Depends on the cultivar. Rice does have different flavors, and some are definitely tastier than others, at least in my opinion. Japanese sticky rice is my favorite, and although I wouldn’t eat it on its own, I can totally see why someone would enjoy it
To be clear: each machine generally needs a computer to be permanently plugged into it. Generally the computer belongs to the university. You’re not plugging in your own personal laptop into the machine. Saying to install Linux on these computers is essentially tampering with the university’s electronics and IT will be very unhappy that you did that.