Things I Like About Linux

Ok, a few weeks ago, I gave my list of things I hate about Linux as a desktop operating system. Now, I want to counterbalance that list with the things I like about Linux. I will state upfront that none of the items on the list will be of the "Because Windows does this..." or "Unlike Windows...". I really dislike that about a lot of discourse around Linux as a desktop environment. It's more Microsoft or Apple bashing than Linux cheerleading. 

So, without further ado, here are the things I like about Linux as a Desktop OS. Keep in mind that none of what I like will depend on which distribution, or distro, that you are running. A distribution is a packaged set of software that includes the Linux kernel, graphical user interface (often Gnome, or KDE, through there are literally dozens of choices), and application software. Choose wisely.

1. It runs on extremely underpowered machines. It's true that you need to find the right distro to match your computer's resources, but Linux does this better than anyone. I'm not talking about running an older version of the operating system; I mean a fresh new version of a Linux distro on practically ancient hardware. Right now, I have a laptop from 2006 running MX Linux. It's not great but it's serviceable and still useful. All of this is due to the design of Linux. It is not monolithic. The kernel stays quite small and creative distro makers find collections of applications and GUIs that fit in under resourced machines. This is why single board computers such as the Raspberry PI run Linux. 
2. All the distribution choices. I can choose a distribution that suits me or my machine. Low resources? There's a half dozen distros for that. Something modern and zippy? Sure, there are lots of mainstream distros for that. What if you don't like the user interface? Choose a distro with something different, weird even. 
3. On that note, there are distributions tailored to functions. There are distributions that are designed for software development, creatives, office work, security professionals, specific update methods, certain languages, some for use as a LiveCD, education, beginners, Mac users, Windows users, and many more. 
4. You can still change almost anything. If you find that no Linux distro gets you 100 percent to where you want to be, you can alter something to get you all the way. Package managers, applications, even graphical interfaces, can all be changed easy enough. You are even able to load multiple GUIs on your computer and switch between them effortlessly. You can also adjust so many small things, allowing you to tweak your installation to your needs and likes.
5. The cost can't be beat. While nothing is truly free, the initial capital cost of many distros, even major ones such as Ubuntu, is zero. You can pay for support if you don't want to rely on community support and your own talents, and there are some distros only sold as commercial products. The vast majority of Linux distros, however, are available for download for free.
6. The difference between a server and desktop is basically only the GUI. You can run all the server software on any Linux installation, alongside the desktop environment. In fact, the main difference between a server distro and desktop distro is that the server distro comes prepackaged with the server software and the desktop distro with the GUI preinstalled. If you want to load the desktop distro, so that you have access to GUI tools, and then load up a bunch of server software, it's pretty easy.
7. There are a multitude of ways to install and manage software. Most desktop OS' come with what is called a package manager. As it sounds, it is a way to package, install, and then manage (remove, update, list) the software on a machine, along with their dependencies. Most distros come with either apt, yum/dnf, or pacman. Most distros have a GUI for searching catalogs of software and then installing, removing, and updating software in those catalogs. You can choose the one that works best for you or stick with whatever came with your distro.
   Ubuntu uses a system called Snap which not only installs and manages software but runs it in a container system similar to Docker. It provides easy control over running software, in addition to installation. Flatpak is similar in that it installs and manages software but runs it in a sandbox to ensure that applications can't harm the system overall. Both have GUI front ends. Snap and Flatpak represent the future of package managers - containerized systems that not only manage software installs, but the runtime environment as well.
8. Even when they look different, Linux systems can interoperate. Assuming that you have installed all the dependencies, pretty much anything that runs on one Linux machine can run on another of equal resources. Ultimately, Linux is Linux, no matter the distro. Sure, if you have something compiled for a completely different microprocessor architecture it may need to be recompiled, but all Intel architecture machines will run all run the same software.

My home lab is a prime example of the versatility and interconnectedness of Linux. I have an ancient (2006) laptop running MX Linux which I use for small monitoring tasks. I have two machines running Debian derived Ubuntu Desktop OS, but configured as servers for various services within my environment. Finally, I have a laptop from 2010 running Pop_OS, itself a variation on Ubuntu, that performs the majority of monitoring and observability for the system. That's four machines with three different Linux distributions, running a host of file and cloud services, plus monitoring. All are capable of running the same modern browser, despite vast differences in age, system architecture, and resources. There was no cost for installing and managing the operating system, outside my labor. This is what I like most about Linux.