[jimws]

> Is there any persuasive reason for a college student today to try desktop Linux?

I think not if we look at Ubuntu, Red Hat, etc. But maybe small ones like Alpine Linux?

This brings up a good question: What good free and open source operating system is out there that would be persuasive for a college student or someone who wants to learn an operating system as opposed to merely using it?

[juped]

I submit: https://www.openbsd.org

[kbenson]

I found Linux From Scratch[1] invaluable when I built a system with it almost two decades ago (but I assume it's still awesome). The trick is to not use the automated build portions and read and follow their page on every step. It takes a while, but you come away with a much better understanding of how the system works.

1: http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/