Open Source Software...

[CtrlAltDel]

*Jun aka pekto,

I agree with most of what you said. You have more experience on Linux than I am (barely 5 months=). One reason why although I am very enthusiastic about Linux for my own use but not enthusiastic enough to drag people to it is that I know enough of the expectations of Windows users vs the different way Linux works.

For the "average user" (meaning one who simply wants to browse the Net, email, chat, maybe shop online, download multimedia files and play them, do some research using OpenOffice, organize and edit pictures) he can find distros that can do that out of the box. Trouble comes when a newbie got one of those that cant, jumps to a general conclusion, becomes frustrated and leaves Linux for good. For example, Ubuntu cant play mp3 by default; it needs to connect to the net to pull codecs, extra work which is a piece of cake by the way. And then their are distros that are not easy to install for a newbie. I have the latest Gentoo and Slackware, but I have yet to dare myself to install them.

As for the lack of uniformity... I think this is the side effect of the software being open source. It has very liberal public licence to copy, modify and distribute as you wish. I read somewhere there are organizations who try to "standardize" some GNU tools. But for the most part, yep, Linux distros are so diverse.

Linux requires patience on the part of the new user, because its different. You know this already of course=) But the rewards for anyone taking the time to learn it cannot be under estimated. The knowledge is yours to keep and apply to more new distros to come. You can also teach your kids common open source applications (OpenOffice and Gimp for instance) and they never have to resort to pirated software unless money is no object to buy legit of cource. And linux distros are free (there are commercial ones though.) For me, I truly appreciate the work of open source developers. Microsoft and Adobe wont be making any money from me anymore... they can continue milking my employer though, from XP to Vista to Windows 7 to Windows 8... to Whatever.

My advice to the original poster... Try Linux safely using "Live CD" distros (like LinuxMint 5 r1, Knoppix 5.3.1, Mandriva 2008.1 and Sabayon 5.4. They are loaded with codecs and NTFS support.) A linux experience is very personal and only you can truly say whether it meets your needs or whether you're better off with Windows, or with a Mac. Let no one take your freedom to choose your OS

Here's a link to more choices:
http://distrowatch.com/