What I Wish You Gain From Linux

31 January 2026

Apparently, more and more people are giving Linux a go on their desktop machines. It could be due to people growing frustrated with Windows 11 as Microsoft forces half-baked AI features onto their users or simply because of a popular YouTuber making some content about it. Regardless of the reason for trying it out and using it, here are a few long-term changes in thinking I hope you pick up as you learn and use a Linux system.

You develop a taste for software quality

When I was setting up my Arch Linux system from scratch in 2019, the first thing I noticed was that the programs I was using to setup and control my system are simple, reliable, and performant. The Unix philosophy really did stand the test of time.

Additionally, these programs do not treat you like you are an idiot - you are able to customize everything you would expect through command line options, plain-text configuration files, or environment variables. There are no people in suites that decide which features to take away or hide behind a paywall. There are no people that decide to introduce anti-features to track you and slow down the software.

You start caring about ownership

As you use more and more software that respects you, you should start being annoyed by the Software-as-a-Service model. In other words, Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Kindle, Steam etc. should become something that you are aiming to remove yourself from as they only rent you media instead of letting you own it. Furthermore, that media is often difficult or impossible to open in your privacy-respecting Linux software (e.g. try to play Netflix downloads with mpv and you might run into DRM issues).

You should become aware of predatory practices in cars (e.g. Audi & BMW) and household appliances. Once you are aware of those, actively avoid companies that partake in them. In cases where it is not fully possible, go for the lesser evil.

You treat computers as a tool

Weather you customize your Linux system to no end or end up using something more mainline, hopefully the look of your system eventually becomes a secondary concern. You settle on a system that is reliable and does not interrupt your work with notifications, updates, or breakages. The operating system should get out of your way.

For example, the main benefit of a tiling window manager and a modal text editor is that working on the move, whether in a car or a tent, is almost as productive as sitting at a desk with a mouse and multiple screens.

Conclusion

To sum up, I hope Linux makes you grow up and become more critical about technology - you are able decide what is good for you and what not so much. For almost everyone, the result of switching to Linux should be that they're using less technology than before. It should become apparent that actually useful technology moves rather slowly.