You've likely seen and heard all the claims that Linux has no software support, and you need to use Microsoft Windows to do anything. That may have held some ground a decade or two ago but it's no longer the case, and even gaming is more than viable on Linux. There are thousands of apps available for Linux, some official ports of those only available on Windows. Better still, Linux has some apps that can't be installed on Windows, at least without some effort, and a few of these make up some reasons why I refuse to switch from Linux back to Windows.

6 Gedit

Edit almost anything

Gedit is a general-purpose text editor and has been around for almost two decades, with development commencing in 1998. It was built with the Gnome project, offering excellent integration with the desktop environment (DE), but it can be used with almost any distro, window manager (WM), and DE. What sets it apart from Notepad and other Windows-exclusive offerings is the speed, functionality, and availability. You can use it for simply opening documents or fire up all the bells and whistles for more advanced software development.

Although it's overshadowed by Obsidian, which is an incredible tool for handling numerous documentations and development, there's always a place on my Linux distro for Gedit — though I will admit that KWrite is a very good alternative on KDE. Some excellent features include the ability to close the app at shutdown and pick up where you left off without saving anything, tab support, syntax highlighting (Python, Shell, C, C++, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, XML, Markdown, and more), customization, robust spell-checking, and remote editing to name but a few.

5 Dolphin

The best file manager

There are some fantastic file browsers available for both Linux and Windows, but Dolphin is often recommended within the community, and I can understand why. This file manager is brilliant, from allowing you to either move or copy dragged files, to not simply appending numbers to duplicates. It's fast, lightweight, reliable, and has countless quality of life fixes you likely don't even know you require coming from Windows. The newer versions of Windows Explorer aren't terrible, and the app has come a long way, but it still pales in comparison.

As well as being great, Dolphin has a split view for quickly managing multiple folders without resorting to different windows and tabs, something that will come in handy when using tiled window managers. You can quickly and conveniently mount ISO files, mount and browse smartphones without installing anything else, pop onto mounted network shares, CLI, and perform checksum calculations and verify files. Once you've fired up DKE or installed Dolphin as a standalone app, you'll unlikely want to return to Microsoft's equivalent.

4 Apostrophe

The best note-taking partner

If there's one app I'll give Gnome credit for most, it's Apostrophe. This lightweight note-taking app is fantastic for those who enjoy whipping up quick notes or need an app that can handle light editing. It's all about minimalism, something Gnome gets right with the DE. Want an unintrusive way to write thousands of words or lines of code? Apostrophe could be just what you're looking for. The entire UI was crafted from the ground up to be tailored to comfortable writing without obnoxious elements and anything else getting in the way of the workflow.

If that wasn't enough already, Apostrophe even has a distraction-free mode for focusing solely on what you're doing within the window and nothing else. Dark, light, and sepia themes are available to match various DE designs, and you can be sure everything is present that would be found in other text editors, such as a robust spell-checker. And if you're like me and sometimes enjoy writing with a live preview, that's also possible with Atmosphere. I like to think of it like a super-light version of Obsidian when I don't require an entire vault.

3 Hyprland

Become more productive on the go

Hyprland isn't a simple application but rather an entire window manager (WM). This is responsible for handling how apps look and behave within the desktop environment (DE). It differs from traditional "floating" window managers by automatically adjusting open apps to use all available screen real estate. No app is above another. Hyprland (or another tiling WM) will be right up your alley if you're fond of multitasking with different windows open simultaneously or have already grown tired of having to manually adjust open windows.

Some highlight features of this WM are silky smooth transitions and animations, incredibly versatile and easy-to-learn customization through CSS and config files, grouping, workspaces, touchpad gestures, countless keyboard shortcuts, and the ability to turn heads when using Hyprland out in the wild. People will ask, "What is that?" especially once everything has been personalized to your tastes. But don't worry if you don't want to spend time customizing Hyprland as full installers are available for setting everything up.

2 Any package manager

Pacman, Apt, Snap

If you've never used a Linux distro before, you'll be astounded by how convenient package managers can be. My personal favorite is Pacman, but Apt, Flatpak, and even Snap are great for installing, managing, and removing software. It's largely personal preference and once you've selected one that clicks with your workflow, you'll be executing commands in no time. It's great having the ability to install software on Linux without needing to run through pesky .exe installers, and while a similar experience is available on Windows through winget, it's not quite as good.

You can install anything through your package manager, including updates, heavy software such as Steam, firmware, or even Python. Link up to more repositories and you'll have more software available than you'll know what to do with.

1 Rsync

Back up and transfer data

Rsync is a handy tool for file transfers and synchronization. It's great for backing stuff up and moving data between devices, particularly local and remote systems. Using a delta-transfer algorithm, Rsync differs from other solutions by only transferring actual differences between the source and destination, making it incredibly efficient. I've often recommended Rsync for backing up data from devices such as a PC to a NAS or cloud platform. There are other ways to achieve similar results, but Rsync is easy, fast, and efficient once configured.

The best part about this transfer tool is the preservation of file ownership, permissions, timestamps, and all other metadata, which can often be lost when moving stuff between locations. And using secure shell (SSH) for handling the transfers is the icing on this sweet-tasting cake. Although it is technically available for Windows, when using tools that offer support for Rsync, having the ability to quickly install, configure, and use it on Linux makes it a powerful solution for backing up data from supported systems and is something I would sorely miss moving to Windows.

Linux has some fantastic software

There are some excellent tools and features unique to Linux, making it a powerful suite for productivity or gaming. Many are making the switch from Windows and find it difficult to return once they've realized just how capable yet lightweight and customizable Linux and its many, many distros are. The massive collection of packages in repositories simply makes the experience that much better, especially when you come across open-source software that can match or even surpass commercial equivalents you previously used on Windows.