Why do people choose the desktop OS that they do?

Introduction

This seems like a very specific question, and admittedly, it is. However, to the free/open source software movement, this is a critical question to ask. Someone's choice in computer operating system dictates a shocking amount about their life. It determines who they can communicate with, what information they can access, what jobs they can work, and even what friends they might have online. Most importantly to the context of this article, a person's choice in operating system dictates how their privacy and freedoms are treated.

Easily the most common desktop operating system is Windows. One doesn't even have to have experience with free and open source software to have heard of the privacy and freedom concerns surrounding Windows. But if that's the case, then why is it still as popular of an operating system as it is? Wouldn't it make sense for people to switch to FOSS alternatives, or even just a moderately invasive, but still proprietary OS like macOS? That's what I set out to find out.

Hypothesis

I went into this with the preconceived expectation that people's reasons for using an OS would be dependent on the OS they decided on, but that reasons would be relatively consistent across users of a given OS. I predicted that most Windows users would use Windows for one of two reasons:

1. They were forced to do so by their place of work, school, or because their software would only run on Windows.

2. They chose it simply because it was standardized and they had been exposed to it before.

Contrarily, I predicted that Linux users would have more varied reasons, including some of the following:

1. They wanted improved privacy and trust.

2. They wanted improved performance.

3. They wanted better customization.

4. They wanted the freedom of being able to do whatever they wanted with their computer independent of a company's license agreement.

I think that MacOS users will prefer their OS for these reasons:

1. They want something simple and intuitive to use.

2. They want something more private than Windows, but still with more compatibility and standardization than Linux.

I believe FreeBSD users will prefer their operating system main for efficiency reasons. FreeBSD's main selling point over Linux is its resilience and efficiency, making it a potentially solid choice for developers.

Methods

My methods for testing this we relatively simple: Put out a survey to various communities on Reddit that had a focus on a particular OS. To help minimize bias, the survey would be identical regardless of the community (excluding changed OS names), and the purpose of the survey wouldn't be explained. Below is the list of options survey takers had to chose from. They were instructed to pick the best option for their situation. An 'X' indicates somewhere where the OS name was inserted (Linux, Windows, MacOS, FreeBSD). It should also be noted that some of the choices were slightly modified if the statements it contained were factually incorrect for a given OS. For example, Windows is standardized in the sense that it is the most common desktop operating system, but that statement isn't factually true about Linux, so the explanation was tweaked.

• Standardization/Compatibility - Most programs I need are compatible with X.

• Intuitive - I find X to have a more intuitive interface and workflow compared to X, X, and other OSes.

• Privacy - I trust X with my privacy more than other operating systems.

• Customization/Freedom - X gives me the level of customization I want better than X, X, and other alternatives.

• Efficiency - X runs more efficiently on my hardware than other operating systems, allowing me to make the most of my hardware.

• Forced - I’m forced to use X, whether it be for my job, or because my hardware doesn’t support other operating systems.'

Results

Below are the top reasons that each community chose their OS.

Linux: (149 total votes)

1. Customization/Freedom - 61

2. Efficiency - 39

3. Privacy - 28

4. Intuitive - 9

5. Forced - 6

6. Standardization - 6

Windows: (117 total votes)

1. Standardization/Compatibility - 54

2. Forced - 36

3. Customization/Freedom - 10

4. Intuitive - 9

5. Efficiency - 8

6. Privacy - 0

MacOS: (210 total votes)

1. Intuitive - 66

2. Efficiency - 56

3. Standardization/Compatibility - 55

4. Privacy - 22

5. Forced - 6

6. Customization/Freedom - 5

FreeBSD: (78 total votes)

1. Intuitive - 23

2. Standardization/Compatibility - 17

3. Efficiency - 15

4. Customization/Freedom - 11

5. Privacy - 7

6. Forced - 5

Conclusions

As it turns out, my initial guesses were very accurate, at least when it came to Linux and Windows. The top two reasons Windows users choose Windows are that they are forced to for work or school, or the software they need only works on Windows. Linux users are most likely to use Linux because of the freedom, customization, efficiency, and privacy benefits.

MacOS and FreeBSD are significantly less predictable though. MacOS users primarily use MacOS because they find it intuitive, efficient, and that it works well with their other devices. Very few MacOS users feel forced to use MacOS, but they also aren't super confident that it respects their privacy as much as Linux users are of their OS. This stance makes a lot of sense once you think about it. Most people who use MacOS want something easy, consistent, and something "that just works". They don't necessarily care about privacy, but Apple's relatively good privacy record is good enough for the average person. It's not a strong point, but it isn't a huge concern either. This is in contrast to Windows, where the not a single person said they use Windows for it's privacy, compared to the ~10% who primarily use MacOS for it's privacy. While MacOS is leagues away from Linux in terms of privacy and freedom, I don't think its nearly as significant of a threat to ethics as Windows.

FreeBSD also surprised me. The majority of people said they use FreeBSD because they find it intuitive. I was very much expecting the most common reason to be efficiency or freedom. Also very surprising was that the people who used FreeBSD because they felt forced and the people who liked it's privacy benefits were very close to each other, at 6% and 9% respectively.

When focusing specifically on Windows and Linux, there appears to be an extremely strong correlation between Window users feeling forced into their OS, and Linux users feeling more free in their OS. This correlation is drastically less significant when it comes to MacOS and FreeBSD, but due to their relatively small user-bases compared to the behemoth that is Windows, they could realistically be considered outliers, and not as central to the original purpose of this experiment.

This conclusion is somewhat predictable, but simultaneously a bit disturbing. The single most common reason people use an operating system that they know invades their privacy and compromises their freedom is because they feel forced to. In a world where computer usage is nearly a necessity to function in society, refusing to use Windows and other proprietary software on your personal devices can have an alarmingly drastic impact on job opportunities, and even social interactions.

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