxes and then just got to using it for what i want to do, not fiddling around with things. The bullshit canonical pulls isn't an issue, and that's nice. Popos is pretty similar in that regard tbh, but I prefer the default looks of mint better. That's a niggling little thing, but such is life.

Arch.
you rebel/rapscallion
It's simpler than that. Arch is dead simple. Everything is documented. If you want to know how to do anything, they tell you how. Where's the config file? Right here, per the wiki.
People pump it up to be this impossible thing but it really is just the most blunt, to the point Linux distro and that's what I enjoy about it. You never have to look two places for anything.

In order:
Android (home)
Windows 11 (work)
Playstation
Xbox
Windows 11 (home)
Steamdeck
iOS (work)
Switch
- I'd gripe if I ever had to use an iPhone for work
  
  I needed one for testing. :)

Desktop and phone: macOS and iOS
Smart home, Docker containers, VPS servers: Alpine Linux
Sadly the nanoPi R6S I bought came with OpenWRT preinstalled which is a very annoying OS in my eyes. Wish I had enough time to get Alpine Linux built for it.
And technically I’d use FreeBSD UNIX (huge UNIX fan!) but Docker and a lot of stuff I want in unsupported, which totally blows.

NixOS is a bear to set up, but it is easy to keep it running for ages since the config is declarative & irons out configuration differences better than other OS since you config will refuse to evaluate.
I am thinking of moving to SailfishOS next year if my LineageOS phone keeps acting up.

Windows 70. Percent of the time and mint linux 30 percent of the time.
But that ratio is moving in mint linux favor.
Mobile is iphone and ipad

Basic ass Linux mint (xfce desktop) for my desktop. I mostly use it for video games and watching media.
Android for the phone. Gotta have those emulators (though I think you can get them on iPhone now, android is still cheaper).
I should probably do some de-googling though.
Work has us on Macs. They're.... fine. I wouldn't buy one because they're expensive and not great for games.

I tried MacOS on my work machine for a couple of years, because everyone says how easy is. It never clicked for me. It felt like the short cuts all needed another key. It was also unintuitive for me. Of course that could be because I grew up on Windows. Either way, I did not like it.
Linux is crazy easy to install and really cool that you can run a live USB so easily. It's also secure, stable, can run on garbage hardware, and has a thousand cool flavors. Intuitive and easy for (Mint, Ubuntu, etc.) common stuff. An absolute minefield to install soooo many things- if they even can work. I just want to double click shit and then run it. Much of that is on Microsoft for making things a challenge on purpose.
Windows gets more intrusive and obnoxious every year, but it runs almost everything I need.
Never really tried iOS. I don't like the idea of being locked down.
Android can do a lot of cool stuff, but gets more intrusive every year too. So I run that for now.
Some day I'll probably try some other OS on my phone, but I have less patience and time every day.
At home, I run Linux on one machine, Windows on another, hoping to cut ties with Windows entirely, but probably won't ever get there.

Linux for everything, but I've been meaning to try out BSD as well. I like that it's a built by a community with people from around the world contributing to it.
- OpenBSD is surprisingly good as a desktop, as long as you don't need something that needs shoehorning in or some fancy filesystem. But if you use it as intended, it's good. Like, there's no linux compatibility, no proprietary nvidia drivers, etc. You probably want to switch away from the default window manager though unless you think perfection was reached in the early 90s.
  
  I'll give it another try soon. I'm rebuilding my server right now, and this might be something I could get into. Which window manager would you suggest?
- Once I went freebsd for my servers, I never looked back. Leaves linux in the dust
  Leaves more to be desired for everyday desktop use though.. namely missing wifi drivers

Linux Mint on desktop, laptop, and home server. Doesn't hurt to have the full install on the server, and I have a monitor hooked up anyway - but makes maintenance easier with everything the same distro. Batocera on the retro gaming pc.
Android on phone, but if there was a distro for my phone I would use Linux there too. F-droid for apps where possible, but Play store for some essentials.

Windows, because my pride and joy (Paint Tool Sai) is only compatible with Windows and I love Paint Tool Sai far too much to change operating systems.
- Maybe take a look at: Paint Tool Sai 2 for Linux Guide (With working pressure sensitivity)
  
  Oh wow I didn't know that was possible. Thanks for the link! 😃

Nobara. Because it makes gaming on Linux very easy. It's based on Fedora, and out of all the operating systems I've tried, Fedora and Nobara are the most stable on my laptop.

I use MacOS at home as I have to support the fam.
Work is windows despite my best efforts to move to Linux, any flavor…
My laptop has macOS and Ubuntu and fedora and win11 (I have a vm problem and I enjoy it)
I wish I could use Fedora full time. I’m really open to whatever gets the work done. I just prefer software were open.

For desktop I'm a Linux or macOS guy. I use Fedora Workstation on my main laptop because it's been damn stable while also being up-to-date, and I like the workflow of GNOME and the flexibility Linux offers (experimenting with tiling windows managers is a recent example). I have an old MacBook with OCLP for easy access to creative software like Adobe and Ableton etc, but I find macOS takes a lot more configuration to make it comfortable -- it's not a perfect OS and it's no privacy bastion, but it sure beats Windows. I also have a relatively powerful Windows laptop I used for gaming (yes I agree, not the best choice), but I'm using it more rarely since only a few games with anticheat keep Windows necessary. I've just always felt like I have to actively fight Windows to get work done, its automatic updates are way more intrusive than they need to be; it's annoying as hell to be playing a game when suddenly the system decides it wants to download updates right now, tanking my network performance.
In the mobile world I tend to prefer Android of really any variety just because it doesn't pretend it's not a computer: file managers aren't as underpowered here as they were on iOS last I tried. More than ever I'm in the Android camp now that software update guarantees are more reasonable, and the whole texting between iPhones thing is much better after iOS 18. I'm not opposed to an iPhone in the future since they do still have great software support and iOS is somewhat more customizable now, but I'll probably sooner get a solid Android phone to run CalyxOS or GrapheneOS, that's my ideal outcome.
Honestly, aside from Windows 11 and its insanely inconsistent/unpolished UX and awful AI integrations, operating systems have been pretty damn good lately. This opinion mostly coincides with modern desktop Linux being such a joy to use now that I've found what I like, things are stable and modern, and it's just not as annoying as Windows.

Desktop: Debian testing (Linux)
Mobile: The Pixel flavor of Android
I'm simply more comfortable in Linux. It is a hacker's OS. I feel like I have full control over it and it stays out of the way. I find GNOME pretty polished and cohesive. It has come a long way.
On a fateful day years and years ago I sat and deliberated between Android and iOS. I picked Android because it works much better with Linux. I have stuck with it ever since.

I'm on Windows. It's the only OS I use that I know will run anything that I have on my machine without having to extensively grind myself down into researching or patching to make work.
I've at times thought about going Linux but I'm always facing the same set of problems before making the jump. That is, how much of my utilities, tools, and software that I use on Windows will work on Linux without using Wine or having to ditch it? How many of my games that I have that will run on Linux? I mean, I love Diablo II for example and Blizzard won't ever make the Blizzard.net client for Linux. So there goes that option, just for example's sake.
To me it's just not worth the switch. A lot of people usually hop on Linux for cheap clout while making exaggerated claims about how Windows is declining as if they're losing millions of users a day, which simply isn't true.
But Linux, least for desktop users and not addressing it's capability to be a good tool for server/programming uses, doesn't have an awful lot to offer and your options are limited. That limit is tied to how many software developers in general, who care at all about Linux to develop for it when they know it might be easier for Windows for users to just simply run it.
- Can't speak to your other software, but battle.net and diablo 2 run great on Linux via WINE/Proton

Mint.
General pickyness: Linux is a kernel, not an operating system. For example, Android and Mint are both operating systems that use Linux, but the way you interact with Android is dramatically different than the way you interact with Mint.

Linux. I use Pop on my desktop and Arch on my laptop.
BTW, Linux+Proton is great for playing Windows-only games. The time for needing Windows for gaming is mostly past, tbh. You may often find better performance on Linux for many games, too.

Desktop = Fedora
Home server = AlmaLinux
Mobile = GrapheneOS
Router = OpenWrt

Linux on desktop, server, and laptop. Windows VM for a few things. Android on my phone and kindle.

linux

Fedora 41 Workstation on my desktop, Fedora 41 KDE Spin on two old computers connected to TVs for streaming. For mobile I have an iPad (I bought for my mom, but she couldn't figure it out. She was 89 at the time.), iPhone Pro Max and my old Pixel 6 Pro I use as an Android mini tablet.
I have the iPhone because I got tired of hearing people whine about me being on Android. I then realized how much more polished apps are on iOS compared to Android.

I have KDE Neon on my Laptop and Bazzite on my desktop/server but I want to switch it up a bit.
I'd like to get a TuxedoOS laptop with specific hardware fix and I'm also thinking about EndeavourOS these days to try out for a couple of months.
For the server I think I'd probably to just go for Ubuntu because it's piss easy to manage because of the experience I have with or just the Fedora KDE. I really like Bazzite though for all the batteries included.
I prefer manufacturer Android on my phone but I hate it with a fiery passion. I have an uncommon Xiaomi phone and the memory management is abysmal where they kill activities almost instantly after they go away from view. I like it because the battery life is amazing. I'd prefer to use LineageOS but it's not supported on my phone.

for Mobile OS's
for mobile OSs*

I use Windows and Kubuntu LTS on desktop and tablet PC and also Android phone and iPhone. I tried to use cross platform software. So far so good

Linux as I know it would get updates and support lower-end hardware which I have it installed on my older laptop which I used for opening up Firefox and LibreOffice.

I run windows enterprise which is a little better than professional and home.
But anything that's headless I run a mix of Debian, Proxmox, and Ubuntu server.
Trying to get into PopOS! But I had some discord growing pains and moved back to windows.

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