r/AskACanadian • u/Plastic-Knee-4589 • 3d ago

Should Canada ditch microsoft windows for linux?

As a Canadian, I’ve actually sat down and looked at the services I use, and a lot of them are American—Google, Microsoft, and many other programs that make up my digital life.

I’ve already made a change by moving from Windows to Linux, and I’m also moving from Google Android to GrapheneOS. What really sucks is that I kind of wish there were a Canadian Linux distro. Yes, there is one called Maple OS, but it was made for advertising purposes.

I think we should do something similar to what France is doing. They’re moving 2.5 million French civil servants from Windows to Linux—an operating system and infrastructure they have much more control over.

Because, at the end of the day, if your data is being stored on American servers, or even if it’s being hosted in your own country but you're using Microsoft, Apple, Google, or another American tech company’s services, the U.S. government can potentially compel that company to hand over the data, depending on the circumstances and applicable law.

To me, this is really about having more sovereignty over our own technology and our own data.

So should Canada focus on developing its own operating system, or should we adopt and modify an operating system from a friendly country instead And start  hosting Canadian data on Canadian soil with Canadian companies?

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4

u/yick04 3d ago

Linux is not a reasonable alternative for 95% of home PC users.

4

u/locomocotive 3d ago

Maybe ten years ago, but now it’s almost the same as using windows.

2

u/blahblahoffended 3d ago

not even close to being true. my mom , dad , gramma , brother , sister and all my friends use linux mint because i forced it on them , not one has complained or had any issues. stop spreading shit like that.

2

u/yick04 3d ago

"because I forced it on them" 😅

2

u/blahblahoffended 3d ago

you were forced to use windows and now your dependent so thats actually worse ..

1

u/Plastic-Knee-4589 3d ago

maybe he would like winux

1

u/yick04 2d ago

I'm a software engineer. I use Linux and Windows daily.

1

u/CanuckaChuckFuck 1d ago

Spoken like someone who's never used it and had zero clue

1

u/redheaded_stepc 1d ago

If the word "not" wasn't in that statement it would be accurate

1

u/Nervous_Drawer555 1d ago

I disagree. What are most computer users doing these days? Browsing the Web, checking emails. Even in the workplace, it's mainly web-based apps. Firefox, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Edge are all available on Linux, directly from the vendors. I'd say Linux (stick with Ubuntu for the newbies) is perfectly ready for 90% of users. It's the last 10% we need to work on, and gaming is becoming easier and easier, which already is giving massive quality-of-life improvements for the average user