The extremely vocal desktop Linux tinority

Stan Beer
Monday, 17 November 2008 10:54

Opinion and Analysis

Of course, the Linux tinority, especially the Ubuntu minority tinority, would have you believe that desktop Linux is every bit as easy to use as Windows or Mac OS X. The common refrain "I've got my grandmother using it with no problems" neglects to mention that the grandmother has her own personal Linux zealot supporting her system.

On the subject of support, what do you do when your Windows computer system breaks and you're a complete tech luddite? Chances are you take it to your local corner computer shop, where someone there will know what to do for a relatively reasonable fee.

And what do you do when your Linux system breaks? Why you consult the friendly forums of course! Hands up those who posted a question to a forum and waited in vain for a response. Of course you could track down a Linux specialist - but you'll probably find that they charge a lot more than your corner computer store.

The average Linux zealot would have believe that Microsoft is the devil. I fully expect to get the usual "How much did Microsoft pay you to write this drivel?" in the comments section.

The fact is, however, Microsoft is not the devil. It is just a company that happened to suss out the desktop market better than anyone else and consequently won the desktop operating system game.

Members of the Linux tinority you can jump up and down and call me names and you can prattle on about how the number of Linux desktop users is growing. I can assure you the number of Windows users is growing a lot faster.

If you want to beat Microsoft, you can forget about the desktop game, instead invent another another game. Just ask Google.