i use gentoo now from arch becuase i wanted to use portage and be able to control dependancys and i run chadwm (fork of dwm) for added features and the rest of the things i use like st dmenu neovim all are part of the workflow ive made
this post was submitted on 18 Jul 2025
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Used it at work and wanted to learn on my own. Then installed Ubuntu as a noob, and was like "why tf is everyone still using Windows?"
I use Windows because
My pc does not tell a story. It's a thing I use for work and play. I can't be bothered, it doesn't interest me, what niri, alacritty cosmic de is. Why should I care? Why should I invest that time? My pc works already. My framerates are high, it's stable and all the stuff I need for work, works. Out of the box.
Every single time I tried linux for the desktop the system failed within weeks. Dependency error after an automatic upgrade. Grub killing itself. Again. X refuses to start. So many config files littered all over the place just waiting for you to fuck something up. Gpu driver bullshittery. Printer hell. Other peripheral shit. (Flightsim gear)
And honestly, the last time i seriously tried was more then 5 years ago. In IT terms that's a lifetime. So surely it will be much better now.
But after the umpteenth fail to start X, I just thought: wtf am I doing? I could also next next finish my ass through a Windows installation, insert a pihole in my network to block the most obnoxious stuff and just do my thing.
Which is what I did.
Now, I do use linux. A lot. Just not for my desktop.
I think you've tried a distribution for advanced users... Something like Debian would not have triggered that! Also note that regarding dual boot, most of the time, Microsoft can be in cause (if you're not using UEFI, if you have secure boot, and others).
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I use Kubuntu on my Surface Go because it got way too warm under Windows. It'd work fine most of the time but I just got unhealthily warm to the point it'd get too hot to touch under very minor workload. My SO's father, who's been a huge proponent of Linux for decades now, suggested I give it a try and it's been great. Some minor functionality restrictions but nothing I can't work around. The touchscreen and the stylus work - that's all I need for school
I use Devuan and TDE because the setup is so incredible boring and dusty that i do not have to get acquainted with anything new (SystemD, Wayland... whatever hipster WM is currently cool) and keep working with the tools i like.
Trinity is fucking cool, I thought about running it alongside Plasma but I think it would fuck up my setup.
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I use mint that I haven't updated in years because one time I tried and it failed so I stopped trying. It's my old work Thinkpad that I now use exclusively to run weekly events. It's old and heavy and I needed a more lightweight OS than windows.
When I was new to the Linux desktop world (late 90s to 200x) I tried lots of different distros and (X11) window managers and tools and whatnot. Changed themes a lot. And so on. And I think there's value in all that, because it expands your horizon of what's possible on the desktop, how different UI/UX paradigms work out in practice for you, and you learn how to use different environments.
On the other hand, there's also value in having a consistent, well-integrated desktop environment. It can mean less "pain points" in various circumstances, and it's also efficient when multiple programs share the same libraries or code base instead of having separate tools all around.
In the end, it comes down to what works best for you. But this might also change over time. For example I'm really considering switching to Cosmic once it's mature. I'm also considering taking a look at Niri because it seems well thought-out. But currently I feel cozy using Plasma at home and Gnome at work because Plasma is currently the least-annoying and at work I still use Gnome because it's been historically more stable than Plasma for me. I've tweaked Plasma's hotkeys so they work more like Gnome's and since I also need to use a couple of Windows-based systems at work I've also configured common Windows shortcuts like Super+L, Super+E, Super+R so that they all behave the same everywhere.
Oh, and my distro is Arch everywhere because I've used it for ages now and I like its technical simplicity, stability and modularity. It's the one distro that gets in my way the least.
I think one should learn enough to be flexible and be able to use everything, while also not being too narrow-minded and just focus on one solution too much. What works best for you now might not be the best choice for you in a couple of years.
I use Arch with Gnome because this is something I've installed years ago and it just keeps working with no issues.