A friend of mine alerted me to an article about Linux moving into the big time. With all the talk of Linux in the news, people are getting curious about it and since I use Linux, I get asked questions. Recently a friend asked why one should use Linux instead of Windows. I pointed out that it’s not necessarily for everyone. I’m not so presumptious as to believe that just because I think it’s a superior option that everyone should.
Linux is free, open source, extremely configurable and stable. If none of those items provide you with a desire to try it out, then maybe it’s not for you. I will continue to use it because it suits my needs, but you need to find something that works for you, not me.
Hmm. Don’t you mean that you’ll continue to use it just as soon as you get around to installing it? Work doesn’t count, it’s sort of expected there. I don’t think Linux has been on your home PC for almost a year now. You should be ashamed; I’m sure Tux is crying right now, and a crying penguin is not a pretty sight.
People at school ask me questions about linux all the time, and I agree with your philosophy dan, linux isn’t for everyone. There are some people who are obviously never going to “get it”, and should stick to the point and click features and wizards of Windows. Hacking around endless .conf files is considered heaven to some and a hellish nightmare to others. Microsoft does provide a “Don’t worry about it, big brother will take care of everything” service for the masses who couldn’t give a crud about how things work, just as long as it works *some* of the time.
Considering that I spend the majority of my time at work, using Linux there does count. And regarding Tux, he is not crying, he’s sitting happily atop my monitor.
There is definately a place for both. I often referrence the following document:
evolution.txt where a lot of linux users get stuck at stage 7. Windows is much easier to use and nicer to do certain things with (games, word processing). Sure there are exceptions and sure, Linux is catching up, but right now, they both have pros and cons.