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
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.
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”.
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.
Windows 11
...
I’m just fucking with y’all. Debian, of course.
