I concur with Lonnie: > I don't mind if people choose not to make that investment. Investing > in anything can be scary and takes initiative. Many people are lazy. > I take issue with her false assumptions. Her defense is either > dishonest or ignorant. Either way it becomes invalid.
These days, Linux distros have install processes that are at least as simple and painless as Windows. I'm a Kubuntu user myself, and when I need to build a new system I just slip in the install CD, answer a few simple questions like what timezone I'm in and what language I prefer, and in 15 minutes the system is up and running. I should also mention that the system is actually USEFUL, too. It has OpenOffice and a mail client and a PDF reader and other general applications that an average desktop user would need. Windows, on the other hand, requires all of that stuff to be installed separately. Moreover, I've found that Linux distros detect and correctly configure all of my peripherals flawlessly. Sound card, video card, monitor, scanner, USB drives, etc. With Windows it seems like I always have to track down some obscure driver to get my display to work. And heaven help me if the network card isn't recognized, because it means I have to go to another computer, find it, download it, stick it on a USB drive, and then copy it to the Windows box. Good times. In short, I'd argue that you no longer need to be a geek or a hacker to use Linux in a general office environment. The reason people don't do it en masse is simple inertia. They've used Windows for ten years and they're used to it. They may not even LIKE it, but it's hard to overcome the indoctrination. $0.02, Jeff /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
