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# Everyone experiments a little in college (or, should I say, experiments with Linux, and by college I mean in 2026)
- URL: https://birchtree.me/blog/everyone-experiments-a-little-in-college-or-should-i-say-experiments-with-linux-and-by-college-i-mean-in-2026/
- Published: 2026-01-22T14:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-01-22T13:59:59.000Z
- Author: Matt Birchler
- Tags: Links

Stevie Bonifield writing for The Verge: [I spent a year on Linux and forgot to miss Windows](https://www.theverge.com/features/861968/year-using-linux?ref=birchtree.me)

> Customizing every visual element of my desktop has become one of my favorite parts of using Linux. It doesn’t offer any performance boost or practical benefit; it’s just fun.

Two quick things on this…

One, I continue to think that something is happening in 2026 with Linux and normal consumers. I think gaming is where we'll see more of a shift immediately. But I also do expect to see more people kicking the tires on Linux as their normal computer operating system this year. I'm not predicting mainstream acceptance yet, but I do think there is some momentum here.

Two, if I had to sum up my frustration with the average Apple pundit these days, it’s that 20 years ago, the above-quoted behavior of messing with your computer's UI for fun was available on the Mac as well, and we loved doing it. Today, I would suspect a lot of Apple pundits would say, “what a waste of time this is, let's talk about how Apple could increase their profits even more.”

*Previously:* [*I'm not saying it's the year of Linux on the desktop, but I'm not not saying that.*](https://birchtree.me/blog/my-crazy-2026-prediction-it-involves-linux/)